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Showing results for tags 'Sword 1/72 T Mk 4'.
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Hello all! I have been a bit of a fan of the EE Lightning ever since around about 1970 when I was lucky enough to sit in the cockpit of a 74 Squadron plane in RAF Tengah, Singapore. As a young lad, the aircraft seemed huge, and certainly made a big impression on me. I have always liked to build Lightnings, including the old favourite Airfix 111 Squadron one. However, I have frequently failed with the metal airframe. Brush painted Humbrol 11 Silver Fox never quite looked right. A couple of years ago I built Airfix's F2A and tried Humbrol Metalcote Aluminium, which was nearer the mark, but not quite right. However, I did use Mr Metal Color for the nose ring, and it looked good, so I wondered if I could use the same technique on the whole plane. So I started the Sword T4. From the outset this was a test bed for the paint work, so I made no modifications, so please forgive things like the wrong instrument panel and the over long cable ducts on the fuselage sides. I also used photo etch on a plane for the first time ( I think!) and it was the first non mainstream injection moulded kit for a long time too. Enough waffle, here are the results: As I mentioned above, I used Mr Metal Color Aluminium for the wings, Stainless Steel for the fuselage and Iron for assorted panels. I do not have an airbrush, so it is all brush painted. First up, I polished the life out of the surfaces with Micromesh cloths all the way down to 12000 grit, the got an old brush (quite a large one) that had seen better days. I shook the pot of paint vigorously for a minute or two, then used the paint that had collected on the lid. I dabbed the brush into the paint, then really rubbed it hard onto the surface a few panels at a time. I did this a few times to get the wing finished, but as time went on, I got to shaking the paint more frequently and recharged the lid. By the time I had completed one surface, the paint was dry enough to buff up. I used a Kleenex tissue (other brands are available!) as my polishing cloth and soon had a nice shiny surface. I repainted the various panels with Iron using a smaller old brush and buffed them up too The whole plane took only about 1 hour to complete as far as the Natural Metal finish was concerned. I have to admit that the unpolished paint will look a mess, brush strokes everywhere, but it all magically goes away when you polish it up! The finish is quite hardwearing, but I did use linen gloved when handling the model. I have not varnished or weathered the plane, but may well do now I have taken these photographs. I think it is now too shiny a metal finish, but to my blinkered eyes it is one of the better finished I have had. I still need practice, before I attempt my 1/48th scale Airfix kit. Any comments or advice would be great. Thanks for looking, Ray. PS I thought the Sword kit was pretty good and did not have too many constructional issues with it, except for the wing angles - these do not droop enough!