Brand New to Modelling: RCAF CF-188

[PatsyTy]

Update Number Four

 

Work has slowed down on the plane, two midterms in upper year physics courses will do that I guess! That being said I've managed to put in an hour or so each day, mostly consisting of painting layers of black in areas that will be difficult to paint when they are assembled. 

 

Photo Update

 

Saying I haven't done much is a bit misleading, now most of the major parts of the plane barring landing gear, the nose and the rear of the engines are attached.

 

 

As with all updates I am happy to see progress, however, a recurring issue I have is how brushed paint looks. Most likely a technique issue.  I'm trying a new technique that Karlo advised me of in his F-14 thread. I am on coat number 4 for the black paint in the cockpit, so it will soon be time to whip out some TP.

 

The CF-18 differs from the F-18 by these support blocks on the tails. I am not sure what their specific use is for, however, I suspect it has to do with how windy it can get in the arctic!

 

 

They certainly were fun sanding and attaching to the plane.

 

A couple pieces on the spurs are getting their first coats of paint, hopefully by Saturday night they'll be ready to be assembled.

 

 

Finally, I am starting the coats on the final wheel well along with attempting to add some detail paint to the others.

 

 

Some correction certainly will be needed!

 

Conclusion

 

I'll start with a question (as is tradition with my posts!) I've seen posts about washes being used. To create a wash do you use specific types of paint, or do you water down paint and use that? I've been painting with enamels, so is it ok to water down with paint thinner, or do I risk stripping paint or melting plastic when applying it to the model?

 

I will continue with the painting, hopefully getting to assembly soon! I also plan on starting to fill seams and sanding. More updates to come!

 

Thanks for tuning in,

 

Patsy out

[Mjwomack]

Hi PatSy,

Sorry I was late finding this thread but I'm in now.  First off, I am humiliating and inspired by your example by putting your first build up here when there are plenty of professional modellers on here with mind-blowing works. It's spurred me on to put a build up on here as we'll.

 

my limited knowledge (skill is too grand a word for it) is that I mix enamel and acrylic on a model. This is because I have lots of enamel to use up, but am switching to acrylic as I buy fresh paints. I find them easy to work being water based and a lot quicker drying.

 

great work so far and keep enjoying, we're the lucky ones- for us it's a hobby not a job

[Dermo245]

11 hours ago, PatsyTy said:

 

I'll start with a question (as is tradition with my posts!) I've seen posts about washes being used. To create a wash do you use specific types of paint, or do you water down paint and use that? I've been painting with enamels, so is it ok to water down with paint thinner, or do I risk stripping paint or melting plastic when applying it to the model?

 

I will continue with the painting, hopefully getting to assembly soon! I also plan on starting to fill seams and sanding. More updates to come!

 

Thanks for tuning in,

 

Patsy out

 

Nice progress so far and don't worry about the questions  - keep them coming and it's how I learned most of my stuff in this hobby!

 

On the tail reinforcement plates, I think they are to help with airframe stresses in high-G maneuvers. 

 

For thinning enamels, many hobby paint brands have their own specific thinner that they would recommend. Personally, I wouldn't use any commercial/hardware store paint thinner because it's likely to be very smelly and a 'hot' product which could really eat into your plastic model kit. You'll find lots of helpful posts about paint in this thread here on Britmodeller.

 

Washes - now there's a question! Again, lots of different ways of doing it and yes, essentially, it's a watered down colour that you remove from the model using ether a rubbing or washing technique. Again, lots of hobby companies now make them with some being water based (so can be cleaned off with water) while others use thinned enamels and oils which require a thinner to remove. If you search online for 'Sludge washes', you'll find plenty of tutorials, advice and homemade varieties too. Whichever route you go, you'll need to 'seal' in your final paint coat and decals so that when you add and remove the wash, you're not taking the model paint or decals with it.

 

The Tips thread here on the forum will also point you in the direction of some of the many ways (and products) to do washes. 

 

For me, I think what's helped my builds the most since I got back in the hobby was: 

• priming the model with a suitable primer before I paint it
• investing in some really good quality brushes for brush painting 
• sealing the final paint finish so decals have a nice smooth surface to adhere to
• learning how to do washes and weathering (still learning!)
• having fun and getting tips from others.

Hope that helps, all the best.

Dermot

 

[Jaffajake]

If I spray with enamels, I usually give it a gloss coat with Tamiya X-22 (acrylic) so a homemade wash (turps and oil paints) doesn't strip the paint once I've applied it. Hope this helps

Edited March 3, 2017 by Jaffajake
Autocorrect on my tablet favours 20 over 22 oops

[PatsyTy]

7 hours ago, Mjwomack said:

Hi PatSy,

Sorry I was late finding this thread but I'm in now.  First off, I am humiliating and inspired by your example by putting your first build up here when there are plenty of professional modellers on here with mind-blowing works. It's spurred me on to put a build up on here as we'll.

 

my limited knowledge (skill is too grand a word for it) is that I mix enamel and acrylic on a model. This is because I have lots of enamel to use up, but am switching to acrylic as I buy fresh paints. I find them easy to work being water based and a lot quicker drying.

 

great work so far and keep enjoying, we're the lucky ones- for us it's a hobby not a job

 

 

I figured everyone starts somewhere, not much to be embarrassed about and the payoff is huge as everyone in this community seems very keen to help out! If you let me know when your build is up I'll make sure to follow it.

 

That makes sense about mixing the two. I feel for my next model I'll try to get most of the colours in acrylic just to see the difference between the two. For small details, if I have the colour in enamel I don't waste the money on a new jar and just use my enamels. 

 

I will certainly keep enjoying, it's a great "zen" hobby for me!

 

5 hours ago, Dermo245 said:

 

Nice progress so far and don't worry about the questions  - keep them coming and it's how I learned most of my stuff in this hobby!

 

On the tail reinforcement plates, I think they are to help with airframe stresses in high-G maneuvers. 

 

For thinning enamels, many hobby paint brands have their own specific thinner that they would recommend. Personally, I wouldn't use any commercial/hardware store paint thinner because it's likely to be very smelly and a 'hot' product which could really eat into your plastic model kit. You'll find lots of helpful posts about paint in this thread here on Britmodeller.

 

Washes - now there's a question! Again, lots of different ways of doing it and yes, essentially, it's a watered down colour that you remove from the model using ether a rubbing or washing technique. Again, lots of hobby companies now make them with some being water based (so can be cleaned off with water) while others use thinned enamels and oils which require a thinner to remove. If you search online for 'Sludge washes', you'll find plenty of tutorials, advice and homemade varieties too. Whichever route you go, you'll need to 'seal' in your final paint coat and decals so that when you add and remove the wash, you're not taking the model paint or decals with it.

 

The Tips thread here on the forum will also point you in the direction of some of the many ways (and products) to do washes. 

 

For me, I think what's helped my builds the most since I got back in the hobby was: 

• priming the model with a suitable primer before I paint it
• investing in some really good quality brushes for brush painting 
• sealing the final paint finish so decals have a nice smooth surface to adhere to
• learning how to do washes and weathering (still learning!)
• having fun and getting tips from others.

Hope that helps, all the best.

Dermot

 

 

 

Thank you Dermo! I figured it was some sort of reinforcement, I was just curious as to why it would be present on the CF-18s and not their American counterparts! High G Maneuvers makes sense though. I have a buddy who is going through school to be an aerospace engineer, maybe he'll be able to give a precise reason.

 

So far I have been using Testors enamel thinner to clean my brushes and thin the paint if needed. I wasn't aware that washes should be done after sealing. Good thing I asked or I may have gone ahead and stripped a bunch of paint off inadvertently. Thanks for the links, I will have some reading to do this weekend.

 

Great help, thanks again!

 

3 hours ago, Jaffajake said:

If I spray with enamels, I usually give it a gloss coat with Tamiya X-22 (acrylic) so a homemade wash (turps and oil paints) doesn't strip the paint once I've applied it. Hope this helps

 

 

Thank you Jaffajake, I haven't bought any gloss coats or sealants so I'll look into the X-22, it seems to have great reviews. How "glossy" are the coats? The paint of the actual CF-18 has a pretty matte finish, so I'm a bit weary using something that is very glossy.

 

Thought I would post a quick update, I went to home hardware earlier this week and bought a pack of clothespins and mini clamps,

finally got to use them!

 

 

Thanks again everyone!

[phildagreek]

Looking good!

[Jaffajake]

It depends on how heavy you apply the coats. I put down a mist over the surface and then put a few thicker coats over the top. Don't over do it though or you will get orange peel effect on your finished surface. It goes very shiny. You'll need the gloss coat to put the decals on to stop the silvering effect you get from the carrier film. Once you've put the decals on and washed it, you can then put a matte coat over the top. Tamiya XF-86 is the matte coat I use. 

Edited March 3, 2017 by Jaffajake
Forgot to add extra info

[PatsyTy]

Good evening everyone! Progress has slowed down quite a bit on this project as a result of a couple factors. Schoolwork has really picked up with projects, midterms and assignments rolling. The hockey team I cheer for has gone on an absolute tear, winning 10 in a row (go Flames!), so I've been watching those games religiously. Finally, I got sick at the start of last weekend, so my plans to work on the plan over the weekend did not happen. That being said I have made progress on some of the smaller aspects of the project, finishing what needs to be done for the cockpit, and getting a few coats on the landing gear components!

 

The cockpit dry fit has gone together well enough, it doesn't seem there are any issues in that aspect for this kit! I opted to have the cockpit closed for this model. Although I am mostly happy with the paint job for the interior of the cockpit, I hope some of the refraction from the cockpit bubble will make it harder to view my painting errors. For my next model, I would love to try out some photo-etched detail for the cockpit so I can display it in all of its glory. 

 

 

Before I glue the cockpit down I would like to prime the cockpit before closing it up. Also, note the gap between the upper and lower assembly of the nose of the plane, I filled this in with filler and would love some C&C.

 

 

I am using squadron products white putty for filler as it was the only filler available at my hobby shop. You have to work very quickly with it, and it is hard to apply it not too thick. I am not sure how it will look at the end of the day. If you see any glaring issues with my putty job I would appreciate hearing about them so I can fix them!

 

Engines are fully painted, however, I have not attached them to the plane. I plan to do so after I finish painting the body of the plane.

 

 

The plan is to weather the plane all at once after painting is done. The engines won't look so nice and clean after this.

 

While finishing the engines I also began painting the landing gear. As most of the landing gear is white, and it seems to take 6-7 coats of white paint to get some decent coverage I decided I needed plenty of time to do this.

 

 

I have multiple other pieces still on the spurs for painting. Lots of coats of white paint to be done here!

 

 

Finally, a slightly outdated (notice the lack of filler) overview of where I am at. This project may be put on hold for a week while I work through my schoolwork, hopefully, I will still find time for painting the landing gear as to finish all the coats of white paint for this plane.

 

As for the plan for this plane, I would like to model it after one of the planes used during Operation Mobile, Canada's contribution to the campaign in Libya. From this page I have found the serial numbers of the planes involved, along with and (unverified) loadout list for the planes. The loadout list includes:

• 1 AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Pod mounted to the left intake pylon
• 3 External Fuel Tanks mounted to the center and two interior pylons
• 1 AIM-120 AMRAAM mounted to the right intake pylon
• 2 AIM-9 Sidewinders mounted on the wingtip stations
• 2 GBU-12 500 Ibs Bombs mounted on the exterior pylons

The model kit comes with everything except for the Sniper Pod and the AIM-120 AMRAAM. Instead, it has aa AN/AAS-38 FLIR Pod and an AIM-7M Sparrow both of which do not resemble the armaments required for the Operation Mobile loadout. Most likely I will see if I can get the Sniper Pod or AIM-120 off eBay or amazon for not too expensive.

 

The aircraft serial numbers for the operation were

• 188734

• 188739

• 188752

• 188762

• 188767

• 188769

• 188780

One plane was a spare, so I'll try to find which one was as I would prefer to model this plane off of one that was operation. At the end of the day, even if I choose randomly, an 86% chance I'll pick an operation plane is pretty good when coupled with a 5% chance anyone will know the difference.

 

Thanks again everyone!

[Jaffajake]

Lovely work so far. One thing I like to do when filling in gaps between parts is to run a length of masking tape either side of the gap and then put my filler on. This stops you getting filler anywhere you don't want it. Then it's just a case of sanding it down when it's dry and looks very neat. Hope this helps

[Jessica]

On 2017-03-03 at 1:03 PM, PatsyTy said:

 

Thank you Dermo! I figured it was some sort of reinforcement, I was just curious as to why it would be present on the CF-18s and not their American counterparts! High G Maneuvers makes sense though. I have a buddy who is going through school to be an aerospace engineer, maybe he'll be able to give a precise reason.

 

 

The reason you don't see them on US F-18s is that ours are -A models, which are all long retired from USN service. The -C fins were designed to be stronger after the first cracking started to happen. All the -As in service got those external stiffeners because they were already built when the weakness was discovered.

[Cookenbacher]

Wonderful progress on your RCAF Hornet. I've been wanting to build one for a long time, but my current Spitfire obsession knows no bounds and keeps all others at the bottom of the list.

 

Here's a (perhaps overly involved) explanation for the vertical fin reinforcement plates. I think any F-18 that was produced before adding the fence to the LERX's has them added.

[Karlo]

Going great ! And no need to rush with models ! Just do some work when you feel for it and when you catch a bit Extra time ! It won't fly away or maybe....  

 

And yes white color is so annoying ! I started to use white gray. Almost similar to white , but take 2 or 3 less covers. Or just add a bit of light gray in white and you will see it will go a bit easier. Once when you cover your model with sludge wash or some kind of was it will go a bit darker. I make sludge washes from acrylic paints.

 

 

Edited March 18, 2017 by Karlo
didn't want to write two times in a row

[Guest]

Welcome to the hobby and the forum. I don't think I've ever seen a first build described. Good luck!

[PatsyTy]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I have been around the forums and decided I would respond to all your responses and tips!

 

On 2017-03-14 at 8:11 PM, Jaffajake said:

Lovely work so far. One thing I like to do when filling in gaps between parts is to run a length of masking tape either side of the gap and then put my filler on. This stops you getting filler anywhere you don't want it. Then it's just a case of sanding it down when it's dry and looks very neat. Hope this helps

 

That is a great tip Jaffajake! Luckily it seems most of the rest of the model fits together quite well, I will use this next time I have to do some filling!

 

On 2017-03-14 at 8:44 PM, Jessica said:

The reason you don't see them on US F-18s is that ours are -A models, which are all long retired from USN service. The -C fins were designed to be stronger after the first cracking started to happen. All the -As in service got those external stiffeners because they were already built when the weakness was discovered.

 

 

Thank you Jessica, one of the things I'm finding great about modelling is all the information I am learning about the CF-18. I found this document I have been reading giving me some very interesting insights on our Country's fighter.

 

On 2017-03-14 at 9:59 PM, Cookenbacher said:

Wonderful progress on your RCAF Hornet. I've been wanting to build one for a long time, but my current Spitfire obsession knows no bounds and keeps all others at the bottom of the list.

 

Here's a (perhaps overly involved) explanation for the vertical fin reinforcement plates. I think any F-18 that was produced before adding the fence to the LERX's has them added.

 

 

 

Fair enough! I feel my next build (whenever this gets done) will be a Spitfire or a Seafire if I can find a good model. A month ago I was at the Military Museums in Calgary and met with a WW2 vet who trained in Southern Alberta in Hawker Hurricanes then flew five different models of the Spitfire during the final years of the war. It was exceptionally interesting talking to him. His missions started mainly as bomber escorts flying at night, then after D-Day, he spent a couple months hopping around Army built airfields in France to cover the ground offensive. Too bad he was at the museum, I had to let others ask him questions otherwise I would've spent the entire day speaking with him.

 

On 2017-03-18 at 11:48 AM, Karlo said:

Going great ! And no need to rush with models ! Just do some work when you feel for it and when you catch a bit Extra time ! It won't fly away or maybe....  

 

And yes white color is so annoying ! I started to use white gray. Almost similar to white , but take 2 or 3 less covers. Or just add a bit of light gray in white and you will see it will go a bit easier. Once when you cover your model with sludge wash or some kind of was it will go a bit darker. I make sludge washes from acrylic paints.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm near the end of my leash with painting whites! I've spent almost the past two weeks with my model in limbo because when I have the chance to work on it all I can do is white coats! I guess it is something I have to get used to. I need to make a run to the hobby shop so I'll try the white-grey on the wheel wells and see how much that helps!

 

On 2017-03-18 at 1:24 PM, per ardua ad ostentationem said:

Welcome to the hobby and the forum. I don't think I've ever seen a first build described. Good luck!

 

Thank you. It is nothing impressive compared to the build on here, the help here has been incredible! 

 

There's not much to update on the plane, however, the decals did come in! The reviews for the Canuck model decals are generally quite good, although I don't know how to differentiate between good and bad decals so we'll see. I can attest to the documentation though. There's a good wealth of information on the paint scheme for the CF-18 along with the markings. Unfortunately, I found out I bought the wrong colour for the top of the plane; on the list for the next trip!

 

 

I found a tutorial online for the masking of canopies, I've had my try but am now really considering getting modelling tape for the added dexterity.

 

 

Thanks again everyone for the help and kind words. Hopefully soon we'll see an uptick in progress as I finish painting the landing gear and move on to the actual meat of the plane!

[phildagreek]

Looking good!

[Jessica]

Cut your masking tape into thin strips. It bends better and you can follow the edges of the canopy much more easily. Outline the canopy, and then go back and fill in with small pieces of tape.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Jessica said:

Cut your masking tape into thin strips. It bends better and you can follow the edges of the canopy much more easily. Outline the canopy, and then go back and fill in with small pieces of tape.

 

Yes. Stick it to a plate or mirror or piece of glass and then slice it into thin strips with a scalpel or craft knife.