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alhenderson

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Everything posted by alhenderson

  1. alhenderson
    Try to keep at least the model inside until you're ready to spray, I've been keeping the paint and the thinners inside as well and it seems to cure the problem. And then bring it inside to dry.. Good luck! Al
  2. alhenderson
    The aluminium has had time to dry (inside of course), looks OK Bit splattery but I think that's my mixing rather than weather related. Using Mr Metal Color for the first time, it seems thinner in the bottle then other Mr Color paints so might need to adjust my thinning.. Now I've got the masking on the spine is like to get the initial coat of metal finished ASAP as I don't like leaving the tape on for too long. Of course the weather over here is going to be proper cold for the next couple of weeks, so need to be in and out of that garage as quickly as I can 🤷‍♂️ Al
  3. alhenderson
    Yes, saw the weather.. Naturally, rather than think "maybe I'll leave it a couple of weeks until it gets warmer" I decided to mask off the black tail and spine and crack on with spraying the aluminium. Currently drying in the dining room, watch this space.. 😬 Really, really hope I don't regret this! Al.
  4. alhenderson
    Good news everyone - brought the lighting, the airbrush, the paint and thinners in from the garage for a few days and plucked up the courage to have another go at the tail. It worked 🎉🎉 lovely smooth, shiney finish 👌 Cold weather is your enemy. Also brought her inside to dry once I'd sprayed. Next step, mask for the shiney bits and hope the tail stays attached 🤞 Al
  5. alhenderson
    Sounds like you've got that sussed. Like you, I need to be more aware of when I'm spraying etc. Didn't have these problems with brushes! I'm a little happier with the paint situation now I think I understand it. Got me thinking about the fin. I'm tempted to take it off to make the decals easier - I've a feeling that it's probably going to come off with any pressure off putting them on. The only problem is that the fit is not great so I'll need to do more filling and sanding with a fully painted and decaled model 😬 Al
  6. alhenderson
    That's a good point, I should be able to work something out there. Will need to be careful carrying a newly painted plane down the ladder from my garage haunt and into the house, but doable. Especially as I have the lightning on a stick. Also going to keep everything warm in the house prior to spraying. Thinking about it, that's what I did the other day when I rubbed down the crap finish and went out to the garage to try again.. 🤔 Al
  7. alhenderson
    Well, the new year cheer didn't last very long. Did another coat of black last night to tidy up the tail, went up to check and it's happened again: I can only imagine it's environment related. Temp round here has been somewhere around 8-10 degrees pretty constantly. I think the latest coat was done later in the day - my successful coat was earlier on. I can't imagine the temperature difference between the two being that big but I'm struggling to think what else is going on. If it is that then I'm pretty much knackered for painting until it warms up - could be weeks or months. To add to the problems, the fin isn't far from coming off which will mean yet more filling and sanding when I reattach it 😡 Al
  8. alhenderson
    Happy new year everyone! Hope 2024 is a good one 👍 it's going better here, cleaned the airbrush and knocked the pressure down to around 15-18psi (was nearer 30 I think) and had another go at the Tamiya black. Much nicer, proper glossy and smooth.. Yay! Al
  9. alhenderson
    Temperature was around 10 degrees C, not sure about the humidity, but December in England shouldn't be anything untoward I wouldn't have thought? You're right, thought, may well be something like that..
  10. alhenderson
    Ventured up to the garage this morning to see the results of yesterday's spraying. Not happy 😡 Very blotchy and rough. No idea what happened there, last time I sprayed this it was a beautiful finish. No choice but to rub it back so I can try again.. Of course, in the course of rubbing it down I've knocked off various bits. The fin is still intact, which I was worried about as it's not the best fit in the world. Glad I didn't persevere with the PE! Bloody Lightning's - always a pain in the bottom when I build them 😡 Anyway, Happy New Year everyone 🎉🍻 Al
  11. alhenderson
    Last post, I was convinced that I was going to put the PE on before painting. Having put two tiny aerials on and been reminded how easily they come off, I've reversed that decision. The tiny triangular aerial on the canopy came off, but miraculously I found it. Now safety sealed in a bag for later use. I also ended up down a minor rabbit hole due to trying to work out the positioning of the rain dispenser at the front of the windscreen. I don't think the shape that sword would have you bend the PE into is correct. Below is a picture someone shared on FB. The PE part has 3 sections to it and I'm thinking I might fold it in on itself to achieve something like what's below. That's now, of course, a decision for further down the line. That same discussion on FB also led to the discovery that the little triangular antenna that sword have you put in front of the windscreen is also wrong, highlighted here I have not seen a single photo that shows that. There is one on the bottom right hand side of the nose near the gear doors. Unfortunately, I'd already taken it off and thrown it away before I discovered that 😟 Having achieved very little over my two weeks off over Christmas, I decided today was the day to start painting 🎉. So off to the garage to crack out the Tamiya XF-1.. It doesn't look quite as smooth and shiny as the last time I used it so there might be some polishing and respraying to be done. We'll see when it's dry, will be tomorrow before I get another look at it sadly. No time to get any momentum at the moment! Al.
  12. alhenderson
    Flip flopping between my Matchbox Jag and this continues unabated 🤣 having spent ages trying to get the gap between the fin and the fuselage filled, I've not decided I'm happy with the seams. They're not perfect, and the metallic finish will probably make them look worse but I need to move on otherwise this might become my first ever shelf of doom occupant 😬 Started on the PE aerials today: Good god, they're tiny! Somehow managed to not lose anything so far, although there's still time for that! I need new tweezers, the ones I have are way too big for this job! Also need to check some photo references as I don't think the instructions are right for at least one of the items..
  13. alhenderson
    Also fitted the Air Graphics flare dispensers while I was on a roll. Took me a long time to work out which way up they went, but I think what I have is correct based on a number of pictures. They also look too big to me, but not much I can do about that.. The same hunt for pictures got me looking at pylons, and I don't think the Hasegawa ones are quite right. I don't think RAF ones have the horizontal bits on them, so might have to try and sand them off. Shame I didn't find that out before attaching them to the wing 🙄 Al
  14. alhenderson
    Thanks to @Galligraphics I now have the Hasegawa cans in place after a bit of sanding, sawing and butchering. They actually fit really well, was worried that they'd be noticeable bigger or smaller than the kit ones but they look pretty decent. That's probably all I'll get done this side of Christmas. Thanks to all who have read, liked, and commented on my posts this year. It's nice to be able to share these things and get ideas from all the clever and generous bods on here. Hope Santa is good to you all and brings you what you wanted. As much as anything I'm hoping for time - but I think that could be a forlorn hope! Merry Xmas! Al
  15. alhenderson
    You know what, I hadn't thought of that! I think that's the way forward.. 👍
  16. alhenderson
    Started adding the parts donated to be by a kind Hasegawa kit owner on Twitter. First, the pylons which look waaaay nicer than those in the kit. Also have a selection of weapons. Alas, no drop tanks or recce pod (I have decals for a 2sqn machine so those would have been ideal), so looking at having rocket pods on the inner pylons and what I think are cluster bombs on the centreline. Although the latter might interfere with the nosewheel doors due to the position of the pylon so need to think about that one. I've also put the AAM adapters on the outer pylons, but not sure they're quite right for an RAF machine with AIM-9s, might be for Matras.. Can't use the Hasegawa exhausts sadly, as they are designed to slot into the fuselage - the matchbox kit just has a flat area where you attach them. Although, whoever in Matchbox did their exhausts did not seem to be aware of this: Can't for the life of me fathom how that's supposed to work! The PK-102 instructions I have found on the internet show that there's a notch which matches a protrusion from the exhaust, but the notch is in a different place to the one on my kit 😬 Think I need to saw off the bottom of the exhaust to get a flush fit. Either that, or fill the gap (just for a change). Al.
  17. alhenderson
    That looks nice - another great little subject from Sword. Doesn't seem to be causing you much grief, either, which is good 👍
  18. alhenderson
    Some more progress, have attached the tailplanes - old school " put the glue on and hold it for a bit" approach. Seems to have worked, got a sturdy enough fit. Also got the under fuselage strakes on. Soon be time for some primer, methinks.. Al
  19. alhenderson
    You're right, the front of the wings are stopping the rest from joining properly. I've already improved it by sanding the mating edges a bit. The joint at the front of the wings is actually quite good and I'm worried if I sand too much of that away then I'll have even more work to do to build something back up. I've very much taken the lazy approach here 😁 Al
  20. alhenderson
    Airfix to the rescue! I have an F.6 in the stash which has both firestreaks and red tops in it, so I'm purloining the firestreaks from there 😁 comparing the two, the sword ones are actually nicer and have better detail, but that's no good if I haven't got all the fins 🤷‍♂️ Took advantage of my first day of Christmas holidays (when everyone else is still at work/school 😁) to put some primer on her and see where we are. Think I'm pretty happy with the joins and seams now. The fin does appear to be slightly loose, which is concerning. There are some cracks in the putty around the base which I'm going to redo. I'm hoping if I'm careful I'll get away with that. I think we all know where that's going to end 😬 Al
  21. alhenderson
    Got a few minutes on the Jag today - my Lightning has been greedily taking most of my time by craftily allowing me to make some (slow) progress. It went to the paint shop for some primer, leaving the bench clear. First job was fitting the wings. Out of the box, the fit was awful. The wing barely met the fuselage and it just flapped around, impossible to keep in place. So out came the hand drill and the brass rod to make some better fixings. Dry fitted both wings, but the fit was so tight I elected to leave them on and dab some TET into the gaps to help firm things up. Could get a bus in there!! Bit of perfect putty later: Better. Hopefully these gaps will be fairly easy to sort out. Tailfins are going to be tricky. They also just loosely dangle in the slot when dry fitted, and because they're that bit smaller not sure I can do much with brass rod. Might just have to go old school and prop everything on paint pots and hope for the best! Al.
  22. alhenderson
    Slow progress lately. Have spent days fettling the missile pylons to fit onto the fuselage, lots of drilling and sanding action required. There's no part of this kit that 'just fits'. With the pylons sorted, attention turns to the firestreaks. The missiles themselves are OK, but Sword have you fit half of the fins. The main fins are OK, but the rear ones are really small and hard to get off the sprue and sand to any kind of shape.. They just look a bit rubbish. Have also lost one in the process 😡 They're only rectangular so I guess I ought to be able to make new ones from plastic card, but the tiny size is a challenge. I could not do missiles, there are plenty photos of trainers without them. I just need to take the long bits (technical term that!) off the pylons that I've already glued on. Will sleep on that one. Might get some more primer on it tomorrow 🤞 Al
  23. alhenderson
    This has arrived: Eek! That's complicated looking 😬 even the FOD guard has you drilling holes into the fuselage and attaching with wire. It looks like I can attach the ladder with the canopy closed which might add some interest.. 🤔
  24. alhenderson
    Lovely! Those coastal command colours are really nice, didn't know I wanted one of these until now! 😆 Al.
  25. alhenderson
    Having recently built that kit, you've done a bloody good job! Al.
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