First build in 20 years! Airfix Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero 1:72

[Homerlovesbeer]

Thanks Colin. What is micromesh?

[Andrew]

Micromesh is a system of fine sandpapers in varying grades. An example of what is contained in a standard set can be seen in this listing by 'The Sandpaper Man', who it would appear from their phone number are Queensland-based.

If the area of the residue is sticky (I'm guessing that it is), then you may want to try to remove the gum residue first before sanding the area - I think that would just add to your frustration. If you can remove the residue without affecting the paint layer beneath, then so much the better. My first attempt to lift the gum would be with standard (non-gel) toothpaste applied with a moistened cotton bud; this might be sufficient to lift the gum and only minimal amounts of paint. A cotton bud moistened with eucalyptus oil should also remove the gum. Another solvent you could try (in small doses) would be methylated spirits, but I'm almost certain that it would take take paint with it.

Of course, depending on how the preceding steps go, you may well have to do some remedial sanding of the yellow surfaces. If you don't then that's great, but I'd recommend cleaning off all traces of whatever solvent you've applied, so as to minimise hassles later on.

Hope this helps,

Andrew.

[StephenCJ]

look here

http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

[sroubos]

I had the same problem on the brown paint on this kit I built a year back, I masked it a day after spraying it to do the green camo. As you can see it cleaned up quite nicely, some high grid wet and dry (2000+) was all that was needed. Note that the finish still doesn't look perfect after the sanding, but applying the klear (or any other varnish) smoothes it out perfectly.

Not to worry

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234960687-mitsubishi-g3m-nell-model-22-ariils-models-172/

[Homerlovesbeer]

Thanks guys...I'll have a crack at repairing it over the weekend.

[Nick Millman]

Lovely job... it's easy to lose the preshading but it looks pretty good in the second picture. It's a shame there is no correct color match available for this trainer yellow.

There is. Revell 310 is @ 1.64 to the IJN colour standard C2 where < 2.0 = a close match and is good enough out of the tin.

AK Interactive have also issued an IJN acrylics paint set which contains C2. I provided them with the full size samples of paint.

The (White Ensign Models) Colourcoats ACJ19 is @ 2.42 and also a reasonable match. I understand that range is being made available again.

Humbrol 69 and Gunze H329 are approximate enough on a model taking into account weathering, etc.

Further data on the IJN yellow colours and hobby paints can be found in my 9-page pdf guide 'Orange Yellow Enigma - The Colour of IJN Training & Experimental Aircraft' which is free on request.

http://www.aviationofjapan.com/

Nick

[Bordfunker]

I've had this happen with Gunze glosses before, and as others have said a gentle sanding with a very fine wet and dry, followed by another coat of gloss and all is well.

Karl

[sroubos]

@ Nick

That's great, I'll get the Gunze you highlighted when I go shopping again. And I would love a copy of that pdf.

I must have been confused with the prototype orange, but you are probably going to tell me there's a good match for that as well

Edited April 14, 2015 by sroubos

[Nick Millman]

@ Nick

That's great, I'll get the Gunze you highlighted when I go shopping again. And I would love a copy of that pdf.

I must have been confused with the prototype orange, but you are probably going to tell me there's a good match for that as well

No such thing as 'prototype orange' - one and the same thing as trainer yellow!

Air HQ IJN issued Directive 8777 of December 1938:-

“Trainers and experimental airplanes will be painted yellow colour (黄色 - ou-shoku)”

Directive was re-confirmed throughout the war. Drop me a pm with your email address for the pdf.

Nick

[sroubos]

I didn't know that - now I definitely now I messed up with my AZ Model Ki-78... luckily there's two kits in that box

I feel like building my newly acquired Renzan now...

Dropped you a PM

Edited April 14, 2015 by sroubos

[Homerlovesbeer]

Thanks for the info Nick. I'll drop u a PM also as I'd be very appreciate of your insight

[Navy Bird]

I think I've posted this link before, but these folks in Australia are still selling Future (or Pledge One Go as it used to be called there).

http://www.polish-up.com.au/products/pledge-floor-care-multi-surface-floor-finish-798ml.html

This is an 800ml bottle - it will last almost forever. $16.49 AUS

Cheers,

Bill

[Homerlovesbeer]

Well I decided to leave the bottom for now and have a crack at the top coat.

I masked off the bottom and used Blue-Tak to create the mask effect on the side. I sprayed the paint in very fine misting coats but I think I may have done them too fine and just kept building them up so the paint never really got the "wet" effect that drys to a mirror gloss (it's gloss paint). I tested prior on the old tester model and the paints looks much better as I just plastered it on which cause the whole thing to go wet however once dried looks much better.

The Zero looks pretty decent in the flesh and the paint is still wet in these pics so hopefully with a coat of matt after decals it should look ok.

The Blue-Tak masks

I completely lost the pre shading this time as I was getting too focused on the fact it was "gloss paint" and mine was looking more semi-gloss. I kept painting to try and get it looking "gloss" but didn't want to go too heavy and completely ruin it (which I may have )

The trial old banger model on the left and how the Zero turned out.........

Oh well this kit was always going to be the learning curve after not building or painting anything in such a long time, as well as this is the first time ever using an airbrush!

Edited April 19, 2015 by Homerlovesbeer

[Homerlovesbeer]

BTW when should all the masking come off?

Edited April 19, 2015 by Homerlovesbeer

[sroubos]

Looks pretty decent to me.

I usually remove all the masking after I've done the major spray works, although you can leave it in place if you have some small areas left to do; I can't think of any on your kit.

Removing the masking is a bit like unwrapping a Christmas gift, it's quite exciting to see what the result is, and it has the same potential for disappointment if it turns out you have lots of bleeding or overspray I can't remember when I didn't have some overspray on a masking job so don't let that spoil your excitement... it's easily fixed usually.

Edited April 19, 2015 by sroubos

[Homerlovesbeer]

Thanks for the encouragement Scroubos, it's always nice reading your posts

[Navy Bird]

I agree with scroubos, I think it's good to take the masking off as soon as you can, providing of course that the paint is dry enough to touch. I'm always very careful handling the model when I take the masking off, as a big ugly fingerprint in the paint is no fun!

Did you use Gunze H59 IJN Dark Green? It's difficult to get the pre-shading to show through a really dark colour, unless you mist on a "transparent" coat. I personally don't care much for pre-shading, as I prefer post shading. But lots of modellers get some really nice effects with pre-shading, and many of their works are right here on Britmodeller. I try to look at every Ready For Inspection post that I can, always looking for new techniques that yield great results.

Cheers,

Bill

[Homerlovesbeer]

Hi Bill,

Yes I did use the Gunze H59 so I'll have a crack at post shading tomorrow and then remove the masking.

I suppose i simply use H59 and use a drop or 2 of white to lighten and spray on panels to create the effect?

Cheers guys!

[dr_gn]

I just stumbled upon this thread - good effort so far. Don't be disheartened by the tape issue. It looks to me like the main problem is the tape has given a matt/gloss demarcation to the paint. why not try spraying a coat of matt varnish over it? You may find that once it's a uniform reflectivity, the issue becomes invisible. It's a less risky strategy than sanding and repainting IMO. I always use Humbrol #49 acrylic spray can. Test it on some scrap first though!

I use preshading a lot. Each to their own, but I apply a solid base coat of final colour, then preshade, then apply a thin overcoat of final colour. This way you are less likely to totally obscure your preshading becasue the undercoat/primer is already a solid colour. You could easily do this now - apply the preshade over the green, then overspray a thinned coat.

The other thing I do with very dark colours (e.g. black) is to use a light colour (e.g. off-white) to preshade.

Just try stuff!

Edited April 19, 2015 by dr_gn

[Navy Bird]

Hi Bill,

Yes I did use the Gunze H59 so I'll have a crack at post shading tomorrow and then remove the masking.

I suppose i simply use H59 and use a drop or 2 of white to lighten and spray on panels to create the effect?

Cheers guys!

Right. Lighten the paint and spray on the interior of the panels, or you can spray patterns that match areas that get wear and tear or fading from the sun. Some post shading could follow the flow of air across the wings. You can get pretty creative here, you don't have to follow the panel lines. On big bombers I'll use post shading to simulate shadows from the ripples you see in the fuselage. Take a look at photos of real Zeroes from the war and see if you can find some examples.

dr_gn - interesting technique. You post shade the base coat which then serves as a pre-shade for your top coat. I'll have to give that a go sometime.

Cheers,

Bill

[dr_gn]

Yes Bill, I find that preshading from primer is way too difficult since you are having to both cover the primer AND allow the preshade to show through to a very subtle degree (at least I try to make it subtle). These are two conflicting requirements. Therefore my method is to separate the operations: Cover the primer/bare plastic, then preshade. Overcoating with thinned topcoat allows you to have almost total control over the result.

I don't/can't do postshading becasue I'm not accurate enough with the airbrush to get the panel lines perfectly defined. Preshading blurs the effect so much as to make accurate airbrushed lines less important. Having said that, the neater and finer you can do the initial preshde the better.

Opinions will obviously vary on this...

Edited April 19, 2015 by dr_gn

[CedB]

Homer, g'day mate (is that right?)

I've seen your post before but the Zero put me off. I only do WWII Europe but, like you, I'm back to the hobby after a really long break.

Have a look a my WiPs for some pathetic attempts with other BMers coming to the rescue.

Also, have a look at Paul Buzniks videos on YouTube, especially the one about canopies - with the right blade and Tamiya tape you can save yourself money and pain!

Following now and impressed by your stash - I thought I was a shopper!

Welcome back!

[dr_gn]

What stops me from cutting tape on the canopy, is that one slip of the knife and the canopy could be ruined, plus you need well defined framing to get straight lines. I always cut out thin (0.5mm-1.0mm) strips of Tamiya tape to 'frame' individual panels, then infill with a mosaic of tape. It's not the quickest method, but it's possibly the safest.

[sroubos]

I only do the cutting method on (older) kits with heavily defined frames, such as can be found on most Matchbox kits.

If available I always use a mask nowadays. If not, I use dr-gn's method, which does indeed take more time but is the safest course of action. It's easy to slip with a knife because of the pressure you need to exert to cut through the tape, however little is required. Using a new, sharp blade will reduce the required pressure and consequently also the chances of slipping, so it is the way to go if you are opting for this method.

I like the comments on pre-shading. The 'base coat - preshade - final coat' is a good idea for darker colors, I will definitely try that out some time soon.

[Homerlovesbeer]

Thanks guys,

The oval windows on the Zero are pretty much IMPOSSIBLE to mask with tape and a knife but thanks for the link CedB. I'm a subscriber to his youtube channel and have watched everything he's done. He's amazing!

I think I'll just put a coat of clear over the bottom and see how it goes. I hope with deacals and weathering plus a final matt coat the Tamiya incident will not be too noticeable.

I decided to mimic Bill (yet again, sorry mate ) so had a crack at post shading the green and I think it turned out ok. It took AGES to get the colour to suit. I kept adding white but the shade didn't really change. Confused I inspected my white Gunze bottle and found the white pigment solid on the bottom even after LOTS of shaking and banging. Essentially I was simply adding white coloured thinner to my airbrush cup of of my paint pot doh!

I took a Tamiya paint stirrer and mixed it up REALLY well and added to the airbrush and after a couple of adjustments and needing to add more green I finally got the shade correct (I think).

An outdoors shot.

After Post shading (colours are off under the LED lighting) and canopy glued in place

And then I unwrapped

So I think it doesn't look too bad

Edited April 20, 2015 by Homerlovesbeer