Brad Cancian Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Hi all, Since forever I have been scared of full Natural Metal Finishes (NMFs) on aircraft. The last one I tackled was some 15 odd years ago when I used some good old Tamiya rattle can silver, the results of which were less than ideal, but that was before I was a 'serious' modeller so I don't really count that one…! I have left full NMFs alone since then. I decided that I’d try and get over my fear by trying my first full ‘proper’ NMF using Alclads, of which I had limited experience in using. I picked up the Airfix P-51 for $10 a couple of months back, and decided this would be my test bed. The kit is a gem, and practically falls together without any filler. I primed with Tamiya TS-12 (rattle can gloss black) decanted and sprayed through the airbrush. The top coats were mainly Alclad white aluminum and aluminum, with some panels darkened by adding some of the decanted black. I also played with some bare metal foil panels (again, first time I’d really used this stuff). There was some good contrast in some panels and not so much in others, but overall it seemed to look ok. I finished the model in the colours of A68-766 of the Royal Australian Air Force, based in Iwakuni, Japan, 1948. The decals were from Red Roo. According to the decal instructions, this machine was polished aluminum overall, with the silver painted wings and puttied panel lines that were ‘standard’ for RAAF mustangs removed (which meant I didn’t have to do anything with the kit panel lines). The instructions go on to say that the aircraft were kept very clean overall, which I tried to mimic, though I could not help adding a little bit of grime here and there… J Anyway here are some pics: Some things I learned about Alclads: 1. A good surfrace prep is ESSENTIAL. In a couple of areas I was a little slack and boy it stands out now. 2. Priming with a gloss black helps give the alclad some shine. I couldn’t get the primer finish glass smooth though, even with some polishing. I was worried that this was going to have a significant effect on the finish but because I wasn’t using “chrome” finishes it didn’t have a big impact. 3. Alclad is very hardy, and can take masking, oil washes and handling IF you have good coverage. In a couple of locations I didn’t have good coverage and I wore some small spots through to the black primer. Bummer. 4. Decaling over Alclads is easy. No sealing is needed. But I am still yet to work out how to make decal carrier film edges disappear without ruining the shine or adding a layer of “orange peel” to the finish…. Some of my panel wash got under the carrier film and I couldn’t remove it….arg!! I think next time I will get hold of some alclad sealer or try some leveller of some kind in the sealing coat. All in all a fun learning experience which has given me a good foundation to tackle another NMF J Feedback gladly welcomed! Cheers BC 34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Beautiful F-51! Excellent job on the NMF! Certainly better than anything I've done - I tend to stay away from NMF finishes. Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelman182 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) Hi BC That's a beauty, for sure! Great job on the finish. I must admit that the gloss black stage is a tempting place for me to stop and do a 'what-if' What's next? A 72nd B-52 in NMF? (Gawd, that is a somewhat scary prospect! LOL!) Kev Edited September 3, 2015 by modelman182 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace From Outer Space Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Be gentle? No, we don't need to be about this one BC. The finish and photography are great, lovely work there mate, Cheers, Viv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 That looks great. No need to be gentle at all. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestFan Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Looks great to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HL-10 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 That is very impressive! You've achieved a great NMF finish, well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 nice work, looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 A superb end result,finish is first class,great scheme too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) Looking really good to me! NMF is in my opinion the most difficult you can paint, but I think you have done a great job! Edited September 4, 2015 by Bjorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Brad, Yet again you have outdone us mere mortals with a beautiful example of one of my favorite modelling subjects. After seeing yours, I think I'm gonna bin mine and start again (yet again!!). You seem to have forgotten to mention that "not' filling in the wing panel lines was rather a case of pure luck rather than quality research!! Remember I was there when we found this out!! Well done and claps all round.... Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Lovely. I'm working on the same kit, in a less original US 9th AF scheme. I thought my Humbrol rattle can finish looked quite good. Until I saw yours. Oh well... Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watcher Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 A thing of beauty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robvulcan Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Gorgeous result Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Mooney Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) looks great to me, my last NMF (weathered) I did was my MiG-15 (in my signature). I used humbrols paints and I found them a lot easier than alclad, but if mine turned out like yours id probably have stuck with them :-D well done! Edited September 3, 2015 by David Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Great NMF work, top model! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Looks great to me and a really interesting subject to boot,........nuff said really and definitely nothing to worry about! Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain goat Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Very well done. Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Hi Brad, You achieved an excellent result. Congrats! I'm a great fan of Alclad paints. You can use Alclad's Aqua Gloss to seal the decals. That would protect them from the wash. Cheers Jaime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Looks good to me, very nice Mustang you got there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREG DESTEC Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Looks great to me! I've never used Alclad before but you look like you have the hang of it. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookytooth Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Nice work sir. I am in the process of trying Alcad out on a larger area other than engines etc. And I agree with you on the finish, the better the preparation the better the finish. It shows on my attempt, like a spare....... Well done mate, Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Knowing how unforgiving NMF can be, I think you have nailed that one. If that is a first attempt, I look forward to your future offerings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmydel Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Absolutely brilliant for a first run with Alclad and NMF. I've got an upcoming article on using it in a future issue of Model Aircraft, and the things you learned are all common "ah ha's" for first timers. Next time go ahead and seal the decals with Aqua Gloss and you can avoid that problem. It won't affect the sheen really. Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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