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Grabbed before they're gone! EE Lightning F.6


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I'm hooked on this modeling lark... I just can't get enough of the plastic, glue and paint fumes it would seem! I've just finished a vintage P-38 Lightning and I thought that the decent thing to do would be to build the iconic English Electric version. I've read good things about the recent Airfix offering and after reading the review on here I grabbed one before they disappear as apparently Airfix have discontinued them?!

 

Anyway, obligatory box shot:

IMG_4975.jpg

I'll be building the NMF version 'XS927' based in Singapore as I although the grey toned one was tempting, I've already got a Harrier in a similar scheme... besides I always thing of a NMF scheme when I think of a EE Lightning. Here's some shots of the real thing:

XS921.jpg
XS927.jpg

 

So first off, the internals need painting and assembling. This starts with the air scoop and exhausts. For the air scoop I thought I'd so some practice runs of the NMF as most of this is barely visible. After removing some horrible ejector pin marks and sanding back smooth I applied some Tamiya X-18, semi-gloss black. After this had cured overnight I sprayed Humbrol Metalcote from the tin after diluting 1:1 with white spirit. This has created a pretty good finish:

IMG_4979.jpg

...but I'm not happy. I want a really solid NMF and after some research on here and other sites I've settled on some AK Interactive Metal paints. I've purchased the undercoat (black), chrome, aluminum and polished aluminium (two variations of aluminium to ensure different contrasts). Looking at the real thing, it's not polished all over so I'll base it with aluminium and highlight some panels with polished. I'll also darken some panels as per the picture... Looking forward to experimenting with this stuff!  I've also grabbed their protective gloss coat which is supposed to enhance the finish instead of using Clear.

 

This next shot shows Tamiya Chrome on the right in comparison to Humbrol Metalcote on the left. This is another little experiment to see if I needed the AK chrome... clearly I do! I want these bits gleaming as per the box art.

IMG_4982.jpg

 

I've added some extra detail to the top of the cockpit tub:

IMG_4980.jpg

Not much will be seen as the opening is tiny so I've left the rest alone. I will however go to town on the ejector seat which is really basic. Here it is halfway through with mock seat belts and buckles made from Tamiya tape and wire. This needs refining, painting and weathering:

IMG_4990.jpg

 

Finally here are the assembled air scoops and exhausts. As you can see I'll need to fill and re-paint the nose section as this was very warped and didn't fit together very well at all:

IMG_4986.jpg

That's it for today! 

Hope you've enjoyed.

JB

 

 

 

 

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Great stuff gents, glad to have you on board.

 

Small update from today. I started with some dry fitting of the two fuselages with the air scoop in place but they wouldn't close together?

IMG_4991.jpg

 

I eventually noticed some pretty serious left over plastic from the moulds stopping the halves meeting:

IMG_4992.jpg

Removing these with the Dremel did the trick:
IMG_4993.jpg

 

There's quite a few parts infected with the disease:

IMG_4995.jpg

Good job I have the Dremel as it makes short work of them :)

Finally added the decals to the cockpit tub:

IMG_4994.jpg

These have conformed quite well and looks pretty good for a flat surface.

JB

 

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Nice work. I'm especially impressed with how you modified the seat by adding belts - that will really make a big difference to the completed cockpit. That tub looks pretty good as well - the whole ensemble should come together very nicely.

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On 05/06/2017 at 10:06 PM, propforward said:

Nice work. I'm especially impressed with how you modified the seat by adding belts - that will really make a big difference to the completed cockpit. That tub looks pretty good as well - the whole ensemble should come together very nicely.

Thanks Propforward. I spent some more time adding more detail to the back of the seat as per some pictures I found online; it'll be the most visible bit. I've dryfitted the lot and it all fits which is a bonus 😝

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Hello BM's. I've run an experiment today as it's my first time using Xtreme Metal by AK Interactive and I've had some mixed results I'm afraid :(

 

I used some scrap parts with enough surface variation to test the paint and see which colours would work best on my EE Lightning:

 

IMG_5012.jpg

As you can see, no priming and I made sure the parts were washed first although I do feel this is a bit of an 'old wives tale' as I've never had a problem with unwashed parts... so to speak!

 

First off I laid down the recommended black primer as evenly and as I could at around 18psi using my Iwata Eclipse:

IMG_5014.jpg

IMG_5015.jpg

IMG_5016.jpg

I achieved a fairly even finish and it did appear to self level although on the blue parts (Revell plastic), even after three coats you can still see a hint of blue. The last is a wing from an Airfix mould.

 

I then sprayed as instructed and after watching several online reviews, using a different colour on each part to test the variation. Here are the results:

IMG_5019.jpg
IMG_5018.jpg

A = Aluminium, PA = Polished Aluminium and C = Chrome.

 

As for ease of use, levelling and overall finish I cannot really fault them, and they do look much better than Metalcote or Tamiya paints but that's to be expected and not really a fair comparison. Let's just say I'm certainly not blown away.

 

Now for the type of paint... I know it's difficult to tell with the camera but to the naked eye, I really cannot tell much difference, if any, between the three different paints :( 

I'd expected the Chrome for example to be far more of a mirror finish than the aluminium and the polished aluminum to be noticeably different from the aluminium. I will run another test but it feels like I've got the same paint in all three jars... Has anyone else had a better or perhaps similar result with these? Am I expecting too much?

JB

 

 

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And in other news...

 

I've hacked, filed and sanded and finally glued both fuselage sides together with the exhaust and cockpit tub. It's not pretty but it's together. The fit I have to say is really poor in some places and there is a small step to deal with all over:

IMG_5025.jpg
IMG_5022.jpg
IMG_5021.jpg

Still, all part of the fun right?!

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On 08/06/2017 at 5:25 PM, Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen said:

Now for the type of paint... I know it's difficult to tell with the camera but to the naked eye, I really cannot tell much difference, if any, between the three different paints :( 

 

I'd expected the Chrome for example to be far more of a mirror finish than the aluminium and the polished aluminum to be noticeably different from the aluminium. I will run another test but it feels like I've got the same paint in all three jars... Has anyone else had a better or perhaps similar result with these? Am I expecting too much?

JB

 

 

 Hya.

Is this stuff Acrylic?  If it is I found that spraying it almost too heavily or really wet gave the best results for a chrome finish.

I sprayed at a light ish psi but didn't mist as I would with other colours. I really layed it down. I was using Vallejo metal colour however. Great work on the tub, I think I have a lightning coming as a late BD pressie. :giles:

 

Johnny

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On ‎08‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 6:25 PM, Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen said:

Now for the type of paint... I know it's difficult to tell with the camera but to the naked eye, I really cannot tell much difference, if any, between the three different paints :( 

I'd expected the Chrome for example to be far more of a mirror finish than the aluminium and the polished aluminum to be noticeably different from the aluminium. I will run another test but it feels like I've got the same paint in all three jars... Has anyone else had a better or perhaps similar result with these? Am I expecting too much?

JB

 

Never used the AK Metal myself, but I have just seen an article on the SkyModel Italian magazine, of a guy who used the AK for the exaust tail section of a MiG-21. He used Tamiya X-1 as a primer, thinned with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner (Yellow Cap), with 2 shades of AK, Aluminium and Dark Aluminium, and the results appear more "polished" than yours. Of course judging from a photo on a magazine. But the Aluminium 479 used this way looks quite close to the Lightning in the photos above.

Perhaps you could try that.

 

Davide

 

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10 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

 Hya.

Is this stuff Acrylic?  If it is I found that spraying it almost too heavily or really wet gave the best results for a chrome finish.

I sprayed at a light ish psi but didn't mist as I would with other colours. I really layed it down. I was using Vallejo metal colour however. Great work on the tub, I think I have a lightning coming as a late BD pressie. :giles:

 

Johnny

Hi Johnny, it says 'enabled' based paint but it goes off very quick so can't be traditional enamel. In fact it went off so quick that when I went to get some more paint using the same pipette I used barely minutes ago it was 'gunky'. Thanks for the tip; I'll go extra heavy on my next test. I'm going to do a few more before I let loose on the Lightning! Cheers on the tub - it does need a little more to it as it's very basic even for a recent Airfix mould. OoooOOooo... I do like late 'plastic' pressies - even if most of the time they're from myself ^_^

3 hours ago, Davetur said:

 

Never used the AK Metal myself, but I have just seen an article on the SkyModel Italian magazine, of a guy who used the AK for the exaust tail section of a MiG-21. He used Tamiya X-1 as a primer, thinned with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner (Yellow Cap), with 2 shades of AK, Aluminium and Dark Aluminium, and the results appear more "polished" than yours. Of course judging from a photo on a magazine. But the Aluminium 479 used this way looks quite close to the Lightning in the photos above.

Perhaps you could try that.

 

Davide

 

Hmm thanks Davide, so more experimenting required. They're shiny, just not as shiny as I'd hoped but it was my first time out with the stuff... keep tuned for the results!

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Evening from the sunny, yet windy south east of England. Today's plastic-time has been quite productive considering I haven't spent much time on it today. So if you recall from last time I'd just joined the fuselage together and noted quite a few steps and poor joins:

IMG_5039.jpg

I started by sanding the step underneath which removed the panel line detail. I then attempted to re-scribe and accidently slipped and also mis-scribed one of the panels. This essentially resulted in me filling the whole lot up! Whilst waiting to dry i marked up the areas that need significant work. Any black dot denotes where I need to sand back and fill:

IMG_5041.jpg
IMG_5042.jpg

As you can see the nose is pretty bad! Anyway, I left the fuselage which filler slapped on to dry.

 

I then moved on to the wings...

IMG_5043.jpg

Really?! What's going on Airfix?! This was the same on both wings but fortunately with some clamps applied, these glued together ok.

I then moved on to the overwing external fuel tanks. These also had steps on which required quite a bit of sanding back and re-scribing:

IMG_5046.jpg 

 

Also built the missiles:
IMG_5048.jpg

 

Some more filling on the wings where there were impressions in the plastic:

IMG_5047.jpg

 

Once sanded back, the wings went on nicely with the exception of a slight gap in the starboard which will be easily dealt with. with a little putty:

IMG_5049.jpg
IMG_5050.jpg

You'll also noticed I've sanded back the panels around the nose and applied some (more) putty.

 

...And yes I'd neglected the cat and she was making sure I knew it!!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well the EEL has been interesting to build to say the least over the past couple of weeks. I've spent a lot of time filling, sanding, filling, sanding, repeat, remove plastic, fill, sand... you get the idea. I've also been experimenting with AK Interactive Xtreme Metal (AKIXM) and I'm pleased to say that I'm getting the hang of these and improving on application. They really are quite impressive despite my initial reservations but more of that later.

 

First off, here's the lightning... not much has changed has it?

IMG_5115.jpg

 

Again, this has been due to the serious amount of work required in trying to get bits to fit and look half decent afterwards. I fitted the tail stabilisers and fins underneath. I've also added nose panels taking careful note not to choose the wrong ones as there are several in the kit. I've also added the belly. I had to do a serious amount of re-scribing and filling as you can see here - I actually invested in some circular scribing templates as I made several mistakes trying to freehand... which is to be expected I suppose:

IMG_5112.jpg

Flaps and airbrakes are also on. I decided to have the airbrakes closed and the flaps down to try and keep it true to how it would be on the tarmac.

 

I've prepped the undercarriage and external fuel tanks then sprayed these with AKIXM Polished Aluminium. These have come up quite nicely:

IMG_5110.jpg

IMG_5111.jpg

 

So on to the experimenting... I noticed on the external tank that any slight scratch or blemish in the plastic is almost amplified when you use these paints. I didn't use my usual Humbrol primer on these parts as I wanted as smooth a finish as possible and with metal effect paints I've learnt that you have to put a serious amount of effort to get the primer smooth to ensure a mirror finish with the application of the metal effect paint. So in short, I opted to not use it but the primer would have covered some of the scratches.

 

So i decided to take two identical bits of plastic, scratch them both and only prime one. I also sanded the primer back as smooth as I could. I then painted:

IMG_5114.jpg

The one at the top is unprimed and although a smoother finish, any scratch is instantly picked up. The one underneath had the same array of scratches on the fin but the primer has dealt with these. You can however see a slight blemishing where the primer has left a slightly textured finish (again despite serious wet and dry sanding). You might also notice a wash in the lines on the bottom one; I'll explain shortly.

 

So in conclusion... i'm going to prime but really, really polish up the primed article before hitting it with the AKs.

 

I've also experimented with washes, disastrously. I wondered if the AK's would take the usual mix of turpentine and oil paints as they were very resistant to Microsol/set. Anyway they didn't survive!

IMG_5113.jpg

Clearly the paint needs protecting, which doesn't come as much of a surprise. I wouldn't apply washes straight on to fresh paint without a gloss coat.

 

I'm glad now that I bought the specific shine enhancer/gloss coat designed to work with these paints. I applied that to the fins I used for the priming experiment earlier and as per my note above the panel at the bottom has been washed with the same mix and survived. It has also got a nice shine to it and doesn't look like metal with a gloss coat. Pretty impressive stuff! 

 

Cheers, JB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Oooh, shiny plane. I Like shiny!

I'm also admiring the scientific, methodical approach to paints and their application.!

Looks like strong, stable leadership on the painting process.

(Hope that hasn't put the kibosh on it...)

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Some good, methodical practice runs there - always good to see stuff like this - we never stop learning new tricks and tips in this game.

 

For my Lightning build I used a 'EDDING 751 PAINT MARKER PEN SILVER BULLET TIP' (copied from Amazon) for the nose ring and exhaust area - worked a treat.

 

Phil

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On 2017-6-22 at 0:03 PM, Booty003 said:

Some good, methodical practice runs there - always good to see stuff like this - we never stop learning new tricks and tips in this game.

 

For my Lightning build I used a 'EDDING 751 PAINT MARKER PEN SILVER BULLET TIP' (copied from Amazon) for the nose ring and exhaust area - worked a treat.

 

Phil

Hi Phil - that's a neat idea with the silver paint pen. If my foiling doesn't go to plan I may choose that as a backup! The only issue I have is the nose ring is slightly damaged so I was hoping that the tape would hide the little kink in the shape.

 

On 2017-6-22 at 1:20 PM, propforward said:

Continues to look very, very good indeed. Nice work!

Cheers PF, She's had the final bit's glued on today and has been primed! A couple of areas to correct but it's not too bad. I may be laying down the aluminium tomorrow :)

23 hours ago, nickandrews7 said:

Very interesting - I also have this kit and some AK479 so your trials have been very informative :)

Thanks Nick, definitely do some practice runs first and if you have it, the black base seems to enhance that shine.

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A minor update today but quite a leap forward. Glazing and masking added:

IMG_5131.jpg

 

Then a blast with Humbrol primer:
IMG_5132.jpg

Not too bad... much better than I had anticipated, especially around the nose

 

Here's the main offenders:
IMG_5133.jpg

Airbrake and a scratch just below it. The notches are thanks to Airfix's really bad positioning on the sprue.


IMG_5134.jpg

Some deep lines around the nose panels.
IMG_5135.jpg

And I'll need to fill in where the glazing attaches.

 

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