Grover 27 Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 (edited) Nice Blackbird! Smooth and clean build so far. Good paint-job on the pilot figure too. Success. Edited February 15, 2016 by Grover 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbeach84 Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Most of the polishing is now done, so here's a quick shot of it in glossy black. Don't mind the First Order Storm Trooper. He's 'armless All it needs is a cape, a light saber and a grill over the intake to become - yikes! - Darth Saab! Silly geese, we are... Ha! 'armless.... That aside, it almost is a shame to go any further with the paint scheme. It looks wonderful in all black... R/ Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 15, 2016 Author Share Posted February 15, 2016 too late, as it's now wearing a partial coat of Vallejo Semi-Matt Aluminium. I started to think it was going to have to be stripped as the paint was looking a bit lumpy around the nose, but it seems to have straightened out as it dried, so I'm now hopeful I won't have to. In all the years I've been modelling (about 9) I've not yet had to strip a model, and didn't want to start now after all that work polishing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Is that the Vallejo Metal primer that you've been polishing? If it is, then it's a lot more durable than their normal primers which doesn't agree at all with any kind of sanding, at least for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 16, 2016 Author Share Posted February 16, 2016 It's Alclad gloss black primer. I wanted to do a proper test with the acrylic primer after a mishap I had, so used an old bottle I had lying about. Polishes up quite well, doesn't it? Maybe I can think about doing a gloss black hawk one day after all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Very nice work sir I like the pic with the storm trooper Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 16, 2016 Author Share Posted February 16, 2016 Thanks it shows off the shiny bits quite well - an unintentional side-effect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsen Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Looks good Mike ! Just out of curiosity, what brands of polishing sticks are you using ? Cheers, Peter P.s I really enjoyed your Mig-31 build ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbeach84 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Seems someone had recommended a good coat of Future (aka Pledge Multi Surface Finish -jeepers!) before applying a NMF (as a way to level out any micro-scratches left by polishing...) R/ Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solo Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Any progres Mike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 Sorry for the delay on this one. I had a bit of a faux pas with the metallic finish getting marred by a drop of thinners landing on the nose, and I've not yet had the heart to go back to it to make good. Here's a quick shot of the damage, and although I know I can fix it, there have just been a bunch of other things that got my attention first. I've also got a couple of fingerprints on the flying surface that have come through the paint, despite me cleaning it as well as possible and wearing gloves during handling I will get it sorted soon, as I need to finish the build as well as my review of the Vallejo Metal Colors that I've been using to paint this model Looks good Mike ! Just out of curiosity, what brands of polishing sticks are you using ?P.s I really enjoyed your Mig-31 build ! I used some Ultimate polishing sticks for the final two passes - the greenish side for final smoothing, and the white side for buffing to a lustre. Sorry I'm so late replying Thanks - the Mig-31 was awesome to build 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squibby Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Hi Mike, Lovely metal finish so far, I'm a fan of the metal colour paints too but your prep and painting skill have really made a difference here. just a question about them though, Do you find they spray nicely out of the bottle? I'm using a Iwata HP-CS with a 0.35mm needle @ 15PSI and the paint tends to stop flowing after a second or so of spray. If I pull the lever back to give it more it'll suddenly bomb out then dry up again. I've gotten around it by thinning it with X20A 1:1 but I suspect it's a bit too thin now and tends to pool and run a bit if I'm not super careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Thanks I'm not finding any problems spraying it neat from the bottle at 1bar/15psi working pressure and a 0.2mm needle. It is almost too eager to come out of the nozzle! That makes it easy to get it on a bit thick with the attendant danger of runs. So far I've found the primer to be very fragile, pulling up with burnished Tamiya tape, even after prep with IPA, roughing up the surface and leaving it to cure for up to two weeks. Sanding it is also impossible, as it just peels up under the abrasive. Yesterday I fixed the paint problems by sanding and buffing the damage back, then adding some new paint, which I sealed in with some of the clear varnish that comes as part of the set. It smells lovely, and I left it to cure the til today (almost 24 hours). I masked up a couple of panels for a contrasting colour, and was very careful not to buff the tape down, relying on a light coat of paint to avoid any under-runs.I sprayed the paint, and started to unmask in the accepted slow and steady, pulling back over itself fashion, and most of the paint stayed in place. Some however did not and just peeled straight away. It seems that the clear gloss varnish is as weak as the black, and it has pulled away from the paint on the nose and under the tail. Bugger! Looks like I'll have to repaint some sections, but I suppose it will help me get that patchwork finish though. I'll leave it for at least a week before I try though, to give it a bit more chance to grab onto the paint below. Shame, as the colours are nice, the flake size small, but there are some niggles with the system as a whole. it can't be grease that's causing the problem I'm experiencing, as I've been hyper-vigilant and worn photo-inspection gloves during handling before and after the initial paint job. Whether it's the way I hold my mouth, I don't know. Anyway - some pictures of the damage: I just hope I don't get more varnish peeling away next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 This seemingly fated little monkey has sat on the shelf taunting me for almost 2 years now, waiting for me to get the nerve up to strip the paint and start again. Yesterday I decided to do a test on the wing of using IPA to try to remove at least the top layers of Vallejo acrylic, as well as that terrible varnish, which had all the sticking power of something with very low adhesion. One small test panel later gave me the impression that it was doable, so I sat there for a little while laying IPA impregnated kitchen roll strips over the model to try to keep the amount of free liquid down to a minimum. It was a messy and very sticky job, but I managed to get the whole airframe stripped down to the black primer, some of which has also come away, although I don't mind that much, as it can be flatted back and recoated before I hit it with some more metallics. Here's a a quick & dirty pic of her sat on my cutting mat by the keyboard last night. It's a bit blurry, but you get the jist: She's since been buffed with those Ultimate buffing sticks, and is now ready for some primer. I've got a little repair to do to the masking at the rear of the canopy, and will also check that the liquid mask on the wingtip lights has survived, then I'll be thinking about putting some more gloss black over everything 2018 seems to be the year for kick-starting my old projects, as I have the FFVS J-22A (a more recent stall) and the Tactical Pod Regult from 2015 on the go at the moment too. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootneck Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Nice one Mike, that's up to the standard of my finished stuff already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 yeah right. I've still got horrible grey fingers, even after scrubbing them with acetone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 Here's a better shot of her after a good buffing. A bit of damage had occurred on the top wing, but that seems to have buffed out completely, which is nice You can see the remains of the battle-damage on the port wing, and also the previously hidden after-effects of the dripped thinners, which I'd totally forgotten about in time. That's one of the great things about maintaining your topics and photos on here. It can be your aide-memoir when your brain gets full and things start dropping off the other end of the conveyor belt 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 22, 2018 Author Share Posted January 22, 2018 Most of the gloss coating has now been done, and I'm waiting for that to harden up properly so that I can buff it up to a smooth and shiny finish. Then I have to decide what metallics to use on it. Sorry about the dusty and bitty appearance of the surface - it's actually quite shiny under all that! There are some areas where I've put additional thickness of primer (it's also a micro-filler) to obliterate some slight marks, so that will need a proper polish. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 looks nice! wonder when I will start mine and if i takes me as long as you..... cheers! Werner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted March 17, 2018 Author Share Posted March 17, 2018 Thanks Werner - I doubt it took them as long to research, design and produce the model as it's taken me to make it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeoman1942 Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Great work, glad to see you picking it up after 2 years. I am sure you are on to this Mike, but watch the decals when you get to them. When I built mine earlier this yer I found the main decals very difficult to settle with microset, and sol, and the black decals very thin and fragile. It is a lovely kit, I hope to get another, but I am not sure if Pilot Replicas are still going. Do you know if they are still trading? Yeoman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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