Grounded Pilot

Just a quick update. I tried removing the varnish with white spirit and cotton buds but couldn't get it to work the way I wanted. Not sure if this was due to leaving it too late after applying the varnish or lack of patience on my part. Anyway, I removed a piece of masking tape that was covering the back of the fuselage and, as luck would have it, it lifted some of the varnish too. After careful investigation I found that the varnish could be lifted off with masking tape without damaging the Klear underneath and so I now have a nice shiny Lancaster again!! Unfortunately some of the decals got damaged but I wasn't too happy with these anyway so this will give me an excuse to have another go. I managed to avoid damaging the aircraft-specific markings too much so I just need a few of the generic ones. While I wait for replacement decals to arrive I have sprayed the redundant bomb bay doors black and will experiment with matt finishes on this before I go back to the main model. John B, although the real aircraft wouldn't have been pristine by the time of the raid I tend to avoid weathering on my models as I can never achieve a weathered look that I think looks realistic, with the sole exception of a Finemolds X-wing a while back. I'm going to have a go at exhaust staining on my Lanc since it's so prominent but that will be it. Thanks for the suggestion anyway. Graeme

Applying more Klear doesn't seem to have worked for me either so I guess it's time for the White Spirit, cotton buds, and a lot of patience! Thanks again, Graeme

Thanks for the responses so far. I have tried applying more Klear and will check the results when I get home from work tonight. Does anyone have any ideas what could have caused this in the first place? I don't want to end up in the same position again.

Hi, I'm nearing the end of a long project to build Dambusters Lancaster ED932 in 1/72. The reason it's taken so long has a lot to do with this being my first experiment with photo-etch (flaps and turret detail), resin (carb intakes and wheels) and scratchbuilding (almost all of the interior back to the front wing spar, and undercarriage bays). As for the painting, the colours went on with Humbrol enamels, followed by Klear, decals, and another coat of Klear before dulling down to a matt finish. And that's where it all went wrong. I airbrushed Humbrol Matt Varnish (out of the small tin but having read other threads I now know that wasn't a good idea and have purchased some MattCote in the glass jar) and ended up with very fine white spots covering the model! It's not too noticeable on the green/brown camo, but makes the black look terrible. I've included some pics below to try to illustrate the problem. As I see it, I have 3 options 1. Strip it and start again without affecting the already complete undercarriage bays and fuselage interior, 2. Try to remove the matt varnish to get back to the Klear layer underneath and have another go using the stuff from the jar this time, or 3. Live with it, finish it and move on. My preferred option would be No.2 but I don't know what to use to achieve this and don't want to rush in and end up with a bigger mess than I have already. Any advice anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Graeme Bomb Bay Rear Fuselage Forward Fuselage Under Starboard Wing