Jump to content

Jazzy Jase

Gold Member
  • Posts

    1,004
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Jazzy Jase

  1. Time to make a start on my Tamiya Spitfire. It'll be OOB, but I've believe there are a few things I can do to improve the accuracy of the kit. From Tizzy's thread on the same kit I've read that the crowbar needs removing and the protruding gun barrels. Is there anything else I should do?

    2667668969_de6a90e875_b.jpg

  2. Nice job Jase, I can see the fun you had with aligning all the struts. Was this the major hassle you had with the kit?

    :thumbsup:

    It wasn't necessarily the actual kit that proved challenging...

    Aligning the struts wasn't too bad. The glass house was the most fiddly bit and didn't fit together too well, so required a reasonable amount of filling and sanding. The carpet Monster ate the rear skid-thingy. Luckily I have the old Heller kit, which is almost identical, so I robbed it from there. Brushing on a coat of Klear left me with some really obvious bubbles, which took some effort to remove. I had a few difficulties with the weathering wash. Tried the light one on the top surfaces, but it didn't look too good, so went for black instead. Then I found that I could not get into all those fiddly places to remove it, so there's a little bit more wash remaining than I would have liked.

    The decals were just a nightmare though. I've heard bad things about Academy decals and now I can confirm them! I've got a few more academy kits in the collection, which I will now be buying after-market decals for. Interestingly, I think Academy know their decals are poor as a few of their kits are now included with Cartograf decals, which I hear are very good.

    Finally, my airbrush kept clogging last night whilst applying the Matt Varnish, which I've put down to it being quite a warm, humid night.

    Anyway, having seen it in daylight this morning I'm happy with it. It's only my 5th model, so I can't expect perfection. I'm really pleased with the straight-lines camouflage. I enjoyed painting that and I've got a few more Luftwaffe aircraft to look forward to in the stash.

  3. Just finished the 1/72 Academy Fieseler Storch. Probably the most challenging model I've made so far.

    2659778186_c1dc63a0d5_b.jpg

    2659774272_bed46a1e46_b.jpg

    2659777548_2bd2d18b59_b.jpg

    2659776866_e07680b3df_b.jpg

    2659776196_c976eec5d2_b.jpg

    2659775544_3310aa3ecf_b.jpg

    2658948227_3a9a29895d_b.jpg

    I'm reasonably pleased with this one. I think I've gone a bit OTT with the weathering wash, but it's hard to remove it from all those hard-to-reach places! Also, the decals destroyed themselves and I had to get some replacements from Academy. These weren't much better. Too thin and don't like to be moved around for too long before sticking, so I'm not entirely happy with the positioning of some of them.

    On Monday I can crack on with my Tamiya Spitfire for the BoB group build!

  4. I've got a couple of 1/72 Tamiya Spitfires in the stash. I've started on a Vb and I've got a Mk1 to build for the Bob group build.

    Now, I'm aware that some think this kit is inaccurate, but I'm not particularly bothered about it. Having said that, I do think the prop blades are far too narrow. So, I've been looking for a replacement prop and the only one I can find is this aeroclub one: http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?FULL=ABP083

    Is this the correct prop to put on a Spitfire Mk1 and/or Vb? And will it fit the Tamiya kit?

    Whilst I'm at it, is there anything else I could do to improve the kit without spending a fortune and without major surgery to the kit?

  5. Thanks guys. I've masked the area and given it a light spray of Silver. Whilst not giving a perfect finish it seems reasonable. I will do some experimentation with some of your more complicated suggestions when I get a chance, just to practice and improve my skills.

    I've put the Mustang away for a bit now. I've lost my enthusiasm for it, so I will come back to it after doing a few more kits.

  6. I've accidentally touched a decal that was covered in wet Micro Sol, which ruined it. No problem I thought, I'll just wipe it off and paint it on. Except... I wasn't expecting it to wipe off the Klear, Mithril Silver and Primer!

    2554762212_1149619586.jpg

    What can I do to fix this? My first thoughts were to chuck it in the bin, but maybe I can fix it? HELP!!!!!! :weep:

    Oh, and what can I do in the future to remove a messed up decal?

  7. Just received this kit from Netmerchants. Cost £8.99 and looks like a nice kit.

    I'll post some pictures when I get home but my first observations are:

    • Nicely molded with lots of detail.
    • Painting instructions and decals to make one of eleven! different aircraft.
    • Two tire options, one with the bottoms already cut off.
    • Lots of clear parts, including the instrument panel.
    • Colour conversions for, Aqueous Hobby Color, Mr. Color, Life Color, Humbrol, Model Master Enamel and Acryl.
    • A very nicely detailed cockpit with about 12 pieces.
    • Exhausts that have to be installed before before gluing the airframe together. (I find this annoying as they will need masking.)
    • An interesting way of holding the prop in place. (Not sure how this will work just from looking at the instructions.)

  8. Finally finished my third model. A 1/72 Italeri C-47 in USAAF colours.

    2534401520_a6388df040_b.jpg

    2533585059_6037c75bd4_b.jpg

    2534398950_108d71f321_b.jpg

    2534399370_ef28c193d1_b.jpg

    2533582599_a50ebbd934_b.jpg

    More here: http://flickr.com/photos/jazzy_jase/

    This was my first proper attempt at re-scribing after sanding and I made a few mistakes. A few join marks are still showing and the invasion stripes around the fuselage are a little wonky/not parallel, but apart from that, I'm happy.

    Next I'm going to make two Tamiya P-51D's.

    All comments welcome.

  9. I haven't used Xtracrylics, but I use Model Air almost exclusively. I really like them. Yes, sometimes I find getting the right colour match a pain, but I find them really easy to use. The dropper bottles they come in are great. I mostly use them neat, but sometimes thin them with Tamiya thinners or the Vallejo stuff.

    I clean my airbrush using the Vallejo Airbrush cleaner, which I'm told you can dilute with water to make it last longer!

    I hand paint small details, interiors and wheels with them and have no problems.

    FYI, from my colour charts I've got RLM04 as FS33538, which matches to Model Air 71002... Yellow! :)

  10. Thanks turnerdad. I'm really happy with it. The paint looks a little rough in the pictures, but you can't really see it with the naked eye, so I'm going to leave it as it is.

    It was actually the Vallejo Gloss varnish that went on rough. I used it unthinned and it didn't cover very well. I thinned the Matt coat 50/50 with Tamiya thinners and it went on lovely.

    I'm looking forward to staring the next one!

  11. Finally finished my second model. A 1/72 Tamiya F4U-1A Corsair.

    2445806915_33762fa4e3_b.jpg

    2446637648_abcb73af35_b.jpg

    2446650762_9c2ae02748_b.jpg

    2446652584_7737f949c4_b.jpg

    2446653512_b2cbe0a10b_b.jpg

    2445824539_b150dda426_b.jpg

    2446646696_42c4eefdb2_b.jpg

    2445817623_18d5f55810_b.jpg

    Built OOB using Vallejo Air paints and an Eduard canopy mask.

    My thoughts on this build are:

    This is my first completed model using an airbrush and I feel the paint finish could be a little smoother.

    It's also my first time weathering, which maybe is a little OTT.

    Next model for me is a 1/72 Italeri C-47 Skytrain, which I'm going to finish in USAAF colours.

  12. My thoughts too. I would do exactly that, there is really not a lot of need to worry about washing and weathering the canopy frames. The gloss is only needed for decaling anyhow. So mask up the whole canopy area, gloss, decal, wash and weather then matt varnish and unmask - simple :shrug:

    OK, I get it now. I wasn't sure whether the canopy frames would need a matt varnish to give it the same finish as the rest of the model but from the replies I've got that looks like a no.

    Thanks everyone.

  13. Why do you need a new mask? You've applied the paint, which is presumably matt as you need to apply gloss for the decals. Why not just cover the whole lot up and unmask when you've applied the matt cote?

    Best

    Rich

    I guess that could work. The canopy frames would be left un-varnished (or glossed) but I could probably fix that with a fine paintbrush.

×
×
  • Create New...