Jump to content

Chanex

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    92

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Chanex

    An early Aeroflot Ilyushin IL-18 in 1/144

    in Ready for Inspection - Aircraft

    Posted

    18 hours ago, Skodadriver said:

    Thanks for your interest and encouragement everybody. It's greatly appreciated.

     

     

    Thanks Nick. 

     

    AK Interactive Xtreme Metal (not to be confused with their True Metal) is very easy to use. I could never get along with Alclad but AK is a whole different experience and much more paint-like. There are several excellent videos on YouTube which are well worth a look,  particularly one by Flory Models.

     

    For what it's worth I primed the IL-18 with Halfords Grey Primer which I rubbed down lightly with 1200 wet and dry then polished with 0000 grade steel wool. I then masked everything that wasn't white and sprayed the upper fuselage with Halfords Appliance White decanted into my airbrush. Once that was dry I masked the white and sprayed the natural metal areas with Tamiya TS-17 Polished Aluminium straight from the can. I find it makes a good base for the AK - it's very tough and being metallic it shows up any flaws I have missed. Once it was dry I polished it with Micromesh starting with 3600 grade and finishing with 12000. Then I sprayed the AK gradually building up several light coats until I was happy with the result. That's really about it. I stress that's only my own rather idiosyncratic way of going about things, other ideas are available!  

     

    AK is very forgiving - if you find you've missed a bit of orange peel or another flaw, just rub it down lightly (I'd probably use 6000 grade Micromesh) and re-spray the affected area. It's also very resistant to handling and it can be masked without any ill-effects although Tamiya yellow tape sometimes leaves a sort of greasy residue which needs to be removed. (Use a cotton bud moistened with saliva). 

     

    My advice would be to have a look at YouTube then experiment with an old model or a cheap kit before tackling your masterpiece.

     

     

    Thanks Ian.

     

    I've never hidden my dislike of all things Eastern Express (Tristars excepted) but I have heard good reports about their IL-18. Over on Airliner Cafe Al Lees has done a very nice Aero Caribbean one. I know he rates the kit but even Al's advocacy won't tempt me, certainly not as long as the RusAir kit continues to be available.

     

    Size-wise the IL-18 is very similar to the Vanguard. I agree with @Sky Keg that even in airline livery there's something faintly menacing about it, I'm not sure exactly what it is but RusAir definitely capture the feel of the real thing.

     

    I've also wondered what the little fences/tabs are for but they aren't mentioned in the otherwise comprehensive Aerofax book and will have to remain mysterious! They are visible in every photo of a civilian IL-18 that I've seen, irrespective of airline.

     

    I totally agree about the plain windows. PAS have produced nice window decals for several Eastern bloc aircraft (I used them when I built an An-72 several years ago) but for some reason they have omitted the IL-18. The main reason I wanted to use the Revaro decals was because their windows, although not fully "photo real", were a lot better than the kit items but as I said at the start that didn't exactly go as planned. I really must learn to make my own.

     

    Still trying to finish one more model for the Scot Nats next weekend but it isn't even painted yet and it's looking less and less likely!

     

    Thanks for the info and recommendations Dave, and I’ll certainly check out the You Tube videos.

    cheers,

    Nick

    • Like 1

    BCAL's hotrod (what if/nearly was)

    in Ready for Inspection - Aircraft

    Posted

    6 hours ago, Turbofan said:

    Hi Nick,

    Generally I don't like 'what ifs' but this one really has something! Fantastic job on the cheatline, especially difficult with the thin white stripes.

    It must just be the 500 which has the problem with the fuselage/tail joint I've heard the 200 fits perfectly. No signs of any steps I can see though!

    Great to see another TriStar especially one with AA windows!

    Looking forward to seeing your 747SP.

    Cheers,

    Ian

    Hi Ian,

    Thanks for the comments. Tbh I wouldn’t generally do what-ifs myself, but given that this one so nearly could have been a reality, curiosity got the better of me!

    cheers Nick.

    BCAL's hotrod (what if/nearly was)

    in Ready for Inspection - Aircraft

    Posted

    7 hours ago, pinky coffeeboat said:

    Splendid job. The BCal livery looks very good on the TriStar especially how you did the tail, instead of painting it entirely blue. It's a shame the EE kit fought you.

    Thanks for sharing your work.

     

    Jeff

    Thanks Jeff, I tried to keep the scheme as near to the one applied to BCAL’s intial DC-10 deliveries, and figured it was similar enough to their then current 1-11/707 fleet.

     

    cheers, Nick.

×
×
  • Create New...