'Memphis Belle' B-17f Revell 1/72 (Pic heavy)

[philp]

I just saw a post yesterday where someone used Tamiya IJN Grey Green (AS29 I think).

I picked up a Krylon can a while ago called Celery (3543) which looks kind of Skyish on the cap. Need an actual bottle of Sky so I can compare.

Think we can start a whole new thread. Rattle can color equivalents for less money.

[Biggles87]

I had a similar experience to MileW yesterday when I deposited 1/2 a bottle of Alclad Jet Exhaust on the hallway floor ( fortunately tiled )

I had come into the house from my man cave vigorously shaking the bottle when it flew out of my hand, the plastic top broke but gladly not the bottle. After persuading three dogs that we did not need their help SWMBO and I set to with copious amounts of kitchen roll and various cleaning fluids and cleaned it up. I have to say that she took it very well.

Keep on keeping on.

John

[CedB]

Thanks Mike and Stew. I bought some Halfords Plastic Primer and I like that a lot, but I must admit my preference is something non-smelly that I can use inside, airbrush and/or hairy stick. I do have Humbrol rattle cans for big stuff - matt black (RAF bombers), silver (Liberator) and olive drab (for the Belle!) That said there are lots of car colours available... and like tools, I guess, us modellers are fewer than car owners so pay a premium for our stuff. Capitalism? It'll never work.

Mike (again) and John sorry to hear about your accidents - dangerous stuff, er, paint.

Phil you should do a few 'V' bombers to use up your Ivory paint. And/or a TSR2, one of my favourite aircraft. Score 1 for 'nice racks'!

Charlie I think I've recovered (see below) but it was a close thing. Really fiddly painting doors sideways.

I have BBC iPlayer playing on my laptop whilst writing this. John Lloyd is on, co-writer (with Douglas Adams) of 'The Meaning of Liff'. If you haven't seen this it's on Google Books here. Have a read but make sure you visit the bathroom first. Another comedian suggested changing your WiFi name to 'IKnowYourCatPeesinMyGarden' to annoy your neighbours

So, more progress! Where were we... racks then skip to painting detail on the doors / panels (Step 89):

The secret of 1/72 detailing is, of course, to throw away your macro lens. Note chipping on the door sills courtesy of Jon's Karisma pencil.

(Photobucket is refusing to save my edited pictures again so I'll type ahead and go back to insert the pics. What a pain!)

Bombs on the racks:

Pleased with the look of those but I'm not sure why they don't have more detail. I want yellow stripes on my bombs. I must stop or I'll sound like Mr Spooner's 'Shining Wit'.

Step 9: Fit the other racks (boring, no photo)

Step 10 (and we're over the page): On with the roof. Note that the tapered end of the roof (highlight on the right pic) goes towards the back otherwise it won't fit (photo on the left = wrong way):

That's it. Not feeling too hot tonight... actually I am feeling hot. Maybe an 'old man flush' or perhaps it's a sugar rush - Mrs B came home with my favourite treat, a Patisserie Valerie Mille-Feuille:

I have a very, very sweet tooth, my ideal dessert being something that is so sweet that if you had another mouthful you'd be sick. These fit the bill perfectly. Apart from being 'the ideal husband' I'm not sure what I've done to deserve this. Perhaps I'll find out soon (gulp!)

Thanks for looking!

[phildagreek]

Oop North, where I am, we call that a posh vanilla slice!

[06/24]

That's looking really good Ced. Be interested to see what you make of the Humbrol OD, looks bit dark to my eyes, my suggestion was going to be one of the Tamiya Sprays (AS6 I think?) that represents slightly pre faded OD, be a good match to their neutral Grey for the undersides.

Edited to add paint ref

[Cookenbacher]

I painted some card paper with every Olive Drab I own here, if you're interested. I haven't seen Tamiya AS6 before, thanks for the recommendation Jon.

[MikeW]

Oop North, where I am, we call that a posh vanilla slice!

Call them Napoleons over here - and Ced I am with you on this one, 100% YUM! Makes for very messy eating, and when I am done, I quite feel like I am five years old.

[Stew Dapple]

Good progress Ced, it's looking very good, but dammit, I want a cake now!

For the record, I prefer Revell precision poly in the blue bottle with the needle applicator - I get the smaller bottles too, I find them a little more weildy than the larger ones

Cheers,

Stew

[kwaterous]

"Another comedian suggested changing your WiFi name to 'IKnowYourCatPeesinMyGarden' to annoy your neighbours"

I've seen many variations of wifi names including:

"Yell*vulgar word*forpassword" and

"GoGetYourOwnWifi"

Was there a plane being build here? Right, nice work on that too

K

[CedB]

Thanks Phil and Mike for the cake comments. I still enjoy 'custard slices', one of our local delicacies, including the filling squidging out of the sides and making a mess! The Mille-Feuille is a French Fancy** and has to be treated with a bit more respect, much like a fine wine.

Thanks Kwaterous for the WiFi names

Thanks Stew - sorry about the cake temptation and the vote for Revell precision poly. I'll give it a try and wield it, wield it! (What song is that from?)

Thanks Jon and Cookie for the paint suggestions... which Olive Drab do you noooooooooo! Not another OD discussion, please stop!! Sorry gents but, when I bought the Belle, Duncs in his model shop* also sold me the can of Humbrol 155 so I feel obliged to use that (phew, what a get out!). And it's Cookies favourite! I had another look at Cookie's Aleutian Defender thread this morning and there's some great tips there and some great modelling - thanks again Cookie! The Vallejo neutral grey looks good too, although I'm not sure how much white you used 'to calm it down'? I think I'll just paint the thing and we can have another debate then.

* Amusingly (?) Duncs Specialist Model Centre used to be called 'Chippenham Model Centre' as it was in Chippenham. When Duncs moved the shop to Trowbridge he 'kept the name' for a while - I've never worked out why. I don't know how people like Duncan survive. 598 visitors to his site - not Hannants is it? I popped in one Sunday and had my normal mooch and chat and picked up about £30 of bits and pieces. A chap came in and bought a RC Tank for £85. "Good Day" said Duncs.

** Rats! A missed opportunity for the GB! Perhaps I should buy another one (yum), take photos as I eat it and then post in reverse order as a backward WiP? What? Oh OK, 'score 1 fnaar fnaar', you guys.

[GREG DESTEC]

Blimey is that the time!? I shouldn,t be looking at this so early in the morning but then it beats breakfast TV hands down. The cake looks very nice even at this time of day but since i,ve shovelled down 2 wheetabix i am able to resist (it looks like a posh custard slice to me). More great progress and enjoyable chat Ced.

[Biggles87]

You didn't really use a knife and fork to eat that Mille Feuille did you? You must be a toff.

[Engineer66]

Hmm, the big question with a vanilla slice as we call' em in my neck of the woods is how do you eat it?

Do you try and take a bite as it is, or do you dismantle it? Then if you dismantle it which bit do you eat first, is it the top bit with the icing, or do you go straight for the bottom*? Too many decisions it looks like Ced is much more refined than me as he uses a knife and fork, either that or he doesn't like to get his digits sticky!

After reading this thread it looks like I may have to visit Greggs at lunchtime for a pasty and a slice.

On a more on topic note, how do you find Vallejo model air paint, I have tried interior green and found it a bit on the thin side?

Cheers

Al

[MikeW]

Hmm, the big question with a vanilla slice as we call' em in my neck of the woods is how do you eat it?

Do you try and take a bite as it is, or do you dismantle it? Then if you dismantle it which bit do you eat first, is it the top bit with the icing, or do you go straight for the bottom*? Too many decisions it looks like Ced is much more refined than me as he uses a knife and fork, either that or he doesn't like to get his digits sticky!

It has to be with a knife and fork. When using your fingers, you have to dismantle the thing, generally starting with the icing bit, but then you get only one flavour at a time. The beauty of this beast is the explosion of all the flavours simultaneously, and for that - a fork.

Nothing about being a Toff in this. Besides, if you use your fingers you have to have your valet catch all the crumbs and reassemble them for you - one can't waste the merest bit of this piece of heaven on earth.

Did I mention I do rather enjoy them?

[CedB]

Thanks Greg!

John I have to use a knife and fork because they're HUGE and my mouth isn't big enough. Honest. Not a toff, just a bit toffee (see what I did there?)

And you can't use Al's method because, as Mike says, disassembling would leave an imbalance of flavours and/or a custard lump without pastry - there's three pastry layers you see. So actually more of a trios-feuille really.

So I'm with Mike, the only way is a fork. I use a knife because, I'm afraid, we had to lay the staff orf (sic) due to the recession.

Anyways, modelling stuff. Al I like the Vallejo IG. You do need to shake it a lot so I bought some ball bearings and I pop a couple in the bottles. It does go on thin (isn't that what we want?) and for best coverage I do a dust coat, let it settle a bit (while doing another part, so seconds really) and then another coat until it looks wet. It's also quite fragile so great for things like this where I want some weathering / varying coverages but, if you're using it for top coats I think a primer is essential and rough handling is to be avoided for a while.

Have I done anything on the Belle? I've masked the fuselage interior ready for my Aluminium spray session (maybe later) and been out to buy the paint. And some other useful bits. Cookie I've gone for the Tamiya rattle can as I'm sure I won't be able to get as good a finish with my airbrush on such a big area. (See Paul Budzik's video!) I might use the Vallejo for bits like the splotches on the top.

No XF-53 pots so I'm going to have to 'decant' some paint from the can for touching up and the blobs on the top surface - tips please?

[Stew Dapple]

Hi Ced, I've only decanted aerosol paint once so it might have been beginner's luck but I found it quite easy; I shook up the paint as usual and sprayed it from a couple of inches away into a receptacle at an angle of about 45 degrees to limit the 'blowback' effect as much as possible whilst keeping the sprayed paint localised in the container (which was the rattle can cap) - I then transferred the paint to the airbrush cup and applied in the usual way.

I fear there may be an element of on-the-job training with this but I don't see why it would be any less straightforward for you

Cheers,

Stew

[Biggles87]

You can also use a bendy straw ( for decanting, not eating the M-F ) taped to the nozzle and leading to a small pot covered with cling film with a hole for the straw. There's a U-tube video somewhere but I don't have the link.

Good luck

John

PS. I use my fingers to eat mine ( M-F not bendy straw ). I pick it up and rotate it through 90deg before biting, it's more rigid that way and you're less likely to end up with custard down your shirt.

[CedB]

Thanks for the tips guys! Rotate it 90^o to avoid blow back* and don't spill the custard - got it!

I have some WD40 with a 'nozzle tube' somewhere so I might try cleaning that out, or just pinch one of Mrs B's straws** i won't need it for a while (the way things are going at the moment, never) but I'll post an update.

* That was setup, thanks Stew, so no score

** That's not a Dbl-E it's just an attempt at smut so minus 2

[CedB]

I looked on YouTube and found this Hyperscale two part tutorial: Part 1 (6:07) is the setup and in Part 2 (5:08) at 1:20 he presses the button and explains that the cling film prevents the paint atomising.

This guy chops a cheap pipette to fit the nozzle - good idea.

This one, entitled "How to cleanly decant spray paint" is worth a watch. He's using plastic bottles. He suggests a small one so that the surface area is smaller and you don't waste as much paint sticking to the sides. It's worth watching at least to 2:37 to watch him spray paint in his eye and on his finger. 3:02 "As you can see it wasn't messy at all..."

[Cookenbacher]

I love your idea for a pastry WIP Ced! Of course, that would lead to all sorts of debate about correct techniques for realistic bite marks and the proper hue for chocolate.

I've never decanted any spray paint yet. Lead the way sir!

Looking forward to seeing the XF-53, it's a shame they don't sell it in pots.

[CedB]

Hey Cookie!

I've asked Mrs B to buy me another MF so that I can photograph it again with a rule in the foreground as there seems to be some confusion as to how BIG those things are.

Does "Hmmm" mean yes? And why did she look down at my Mr Hobby Belly? (Guys I can guarantee that, at our age, she wasn't looking any lower!)

To clear up any confusion you can get XF-53 in pots but they were out of stock. I shall look forward to the 'decanting' with some trepidation...

[CedB]

I forgot to post some progress this morning - did a bit of work on this bit that's aluminium with IG frames.

Needs more work now that I have my super-fine brushes. I'm also not convinced that you can get a smooth finish with Humbrol acrylic 'metal' paints. This is two coats of H56 thinned with flow improver. Silver H11 is the same in my experience. The paint seems to be gloopy medium with metal coloured particles in, small but still lumps, and always needs lots of stirring. Ho hum, no close ups then. I'm also not sure whether this part is realistic or Revell's attempt to drive modellers insane.

OK, time to prepare for the aluminium spray session using Jaime's cocktail stick technique.

Mrs B had two pots of bamboo cocktail sticks (these are not just bamboo cocktail sticks, they're M&S bamboo cocktail sticks*) so I pinched one. The good thing about these is that they're flat topped and hard (bamboo) so I'm expecting them to be easier to break off later (famous last words). Here's a photo, not to advertise M&S but to show the flat tops and shiny finish:

And from "a renewable source" - you mean bamboo grows? Who'd a thought it!

I remembered, just in time, Andy's warning about two parts looking the same but having different numbers for different sides so I stuck a bit of masking tape on the bottom of the stick and put the parts on one by one. I must remember not to take them off the sticks before I use them (write that down someone). For parts with holes in I just used my normal cocktail sticks and poked them in the hole. This took ages and there's a lot of detail so a big picture:

Method**:

- Label stick with part number (for similar looking but differently numbered parts only)

- Cut part from sprue with my new side cutters (how did I manage without these? They're really good at getting close to the part, most times with NO SANDING afterwards)

- Rub suitable part of part on CA accelerator pen

- Dip end of stick in CA and apply to accelerator on part

- Count to ten

- Pray it's stuck

- Push into handy bit of packaging.

The sprue on the left has some parts where some of the part is aluminium so I decided to paint those by hand.

Worn out now so no more tonight, although I will come back for a chat later. Thanks for looking!

* For our readers outside of the UK this is an initially clever but now irritating ad campaign being run by Marks and Spencer. Replace 'bamboo cocktail sticks' with any other product and you can imagine. I fear it's now become part of the language.

** Haven't done that since science classes!

[rob85]

I think you'll find they no long do that campaign.... As it was irritating.... There new ads are still total food porn (I miss working for them )

Rob

[CedB]

Oops, sorry Rob.

Stew did you find a foot in mouth emoticon? I think I need it...

[charlie_c67]

I tend to remove the pastry base, eat that the finish off the custard and icing bit together. That way you don't squeeze the custard out all over the place!