A 1/72 Amodel I-16 Type 5 Spanish Civil War (without a bucket of filler?).

[CedB]

Nice Tony, coming close to the end now!

The elevators look great drooped and the fine lines on the flaps too - nice touches.

Can you sand the wheel bay with sandpaper on a stick?

[Rob G]

Tailplane flaps = elevators.

Those fine etched saws are best used by pulling them through the cut, not pushing. Saves a lot of that bending.

I use a #15 blade in a Swann-Morton handle for getting into those weird places. Try a large chrmist for them, shouldn't be too expensive.

[TonyTiger66]

Nice Tony, coming close to the end now!

The elevators look great drooped and the fine lines on the flaps too - nice touches.

Can you sand the wheel bay with sandpaper on a stick?

Thanks Ced I'll give it a try with a cocktail stick cut off a little so the point is gone. Thanks for the tip, my modelling mojo is a little low at the moment so any help and advice is most welcome!

Tailplane flaps = elevators.

Those fine etched saws are best used by pulling them through the cut, not pushing. Saves a lot of that bending.

I use a #15 blade in a Swann-Morton handle for getting into those weird places. Try a large chrmist for them, shouldn't be too expensive.

Thanks Rob Another good tip; yes it was pushing that caused it to bend like that . I managed to ruin another in the same way many weeks ago. I say ruin, but crushed with a pair of fine pliers, both are *just* usable again as long as I...only pull don't push....doh!

Elevators - yes, thanks. I used to know all this -I even did an 'O' level in 'Aviation' at school (yes, there was one!). The 'O' level seemed to involve endless mathematical equations involving pitot heads, wind speed. ground speed, distance to destination then lift, actual and relative height, drag...ooohhh it made my brain hurt . I got a 'C' - a pass and good enough

The RAF wouldn't have me as i was 'P1'; physically unsuitable. Read as 'Colour blind'. I wouldn't take no for an answer and tried again a couple of months later at a different recruitment/careers office. Trouble is, I was still colourblind and they have their ways of finding out with coloured circles full of spots. So I was P1 again and very P'd off.

I recently spent half a decade stuck in bed (lucky me!) but I was rather ill and on some quite industrial strength 'pain patches'. Those d*rned things have affected the old grey cells and I have forgotten a lot. It is returning. The brain really is like a muscle, if it isn't exercised, or made to think about certain things, it really does forget things( although they're still there). Modelling is superb as it involves a lot of research and problem solving. Don't let anyone ever tell us our hobby is bad for our health !

OK Chaps,

I'm twiddling with my airbrush and trying to rid the workspace of dust...

Thanks for looking,

Best regards

Tony

[TonyTiger66]

Righty ho.
So I decided to clean my airbrush throughly and change the needle and nozzle for the 0.5 I have, knowing that this would probably do the trick nicely for my fresh new bottle(s) of Stynilrez (I can type that now with only minimal worry that I'm spelling it incorrectly). A pic of the cheap and cheerful airbrush, leaking grey gunk, and some goodies that Mr. Postman brought today (and some from a week ago) :



For the benefit of those as useless with an airbrush as I, I thought I'd quickly show the things I did in the hope of getting it to work. I looked in the box and found long things in tubes. "They must be needles", I thought, given that they were quite pointy and looked quite like needles, and had the word 'needle' on a little sticker on the tube. I felt I was doing ever so well :



Now how to change one? I decided it was time to look at the exploded diagram of the airbrush. I had a very serious ponder at this. Screwing a bit off the back seemed to be the way to go, then unscrewing something else that held the needle in place:



Hmmm...looks complicated .

Oh well, in for a penny in for a pound, time to grasp the nettle:



I was very pleased with myself: out and not damaged. The photo doesn't really show this, but it was very glooped up around halfway down so I gave it a good clean with this stuff:



If I have done anything wrong here, in this whole process, please let me know as I honestly don't really know what I'm doing. I do now understand it's a dual action airbrush. There is something about that I don't know/understand and I wonder if someone can help me?:

When the trigger is not pulled back at all, nor depressed, it is clear that nothing should be coming out of the airbrush. I'm very fine with that. Now, when it is simply pressed and not pulled back; should something come out? Or, do I have to put the needle back in in a way that means that paint only starts to come out when I first depress the button *and* then pull back slightly (fnaaar)? I hope my question makes sense.

I realised that parts numbers 1 and 2 would have to come out. Heres how stoopid I am; I thought part number 2 was the nozzle. No it isn't and I hadn't seen part number 3, the tiny nozzle at all. It fell on the floor. The floorboard monster didn't get it this time. I cleaned out crud from the Needle cap (part 1) and nozzle cap (part 2). There was a lot of dried horribleness in here. Use was made of some little brush thingies I had bought from good old BNA ModelWorld in Victoria by mail order (a pretty good store!):



Filthy.



Just ghastly.



Take that you blighter .



I was mystified as to why the existing nozzle fell out, as they have a thread on them and a special spanner is provided with the airbrush to screw these parts in (fnaar). They're so very fragile (I think?) that I didn't really know how tight to screw in the new 0.5mm nozzle, so just did it 'finger tight, i.e. when I felt a little resistance.

There was no spare canister in the set for the 0.3mm so I made sure I couldn't confuse myself in the future (I'm quite good at confusing myself, in the past, present or future, or a combination of any of those... ):



I realise for those of you that know what you're doing, this post is quite possibly as dull as matt paint but, well, this is for we struggling ones

I hope I haven't ruined anything by doing this (I once said to my wife...)?:



It was full of crud, deposits mainly of (useless for me so far) Lifecolor primer.



I cleaned out the cup using an old handkerchief soaked in the lacquer thinners, then to be sure, poured some into the cup and swilled it around.

I put the needle back in and again, this is where I could do with a little help: Do I push it in until it will go no further (thinking that may ensure it is closed) or do I pull it back a little from as far as it will (gently) go?

Anyway, all re-assembled and ready for action (well, perhaps):



I have assembled a variety of reds, yellows and violets/purples as I don't intend to use the rudder decal. Many years ago on 'failure number one' the rudder decal didn't look very good. I have found pictures of the 'completed' failure number one. I'm too ashamed to post them, but could be cajoled if the gang wants a good chortle.. .



As Tom Waits once said, I'm 'open to suggestions' on which combination of these colours would be appropriate for a Spanish Civil War aircraft tail tricolour stripe and for the wing and fuselage red bands. Any suggestions? What are the scores on the doors? A clue to my current thinking is the newly purchased pot of Humbrol acrylic scarlet number 60,and the Vallejo Acrylic 'Blue Violet'. The jury is still out on the yellow. They all seem a bit too 'lemon'.

The Testers has my vote so far, but it is enamel. Testers Acrylics are not available in Australia (ridiculous), but can be purchased on EvilBay from e.g. Hong Kong, whereby postage is more or less equivalent to the pot of paint. Therefore I hope I can do something with the Tamiya - perhaps add a tiny smidge of red? I'm not sure how to mix colours as I'm, as discussed in my last post, a little colourblind - will red make a yellow less lemon?

Note the broken Flex-I-File band. Two have done that in two days - I'm not a happy bunny about that - I feel it may be the quite cruel climate here having an adverse effect.

Anyway, it was time to clear the workspace and dust down, open up and admire the new-fangled portable spray-booth extraction thingy I have had for ages (I bought it in the UK in 2006). It has never been used. Excitement mounts - I'm finally going to airbrush, woo hoo, I am yes I am!! :



Enjoy the fresh air! Dynamic power. !!

Suits you sir! Erm..the loo roll isn' left over from my recent spell of the 'trots' honest guv...



Oh I'm showing off now! Heres my new fangled recycled brush holder/cleaner. I'm going to airbrush! Here we go!

$hite.

That's a British, 13 amp fused plug. I'm in Australia.



The thing with prongs to the left is what should be there, but of course it isn't because this booth thingy came with me from England and I've never used it. Sound of a balloon deflating, or perhaps a whoopee cushion... .

So, another day goes by and I don't get to airbrush. Sorry chaps -I tried, really I did. Tomorrow (it is 11.02 pm here) I will mainly be shopping for travel adaptors.
Time for a glass of Merlot or three and a 1930's Boris Karloff film to see me off to sleep.

Thanks for looking,
Have a great weekend and happy modelling
Best regards

Tony

Inevitably - edited for spelling.

Edited May 12, 2016 by TonyTiger66

[CedB]

Hi Tony

Glad the Stynylrez has finally arrived, and some Alclad - smelly!

Let's get this over and done with before we start - fnaar fnaar yip yip!!

Have a look at Paul Budzik's videos on YouTube - they helped me a lot. The one on airbrush cleaning might be a good place to start just to reassure you that you're in the right area.

Dual-action airbrushes have a button that you push down for air and pull, gently back, to increase the paint flow.

The needle should be inserted gently, pushing down on the button in case it's in the way, until it touches the other end; touches, not jammed in - you're just blocking the hole in the nozzle.

Humbrol for airbrushing? Many of us have trouble and there are threads on BM about how you might be able to get it through the brush (I don't!)

DON'T USE THE LOO ROLL while you're airbrushing. It's er, how can I put this, designed to fall apart in water and you'll get bits (of paper) in the brush. Grab some kitchen towel which is as absorbent but designed NOT to fall apart.

Assuming the 'proper plug' is on the booth and you have a usable one on the compressor, while you're waiting to get the Australian power supply changed to proper sockets, have a go spraying water through the brush onto some kitchen towel just to get the hang of it.

Make sure the brush is giving you a nice even spray pattern (you can look through the water mist from the side against a dark background).

Can't wait for the next instalment!

[Squibby]

You've done some great work so far bashing what looks to be a terrible little kit into submission.

The needle goes in until it pokes out the end and won't go any more (don't force it) it should seat flush with the nozzle opening with no gap). I usually then turn the needle a quarter turn to relieve any pressure then screw the locking nut on. As Ced said, you shouldn't get any spray with just the 'button' pushed down.

Also be super careful with those little screw off tips. Don't over tighten them or you'll snap them clean off and render your brush useless.

I also found some of the different sized replacement needles, nozzles and nozzle cap sets didn't work properly (or at least the set I had didn't) due to sloppy machining. I guess you get what you pay for with those. I also found the slot shaped paint reservoir a pain to clean out.

I'd recommend you pick up a decent brand name airbrush once you inevitably snap your nozzle or bend the incredibly soft needle. I got an Iwata HP-CS sent to NZ from a Japanese eBay store for around $120 or so. I must have spent at least that on the 3 cheapie brushes I'd gone through when I first got into this. Due to being a higher quality build they are much easier to maintain and use. My 2 cents anyway...

I can also echo Ced's warning about Humbrol Acylics. I've had a brief but torrid time when I first got back into the hobby trying to spray them. I gave up immediately and moved onto Tamiya acrylics, thinned with their X20A thinner, those and GSI Creos Mr Hobby acrylics (Gunze) paints (also thinned with X20A) airbrush like a dream. Should both be available there. I get my GSI paints from BNA.

With regard to Testors acrylics, Mighty Ape here in NZ (also in Austalia) seem to stock the stuff. No idea how they spray though.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Squibby

[Rob G]

What Ced said re airbrushes and Mr Budzik.

First rule of airbrush pulling-apartery is.. Don't ever force anything. If it doesn't unscrew, rescrew, slip, slide or wobble when it should, have a good, long look at the instructions to make sure you're doing it right, Then look on t'interwebz for more info, then soak it in summat strong for a while if you think it may be gooped up, and only then should you make a start using gentle force. Escalate force slowly and carefully, and if something feels wrong - STOP and rethink. If the bit you're undoing moves, but not easily, resoak it.

When all else fails, make a start with the hammers and chisels. (I joke.) Airbrushes are basically simple, but are, as has been said, made up of soft bits with fine threads on them, and do strip easily. Once you get that one worked out and are comfortable with it, graduate to an Iwata or something similar - it's like getting out of an old Datsun 120Y and into a Subaru BRZ.

Have fun!

[The Spadgent]

Ooh you tease! Fancy spray booth too huh. Nice. I have a mask and Windows. ;D

Hopefully next time..... Good luck with the plugs.

John.

[TonyTiger66]

Hi Tony

Glad the Stynylrez has finally arrived, and some Alclad - smelly!

Let's get this over and done with before we start - fnaar fnaar yip yip!!

Have a look at Paul Budzik's videos on YouTube - they helped me a lot. The one on airbrush cleaning might be a good place to start just to reassure you that you're in the right area.

Dual-action airbrushes have a button that you push down for air and pull, gently back, to increase the paint flow.

The needle should be inserted gently, pushing down on the button in case it's in the way, until it touches the other end; touches, not jammed in - you're just blocking the hole in the nozzle.

Humbrol for airbrushing? Many of us have trouble and there are threads on BM about how you might be able to get it through the brush (I don't!)

DON'T USE THE LOO ROLL while you're airbrushing. It's er, how can I put this, designed to fall apart in water and you'll get bits (of paper) in the brush. Grab some kitchen towel which is as absorbent but designed NOT to fall apart.

Assuming the 'proper plug' is on the booth and you have a usable one on the compressor, while you're waiting to get the Australian power supply changed to proper sockets, have a go spraying water through the brush onto some kitchen towel just to get the hang of it.

Make sure the brush is giving you a nice even spray pattern (you can look through the water mist from the side against a dark background).

Can't wait for the next instalment!

Hello Ced and many thanks. . Your advice really helped - although I had little choice with the 'loo roll'. I wanted to get a move on and it was all we had, so I used it and only confirmed your words - it's awful. Tomorrow - kitchen roll will be purchased. I did exactly as you said and practised with water. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it, I feel some part of my brain felt it might not be good for airbrush seals. Hmm...not so. I then progressed to a Tamiya matt red XF-7, thinned with a little Tamiya Laquer thinner. The airbrush was spitting a lot, big blobs of red. It was at 25 psi so I decided to bring it down to 15 psi. This certainly helped, but it still spat at initial depression of the 'trigger (is the the right word?). I tried depressing the trigger gently and it worked .

I realised that the airbrush is like the spray gun I used to use on my old classic cars (I only had one at a time ). That is a long time ago and a different life. It involved a very big compressor, cellulose paints (now banned in the UK?), PTFE tape, full mask, goggles, bandana and the rest. I decided to apply the same spray painting principles to the airbrush and finally gained a little confidence. I don't think it's a very good airbrush. I decided to try Stynilrez on a 'semi-mule', my I-16 UTI. I was pretty amazed. Applied, as you advised neat, with a 0.5mm nozzle/tip and at 15 psi, it went down very well indeed!:

Port upper, it certainly shows up the imperfections in shaping/sanding.

Starboard. I couldn't believe how well this very thick stuff was going on. The paint run behind the rear cockpit is only due to water held in the tissue cockpit mask. It will sand out.

Starboard underside. Again it has gone on beautifully and helps me by showing where I have lost detail with filler, and where more smoothing is required (e.g. at the rear starboard wing/fuselage join).

Port underside of the UTI-4. I'm quite happy with this, just a little remedial work on the tailplane. This model wasn't part of this WIP but is rapidly becoming more so - I think it deserves to be here, so we now have three of these blighters on the go, and two of them nearing completion

You've done some great work so far bashing what looks to be a terrible little kit into submission.

The needle goes in until it pokes out the end and won't go any more (don't force it) it should seat flush with the nozzle opening with no gap). I usually then turn the needle a quarter turn to relieve any pressure then screw the locking nut on. As Ced said, you shouldn't get any spray with just the 'button' pushed down.

Also be super careful with those little screw off tips. Don't over tighten them or you'll snap them clean off and render your brush useless.

I also found some of the different sized replacement needles, nozzles and nozzle cap sets didn't work properly (or at least the set I had didn't) due to sloppy machining. I guess you get what you pay for with those. I also found the slot shaped paint reservoir a pain to clean out.

I'd recommend you pick up a decent brand name airbrush once you inevitably snap your nozzle or bend the incredibly soft needle. I got an Iwata HP-CS sent to NZ from a Japanese eBay store for around $120 or so. I must have spent at least that on the 3 cheapie brushes I'd gone through when I first got into this. Due to being a higher quality build they are much easier to maintain and use. My 2 cents anyway...

I can also echo Ced's warning about Humbrol Acylics. I've had a brief but torrid time when I first got back into the hobby trying to spray them. I gave up immediately and moved onto Tamiya acrylics, thinned with their X20A thinner, those and GSI Creos Mr Hobby acrylics (Gunze) paints (also thinned with X20A) airbrush like a dream. Should both be available there. I get my GSI paints from BNA.

With regard to Testors acrylics, Mighty Ape here in NZ (also in Austalia) seem to stock the stuff. No idea how they spray though.

Thanks Squibby. I will look for the Testers acrylics here via Mighty Ape. I also want to try the Italeri acrylics, they're quite a bargain. Many seem to think the Humbrol acrylics are a 'no-no' for spraying. This evening I tried the Tamiya red and it sprayed quite beautifully. It was thinned with lacquer thinners, something I thought had ruined it whilst brush painting 'failure number 3'. Failure number 3 is the paint mule I used to trial e.g. Xtracolour PRU pink enamel for Ced's FR Spitfire build. If you look at the photographs there, you'll see how awful the Tamiya red looked applied with a hairy stick. Well, by airbrush it was just fine - so that is around $4.00 saved It gave me a chance to get used to the feel of the airbrush trigger and how to stop the airbrush from spitting. This was mainly achieved by very gentle depression of the trigger and starting the spray pattern from beyond the panel then going beyond and not ceasing, just like a 1:1 car

I have quite a few Gunze paints including the 'Red Madder'. It looks very promising. Tomorrow it will be trailed

What Ced said re airbrushes and Mr Budzik.

First rule of airbrush pulling-apartery is.. Don't ever force anything. If it doesn't unscrew, rescrew, slip, slide or wobble when it should, have a good, long look at the instructions to make sure you're doing it right, Then look on t'interwebz for more info, then soak it in summat strong for a while if you think it may be gooped up, and only then should you make a start using gentle force. Escalate force slowly and carefully, and if something feels wrong - STOP and rethink. If the bit you're undoing moves, but not easily, resoak it.

When all else fails, make a start with the hammers and chisels. (I joke.) Airbrushes are basically simple, but are, as has been said, made up of soft bits with fine threads on them, and do strip easily. Once you get that one worked out and are comfortable with it, graduate to an Iwata or something similar - it's like getting out of an old Datsun 120Y and into a Subaru BRZ.

Have fun!

Thanks Rob I took on board your advice regarding the nozzle, dismantling, 'due force' and so on. I realise now that it would be extremely easy to tighten the nozzle too much, snap it off the thread and leave the thread in the airbrush casing. This would be a case of a helicoil in e.g. a car brake caliper with a snapped brake line bleed nipple, but a 0.5mm helicoill??? Oooohhh I think not, it would be an airbrush consigned to the bin .

I have done a lot of soaking of my parts tonight (fnaar fnaar). The airbrush seized up halfway through painting Popeye - yes folks - it finally has primer

Port side: neat Stynilrez, 05.mm needle/tip, 15 psi.

Starboard. Airbrush stopped completely. Nothing but a complete strip down, soak and clean in lacquer thinners would get it working again. I decided to thin the Stynilrez slightly with some Lifecolor thinners I have. I have lots of Lifecolor thinners - 2 litres. I accidentally clicked the 'buy now' button 4 times whilst shopping on BNA Model World with a slow connection... .

Ooh you tease! Fancy spray booth too huh. Nice. I have a mask and Windows. ;D

Hopefully next time..... Good luck with the plugs.

John.

I took your point John and simply sprayed with a paper face mask on . The Tamiya stuff was a bit 'pongy' and created a lot of mist, but the Stynilrez was fine and didn't create a cloud at al. It actually smelled a lot like old car style 'Celly' primer (Cellulose). Behaves like it too. I may have to buy a few litres for my Kermit green 1976 Triumph 2500

Well a strip down occurred:

Then the primer with around 30% Lifecolor thinner was applied and it went much, much more easily .

Starboard - looking good ...

Underneath - again - I can live with it.

Happy. I know where I need to fill a little/rectify.

Err, has anyone noticed something a little awry?

I didn't for a good 15 minutes.

The propellor has vanished .

Time to start searching.

I more or less utterly dismantled my work area. No joy. Then very bright lights and examination of the floorboard monster. After 35 minutes or so, I noticed this:

Yes, camouflaged by my masking, against the floorboards.

Here it is almost reunited:

Here is our 'Popeye' and the little UTI-4 together. Popeye is certainly getting there.

The major work is the hinge line between the elevator and rear horizontal starboard stabiliser: it needs filling and scribing. Also, a number of ribs need the 'mask and spray' technique, and a lot of scribing is necessary. I wish I hadn't thinned down the rear edge of the upper cowl panels so much, I needed to hold myself back by just 0.2mm or so to create the characteristic 'step' of the rear cowl panels over the fuselage.

Today I received some Bare Metal Foil. I may consider using this to re-create lost panel/rivet detail on the wings, and this rear cowl feature.

Many thanks again chaps - I feel I would have binned it by now had I not had your support. We're getting there:

Next steps: a little filler. Scribing. Riveting. Paint the cowl in an undercoat of some kind of metal so that weathering will be possible. The same for other metal areas. Paint wooden areas in ochre/sand primer colour to facilitate the same. It sounds like a lot - but we know it isn't. I'm waiting for the green I hope to use to arrive from Hataka in Poland. They say it is on the way. Plenty to do in the meanwhile. Oh - and yes, the flipping guns finally have broken off. A "Master' set of Bf-109 pitot is going to help there... .

Then of course; undercarriage, gunsight (brass tube), pitot and masking of the canopy. Nothing much

All best regards and happy modelling

Tony

Edited for spelling, syntax and erroneous picture.

Edited May 13, 2016 by TonyTiger66

[CedB]

Well done Tony - those look great, good job!

[The Spadgent]

Excellent! Well worth the wait, you seem to be a natural at the old air brush. All that hard work has really paid off. Does your compressor have a built in pressure tank? It might help with the spitting.

All the best.

John.

[CedB]

The spitting might be caused, I've read, by water in the pipe?

Give it a good blow out (fnaar fnaar).

Yes, I have been to the pub this evening

[TonyTiger66]

Hello chaps

Excellent! Well worth the wait, you seem to be a natural at the old air brush. All that hard work has really paid off. Does your compressor have a built in pressure tank? It might help with the spitting.

All the best.

John.

Hello John and thanks I really enjoyed using the airbrush. I did practise a lot on cardboard, tissues etc. My compressor looks like this and I'm fairly sure the cylinder at the bottom is a pressure tank? It's a flipping noisy thing!




I think maybe the spitting was caused by a build up of paint on the nozzle. Maybe it isn't closing properly so I have to move the needle in a little further. It's bit like when one uses a rattle can and big drops of paint form around the nozzle, then slosh onto the surface as soon as the nozzle is depressed. I need some of those dentist's thingies Ced has told me about many times, it has sunk in.. . The thing is, I want to get Popeye finished this week as I have my first GB coming up - and I'm scared! . I have a Roden Lagg 3 here waiting to be started and I know it isn't an easy kit, so I'd like to have Popeye finished before the GB starts and 1W*1 and the UTI can continue at a relaxed pace

The spitting might be caused, I've read, by water in the pipe?

Give it a good blow out (fnaar fnaar).

Yes, I have been to the pub this evening

Some great pubs in Bath Ced - hope you had a good night . Only fizzy beer here (well, it feels like that to me) so I haven't had a decent pint in years (8 of them). Nevertheless the old vino is good here.

Well, not much visible progress today. I asked my wife if she could pick up some Dymo tape on her travels. Neither of my cars (boring Volvo, lurid Triumph) are working so she was the mobile one today. Unfortunately she became completely befuddled by the variety of Dymo tapes on show at Kmart and gave up. I really needed a roll to help me with scribing. It felt like rain had stopped play. .

Well, I had to do something, can't spend a day without modelling, so first it was out with the Mr. Surfacer 500 for imperfections the Stynilrez had made visible:



That sink mark aft of the cowl was still visible. I felt a couple of coats of Mr. Surfacer 500 should do it. I'll sand it down gently with 1500 grit wet and dry very soon.

This is the starboard side, the wing roots, some aspects of the cowl and tailplane needed attention. Unlike before, I took advice and used only a very minimal of filler



The wing leading edges still had exceedingly fine join lines visible, so I also used Mr. Surfacer here too.

My next practical step was to drill out a hole in the canopy for the telescope style gunsight. The canopy had no hole at all, so I started with a 0.3mm micro drill and worked my way up to 1.0mm gradually, trying not to shatter the canopy. I decided to leave it on the sprue to allow me a little purchase in terms of holding it. This approach worked. I have some Albion Alloys 1.0mm brass tube and with some fettling I hope I can make a nice replacement for the pretty splurgy kit part.



Drilled out to 0.3mm with these little things.



Opened up to 1.0mm ready for Albion Alloys brass tubing.



In terms of my I-16's, I am short of one 'old style' canopy. For 1W*1 I stored the canopy in a tin with some other parts. For some reason it went white. Completely, utterly white. Future, nothing would help - it had even gone brittle. I have no idea what happened. I wrote to IBG but they can only offer complete kits. I put a post on BM a few weeks ago to see if anyone had a spare canopy or knew of aftermarket, but no luck. I have two old style canopies and need three. Moreover I really wish I had vac replacements. Maybe I should try my hand at moulding them? Hmmm - time, precious time .

Well, what should I do next? Simple answer, choose colours for the red bands and tail red/yellow/violet rudder. This may sound easy, but no - it isn't. AFAIK only one colour image exists showing the rudder of any Republican aircraft: the detached rudder of possibly the only RWD-13 to have been involved in the Spanish Civil War. The colours on this rudder look utterly feasible for an impoverished Spain in the 1930's. They also look nothing like anything I have ever seen modelled. The lovely pure primary reds, purples and yellows seen on models seem nothing like this rudder.



Nevertheless, I'm not the worlds expert at colours, so I gathered together the troops:



It took 3 hours of stirring, shaking thinning and straining to get all (but one - I binned it) of these to work. The inside of the I-16 box lid was employed as a canvas:



I brought my wife in to help.

The result is that I am not happy with *any* of the yellows. although the Testers light yellow is the nicest in terms of coverage. I would like to see another Testers/Modelmaster shade of yellow. If we are to go by the photo of the remnant, rather than museum exhibits, the Testers red and Humbrol Purple look very promising: both enamel colours. The acrylic used to create the 'tricolours' at the bottom of my 'box palette' look very close to modern museum exhibits and restored aircraft/profiles, but is it finally time to try to confront the nature of the real colours, even if they aren't as pretty as we would like?

Finally, yesterday, the last one arrived. I had ordered it from BNA Model world. Should I?:



I think I'll save it for 1W*1 and open the cockpit up on that model. Photo-etch may also be involved. AMS kicks in !

Before I go, I wish to share my 'moment' with a Humbrol acrylic. I have never opened one before. I had purchased number 60, the scarlet colour. It looked straightforward to open, just lever the plastic lid off like the metal enamel tin lids. Tum-te-tum....



What? Why won't it come off? I appear to have made a hole in it! .

OK, out with the big tools, I'm getting you off you beggar!



Hmm. Nothing. Then I thought to myself: "What if I twist it". Doh!!!



Go to the back of the class Mr. TonyTiger!

Just in case anyone else wishes to know how to open them: no crowbar is needed, they *unscrew*.

Best regards from a land down under,

Tony




Edited for all manner of terrible errors.

Edited May 14, 2016 by TonyTiger66

[The Spadgent]

Hi Tony. Yes that is a pressure tank. It looks s lot like mine. it might as you say be down to the needle not quite sitting flush in the brush tip. Give everything a good clean, and take off the end cap so you can see where the needle pops out. Push the needle in from the rear. (Ooh err missus) until it fits snugly through the front nozzle. Don't force it but it must be right up against the nozzle rim. Then tighten the fixing screw that holds the needle. You can then check the action to see if everything is hunky dory. Put it all back together and that will probably fix your spitting. It happened to me on the FW and I did this and it sorted it. But as Ced said don't force anything.

The colours look like they're going to be great btw.

Fair winds sir.

John.

[Carius]

Excellent job

[Artie]

I hope you've never tried to open a can of beer by punching it....!!!!!! :banghead: :banghead:

[TonyTiger66]

Hello chaps

Thanks for the feedback. No Artie, I've mastered the art of beer can opening without due force, it's just new design model paint containers I struggle with

I have to say those little blue box Revell acrylic thingies are unusual; I'm never sure if I have them sealed properly once I've opened them.

Well, I'm a bit stuck at the moment. My health/gut problem has returned. I have been at that stage of 'too crappy feeling to even contrmplate sitting in the doctors waiting room' and 'don't want the fuss of calling the doctor out'.

So, once again, lots of fluid and lots of rest. I've been enjoying BM from a horizontal position and I don't know how I ever got by without it!

That and YouTube research on the Arado 234.I bought one for a proposed '24 hour Blutz GB' here. I wanted the Frog kit but everyone on Evilbay wanted more for it than for the Dragon, and neither were cheap. Anyway, I mustn't digress too much.

Suffice to say I think the Arado 234 is a beautiful bird, those German scientists and designers were quite gifted.

I'm stuck on the I-16.

I received the Hataka paint set today and it provides a basis for all I need. In that respect I'm a little less stuck.

Nevertheless, scribing has me really pondering.

Around the tail planes and vertical stabiliser, the I-16 has quite visible metal panels. These are faired in. At the point where the Stabilisers meet the fuselage.

The contours here are complex. On a larger scale model I imagine it would be easier, but on this tiny thing I'm not sure how to approach describing these lines.

I had thought of Dymo tape and a nice 'Bare Metal Foil' brand Scriber I have, the trouble is that the Dymo tape won't comply/help me with the contours.

I'll try to find an image on the net of the area I mean as I'm at a loss to describe it. I've never Scriber before, it I have been practising on plastic sheet and the Mule' aircraft. Doing these lines freehand would be for my wobbly hands (and googly eyes) impossible.

Back soon with a picture,

Thanks for reading and happy modelling

Tony

Edited for formatting

Edited May 18, 2016 by TonyTiger66

[TonyTiger66]

Well, here is a photograph that is in my library. I'm not sure of the source so if anybody would like me to remove it please let me know:

I know it may take some zooming in but I hope you can see the contours around the horizontal stab/fuselage joins. Tricky.

There are rivets around the faired in areas as this profile shows:

The rudder fairings I feel I can do, the horizontals....?

Suggestions on a postcard...what to use as a flexible but strong guide to stop my scriber from slipping on the multiple plane contours?

Best regards

Tony

Edited May 18, 2016 by TonyTiger66

[John Thompson]

Hi Tony - I hope you're feeling well soon! Re those fairings, here's what I've done on wing roots, which might be helpful as an alternative to rescribing:

(1) Outline the fairing on the outside of its edges with thin (about 2mm) strips of masking tape.

(2) Apply a few layers of Mr Surfacer, until the fairing area inside the tape outline is built up to about the thickness of the tape.

(3) Let it dry overnight.

(4) Using a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, smooth out the dried Mr Surfacer.

(5) Remove the masking tape, and you should have a raised fairing where you applied the Mr Surfacer. If the edges are a bit rough, a gentle rub with the alcohol will tidy them up.

Keep up the good work; good luck with those LaGGs for the GPW group-build. The Toko/Roden 1/72 kit is not as bad as some would suggest - I built four of them one after the other (including converting one to a Gorbunov Aircraft 105), and I survived it with my wits just as intact as they were before I started! Like my grade 11 Physics teacher said, "If John can do it, anyone can!", and those words have inspired me all my life!

http://z15.invisionfree.com/72nd_Aircraft/index.php?showtopic=5063&view=findpost&p=22218307

John

[TonyTiger66]

Hi Tony - I hope you're feeling well soon! Re those fairings, here's what I've done on wing roots, which might be helpful as an alternative to rescribing:

(1) Outline the fairing on the outside of its edges with thin (about 2mm) strips of masking tape.

(2) Apply a few layers of Mr Surfacer, until the fairing area inside the tape outline is built up to about the thickness of the tape.

(3) Let it dry overnight.

(4) Using a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, smooth out the dried Mr Surfacer.

(5) Remove the masking tape, and you should have a raised fairing where you applied the Mr Surfacer. If the edges are a bit rough, a gentle rub with the alcohol will tidy them up.

Keep up the good work; good luck with those LaGGs for the GPW group-build. The Toko/Roden 1/72 kit is not as bad as some would suggest - I built four of them one after the other (including converting one to a Gorbunov Aircraft 105), and I survived it with my wits just as intact as they were before I started! Like my grade 11 Physics teacher said, "If John can do it, anyone can!", and those words have inspired me all my life!

http://z15.invisionfree.com/72nd_Aircraft/index.php?showtopic=5063&view=findpost&p=22218307

John

Hi John!

Many thanks for looking and reading. I wrote a lot! I've just been back to edit the formatting, to try to make it more presentable.

It. Sometimes just takes another mind to find a solution! I'm going to try the technique you suggest John. It should look better than scribing too, as the fairings do have a very contrasting 'look' to them than the other surfaces. A slight step will look fine.

I'm glad you posted that tip; I was ruminating on solutions involving vinyl templates made from a rubber mould taken from another kit,,,,oh it just got worse. Overthinking it.

Thinking about your method, I bet some of that new Tamiya tape 'for curves' would work a treat. I haven't got any and want to try to finish 'Popeye' the I-16 before the GPW GB begins.

It's looking doubtful now, but a little overlap will be ok.

I looked at your brace of LaGGs. Absolutely excellent . ! It seems you, like me, may have a bit of a soft spot for these aircraft. I know the pilots didn't like them a lot (although the pilot of White 68 seemed to like his a lot), but I think they are quite an attractive aircraft. Built, fundamentally, out of hardly anything at all! Ingenious.

The first vac-form I ever made was the KPM LAGG 3 and in all honesty, once in black and green camo, it outshone all the injection moulded kits in my shelf (around 15 years ago). It was broken in the move from the UK to OZ. I kept the fragments, but it's time for some fresh new 'varnished coffins' now! .

Thanks again John, hopefully there will be news and pics here of the first stage of getting the horizontal stabiliser fairings re-established with Mr. Surfacer tomorrow

Best regards

Tony

[CedB]

Get well soon Tony

[GrzeM]

What the epic fight!!!

[The Spadgent]

Hope you feel better soon old boy. As for the tamiya tape for curves. It's actually quite good, a couple of strips on top of each other should give you enough umph to scribe against.

John.

[Artie]

What about just "drawing" those contours with a soft pencil..???? It's a tiny kit indeed, just draw the panel lines over a matt surface, then apply a secon overcoat with matt clear, and that will be a nice optical effect. Given the fact that these conotors are quite difficult to notice in the real plane after they are painted, a 1/72 tiny Mosca will be easy to enhance with that technique....

Cheers....

[TonyTiger66]

Hello people,

Well, it's all gone a little pear shaped. My airbrush is not a very good one as we know.

It sprayed the Stynilrez once, nicely, and that was it.

I haven't had much modelling time as according to the Doc I may have gone diabetic. Waiting for test results on that.

Nevertheless I've had a good go at spraying and smoothing out imperfections.

I've had a go three times now and each time ended up completely stripping the airbrush and cleaning with first laquer, then enamel thinners.

Last night I decided to try a change of primer, I tried some Alclad 'White Microfilller Primer'

I do have some tiny blemishes I want to fill so I thought it would be OK.

It wasn't too bad, at least it worked, but it didn't come out very fine (nothing does) and I got quite a pebbly finish.

I thought I'd leave it to dry and maybe smooth of the primer coat with one of the Micro Mesh polishing cloths I've just received.

I started to work on 1W1, the other I-16 and decided to try, one last time, Stynilrez on the wings as I'm building up a rib pattern.

I had stripped down and rebuilt the airbrush twice when SWMBO appeared and complained about the noise my compressor was making.

It is, admittedly, loud, so I turned it off and on my haste, knocked over the full bottle of Alclad White primer, all over 'Popeye', the one that's nearly done. The one I've been including in all the photos. .

I then made the mistake of trying to wipe it off. .

I will upload pictures of this utter disaster tomorrow.

I can't afford a new airbrush at the moment and I'm pretty certain it's the airbrush that is rubbish, as once I had it working at 14 psi with Stynilrez originally, I enjoyed spraying and it made sense.

My questions: how long does Alclad White Microfiller Primer take to dry? Anyone know if it would be best to strip it all off than wait for it to dry? What can this stuff be stripped off with?

Feeling very, very glum

Any advice on how to rescue this most gratefully received, as you'll see soon, after the first coat of white it was looking nice.

Best regards

Tony