zdfgdcv Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Graveszie, have you considered using a fan( with waterproof electrics or boxed in ) to simulate airflow as I am sure these birds did stretch thier wings occasionally and it would balance out the weathering a little? Great idea by the way and the au natural way of doing it fits in with my slow build rate Truth be told I hadn't thought of that. This experiment is really a test to see what sort of thing I can expect from leaving a model in the weather. If the results are a properly weathered Vulcan then I will look to build one specifically for natural weathering. I may use your idea. It is true, Vulcans very much spread their wings. Thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear13583 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Couldn't you just mount it vertically every few weeks instead? A great idea tho. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 So Adam, It looks like the natural weathering is doing splendidly. The hues are changing... I want to ask you though : Has anyone tried to steal it from your Nans Garden while it is out in all weather conditions. Like the opportunist burglar or kids on the prowl? Hope it is safe and stays that way while it is outside... I wouldn't be able to sleep thinking it might get stolen... I cant wait for the end result... I think it will look like the real aircrafts left outside .. Good luck and keep us posted .. thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Interesting experiment....perhaps leave a year to fade the paint, then put the decals on? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdfgdcv Posted July 26, 2015 Author Share Posted July 26, 2015 So Adam, It looks like the natural weathering is doing splendidly. The hues are changing... I want to ask you though : Has anyone tried to steal it from your Nans Garden while it is out in all weather conditions. Like the opportunist burglar or kids on the prowl? Hope it is safe and stays that way while it is outside... I wouldn't be able to sleep thinking it might get stolen... I cant wait for the end result... I think it will look like the real aircrafts left outside .. Good luck and keep us posted .. thank you. Thanks very much Houston, Fortunately the garden is surrounded on two sides by conifers and a tall fence. It isn't visable to the outside world at all (apart from a friendly neighbours garden). This is however another reason why I chose one of my early Vulcans. If someone did try to climb the fence they will receive very bloody hands thanks to a slight modification I made to the top of the fence which shall surely rip anyone's hands to shreds Theft was a concern in the early stages (more so by my Nan than me) but it's been nearly four months and, I at least, am more at ease. It is due for more photos in around a week. All the photos so far have been taken with my phone camera, but now I have bought a proper DSLR camera so accuracy between the months in terms of settings and colours will be equal. Interesting experiment....perhaps leave a year to fade the paint, then put the decals on? Thanks James Could do, but I don't plan to wash the dirt off it as this adds to the effect, so I think the decals wouldn't stick. Having said that they haven't exactly stuck well this time round, but they are on a matt surface, something I know now is the wrong finish to apply decals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Thanks very much Houston, Fortunately the garden is surrounded on two sides by conifers and a tall fence. It isn't visable to the outside world at all (apart from a friendly neighbours garden). This is however another reason why I chose one of my early Vulcans. If someone did try to climb the fence they will receive very bloody hands thanks to a slight modification I made to the top of the fence which shall surely rip anyone's hands to shreds Theft was a concern in the early stages (more so by my Nan than me) but it's been nearly four months and, I at least, am more at ease. It is due for more photos in around a week. All the photos so far have been taken with my phone camera, but now I have bought a proper DSLR camera so accuracy between the months in terms of settings and colours will be equal. Thanks James Could do, but I don't plan to wash the dirt off it as this adds to the effect, so I think the decals wouldn't stick. Having said that they haven't exactly stuck well this time round, but they are on a matt surface, something I know now is the wrong finish to apply decals. Aha, perhaps painting the markings is the way forward then! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Thanks for the reply and explanation 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdfgdcv Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Hello Britmodeller, It's that time again... But there's not much to report this month with it being summer, albeit a typical British one, deterioration has slowed - for the most part anyway. On the image below you can see how the panel lines are becoming more visible. Notice in the image below how much the varnish is deteriorating, this is becoming more apparent all over the upper surfaces. Notice on the kink of the wing how it has begun to peel away altogether and when you look where the roundel used to be you can see how much the Matt Cote varnish is effecting the colour tone of the paint. The one thing I'm not so sure about is why the white spots are starting to appear where that roundel used to be, at a guess I would say that the Matt Cote varnish is running onto that area and setting when the Vulcan dries out. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Matt Cote varnish was never applied under the decals. The white spots are now covering all of the Vulcan's upper surfaces and all over the forward fuselage. It's becoming clear now that none of the upper surface decals are likely to survive this experiment and the Vulcan still hasn't been through a winter yet. I don't really know how well the lower surfaces are getting on with this, it's a little hard to see under it, all I can really see is the "Entrance" decals which are both surviving at this point, since the under surface is less exposed than the upper I have to assume they are doing a lot better than the rest. That's it for this month but as they say in a well known TV program "Winter is coming" - so I expect things will start to deteriorate more in the coming months. Thanks for looking, stay tuned. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 graveszie, I see that the inclement weather and the 'chemicals' in the paint is beginning to alter. it is looking decidedly like it has been through the war zone as it begins to show the changes, which I think are looking PRETTY IMPRESSIVE. I like your experiment.... keep us posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Badger Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 great idea... very useful information. Would be good to see what other varnishes etc. did in comparison - kleer, Tamiya etc. as I'm working on some subjects that might end up outside for long periods...... ooh! I see a set of test samples going out to my weathering research site at work (forensic science research) to see how they do. FB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdfgdcv Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 graveszie, I see that the inclement weather and the 'chemicals' in the paint is beginning to alter. it is looking decidedly like it has been through the war zone as it begins to show the changes, which I think are looking PRETTY IMPRESSIVE. I like your experiment.... keep us posted Cheers Houston, I am looking forward to see what winter will do to it. great idea... very useful information. Would be good to see what other varnishes etc. did in comparison - kleer, Tamiya etc. as I'm working on some subjects that might end up outside for long periods...... ooh! I see a set of test samples going out to my weathering research site at work (forensic science research) to see how they do. FB Cheers FB, I am surprised at the varnish to be honest, since Humbrol claim that once dry it is permanent. Perhaps I should email them a picture of this It would be interesting to see what other brands are like in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Badger Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 ok will look into some comparison items I'll stick in my next weathering experiment at work.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 (edited) graveszie, I was just thinking how long have you given for this experiment,..winter and into 2016 ? It's natural weathering at its BEST...{ I Wonder if anyone who has not see this thread/experiment will think 'how did he do that' ( and think its impossible to get your results ..lolol) when you finally put it in RFI .. this is even better than some build threads... keep it going..still following with interest... Edited August 20, 2015 by HOUSTON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdfgdcv Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 graveszie, I was just thinking how long have you given for this experiment,..winter and into 2016 ? It's natural weathering at its BEST...{ I Wonder if anyone who has not see this thread/experiment will think 'how did he do that' ( and think its impossible to get your results ..lolol) when you finally put it in RFI .. this is even better than some build threads... keep it going..still following with interest... Thanks Houston, I had originally planned until April 2016, that would make it one year. Truth is, now I'm not so sure. Maybe I'll put out the question on this thread in April 2016, whether to let her retire gracefully to a sheltered indoor location or let her suffer through even more British weather. What d'ya think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdfgdcv Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 Hello Britmodeller, Today was a bright sunny day and it felt like it could be summers last hurrah, so I thought I'd better go and visit the Vulcan and give you all an update. As you can see, it's still very speckled. In the image below you can see that there is substantial dirt build-up in the intakes and the rain we've had has made the forward fuselage dirty on the belly especially around the bomb aimers blister. I wish I could get the camera all the way underneath to see whats what, but in order to do that I would have to unscrew it. The effect along the leading edge of the wing has become more pronounced with a little more of the varnish disappearing. The same thing is beginning to happen to the trailing edge of the wing and on the elevon. But perhaps most significant thing of note this month is what is beginning to happen on the airbrake. Remember from a previous post I mentioned that none of the Humbrol Matt Cote touched any area where decals were? Something I didn't notice immediately but when I looked closer I noticed the paint is pealing! This is the only place that this is happening at the moment - no pealing on the other airbrake as yet but that will be a future point of interest. It is interesting that the paint is only pealing in an area untouched by the Matt-Cote. All in all I'm quite happy with how this is all going, this month I am starting to see real weathering taking place and we still have winter to go through. I look forward to what will happen over the coming months, although I did have to convince my good old Nan not to cover it up when the worst of the weather gets here so it will face all that winter can throw at it. Stay tuned and thanks for looking. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdfgdcv Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hello Britmodeller, It been a while since I visited XM655 and with it being very wet recently it wouldn't have been worth photographing a wet Vulcan. Anyhoo, a visit was made and here's the update. As you can see she's looking her usual specky self, but on closer inspection she is not fairing so well. Also, apologies for the lack of focus in places. All's not too bad for this Roundel, it is the only surviving fully intact one. Evidence of how wet it has been shows by the (scale) lake it is sat in. I'm told it has been like that for a long while. Just as well it's made of plastic. Dirt in the intakes and missing decals... Business as usual up front. Air brake paint still peeling away, a combination of rain and strong wind seems to be removing it bit by bit. But on the right wing now the paint is also peeling away. Interesting that under this (former) decal never had any of the Matt-Cote varnish - the same as the air brake. Slightly to the right of that you can see a small area where the Matt-Cote has come away from the wing. The leading edge of the left wing. Here the varnish peeling is spreading further inward - cracking along the wing seam. So that's about all for now. I'm wondering whether to continue this experiment, at this rate all the paint is going to peel away and that would take it from weathered to destroyed. Certainly no real paint fade will take place over winter and with the varnish starting to let go all that is going to occur is damage to the paint. Still, if it does all come off then that would allow me to fix the imperfections in the model At this stage I may bring it back and conclude that this is what a British spring/summer will do to a (not very well made) Vulcan model. It just so happens that I have another Vulcan that I'm not very proud of and that just maybe a perfect candidate for some weathering, only this one has a gloss finish and may endure longer. Thanks for looking. Adam 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 This is absolutely fascinating! I'd missed this thread until today. Thanks for sharing...and for sacrificing 655! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
At Sea Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Looks just like the one that used to be at Blackpool airport. :-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Martin Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 What no 'bird' attacks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdfgdcv Posted November 11, 2015 Author Share Posted November 11, 2015 What no 'bird' attacks? Nope, my Nan grows plants and veg so she has dvd's on strings to scare them off. Seems to work quite well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdfgdcv Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Hello Britmodeller, Due to concerns that this Vulcan was passing from weathered to destroyed the experiment has now ended. Thanks for all your comments over the last seven months and check out the final product in Ready for Inspection http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234992518-weathering-vulcan-xm655-naturally/ Look out for the next experiment on XM600 soon. Thanks again... Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Thanks for sharing Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdfgdcv Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Natural Weathering Part II has begun. Check out http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234992575-natural-weathering-part-ii-vulcan-xm600/ Thanks for looking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fearless Frankie Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Great thread, for getting images of the lower side, you could partially slide a mirror underneath and snap it like that , when the lake is not there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdfgdcv Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 Great thread, for getting images of the lower side, you could partially slide a mirror underneath and snap it like that , when the lake is not there! Light might be a problem, but I'll give it a go with Part II - Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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