Nigel Heath Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 I have some of the AK Extreme Metal Polished Aluminium as well but have not tried it you so I am interested to see how that applies and looks. What don't you like about Alclad's ease of use? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Looking very nice, I keep finding excellent builds I've missed after emerging from Expo madness. If you keep opening up more panels as your Star Wars builds progress you could end up building a stripped-down skeletal Y-Wing up on bricks before the year is out Can you explain a bit more about the ease of use of the metallics? I find I get on quite well with Alclad, the major downside being you can't brush it, so I wouldn't mind a range that does both well. Cheers, Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Moore Posted May 3, 2016 Author Share Posted May 3, 2016 On 03/05/2016 at 12:23, Nigel Heath said: I have some of the AK Extreme Metal Polished Aluminium as well but have not tried it you so I am interested to see how that applies and looks. What don't you like about Alclad's ease of use? On 03/05/2016 at 12:25, Will Vale said: Can you explain a bit more about the ease of use of the metallics? I find I get on quite well with Alclad, the major downside being you can't brush it, so I wouldn't mind a range that does both well. Cheers, Will Thanks Nigel, thanks Will It's not that I have a problem with Alclad. I've used it for years and love it. It's just that the others are marginally better to use. Not necessarily in finish, but in spraying and clean up. As I mentioned above, this is a pretty subjective test, as I'm not testing equivalent finishes, but I'll list my thoughts anyway AK Xtreme Metal Polished Aluminium Firstly I should say the speckly appearance in the photo isn't apparent in person. It just seems to photograph that way. It actually leaves a very smooth, polished finish. This is an enamel, rather than a lacquer like Alclad. It's got the same watery consistency as Alclad, and works better over a gloss base, but I do think this sprays slightly better than Alclad, and seems to have less tendency to pool if you go on too heavily with it. It dries almost instantly and seems quite resilient to handling. Vallejo Metal Color Aluminium This is water based, which obviously makes a huge difference with clean up. It's also brush paintable and works very well that way. It sprays as well as the AK, and again dries almost straight away. The finish is a really nice, smooth metallic with no graininess (it does look a bit grainy in the photo, but again that seems to be down to the camera or the lights). I've been picking these up and throwing them around while taking the photos, with no sign of damage to the finish (same for the Alclad and AK) Alclad White Aluminium I won't say too much on this, as most people have used Alclad. This looks the smoothest in the photo, but in reality the finish is equally good with all three paints. Metallics aren't easy to photograph, so the pictures don't show any of the paints to their best, but you can get an idea of how they look. In terms of the finish, I really don't think there's much to choose between them (allowing for the fact that the Alclad and Vallejo ones aren't high shine finishes). They all sprayed well, but the Alclad was less forgiving than the other two. For me the Vallejo was the easiest to spray and get a good finish. In terms of clean up, Alclad always needs a lot of flushing through of the AB to remove the last remnants of metallic pigment. Here, the AB needed 5 flushes of cellulose to clean all traces of the Alclad away. The Vallejo needed about 3 with water, plus a last flush with cellulose to remove any remaining residue, but the AK needed only 1 flush with white spirit to leave the AB spotless. Both the AK and Vallejo are less clingy in the colour cup. I'm not going to be throwing out my Alclad shades but, in future, the one I think I'll be using more is the Vallejo. To me, the finish is as good as Alclad, but it's marginally easier to spray, and much easier to clean up. And on top of that it's brush paintable which makes it a lot more versatile. Andy 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Moore Posted May 3, 2016 Author Share Posted May 3, 2016 As I said earlier, the finish on the metallics wasn't crucial, as they're going to get a fair amount of weathering. I've made a start on that with the engines. On the full engines I added some shading to the burners with Alclad Burnt Iron, and tinted the exposed engine with Pale Burnt Metal I added some heat staining with Tamiya clear acrylics Then they've had a lot of weathering with oil and enamel washes. This is still a work in progress, and more washes will be added one these are dry Andy 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazB Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Nice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Thanks for the breakdown, much appreciated. The point about flushing is a good one that I hadn't considered. If I'm going to spray a solid colour, or white or varnish I usually strip and clean the airbrush after Alclad, so avoiding that would be a boon. Cheers, Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeehah1 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 03 05 2016 Can I ask where you got the kit from? Can't seem to find it online Liam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Moore Posted May 3, 2016 Author Share Posted May 3, 2016 03 05 2016 Can I ask where you got the kit from? Can't seem to find it online Liam They're not officially imported to the UK (or anywhere else for that matter. They're exclusive to Japan), but you can pick them up easily enough from ebay. Most Japanese sellers send them free post, and they rarely incur import duties. Just search on ebay for Bandai Star Wars. The X-Wing's here Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamblor916 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Those engines look great plus the mini review of those metallic paints was quite useful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJLR_1 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindmax Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 I would like to see some older posts from you, for example from the AT-ST or the Slave One or... Where can I find them please? Thank you! Regards, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matiwashere Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Noice, noice, noice! Me personally, can't wait for the next steps! A pleasure to watch your painting progress! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Moore Posted May 4, 2016 Author Share Posted May 4, 2016 I would like to see some older posts from you, for example from the AT-ST or the Slave One or... Where can I find them please? Thank you! Regards, Mark Thanks Mark Most of my builds are on here if you search back through the Work in Progress and Ready for Inspection sections There are links to a few here AT-ST Speederbike Slave 1 Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindmax Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Many thanks Andy! Wow, very nice modelwork you have done there, great paintjobs, I love it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galland Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 your builds are full of inspirations, it's pleasure to watch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_Sinclair Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 I. Am. Loving. This. The idea for the shorter "guns" is really cool. Like how some Leopard tanks have longer barrels and some have shorter ones. And the comparison between the various metal paints available now was a real treat! Boy aren't we spoiled these days?! Keep it up Andy! -matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Moore Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 Thanks guys Managed to get the base coat on yesterday, after a few trials and tribulations. I was out all day, mooching around Chatsworth, so I wanted to get some primer on before I left, so it would be ready to base coat when I got home. I'd got everything masked and ready for painting the night before, all I had to do was load the AB and get spraying. So, with a colour cup full of Alclad white primer, I picket up one of the wing sections and decided to give it a quick blast of air to blow off any dust that may have settled on it overnight. I did this rather too vigorously and managed to slosh half the Alclad over the upper surface of the wing. I wiped it strait off, but it had already slightly eaten into the surface (Alclad in excess will eat styrene). Fortunately it was over some of the areas where I'd added damage to the wings, so I managed to sand back the rough areas and, with a little work with a scalpel, make it look like intentional battle damage. The primer had also slopped over the cutout panel in the wing. I'd masked over that area, ready for painting, but I was expecting the primer to have crept underneath the tape and wrecked all the detail I'd added. However, on pulling back the masking, there was no damage apart from a thin line of primer at the edge of the tape, which will be simple enough to touch up. So, a lucky escape all round, but that wasn't the end of the days events. I sat down at the bench last night and got everything ready for the base coat. I touched up the primer on the wing and the damaged area looked fine, so I mixed up the red and got spraying. Everything went well until I got to the fuselage which I'd left till last. I gave it a thin overall coat to start then put it down to dry for a few minutes, before adding some shading to it. I'd made up a rudimentary handle, pushed into the wing slot, so I'd got something to hold it by while painting. I was going to trap the handle in an open draw to hold it while drying, but while doing so, it slipped from my hand (I was doing this one handed, as I was still holding the AB in my other hand ) and went crashing to the floor. On the way down it hit the bench the drawers were sitting on, bounced from that to the bench I use for painting, and from there onto a hard wood floor. About a five foot fall in all. Expecting the worst, I quickly put the AB down so I could retrieve the fuselage. Rather too quickly as it happened. I'd been spraying with the needle cap removed (which I often do) and managed to catch the needle tip on the bench which, as you can probably imagine, didn't do it much good. The long and short of it is I was expecting a fuselage in several pieces and a wrecked AB needle, but I guess the modelling gods must have been feeling sympathetic, as the only damage to the fuselage was a scratch in the paint on the nose, and I somehow managed to straiten the tip of the needle, and my AB is non the worse for it. I'm still pretty amazed that I got away with it all, but at least I've managed to end up with a base coated X-Wing This was done with Tamiya flat red, with a few drops of Gunze H33 russet added to deepen it. I mixed the paint pretty thin, and slowly built up the colour, adding more along the panel lines to give it some shading. I'll now be masking off some panels and spraying darker and lighted tones to give it a more patchy look. The needle cap will remain very firmly on the airbrush Andy 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermo245 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Where's my popcorn...lovin' this build. Dermot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_Sinclair Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Glad to hear the model and needle have survived this recent surprise attack by gravity. She's a sneaky foe! Wow that red looks fantastic! -matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Moore Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 Thanks guys Wow that red looks fantastic! -matt Thanks Matt The red's not quite as intense in person as it looks in the photos. The camera lights tend to exaggerate it. It's still pretty vivid though, but it'll get toned down with the weathering. These turned up in the post today I think there are three ladders in the Brengun set, so I'll use which ever looks best on the base. Same with the Hasegawa set. I'll use a couple of pieces that look appropriate, and probably customise them a bit. I want to get some work done on the base over the weekend, before I get too far with the X-Wing, otherwise the base will get left till the end and I won't want to do it Andy 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Loving the work Andy. Looking forward to the base. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindmax Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Hi Andy, This is a very nice project with a lot of detailed extra work, wow! I love it and can't wait to see the final result! Very professional how you document everything so detailed, especially with these beautiful pictures. I think you could send them easily to a modelers magazine! Best regards, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Rose Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Jesus that was a hell of a time at the model bench yesterday Andy! Its looking nice though, love the red, i look forward to the base 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScanmanDan Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 (edited) Lovin' the RED! Your post shows first hand that impatience is the enemy of artistic endeavour but that persistence trumps all adversity. A great save from near disaster I also like your little admission that if you don't get a start on the base now you won't want to build it all at the end, even the greats can loose steam on a build. Have fun and I'm sure you will find something interesting and unique to do with all that equipment you got for the base. Thanks for sharing, both your models and your experiences. Dan Edited May 6, 2016 by ScanmanDan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomMajor Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Your recent episode reminds me of the old saying; "Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey" Patience my young Padawan. I have now begun work on a similar project of my own! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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