Tamiya 1/72 Republic P-47D - 'Phyl Darlin' 2Z-J, Lt Robert E Wagner - #FINISHED#

[nimrod54]

Just came across your build John, well done. But reading between the lines, I get the impression that you are a bit disappointed about the "riveting" experience. So for your benefit and others who like to try using HGW rivets, maybe following comments are of some help.

As you know, these rivets are tiny, but can give stunning visual results. But the way they are added is crucial to get this result.

They can represent dome head rivets as on a Hurricane wing, giving you tiny bulges under the paint, representing the rivets. But the P-47 doesn't have dome head rivets and you don't like the rivets sticking out a lot. So the process it to rub down the painted surface with micromesh so that you see the silver rivets coming through the paint. This process reduces the "dome" and you end up with flush head weathered rivets.

Unfortunately this effect doesn't work well with silver paint as the rivets are silver them self, giving you no contrast between the two. Also from my experience this process works better with lacquer or alcohol based acrylic paint which can be airbrushed easily in very thin cotes, which is more challenging to do with water based acrylics and it looks to me that your paint is a bit on the heavy side.

Here you can see the effect on a Hurricane wing. In this case I only rubbed down the paint very slightly as I still wanted to have the dome effect of the rivet.

Give them another try on a camouflaged aircraft and you will be amazed about the effect they give.

Cheers, Peter

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the very useful tips on applying the HGW rivets, the Hurricane wing looks fantastic. I also apologise if my opinions came across in a negative way, that was not my intention.

This was a first time use of this product for me and I wasn't sure what to expect. I took the opportunity to try out different methods of applying the rivets and my first choice was to try to follow the manufacturers recommended method of applying them to the underside of the wings - but I feel that the instructions are not too clear and this is not helped by the fact that I tend to be a visual learner, so I am still not sure if I did this in the correct way.

For the second method I chose to apply them over a black primer. The main reason for this was because I had also decided to try out Vallejo's new Metal Color acrylics, this also gave the added benefit of being able to see the rivets but it didn't improve my alignment.

The final method was to apply them over the top colour before applying the clear coats. This was my least preferred method of application and in the end I did paint over them with aluminium to try and reduce the effect.

Overall, I am pleased with the look of the rivets and they are a vast improvement on the riveted surfaces of those older kits. The effect is very subtle and they do show through nicely when angled to the light. However, there are areas that have lots of rivets close together and, whilst I am quite sure that this is correct, I feel that this leaves a dusty look at this scale. This could just be me choosing the wrong subject to try this on and hopefully by adopting your application methods on future builds I may have more success. In the end sharing techniques and tips is what Britmodeller is all about and, being of the opinion that it's never late to learn, I am all for anything that helps me to improve my modelling skills, and believe me there is plenty of room for improvement.

Thanks again, I look forward to trying another HGW rivet set on a future build.

[nimrod54]

Hi John. It's great to see this one finished and looking excellent! And well done with the rivets! Very well done.

Kind regards,

Stix

Thank you Stix. I have really enjoyed doing this one, there was a lot of experimenting with a couple of new products (well new to me). ​

[Basilisk]

I also apologise if my opinions came across in a negative way, that was not my intention.

John, no reason to apologize as you tried very hard to keep a positive spin on your comments. But I see nothing wrong in being negative. Frankly, I find the comments on most Group Builds (with a few exceptions) not very helpful as there is nothing to learn and improve from the constant "well done" feedback.

This was a first time use of this product for me and I wasn't sure what to expect. I took the opportunity to try out different methods of applying the rivets and my first choice was to try to follow the manufacturers recommended method of applying them to the underside of the wings - but I feel that the instructions are not too clear and this is not helped by the fact that I tend to be a visual learner, so I am still not sure if I did this in the correct way.

For the second method I chose to apply them over a black primer. The main reason for this was because I had also decided to try out Vallejo's new Metal Color acrylics, this also gave the added benefit of being able to see the rivets but it didn't improve my alignment.

I only used the generic rivets, not the one for specific kits, but I can see that alignment can be a bit tricky. And you are right in saying that the provided instructions are a bit lacking. Have you seen this video on youtube? This explains the process reasonably well. Basically HGW suggest to apply the rivets on top of Mr. Surfacer with the help of Mr. Mark Softer and then painting the model, followed by a rub down after painting is finished to get the riveting effect. There are also some pictures of finished models on the HGW website.

Overall, I am pleased with the look of the rivets and they are a vast improvement on the riveted surfaces of those older kits. The effect is very subtle and they do show through nicely when angled to the light. However, there are areas that have lots of rivets close together and, whilst I am quite sure that this is correct, I feel that this leaves a dusty look at this scale. This could just be me choosing the wrong subject to try this on and hopefully by adopting your application methods on future builds I may have more success.

I am glad that you are pleased with the look, but the P-47 is flush riveted and there is nothing sticking out. These rivets emulate flush rivets correctly only after rubbing them down, but unfortunately the effect doesn't show on a sliver painted surface. Why don't you try it on the olive drab anti glare section to see the effect.

I may have more success. In the end sharing techniques and tips is what Britmodeller is all about and, being of the opinion that it's never late to learn, I am all for anything that helps me to improve my modelling skills, and believe me there is plenty of room for improvement. .

Yes, there are lots of great builds and tips on Britmodeller to learn from and it can be a great motivation for trying new techniques and methods which is very valuable for people who got back into the hobby like myself.

Cheers, Peter