Heather Kay

Cheers Chris. I am, however, keen to limit the variety of paints and their various thinners I have to store. I think that makes me very unusual among modellers! Oh, for the good old days of just needing the right Airfix or Humbrol numbers!

I grew up using enamels, and belatedly discovered the joys of acrylics for recent work. For my French projects, though, I found it all but impossible to find an acrylic manufacturer that could provide what I deemed the "correct" colours. Life's a bit too short to try mixing and matching near enough colours. From the various Heller boxings I have in the stash, I tried to source Humbrol colours, but oddly many are not available in acrylic, only enamel. I ended up going with Colourcoats. They have a range that provides colours for French, Dutch and Italian aircraft. Going back to enamels felt like a mis-step, but apart from the probably self-inflicted issues already noted I’ve found them easy to use. Last night I risked a further brushed coat of light grey. It only bloomin' worked!

A quick update. The three multicoloured planes showing their colours. I resorted to brush-painting the Colourcoats enamels to touch in edges and cover over the pesky pencil marks that I couldn’t erase. I can’t account for the variations in finish - my brush marks aside. Some of the colours spray satin, some spray matt. It doesn’t really matter, as I need a gloss coat for the decals anyway. Hopefully the brush marks, which I’ve tried to keep minimal, will disappear under a matt varnish layer. Underneath is a somewhat different story. It began with the Morane, which you will recall has a simple matt black and light sky grey livery. I sprayed the grey over the primer a day or three ago. Using masking fluid, I covered the underside, and painted the black. Once dry enough, I removed the masking - along with the paint and primer. Now, I’ve had this happen before, with monotonous regularity. In fact, so regular now I’m tempted to give up painting models altogether! Anyway, after saying a few fruity words, I cleaned things up and considered my options. With nothing to lose, since I’d have to strip the entire model if it got any worse, I tried brushing a new undercoat of that throwaway Humbrol acrylic stuff they put in the gift sets. When it had dried, I tried brushing the enamel colour, and it seemed to work. Buoyed by that success, I thought it worth trying to brush paint the undersides of the other planes. Guess what? The first thinned coat was okay. Of course, the second thinned coat started to lift the first coat again - this happened before in this very thread - but I’m going to persevere this time. I’ll let things gas off and harden for a few days at room temperature, and try another coat. I really, really, do not fancy attempting any masking for airbrushing, because it’s a dead cert it’ll be a nasty mess. Yes, the Dewoitine undercarriage is broken. I took the leg out after the wheel came adrift. Anyway, onwards!

I was going to add my one into this session, but it’s surprising as to how big the plane was. It’s not a tiny fighter, but has a massive wingspan akin to a Swordfish. I don’t have display room at present, so the 117 will remain on the shelf for a while longer.

Well, that went better than I had hoped. I’ll let things dry for the night, strip the masking first thing in the morning before I get stuck into proper work, and see what rectification might be needed. Next job will be masking the three multicoloured planes so the undersides can be painted. The little black number on the end just needs a coat of gloss. I reckon that was a good afternoon's work.

It's too late for that. Terminal bewilderment is my normal state these days. As I've discovered. Now, if I could just get the stuff to follow my pencil guidelines I'll be a happy bunny. As things stand, the masking came off after about an hour of the paint application without fuss. It's not fully dry, but dry enough for me to consider the masking for green camo colour. If that works, I'll leave things alone to dry for a week or so while I get on with "proper" work.

For the fussy three colour camo I’m experimenting with Maskol. I roughed out the shapes with a soft artist's pencil, then blobbed the masking fluid on with a cotton bud. The dark grey was the base coat, and I’ve masked for the burnt earth. Once that’s dried, I’ll peel it all off and do it again for the grass green. I said it was fussy.

Right, where were we? These kinds of interregnums will be much to the fore this coming year as I attempt to scale the mountain of commissioned work before me. Messrs Bloch, Dewoitine and Curtiss have been sitting on my bench, letting the first camo colour dry off. The Morane is currently in the paint shop after a cheeky blast of primer a week ago. Really? That long? Yup. Today, having got the chore of completing my tax return out of the way (quite why I leave it until almost the last possible minute every year defeats me, but I’m not the only one), and with ambient temperatures in the early teens Celsius, I thought I’d treat myself to some quality airbrush time. Well, quality time, if not airbrushing. First, though, I suspect I should sort out some masking on the three in this picture. The Morane is slated for an unusual black finish with sky grey undersurfaces, so that will make things a bit simpler.

Yes, the thought had occurred. Of course, the dreaded age thing also hits at certain points. Double whammy.

I left school without the proper results I needed for my original plans. After various dead-end jobs, I ended up in a civil engineering drawing office "because you can draw". I didn’t really enjoy the job, flunked out of the day release course as it didn’t seem to match with what I was actually doing in my job, and finally realised I really wanted to be a graphic designer. My parents didn’t seem at all keen on helping me go to art college, and I ended up moving an entire county to go and live with someone I had fallen in love with. Time passes, and I went through various dead-end jobs - spot a pattern? - eventually setting up a small business trying to be a graphic designer. Eventually, I fell on my feet a found a full time job in the studio of a small printers. I learned a lot about printing, graphics, design, typography, and was completely overlooked for promotion. So, after 13 years I went out on my own again. Time, as it does, passes. I couldn’t get the business going, had another full-time job as a designer and production manager for an advertising company. They went bust, made me redundant, and I tried the freelance/self-employed route again. After the 2008 crash, it really wasn’t working, and I thrashed around, doing all kinds of temporary and agency work, until a friend asked me if I would build a model railway coach for him. Inside a year I was building full-time, doing things like this: I'll never be a millionaire, but it keeps me occupied. In many ways, I suppose it is my dream job, but turning a hobby into a business is not all that easy.

Welcome Jade! Always nice to see another female modeller join the fun.

That’s understood. It’s a shame, though, as the old tool is a bit of a dog's breakfast. I suppose I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for a Special Hobby Battle.

Fairey Battle is missing there. Apart from the potential of a new tool Hampden, the Battle is missing from the early WW2 Bomber Command lineup.

I’m still watching your soldering adventures with interest. I wonder if you’ve considered solder paste or cream? http://www.finescale.org.uk/index.php?route=product/product&keyword=Solder pa&product_id=3712 The wonder of such things is it is flux and solder combined. I use it for detailing work, and in conjunction with a resistance soldering unit (a story for another day). You clean the areas you want to join, dab some solder paste on them, and apply the heat. It often needs little cleaning up, aside from an occasional wipe over to remove excess paste that hasn’t turned to alloy. Just a friendly nudge. I have no particular affiliation with the vendor above, as my current stock was supplied by Eileen's Emporium and is in a syringe for easier application.

I have to say I’ve been wondering about just this issue for my own Albatross. I’m hoping to build the same aircraft as the OP. I know officially it was supposed to be yellow underneath. Like Dave I wonder if they retained the pre-impressed silver/aluminium, or did receive a coat of Sky. I wonder if we’ll ever get a definitive answer!