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ColonelKrypton

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Everything posted by ColonelKrypton

  1. Online pictures can be deceiving. Deciding when to stop is always a challenge. Sometimes when I ask myself if I should add just a bit more it is usually a sign that I stop there. I tend to aim for subtle. Based on what I see in the photo's I would leave it as is unless there are some areas which are truly too thinly coated. If there is enough coverage but the feeling is that the surface is a bit rough uneven, you might consider a very light wet rubbing with something like 1200 or 1500 or 2000 grit sanding sponge. This too would help blend everything together and leave a more satin finish in preparation for decals. Once you have a done a bit of a bit of panel line washes, get your decals on and a final matt clear coat everything should better blend together. Keep trying different things and see what works for you to create the effect that you are looking for. Plastic food containers ( not the foam type ) are good materials on which to practice and play on. Give them a good wash with warm water and dish soap ( washing up liquid ). Put on a bit of primer and have a play. And, something else to consider is to pick up a couple of bottles of inexpensive Dollar Store or craft store craft acrylics. These are water based and very similar to your typical hobby water based acrylics. You will find that they are bit thicker but you can thin them using the same materials as you have been using with Vallejo paints. Take the time to experiment and play to get a feel for the materials. And just to sidetrack the discussion a wee bit, I stumbled across this video youtube the other day and found it quite interesting. One of the techniques the author uses is to spray with water what he is painting before applying the acrylic paint with a brush. I haven't tried this yet but it is on my list have a play and see how it works - perhaps it will be something new I can make use of. Have a look at some of this other videos - all very well done and full of interesting ideas and tips. cheers, Graham ( Ancora imparo - Michelangelo )
  2. That is looking quite nice, well done. cheers, Graham
  3. Indeed I would but these whaling boats were working boats and would not be spit and polished with fine varnished wood work so the choice becomes realistic or Grand Operatic Style - me thinks I would prefer the later. cheers, Graham
  4. Arrrrr.... ( still practicing my pirate speak ) Just trying to keep up with all the postings in this Salty Sea Dog group build is a tiring chore in itself ; so many interesting builds and much delightful and entertaining banter. I stumbled across this interesting and inspiring youtube video of building a model fishing boat. This guy's channel has many interesting builds - lots of tips and inspiration. I am off to the workshop now that I have been inspired. cheers, Graham
  5. Where is that "Wow!" button when you need one. Indeed, very nice. cheers, Graham
  6. Very nicely done. Looks more like a larger scale than 1/57th. I will have a look for some of these kits, might be worth exploring. cheers, Graham
  7. Analysis paralysis. I have to keep kicking myself in an effort to keep me from over thinking too many things. In part of which, as enjoyable as just trying to keep up with follow the wonderous day of the Salty Sea Dogs, enough analysis - time to put on my coat, grab a shovel, and clean up some of the wonderous white stuff from winters latest Nor'easter. cheers, Graham
  8. What for is the purpose of a challenge if not to find an answer? That in itself is enough reward for the pursuit. Embrace the journey, reach for the brass ring just beyond your grasp. Never give up, never surrender. cheers, Graham
  9. It is good to see that @Troy Smith has posted a link to @PlaStix well done and very helpful youtube video. Brushes - as already noted a good flat brush is the best choice for broad flat surfaces. I use either a flat brush or a filbert ( nearly the same as a flat but has a rounded end ). Number 10 size seems to be what I grab which is about 10 to 11 mm wide. Good quality artists brushes are a good choice keeping in mind that acrylic paints and painting models can be a bit hard on brushes so it does pay to shop around and try different brands. I have some dollar store brushes work quite nicely for general use and some expensive artists brushes that I just don't get along with . One more comment on thinning and thinners. When you add thinners be it water or some other solvent to any paint you will (obviously) be thinning the paint by adding more of that water or some other solvent that has already been used to make that paint ( stating the obvious ). Paints are a balance of primarily pigment, binder, and solvents. The binder is what in the end creates the coating on the painted part after the solvents and dissipated. There is a risk when you add too much thinner to a paint that you will cause that balance to break down causing the paint to lose or start to lose those properties which make it a paint. This is why makers of acrylic paints like Golden and Liquitex make various acrylic mediums for use with their paints which allows users to adjust the viscosity and other properties of their paint to suit their needs be it applying with a brush or an airbrush. These manufacturers typically recommend thinning no more than 10 to 1 ( 10 parts paint - 1 part water) but in the case of the use of the airbrush medium they suggest 1 to 1. I read so many tales of struggles and problems on this subject with so many trying various Witch's Brews of homemade thinners and remedies recommended by friends of friends. Brings to mind the old saying of "penny wise, pound foolish". My apologizes for being a bit long winded on the subject. cheers, Graham
  10. Or something similar like a "Wow!" "Like" is just so benign and unemotional. cheers, Graham
  11. Arrrrrr... ( practicing my pirate speak ) I am getting in the mood of the Salty Sea Dog group build; never know what I might start on tomorrow. Nothing ventured, nothing gained - you always seem to have something interesting brewing up. You must be a juggler keeping all of those various builds on the go. cheers, Graham
  12. Using water ( distilled water is the better choice ) to thin water based acrylics like Vallejo is tried and true. However, you may find that you get better results is you also add some retarder medium to your paint mix. As the name suggests, this retards or slows down the drying the time of the paint mix allowing brush strokes to settle out. Better yet, use Vallejo airbrush thinner or airbrush cleaner ( both are pretty much the same thing according to what I can see in their safety data sheets ). These products already contain retarder and flow improver. The larger bottles are good value for the money. Another alternative is to use what is called air brush medium. Golden and Liquitex market very nice products. These are basically acrylic paint without pigment plus retarder and flow improvers and are not just for preparing for airbrushing. I use them for general thinning of water based acrylic paints for both air brushing and for use with brushes. The larger 8oz bottles are good value for the money. cheers, Graham
  13. Day four Work continues at a slow but steady pace. Major components of chassis and body work have been assembled and these is not much more to say about that. Not any bigger than the Austin armoured car - right around 70mm in length. Hard to set up a simple a photo to show what work has been done. Working on these wee warriors has had me revisit and appreciate the simple scraper. We have all or at least most model builders will have used the sharp edge of their model knife, be it an Exacto or scalpel, to scrape along an edge or join to remove plastic; usually as a preface to further work with a fine sanding stick or file. Anyone who has done this will have experienced the effect where the scrapped surface ends up a bit wavy and not as smooth as desired. What is happening is that the knife blade and in particular the edge is very thin and it is in fact flexing and vibrating - the machine shop term is chattering. I have been experimenting and looking around for a better mouse trap - something stiffer and without as sharp an edge as a knife blade. In the background of the above photo you will note what looks like a hobby knife. This is a Slice (brand name) knife handle which has a ceramic knife blade shaped much like the typical Exacto #11 or #10A scalpel blade except the tip is rounded rather pointed. Getting into cramped and small spaces is where I am finding scraper useful and the thicker and stiffer ceramic blade is far less prone to chatter leaving a better surface. These ceramic blades are not much use for cutting and trimming plastic bits from model trees but they are stiffer and the edge has a different geometry to a typical knife blade. Advertised as being sharp and also safer. It is the cutting edge geometry which provides these two seemingly polar opposite properties. The image shows the ceramic blade geometry on the left edge (bottom) compared to a typical knife edge. I have never been brave enough to give one a "try it on my finger tip test" but the ceramic blade does nicely cut paper but not for trimming bits of plastic on a tree. The right angle edge of the back side of blade works well for some scrapping too. In any case, this geometry does make the blade stiffer and it does work well as a scrapper for plastic. These blades are also harder than steel blades i.e. 8.1 vs 4.5 mohs. Mohs is not your typical hardness measurement for steel knife blades ( often given as something on the Rockwell scale ). Diamonds are 10 moh. Not inexpensive so not for everyone. cheers, Graham
  14. Also not recommended That some have been using Future/Klear is just luck on their part. I would agree with Casey's points on this. I tried Mission Model Paints and had no end of issues and I followed their instructions to the letter using Mission Models thinner and Poly. I would apply paint to a plain un-primed piece of styrene and a well prepared primed piece of styrene and the paint just did not cure as expected. After 1 day, 2 days, a week, two weeks; the paint would be dry and should have cured but a simple swipe with a cotton bud dipped in distilled water would cause the paint the just wash/wipe off. Acrylic paints should never do this. Missions Models never did answer my queries on this. I suspect that the paint I was using had one time been frozen or nearly so causing some sort of breakdown in it's chemistry. There are many warnings from acrylic paint makers to prevent freezing. cheers, Graham
  15. Yes and no ( according to their FAQ web page - about 1/4 way down ) https://www.missionmodelsus.com/pages/tips-and-tricks-faq They indicate that water will work but use only distilled water. Mission Model Paints are a water based acrylic - do not use alcohol or anything containing alcohol i.e. Tamiya X-20A. Vallejo airbrush thinner may work but better test first. And as per the Mission Models FAQ - do not over thin. cheers, Graham
  16. Your Austin is coming together nicely. I really like the level detail in this kit. I like the subject and I recently finished one in 72nd scale; seeing yours is tempting me to get one of the larger 35th scale kits too. cheers, Graham
  17. All of that photo etch is really bringing the model to life. It should look even better once you get some primer and paint on. cheers, Graham
  18. Day one. Reviewed the instructions and clipped out most of the parts from the sprues. Organized my thoughts and gathered those bits which would need some interior paint before assembly. I have chosen a version which did not have the front and rear fenders. This required trimming off a few tiny bits from around the rear fender area and filling several locating slots for the kits fenders. A bit of spray can dark grey on the interior bits and the prep work for day one is complete. If you were wondering what that white bit is that the model parts are resting on - it is a small ceramic tile. Tough, smooth, and nearly perfectly flat. Makes for a nice building board on which to assemble. cheers, Graham
  19. There is just a bit more than a month til this group build ends and this should be more than enough time to put together one of Copper State Models Wee Warrior 72nd scale Autoblinda 1ZM. This is a wonderful kit - lots of nice crisp and fine detail which will keep me from getting carried away trying to add more. My intention is to build out of the box with little or none additions. Copper State Models make some very nice 1/32 Great War aeroplane and 1/35 Great War era armoured cars but so far only one 72nd scale. I am hoping that they release other similar 72nd scale kits - time will tell. Not a lot of parts ( one of the advantages of these small kits ) and simple paint schemes. Should be a quick build. cheers, Graham
  20. Nicely done. Interesting historical tid bit on why the colour is blue - I learn something new everyday. cheers, Graham
  21. Agreed. Even for those that have been in the hobby for many years are discovering some of their old familiar materials disappearing and being replaced with an ever growing and bewildering array of new products. Sometime too much choice is no better than too little choice. cheers, Graham
  22. Trevor, thank you for thinking that the B&W photo is one of my model. I would have succeeded greatly if I could have build this 72nd scale kit into something that looked that good. Fact is, the B&W photo is one of the real vehicle and was the inspiration for my model. cheers, Graham
  23. Thank you John. I thrive on the challenge of trying new things, extending my skill set, reaching for that something that is just beyond my grasp. Sometimes I succeed, often I fail but always learn something new. Having a go at something in this small scale ticked off all of those boxes. I enjoyed this build. So much so that there is enough time left in the group build that I have started another similar kit but this time I will take an path of out of the box. The kit for this second build is a modern very well done 72nd scale and should build up nicely without feeling the need to add a lot of extra detail. This Master Box kit was a nice kit, head and shoulders above in quality and design than those much earlier Airfix 72nd and 76th AFV kits and the other kit I am starting is head and shoulders above the Master Box. I will be starting another build thread shortly. cheers, Graham
  24. Master Box Wee Warrior 72nd scale Austin Serie IV armoured car is complete. Cheers, Graham
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