Housesparrow's Roden 1:48 Pilatus PC-6B-2/H-2 Turbo Porter + photo etch

[Martian]

Its going well and I am sure all will be fine when you remove the masking.

Martin

[Housesparrow]

If I am to model this again, I think I will go with a glossy white, with some colors on it, because the model would probably stand out more that way.

[hairystick]

That's a rather interesting kit and your WIP is going well!

I wouldn't worry about the seats in the back since most were load-hauling hacks that had a bench seat across the rear.

Spent a LOT of time with one of these (always climbing, never landing...) and also when upgraded to the Super Porter version. Climb rate was phenomenal, descent rate even better.

Look forward to following the thread!

[Housesparrow]

So for the foliage green, I had to use a non "Air" paint, the Vallejo Model Color Gunship Green. I can't attest to this color I ended up with is really being accurate, color wise, but I hope it is.

I thought I had diluted the paint enough, having poured some into this tiny glass bowl I sometimes mix my paint in, but the airbrush obviously clogged up a little bit, causing a little sputter, nothing much but a little annoying. I was simply afraid of adding too much thinner, so I stopped when the paint viscosity seemed ok. I should have used more thinner I think.

I wonder now, if the strand of hair I saw on the model in my previous sitting, might have come from the brush I used to mix the paint directly in the airbrush paint cup.

So this is foliage green (gunship green) according to a conversion chart I've seen. Now I will add some black paint and then I will add one or maybe two layers of Humbrol Clear before adding decals.

In the image above, one can see a quick disconnect part with a valve on the airbrush hose, the valve is totally useless for me, and just makes the airbrush a little clunky when resting it on the cleaning pot, as the air hose sort of bumps into the table because of the extended length of the quick disconnect part. Should go buy a smaller quick disconnect fitting some time.

Hm, I know there are a couple of rubber parts, that is covering up the hydraulic (or perhaps pneumatic) shock absorbers for each landing gear, and presumably, these are always rubber black.

Must remember to paint the red and green nav lights (no clear parts incl. in the kit). Red light on port side (presumably so other aircraft shouldn't come crashing into you from your left), heh, and green on starboard side (right side). Supposedly, ships had a steering rudder on the right side of the ship, and docking with the ship on the left (port side).

There is an antenna of sorts on the top of the cabin, that is supposed to be white, so I've decided to glue that on after all the airbrushing has been done. Hm, maybe I should add that antenna thingy before starting applying the Humbrol Clear.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Housesparrow

[Pete in Lincs]

Revell contacta cement.

Find a piece of thin wire, make a loop at

one end and feed the other end down the tube.

This stops seepage and stops glue drying in

the tube. You then don't need the supplied cap/cover.

I've been doing this for years.

[Housesparrow]

I wasn't quite sure how to mask in preparation for airbrushing on the black. Luckily, I had some wide Tamiya masking tape. Glad to see that no paint chipped off after removing it all. (Remember to place masking tape on your hand's skin, to lessen the adhesive, before putting the masking tape onto the model, maybe even two times.)

There was apparently too little foliage green on one part of the model, so I had another round of airbrushing to improve the coverage. So nice that doing a second pass isn't leaving any trace of it.

Hm, I have to figure out a way to do a touch up on the nose part, some of the black color wasn't applied on the inside and at the very front.

I think I'll add a little masking tape, and then just use my gloved hand to cover the rest of the model as I add the tiny amount of black required at the very front.

For the black, I mixed Black and Nato Black about 50/50. I have no idea, I just thought maybe black was too black. Unsure.

Hrm, unfortunately, some of the decals that goes around the canopy glass is not in register. I might be tempted to pretend I never saw those decal parts. Not sure what to do. These are orange stippled lines that apparently goes around the canopy. The decal instructions aren't very clear, and the decals themselves aren't drawn on the schematics, and their position is only hinted at.

For creating the sharpest edge on the masking tape, I stuck a piece of masking tape onto a porcelain platter and used a scalpel together with a small 15cm plastic ruler.

I'll probably redo the starboard side black-edge, to make it more symmetrical to the one on the other side. Should be quick and easy to fix I think. (Edit: Done!)

Edited January 24, 2016 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

I repainted the starboard side for the black area, and I am happy with this result, close enough. The black border should be fairly symmetrical across the sides now I think.

Should be able to start and finish adding Humbrol Clear to this model today. I hope the clear stuff won't make it difficult to peel off the masking tape.

Hrm, there are speckles of particles on the model in the photo. I guess some filth had accumulated onto the model after holding the front part today with my fingers while hand painting the rubber parts for the landing gear.

In order to take this photo this way, I had to move my camera-on-a-tripod about 1m away and use zoom. Using makro function at close range made the perspective effect look very silly. Also, btw, the makro function for closeups doesn't allow any zooming it seems to me.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

Heh, I should have known that the color would darken abit, yet I was a little surprised to see the color change more towards olive drab.

Image below show a first layer of Humbrol Clear. I haven't perfected my method for applying this stuff I think, so place your bets!

I am not entirely sure how long I should wait, until airbrushing on the second layer. I can imagine that this first layer might *perhaps* still be sticky two hours later. Hm, don't want to leave any fingerprints, I think I'll wait another four hours before touching the model. Edit: Seems like three hours should do it. Have to make sure the stuff is dry so that I can hold the model while airbrushing on the Humbrol Clear (7'ish psi).

Edited January 25, 2016 by Housesparrow

[Martian]

Looking good!

Martin

[Housesparrow]

I will let this model dry for at least 6 hours, and then I can gently go over the surfaces with a fine abrasive sponge, and then add the few decals there are, and then seal it with the third round of Humbrol Clear.

I think I learned the last time, that even though the surface looks rough in a photo, the surface is really smooth regardless (unless perhaps something went wrong, with too high psi and having poor coverage).

The white antenna I painted earlier today, will be glued on with super glue. Hm, might as well wait adding that part until I can get to add some Tamiya Black Accent Panel Line enamel, and finish it all with a layer of matte or satin varnish.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Housesparrow

[Martian]

I would be inclined to give the varnish as full 24 hours to cure if you are giving it a rub over. Now is not the time to take any risks with what promises to be a very impressive model.

Martin

[Housesparrow]

The surface was a little sticky on the bottom side as I checked 4 hours after the second coating. At this time of writing, It has been 16 hours, and I think I can start light sanding and add decals.

As for the not-in-register decals (a couple decal pieces were, not that many), I'll try to find some surplus decals that show a dotted yellow line that I can use around the canopy.

Edit: Ah, no suck luck, couldn't find any such type of decals in my surplus stuff.

Edit2: YES, I found the same decals in my my FW 200C-4 Condor kit in 1/72 scale.

Looking closer at the decals, it is apparent, that they aren't good. The edges for the 690 numbers are a little blurry, and other things are not-in-register (I hope I used that expression correctly).

Hm, I think I should lower the psi a little, down to 5'ish and try moving it less around. In my experience, when lowering the psi, the paint flow is also reduced (assuming you are using a paint limiter).

I believe I have found confirmation of the yellow dotted lines around the canopy, though it looks like there might also have been yellow dotted lines all around each window frame on the two front doors as well, something not included in the decals afaik.

Edit: Now that I see that the decals aren't any good, I won't bother using up decals from my unbuilt Condor kit. The positioning of the decals would also be too close to all the masking tape. creating a problem for me.

Edit: Hrm. Just like with the ICM's Spitfire IX kit I had, the Roden decals here doesn't seem to react to the MicroSol liquid, used to shape shrink decals to the surface.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

I think I still don't have a technique going. I wonder if I should try go close and spray in lines and never airbrush over that part again. Here I have tried to pool the Humbrol Clear, with some success. In a former project, I thought it all ended looking great after the 4th layer of Humbrol Clear. I guess I can add a fourth layer after adding some dark panel lines coloring.

Hm, I think I should try do some experimenting to try work out a method, because it is too tempting to just add more Humbrol Clear to an area if it the specular property of a painted surface seem too rough.

The MicroSol liquid didn't have an effect on these decals, and I think that is partly to be blamed for the slight silvering seen here in the image below:

The larger roundels on the top side of the wings looked ok, but the smaller roundels on the sides and the underside of the wings didn't look good:

Ehehe, I think this surface finish looks worse than it actually is:

I had removed the old dirty filters here in the image below. Will reattach some new ones. The two filter I use sort of stick to the bolts around the fans. Fyi, there is a powerful 7th fan behind these ones. I always use a dust mask for moderate amounts of airbrushing with this home made thing, because my first version had a weak rear fan, somehow allowing a back blast into my face. :|

I think I have learned with this project, that one can't be too careful in planning beforehand, before starting on a project. Although the paint scheme obviously show how to color this model, I can't but help that it seem inaccurate, having seen images of a somewhat different finish for seemingly the same airframe with some other kit on the internet. The photo etch was also not the best I think. With some pieces left, that had me wondering if they should have been added to the model somewhere.

I can only hope that this thread is of some amusement to you all, unfortunately this won't be a museum piece quality. This did project did make me want to try create a diorama. A grass field diorama would be great for this model I think.

Things presumably missing from the kit/instructions: "static wicks" (static discharge wicks) + wiring on top of wings/fuselage (unsure about that though)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_discharger

Edited January 26, 2016 by Housesparrow

[pinky coffeeboat]

It's been an enjoyable thread. I bought the Air America boxing of this kit at Christmas. It's a nice looking kit and I'll refer back to your thread for help and guidance. You've done a nice job with yours.

When it comes to painting, if I can remember, I take a piece of kit sprue and do to it everything I do to the model - priming, painting and varnishing - then that becomes my guide as to when it can be handled. No point risking finger prints on your model, instead just test the sprue for stickiness.

Jeff

[Martian]

It still looks good. I keep some Daco extra strong decal solvent for awkward decals such as these appear to be.

Martin

[Jessica]

Roden decals will succumb to the boiling water trick. Boil some water, dip a cloth or sponge in and press straight down (no sideways motion!). Don't forget to protect your tender fingies from the water.

[Housesparrow]

I don't quite understand the Humbrol Clear stuff. I wonder if some of it evaporate. The first layer seem to end up being rough regardless, then it looks like the Humbrol Clear stuff start to build up, but still not smooth. Iguess the first and second layer creates pits that the third and fourth layer fills in, leading to a smooth surface in the end. My theory.

Will have to go look for "Daco extra strong decal solvent". Having the proper tools is half the job I like to think.

Anyway, I'll add some Tamiya Black Panel Line Accent today (I think I got the name right this time). I think I learned with a former armor model, that the dark panel lines get lighter after adding the Vallejo matte varnish. I am inclined to try maybe mix brown and black, but I think I should simply go for black and see how it goes, presumably, the black lines will not be as black, and lightened by a final layer of matte varnish I think.

Hm, I have some decals left over. I could try the hot water trick on some scrap model if I get brave enough.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Housesparrow

[Jessica]

Here's a demonstration showing the worst a Roden decal can do, and what hot water does with it.

Before the hot water:

After the hot water (before patching). Two lumps properly covered and the wrinkle smoothed down:

[Housesparrow]

If anyone wants my fingerprints, they might want to steal my model, lol.

I have to give this 24 hours I think (been 20 hours now unless I'm mistaken) until i continue working on adding the black panel line accent coloring.

I am sure I can fix this, was planning to do a fourth layer of Humbrol Clear anyway. Severity of this fingerprint problem seem to be minimal by the looks of it, and I can always sand it down a little if necessary.

[Housesparrow]

I guess it could have been worse. The area around the front canopy isn't bad (after removing the masking tape), but blemished by the overworked clear part.

I tried to avoid overdoing the matte varnish, so the surface wouldn't turn white'ish. Diluting the matte varnish with thinner might have helped I am guessing:

The wing surface looks really smooth:

Somehow, there's dust or particles on the black painted surface:

Edited February 3, 2016 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

I think I made a minor mistake when airbrushing on the Humbrol Clear. In retrospect, it seems to me that I had the paint limiter set wrong, so that there was too little paint flow, probably making it more time consuming trying to get the humbrol clear to pool. Also, when airbrushing on the Vallejo matte varnish (diluted with flow enhancer and thinner), I think the paint flow was too much.

As seen with the photos above, the immediate result after removing the masking tape from the windows doesn't look good. I will have to fiddle a bit with a toothpick, to try remove the remaining rubber like substance that is the liquid mask.

It is obvious that I was basically wrong in thinking that pure black panel lines would lighten. I think in retrospect that only thinned panel line accent color will lighten, but not the strongest black. Also, the pure black panel line was probably a mistake, in that it was too dark. Another challenge was to add panel line dirt where the panel lines didn't have enough depth due to the molding and/or due to sanding. Ideally, I should have tried rescribed some parts of the panels lines that probably goes around the round front side of the airfoils.

Next up: Painting the wheel rims chrome, and gluing on the three wheels, repaint spinner and glue that on as well. Try clean up the remaining liquid mask after having removed the masking tape.

One thing I think I noticed about the Humbrol Clear, is that the stuff does seem to evaporate, and become less gooey than what I feared, so presumably, each layer of pooled humbrol clear, isn't that think after all I suspect.

Another thing about using the Tamiya panel line accent enamel: I think I should have tried adding more of the wash, instead of thinking that the capillary effect would have the paint pool properly, in ALL the grooves around on the wings.

Hm, instead of trying to mask such details as clear red parts (top and bottom), putting on paint and layers of Humbrol Clear, and using masking liquid, I think I could best have simply glued the two lights on with super glue after adding the matte varnish on the airframe.

I really have to buy an extra lamp for when working with the panel line color, so hard to see the shades in my kitchen atm.

No small parts were snapped off during this work, except.. one of the door handles. Couldn't find it on my kitchen floor even though I looked straight at it. Had to get close to the floor with a light to find that part. Luckily I could glue that door handle back on with no difficulty.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

I've had another thing on my mind: It seems to me, that applying Vallejo satin and matte varnish works well when added on top of a glossy surface. I can't help but wonder if applying a satin varnish on matte surface would look worse.

And another thing. I think I like using Humbrol Clear, and I think I can improve my result, by trying to soak up excessive liquid around masked parts in the future. Presumably, this stuff is like water, and will probably soak up well with a piece of paper towel.

I've noticed that after shaking a bottle of Vallejo varnish vigorously, the content seem bubbly (note, I put a glass ball in every bottle of paint), making it difficult/impossible to count the drops for working with a varnish to thinner ratio, so I just poured some thinner into this tiny bowl that I had filled with matte varnish, before mixing it with a brush and pouring the content into the paint cup on one of my airbrush guns.

Edited January 31, 2016 by Housesparrow

[TGA]

I really like the Porter! Your work looks lovely and the paint scheme is great. I always wondered what one of these is like to fly. Supposedly it's a very remarkable plane!

[Housesparrow]

I have some difficulties with painting the wheels. :|

The following image show my initial approach, which probably was a bad idea, having masked the black rubber to paint the shiny metal rim:

Lastly I am trying now the opposite, painting the shiny metal rim first, and then carefully add black rubber paint around the metal rim, so that I can mask the center and paint the rest of the black rubber:

I went to IKEA yesterday and bought some stuff. What I then learned was that the plastic cutting mat I bought worked great for using this compass cutting tool of mine. The hard plastic makes it easy to place the cutting tool down, without having the tool sink progressively deeper into the surface it was placed onto, compared to when trying to use the tool on a piece of cardboard. The red background in the second image is the red cutting mat I bought. With a proper cutting mat, it is now easier for me to use my compass cutting tool for making circular patches of masking tape.

Btw, I think someone should go design a different cutting tool. One that lies flat on the surface beneath, so that you can make a true circular motion to cut the masking tape (imagine using a coffee grinder), instead of having to swivel the compass cutting tool around in this less precise way.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

After airbrushing on Tamiya "rubber black" XF-85, I added a layer of Humbrol Clear wet-in-wet all over the wheels, and then I added a layer of Vallejo satin varnish, diluted with thinner about 50/50.

As I fiddled with the wheels, it struck me that I should glue on the rear wheel first, because I have already created a "dent" in the two larger wheels to mimic a tyre-under-load and gluing the tail wheel on last would have tilted the model a little bit the wrong way if I had already glued on the larger wheels first.

I used super glue to glue on the tail wheel. Didn't want to start scraping off the paint for using regular glue. Good enough bond with super glue I imagine.

Hm, I think I should use some of that pigment, to add some dirt on the plain silvery wheel rims, but maybe mix it with something darker.

Cleaning up the liquid mask was quick. Not really sure what I was scraping off in the end. Looks like I might perhaps have to repaint the insides of the windows on the outside of the model.

I am happy with how the two lights underneath the wings ended up looking, too bad they aren't easily visible from the front or the sides. Still the repaint work on the spinner left.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Housesparrow