Val's Content - Page 9

January 3, 2017

Nice save. Coming on a real treat

December 26, 2016

2 hours ago, Knight_Flyer said:

Neat looking build. Hope the undercart isn't going to be a problem, looking rather fragile in your photo.

Thanks

the undercarriage is the one part of the build that was a genuine problem; one of the legs was majorly warped and I did my best to straighten it out. It's as good as I can get it without it snapping! In fact it's only straight on one side because the wheel is superglued to the door. Hoping it will last, if not I might have to reinforce with some sections with some metal rods.

December 26, 2016

14 hours ago, stevej60 said:

Superb finish on this one Val,beautiful job.

14 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Now that is a great NM finish. Even though an off modelled scheme, that finish makes it something special.

Steve.

13 hours ago, modelglue said:

Hiya Val and Merry Christmas, nice job on the 'stang! I might be alone in thinking the yellow is nicely done, but from your collection of positive comments I know I am not alone in my appreciation of the rest of it.

10 hours ago, spaddad said:

tasty

2 hours ago, BerndM said:

Cracking Mustang !

The finish with this NMF shade is absolutely flawless.

Thanks guys! Glad you like her!

1 hour ago, Andy Dyck said:

Very nice Mustang! It turns out in a perfect NMF finish! These AK extreme metals seems to be nice and may be better than Alclad?? Last times I only have problems with these Alclad colours. What do you think Val ?

A merry Christmas

Andy

Cheers Andy

so, I've never used Alclads metal colours but I've got to say the AK paints are very easy to use. I did polish up the kit plastic with micromesh but not sure that's totally nessecary, unlike Alclad. The AK Black Base primer went down very smoothly at around 20psi, and then I just chucked the paint on at around 15psi. They don't seem to mind any air pressure and as long as an area isn't totally flooded, it self-levels a treat, I just put a couple of thin-ish layers down and left it there. The only thing I had issues with was masking. Even detacked Tamiya tape still lifted it places, but touching the paintwork in was easy as you can drop the air pressure down and get in really close. You can't see the touch-ins when they are dry. I'd also so say the AK Guazy Agent Shine Enhancer gloss varnish is excellent and doesn't diminish the metal look at all. I masked up the olive drab panel at the front last of all (after about 3 coats of shine enhancer) and the metal work didn't lift at all.

I've seen Alclad finishes that are every bit as good as AK, but from what I understand they require much more preparation and a lot harder to use. I'd recommend this AK stuff any day

val

December 26, 2016

That absolute legend Santa Claus dropped one of these off under my tree too, so looking forward to watching yours come together

December 25, 2016

Cheers Stew, and to you

December 25, 2016

17 hours ago, GREG DESTEC said:

Superb finish Val. Well done. cheers Greg

17 hours ago, Basuroy said:

Top class model Val ! Red - aluminium combo looks so lovely

13 hours ago, doozer1974 said:

Beautiful job!

13 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Fantastic result, the NMF looks superb.

Hard to believe it's in 1/72 scale.

Very well done.

Craig.

12 hours ago, WildeSau75 said:

Great build mate - looks nice with its opponent.

Cheers,

Michael

Thank you all for you kind words!

Merry Christmas all!

val

December 24, 2016

Hi!

My little 'stang!

Kit manufacture: Airfix
Scale: 1/72
Type: North American P-51D Mustang
Extras used: Scratch seat belts from tape .
Paints and colours used: AK Xtreme Metals Aluminium, AK Dark Aluminium, AK Black Base Primer, Tamiya XF-7 flat red, XF-3 flat yellow, XF-85 Rubber black, XF-62 Olive Drab, Vallejo 71.010 Interior Green, various Vallejo colours for hand painting, AK Gauzy Agent, Flory Dark Dirt.

So this is another kit I've been working on for another group build/SIG on another forums. It was all about metal finishes, and as I've never really attempted a true NMF, I thought I'd give the new excellent AK Xtreme Metals a go.

The kit is a fantastic mojo-buster. Fit is generally excellent, detail is good, engraved panel lines are lovely. The only problems I had were a warped landing gear strut, so the wheel had to be superglued to the undercarriage door, and the antenna was so full of flash it was unusable and had to be scratched from plasticard.

I'm fairly pleased with the result of the AK Xtreme Metal and I loved the AK Gauzy agent; self levels a treat and doesn't diminish the metal finish. I did have a problem at times with the AK stuff pealing away with the masking tape despite de-tacking and leaving the paint to dry for a week at a time. However it goes on a treat and looks beautiful.

Comments, tips and feedback as always greatly appreciated.



















And here are my two latest completions hanging out with each other!



There we go! Thanks for stopping by.

Have a fantastic Christmas everyone, I hope Santa fills your stockings with plenty of kits!

Val

December 17, 2016

15 hours ago, jean said:

Hi Val,

impressive looking Zero and you sure put a lot of work into it!

Superb!

As a training plane, the underside may have been yellow-orange... a matter of taste, I guess, in the absence of a color picture.

For your info, a photo of that Zero shows the underwing Hinomaru sporting a white border.

Cheers

JR

Cheers mate yes, I know he colour you mean. To be honest, I put zero research into this build, I purely went off airfix instructions and imagination! Always appreciate historic feedback though, it's always good to learn!

12 hours ago, Mark4700 said:

Fantastic finish. Love your Zero

Cheers mate

December 17, 2016

14 hours ago, BerndM said:

Success won t come easy with these old kits but you have done a good bunch of great modelling !

Thanks mate, really kind of you to say! Yeah it's been tough work in places, but ultimately satisfying. Where I'm up to at this moment is I sanded the paint on the wings back as I didn't get a smooth finish; it was my first time using enamels in an airbrush. I've re-primed, and I just need to clean a couple of panel lines out and then I'm ready to paint again. Hope to do so over Christmas

December 16, 2016

Amazing work on those intakes

December 16, 2016

8 hours ago, Spad said:

1/72nd you say? Wicked!

Really like the rivets and weathering and you really can't beat painted markings. I am impressed with how delicate the weathering is on such a small model - very easy to go OTT in that scale.

Nice one!
ATB

Rick

BTW which part of Norfolk are you in?

Cheers Rick! It's the first time I've tried to paint on the roundels; it worked really well in this case as the aircraft is so beaten up, but I now know exactly how accurate I'd have to be on a better maintained aircraft! Had a touch of bleed though on the fuselage too due to the more complex shape.

I'm in Harleston, between Diss and Bungay in South Norfolk! I guess you can't be too far away from me!?

Val

December 15, 2016

32 minutes ago, stevej60 said:

Superb build and finish Val,outstanding paint and weathering

Cheers mate

December 15, 2016

2 hours ago, GREG DESTEC said:

Great Zero Val. I really like the finish. cheers Greg

Thanks mate

7 hours ago, Darby said:

That'll do for me. I'm also envious of the fact that you have Citadel Boltgun and Chainmail.

Cheers! Yes, that stuff is lovely! I've got to say the new Vallejo metal colour stuff is excellent too, although not sure what it's like to brush.

7 hours ago, modelglue said:

Wow that's just incredible. The closer you get the more stunning it is to look at!

Cheers mate, you're too kind

December 15, 2016

1 hour ago, Vince1159 said:

Beautiful build Val,one thing you could do is try taking your photo's outside if you can you can't beat natural light...

Thank you! Yes, I will try that, thanks. Mind you, I might have to wait a while as |I doubt I'll be seeing the sun again until March!! #BritishWeather

December 15, 2016

27 minutes ago, Meatbox8 said:

That's a beauty. The rivet detail gives it the look of a 1/48th model. As to the weathering I think it looks spot on. I don't know what is was about IJN paint but it clearly wasn't meant to last. The painted on Hinomaru look excellent.

14 minutes ago, WildeSau75 said:

Very nice build of a heavily war weary bird.

Cheers,

Michael

Cheers guys! I certainly had a lot of fun with it!

December 15, 2016

6 minutes ago, Garry c said:

The early war Japanese Navy aircraft have a red-brown primer and good paint though prone to fading. The Army aircraft were painted in the field with no primer and are famous for chipping. Late war Naval aircraft have no primer from the factory and also chip very easily. As this aircraft is an A6M2 it would of had primer and held paint well. To me, chipping on an early Zero is like a red crowbar in a Spitfire.

rant over

Garry c

Thanks for the info, I shall keep that in mind for the future.

December 15, 2016

8 hours ago, Vadim said:

Great finish. I like tough weathered models and your zero really delivers it. The only thing I would try, while making pictures, to close an apperture as much as possible to have a better depth of field. Alternatively you may use image stacking software. With a bigger dof your model would look like a 1/32 scale because of really great finish.

Cool, thanks for the tips. I've got a Tie Fighter and a Mustang nearly finished so will try to improve the pictures when they're done with your tips

5 hours ago, Garry c said:

A very nice job of weathering, however, I believe that plane is from a training school and I suspect the students would be hard at work keeping the paintwork bright and shiny.

I love the rivets and the wear on the roundels.

Garry c

Thanks Ahhh... didn't realise that! Yes, you're quite right, would probably have been kept very clean!

2 hours ago, condor1 said:

Really nice one Val, lot of detail and elbow grease . The chipping and weathering are superb.

Now I have to agree with Vadim the pictures can be improved. Use more light, lots more, dont be shy about light. Go to the higher f stop possible to get a deeper field . Finally edit your shoots, play with different adjustments and crop your frame tighter..

Back to the model, congrats , well done mate

Regards

Vultur Gryphus

Thanks for your kind words and your tips. I will try your suggestions to improve the photos on the next completed build

2 hours ago, BerndM said:

Looks great, the weathering and chipping makes it look very busy.

I share your view on this kit, typical Airfix quality. For the money you can t complain.

Agreed, it's a decent kit overall and more than worth the money for a bit of fun!

December 15, 2016

Hello!

So my Lancaster, Gnats and 727 have been on hold while I've been moonlighting on another site doing a couple of group builds... sorry! But here's the first completed build for a while, a Mitsubishi Zero.

Kit manufacture: Airfix
Scale: 1/72
Type: Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero
Extras used: Quickboost resin seat, Eduard mask set.
Paints and colours used: Citadel Mithril Silver (prop, undercarriage), Citadel Chainmail and Boltgun Metal (base coat for chipping), Tamiya XF-71 (cockpit), XF-76 (underside), XF-70 (top colour), XF-17 (engine cover, props), XF-85 (wheels), Tamiya X-13 (wheel bay), Tamiya XF-3 (yellow bits), Tamiya XF-2 and XF-7 (roundels), Vallejo Polyurethane Primer, various Vallejo colours for detail. Clear coats were AK Gauzy Shine Enhancer and Tamiya Matt Coat, washes were Flory Grime wash and AK Engine Grease. Streaks added with burnt umber oils and Tamiya weathering set.

The kit itself is good. Fit is generally excellent; basically no filleriller with the exception of the wing roots. You might get away without this with a bit of sanding etc. Detail is good. Not brilliant, but not poor either. Panel lines, in my opinion, are acceptable depth. Some areas, like the engine, I thought were really sharply detailed, as is the cockpit although you are unable to pose the canopy open OOB. Rivet detail was added by myself, and I was pleased with my first attempt. Decals are very good, although there aren't many and I masked and painted the roundels myself.

Problems with the kit are, as ever with Airfix, soft plastic and large sprue gates which means care must be taken with part removal and cleanup. Overall, very enjoyable.

Oh yeah, I beat the heck out of the paintwork, so if you're not a fan of over-weathering, look away now! I did exactly what you're not supposed to do and used imagination and other builds as references as opposed to actual photographic references. Fun it was, though!

Comments, tips and feedback as always greatly appreciated.

Oh, and apologies for my photography work!





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So there we go, thanks for stopping by,