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Airfix Victoria Cross Icons and the airbrush experiments


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That is absolutely great work Steve, it looks like you are a natural with the airbrush and its great to see you embrace it so enthusiastically, positively and your skills improve so much over the course of just 2 models.

 

I personally use either Halfords grey primer or plastic primer from a local automotive shop - never had a problem.  My own personal choice in paints is Vallejo Model Air or Xtracrylix (decanted into dropper bottles for ease of loading into the paint cup).

 

Keep up the fantastic work my good man!

 

Phil

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Hi All

 

I just want to say

 

"Be careful when tightening the nozz..."

 

DSCF4560_zpsjrspwhbo.jpg

 

D'OH!

 

Hmmm...

 

DSCF4561_zpspzprd9jz.jpg

 

phew!

 

Replacement and spare ordered, lesson learned.

 

A diversion in the mean time.

 

 

Comments, suggestions, and "I told you so" welcome

 

 

Cheers

Steve

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Hi All

 

Thanks for the support so far, got back in the lab, fixed the machinery, and started again.

 

Next up is the Blenheim

DSCF4543_zpswvswtzxx.jpg

 

DSCF4544_zpsspvm6vnu.jpg

 

DSCF4357_zpsfbxymnlx.jpg

 

Was considering skipping this, as Adrian is making such a fantastic job of his

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235016298-airfix-old-blenheim-the-blue-blues-have-gone-away/

 

but then,where's the fun in that?

 

So, owing to popular demand, I started with an undercoat

DSCF4570D001_zpsnhabvpue.jpg

 

DSCF4571D001_zpswzcs3qqe.jpg

 

Can you tell only half is paint?

 

I wanted to see if the Pledge was adding anything to the texture affect of the paint, so did the Starboard side neat Pledge.

As it turns out, it went on nice and smooth with a 0.3mm nozzle setup.

 

The other side is Vallejo 74.615 USN L. Ghost Grey Surface Primer.

This was a little disappointing, as it refused to spray with the 0.3mm, and I had to refit the 0.5mm.

 

I figured it was ready to use straight from the bottle, was I meant to thin it down, like the plastic pots?

 

( and yes,I removed the masking on those two canopy panes after I sprayed, as I realised they're not glazed :facepalm:)

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

 

Cheers

Steve

 

 

 

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Wow, that was quick!

I see you have the usual problem with the fuselage seams - horrid on this kit IIRC. Might be worth sanding them a bit and filling before you go much further?

My advice with the Vallejo primer is chuck it out - I've had some horrible problems with it - peeling, not sanding, etc etc. My favourite is Badger Stynylrez (also now branded by Ultimate); it's easy to spray straight from the bottle, sands well and it's non-smelly too. 

Good work on the wing joins, they're really neat :) 

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Seconded on the stynylrez. It's amazing stuff. It dries rock hard quite quickly and doesn't peel when you sand it down like the Vallejo stuff does. It's really forgiving stuff. My girlfriend is new to airbrushing and flooded her corsair with it. To my amazement, it coated the plane smoothly and dried as if it were laid down in multiple coats. It's about £7 on eBay so doesn't cost the earth. Thumbs up from me.

As Ced said, Perhaps filling and sanding down the seams a little before priming would be a good idea. Nice work so far though!

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Hi All

 

18 hours ago, CedB said:

My advice with the Vallejo primer is chuck it out

 

I was actually looking for Stynylrez on fleaBay when I came across a job lot of modelling accessories that included, amongst other things, Vallejo varnishes, Liquid Mask, Plastic Putty and paints (about forty!) for less than £50.

 

So I thought I'd give them a whirl.

 

Should have gone to Specsavers, as I'm now on the lookout for camouflage schemes requiring Wolf Grey, Beastly Brown, Bloody Red and Sick Green...

:deadhorse:

 

(As a sideline, what's the difference between Game Air, Game Color and Model Color, apart from the bottle cap? Can they all be airbrushed?)

 

Anyhoo, with regard to the seams, this is all about the journey, not the destination, so I'm not overly concerned with features you could fly an X-Wing down :pilot:

 

Makes it all the easier to mess up on the painting when I know I've not fretted over the build.

 

 

So, onward.

As this Blenheim has a light underside, should I give pre-shading a go? Would it have any affect on rivets?

 

 

Comments and corrective eyewear welcome

 

Cheers

Steve

 

 

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Hello,

 

Not much to add and bit late maybe but the best ever tip I got on masking is to put down another coat of the original colour over the tape.  That way any leaks under it will be the same colour and it will seal it up.  Works brilliantly.

 

As far as I know the main difference between Model Color (sic) etc is the thickness, they can all be thinned to be airbrushed.

 

Nice work too.

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Apparently...

 

1.1. What is the difference between Model Color, Game Color, Model Air and Premium?

Vallejo offers four different water-based chemical formulas in these colors lines, each one created for a particular segment of the hobby market, but all compatible with one another.
Model Color and Panzer Aces are creamy, highly opaque acrylics formulated principally for brush application: the two ranges total some 246 matte colors and mediums, and 8 brilliant alcohol based metallic colors.
Game Color has been developed for tabletop games. The range consists of 119 acrylic colors, washes and inks; designed for painting small figures, the formula has a lower viscosity than Model Color and a resin more resistant to frequent handling. The colors provide opaque coverage without loss of minute detail.
Model Air is a line of 129 colors which have been formulated especially for airbrushing, although they are also frequently used for painting small details with a brush.
These product lines are further augmented with a line of Washes, and a complete assortment of Medium, Varnishes and auxiliary products.
Premium Color, a new range of 51 colors and 8 auxiliary products, developed with a new hybrid acrylic-polyurethane resin of extreme strength, has been designed principally for use in an Airbrush and for surfaces exposed to handling and exterior conditions.

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I used Vallejo black primer yesterday because that was all I had to hand. It's not great. Tarry stuff needed a lot of thinners. The finish was actually pretty good in the end but I'd not like using it on an external surface (I was in an undercarriage bay). 

 

Tonight I applied a primer coat of Halfords lacquer primer. Easy, from a can, and it won't come off. Needs sanding down a bit though, rough stuff. 

 

stynylrez sounds like it's worth a go, as does the Tamiya range. It's fun to explore all the options. 

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As far as primer goes I use either white or grey Halfords plastic primer. I decant it from the cans into glass jars for storage and use them with an airbrush. Always had good results with this method. 

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Hi All

 

Thanks khimbar, good to know everything's sprayable.

 

Might even try some skimmed milk one day, as it seems to be a recognised standard of dilution.

 

And the best thing about standards is that there are so many of them!

 

 

On 28/03/2017 at 10:28 PM, per ardua ad ostentationem said:

It's fun to explore all the options. 

 

Too right, if it's not fun, it's not a hobby :thumbsup:

 

 

And now folks, just a quick cautionary tale...

 

Started the underside with the same pot of Beige Green as used on the Hurricane, but with a slightly different outcome

DSCF4581_zpsaadfnhka.jpg

 

First coat, and it's covered with a tiny splatter, splutter, etc :poo:

 

So I wondered if the paint had somehow gone off since it's last use, or perhaps I hadn't stirred it sufficiently, or if I was just being cack-handed.

 

It wouldn't be the first time.

 

Just as well I'm not doing a proper build, or I would probably have been quite grieved.

 

 

Anyhoo, while cleaning out the airbrush, I got to the squirting Mr Muscle through it stage, and got this!

DSCF4578_zpsihxulg8g.jpg

 

It's a bit blurry, but can you tell the clump of bubbles are coming from between the body and the nozzle cap?

 

That's where there should be an 'O' ring, perhaps even that one lying on my desk?

 

Must have come adrift during the last clean :blush:

 

Must pay more attention!

 

Once refitted, subsequent coats applied no bother at all, and with a coat of Pledge it's turned out ok.

DSCF4590_zpsbhsefnu9.jpg

 

(You'll notice I'm holding it so you can't see the kerb along the fuselage...)

 

Another lesson learned, every day's a school day.

 

On to the next stage :ninja:

 

 

Zen and the Art of Airbrush Maintenance welcome

 

 

Cheers

Steve

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7 minutes ago, ProfSparks said:

(You'll notice I'm holding it so you can't see the kerb along the fuselage...)

 

That made me laugh out loud Steve - it's one of the most useful techniques when posting on BM :D

Great reading your posts in a sort of 'been there, done that' way (perhaps I should buy a T-shirt?) AND 'Oooh, that's a good idea, must try that'.

You're sorting out the problems and the results are looking good.

 

Looking forward to the next instalment!

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26 minutes ago, ProfSparks said:

(You'll notice I'm holding it so you can't see the kerb along the fuselage...)

 

"Helpful lighting and positioning " is (in my view) a key part of model construction and display :whistle:

 

That Sky underside looks very tasty indeed. Glad to see you caught the two unglazed panes in front of the pilot too!

 

Regards,

Adrian

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Great job on these kits, and your experiments with airbrushing looks like it is paying off. I've been airbrushing for a few years now and still very much on the learning curve. Half of the time it is learning how to troubleshoot, if you get dribbly 'spider legs' your paint is too thin and/or your air pressure is too high. Conversely, if the paint is going on with a slightly rough pebbly texture your paint is too thick and/or your pressure is too low. Paint should be about the consistency of semi-skimmed milk (as a rule of thumb, things like Alclad are much thinner so reduce your pressure accordingly).

If you get 'spitting' you probably have a small blockage, I stop, take the paint needle out and clean the nozzle with a cotton bud dipped in thinner. From experimentation with many different paint types, I have found Tamiya (with Tamiya thinners) to be the best paints to spray, followed by AKAN. Sorry to say, but Vallejo Model Colour (not Model Air) and Humbrol enamels are awful for airbrushing (IMHO)!

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