Airfix Nakajima B5N2 'Kate'

[Shelliecool]

For my next build I have decided to attempt the Airfix Nakajima B5N2 'kate.' 

As one of Airfix's new tools, the sprues are all very clean, and there is lots of detailing to the cockpit and fuselage, because of this she will be an out of the box build.

 

I love the look of this aircraft with its wings folded in, and am toying with which paint scheme to choose. I am looking forward to using my modelling saw for the first time, and developing new techniques. 

[Steve Coombs]

Please be advised that the engine is a tight fit in the cowling, particularly if there's any depth of paint to either part. You might want to file down the cylinder heads a touch to be sure; nobody will notice. Also ensure the engine sits as far forward in the cowling as possible, or you could have an embarrassing gap between the cowling and the fuselage.

If doing the folded wings option, be most careful when removing the fuselage/wingtip braces from the sprues. They are distinctly fragile.

If you value your sanity, get the Eduard masks for the cockpit glazing.

Better not ask how I came to know this!

[Shelliecool]

On 03/07/2017 at 23:18, Steve Coombs said:

Please be advised that the engine is a tight fit in the cowling, particularly if there's any depth of paint to either part. You might want to file down the cylinder heads a touch to be sure; nobody will notice. Also ensure the engine sits as far forward in the cowling as possible, or you could have an embarrassing gap between the cowling and the fuselage.

If doing the folded wings option, be most careful when removing the fuselage/wingtip braces from the sprues. They are distinctly fragile.

If you value your sanity, get the Eduard masks for the cockpit glazing.

Better not ask how I came to know this!

Thank you for the advice, was a toss up between building this and my Revell Halifax. I opted for Kate partly because my son wanted me to make it,  and partly because I thought it may be less daunting than the slightly larger Halifax. I have since realised how complex this kit is. I want to build it with folded wings, so thanks for the tip there too.

Michelle. 

[Shelliecool]

Started work today by using my modelling saw to cut the outer sections of the folding wings. This went smoothly on the first side, which I cut through smoothly then glued together with ease. However, when I started the other side my saw slipped and I lost a small part of the corner of the upper wing.....some filler will be needed here I think.

[Shelliecool]

Back to the build today after having the pleasure of watching the BBMF at RIAT. I have filled the section of wing I broke whilst cutting with Humbrol filler, and set about painting the cockpit whilst is dried. I gave the cockpit floor a quick coat of Tamiya xf-73, and once dry went over that with a coat of Revell olive green. My aim was to create a weathered look to the floor. I then painted the pilots and co-pilots seats in the same manner, before painting the controls, guns and other fixtures for the cockpit.

 

 

 

 

[Shelliecool]

Been focusing on the finer details in the cockpit tonight. I have secured the pilots seat into place, and built the bombardier's seat and applied decals to the instrument panels. 

This all went nice and smoothly, so Itchen turned my attention to the Nakajima sakae engine. This is the first radial engine I have attempted, and I am a little daunted, but I've begun by applying about of Coal satin black (I will be doing a little research on this particular engine, as I want to do it justice.)

 

[Shelliecool]

Built the cockpit today, all went together with ease. The foot pedals are a bit fiddly but with the help of tweezers, soon slotted into place.

I then Gorilla glued the glass pieces into the side of the fuselage, and fitted the pilots instrument panel into place before gluing the two halves together.

Again these went together easily and fit together in a smooth fashion. I then turned my attention to the dreaded radial engine. I found a good reference source on Google and set to work. Firstly using Mr.Metal Color, then using Tamiya Bronze to add some depth and dirt, then a spot of Revell Rust, before a dry brush of Humbrol silver. I'm fairly pleased with the effect so far.

 

 

[Shelliecool]

Been busy building the tail of the aircraft today, this was quite a simple exercise, although I took time to make sure both sides were equal. I also added the flaps to the inner wing, again a straight forward exercise. 

 

I also painted the engine cowling aluminium, and began work on the wheels and undercarriage. Coming along nicely now.

[Liney]

A grand job! Did you brush-paint the Mr Metal Color and if so how did you find it? Did you use any thinners and if so what? 

[Shelliecool]

35 minutes ago, Liney said:

A grand job! Did you brush-paint the Mr Metal Color and if so how did you find it? Did you use any thinners and if so what? 

Thanks for your comments I did brush paint the Mr.Metal Color, I didn't thin it down. The paint is fairly thin from the bottle, and on small areas I tend to use paint straight from the pot. 

Thanks again, Michelle. 

[Shelliecool]

tonight I masked up the clear parts, and prepared myself for the task of painting the aircraft hemp. Now, I purchased some Humbrol acrylic thinner and mixed the paint 80% paint, 20% thinner. The paint looked great I must admit, but then disaster struck......as I began to brush it onto the underside of the kit, it was obviously way too thin. Actually it almost reminded me of Mr. hobby colour. This is my first attempt using thinners, where have I gone wrong?

[Steve Coombs]

Not a disaster. Let the paint dry fully, then put on another coat and see how things improve.

As a rule of thumb, it's always better to apply several thin coats rather than one thick one, particularly if you're using a hairy stick.

[Shelliecool]

Had a quick peek at how the paint has dried, and my heart has sunk again. As you can see, it is patchy, with clearly visible brush strokes. I always paint with a brush and can only liken this to Mr.Hobby paints. Do I carry on using the Humbrol thinner? Will several thin layers help eradicate the brush strokes and patching? (Also the outer wings look worse!)

[Steve Coombs]

The snag for me is that I've never used Humbrol Acrylics. However, I would be very tempted to put on at least one other thin coat of paint. That'd ameliorate some if not all of the brushmarks. Then decide how to continue.

What type of brush are you using? Marten or squirrel hair brushes give a smoother finish than your bog-standard brush (and are worth the extra money and effort in keeping them clean). You're going for coverage and not detail here, so use a large brush and get the job done quickly. Avoid going over drying areas with more paint as it could lift what's underneath.

If nothing else, you're building a carrier-based plane. Think about wear and tear, the elements at sea, and shipboard maintenance routines. It's not going to look like it's just come out of the factory, so patches here and there are feasible and plausible.

[yarvelling]

Hi Michelle..
With regards to brush painting Humbrol acrylics, I've mostly used one of the Humbrol wide, flat brushes, and a mix of paint and water...... always over a primer coat though; never straight onto bare plastic

My normal favourite primer has been Halfords grey in the large spray cans... goes on thin and very strong! 

With the watered down acrylic - mixed in a shallow dish - I've normally managed to get away with two coats to get a nice smooth finish (if it's starting to come out too watery, I just dry the brush a little on kitchen roll and continue painting)... smooth it all as best as possible, and  eliminate obvious brush strokes, though I don't obsess over a slightly patchy-ish finish..... as Steve Coombs mentioned above, wear and tear, weathering, and dirtying will result in faded and patchy looking paint on the real thing, so, a 'perfect' finish isn't always wanted...   Humbrol seems to mix and thin better with water when using a brush - better than their own thinners, which I've not had any luck with really through an airbrush either!!  Just makes the paint thin and 'sticky', and takes days to dry!!  I'm sure it's also responsible for a very bad nose-bleed one day too, as I wasn't wearing any mask when using it!  

Never used it since!  And found even with airbrushing, water is fine, though Humbrol paint can be a bit on the grainy side - I prefer using the hairy-stick and water with Humbrol; much smoother results.
Hope this helps....

 

Edited July 28, 2017 by yarvelling

[Troy Smith]

If you  are brush painting Humbrol acrylic, some flow improver helps,  I got a bottle of Windsor and Newton,  but AFAIK it's function is break down surface tension, so you might want to experiment  with tiny amount of washing up liquid at a push.

I added a tiny amount of  flow  improver from a tiny syringe, 0.1-02 ml to  one of the little starter pots.

 

There was a thread here on this,  

here

in particular I linked to a post of @PlaStix  who does  some great work with brushed Humbrol acrylic.

 

HTH

T

 

[Steve Coombs]

Hmm. Has anyone tried adding Future floor wax (or whatever it's called at the moment) to Humbrol acrylics? Future is supposed to be self-levelling, so would act as a flow improver and eradicate brushmarks. It makes a fine gloss varnish in any case, and dries quickly.

http://web.archive.org/web/20161027132919/http://www.swannysmodels.com:80/TheCompleteFuture.html

Please humour me if I've just tried to reinvent the wheel.

[Shelliecool]

2 hours ago, yarvelling said:

Hi Michelle..
With regards to brush painting Humbrol acrylics, I've mostly used one of the Humbrol wide, flat brushes, and a mix of paint and water...... always over a primer coat though; never straight onto bare plastic

My normal favourite primer has been Halfords grey in the large spray cans... goes on thin and very strong! 

With the watered down acrylic - mixed in a shallow dish - I've normally managed to get away with two coats to get a nice smooth finish (if it's starting to come out too watery, I just dry the brush a little on kitchen roll and continue painting)... smooth it all as best as possible, and  eliminate obvious brush strokes, though I don't obsess over a slightly patchy-ish finish..... as Steve Coombs mentioned above, wear and tear, weathering, and dirtying will result in faded and patchy looking paint on the real thing, so, a 'perfect' finish isn't always wanted...   Humbrol seems to mix and thin better with water when using a brush - better than their own thinners, which I've not had any luck with really through an airbrush either!!  Just makes the paint thin and 'sticky', and takes days to dry!!  I'm sure it's also responsible for a very bad nose-bleed one day too, as I wasn't wearing any mask when using it!  

Never used it since!  And found even with airbrushing, water is fine, though Humbrol paint can be a bit on the grainy side - I prefer using the hairy-stick and water with Humbrol; much smoother results.
Hope this helps....

 

Thanks for the advice, I normally thin my paint with water (but like you said, Humbrol does seem to go a little grainy, hence the change to thinners). I'm using a fairly broad artists flat brush (may need a larger one). After another coat tonight, where I used less thinner to paint, the effect is more even with less visible brush strokes. I'm now beginning to think, the amount of thinner I used made the paint sticky and way too thin to adhere properly.

[Shelliecool]

4 minutes ago, Steve Coombs said:

Hmm. Has anyone tried adding Future floor wax (or whatever it's called at the moment) to Humbrol acrylics? Future is supposed to be self-levelling, so would act as a flow improver and eradicate brushmarks. It makes a fine gloss varnish in any case, and dries quickly.

http://web.archive.org/web/20161027132919/http://www.swannysmodels.com:80/TheCompleteFuture.html

Please humour me if I've just tried to reinvent the wheel.

I have been using Quick Shine floor Polish from Lake Land, works a treat as a gloss varnish. May try mixing a tad with some Humbrol acrylic (will test it on a spare part though, as your advice has helped with the paint job on Kate!).

Thanks Michelle. 

[Shelliecool]

I have been busy since my last post, and have cheered up about the paint job a little too. I continued painting the kit with Humbrol 168 thinned with Humbrol thinner (although I made sure I used less thinner this time, and added a little Quick Shine varnish in an attempt to level the paint). This helped, and the paint now has a more even appearance, it is still a little patchy but I believe this will add to the weathered look of the model when finished. As the paint job I have chosen has a green camo effect over the top of the hemp, I decided to apply the 2 decals to the top of the wings, and on the side software the fuselage. For this I applied a small amount of Quick Shine and once dry fixed the decals in place using Humbrol decal fix, with a thin coat of Quick Shine to seal them in.

 

 

[Steve Coombs]

Looking good!

How are you going to mask the Hinomaru before you put the green squiggle camouflage on? After some misadventures with Kabuki masking tape that lifted MicroSol'd and Setted decals under two layers of well-cured varnish, I've taken to making paper masks and spraying the contact surface with some 3M spray intended for photographs. This effectively turns the things into Post-its (same glue, I think), which stick well enough for the job to be done and don't grab so hard as to lift what's beneath. I haven't experienced any glue residue left behind, though your mileage may vary.

P.S. I just did a quick Google search, and it seems you can get the stuff in something like a Pritt stick. I need to look for some locally!

[Shelliecool]

Since my last post I set to work on the camouflage markings on the aircraft. As I brush paint all my models I decided to free hand the markings, painting one panel at a time. Once dry, I painted over the markings with a lighter green to add some fading and weathering. 

 

 

Once dry I sealed this in using Quick Shine. I have also been working on painting the undercarriage and wheels, these like the varnish are drying ready for assembly. 

[Shelliecool]

Today was decal day, and what a day it has been! Normally I enjoy this stage of the build as it is for me where the aircraft becomes more realistic, gets a bit of personality and life. This is the second Airfix kit I have applied decals to this week (the other being 1:72 Spitfire PRXIX), and the second kit to cause a few headaches. I wasn't too concerned that the decals wouldn't stick (like they didn't with the Spit),  because the panel lines are not too deep on this kit, but I hadn't anticipated the size and thickness of some supplied with Kate. I set to work on the top of the aircraft, and all was fine till I began the decals on the ailerons. These come in one piece, are thick and longer than the aileron itself. Lots of decal fix and pressure from a cotton bud later I'm still not convinced they will sit down once dry.

 

While I left these to settle (with my fingers and toes crossed🤞), I fixed the nose and prop into place. For this I used Gorilla glue, as I wanted it to stick quickly and limit the spread of the glue so the propeller turns.

Thats all for tonight.

[stevehnz]

That is looking great Michelle, a useful tutorial along the way too.

Sometime back on BM, a discussion on acrylic paint levelling, someone said they used kids bubble mix rather than the expensive proprietry flow improver/drying retardesr. I found it works well to stop the excessively fast drying which lead to brush marks. Something else I discovered by accident was acrylic medium, in my case Reeves but all brands appear to have one, which worked well as a gloss coat for decals & added to the acrylic paint, smoothed the finish out quite a lot, albeit making matt paint into a satin finish but that will disappear under a final matt coat anyway

[Steve Coombs]

Argh, I have done the same as you with my build - not that many will notice or care. It appears that the aileron decals are supposed to go on the wing around the ailerons, and not on the ailerons themselves, which would explain the size of the things. If building the folding wing version, this presumably means cutting off the outboard end of the decal and putting it on the outer wing (where nobody will see it in the angle of the wingfold).

I foresee a second Kate in my future (where I will experiment with making the folded wing supports with wire, using an eyelet-like twist of finer wire in the bend of each to make the pin that locates in the wingtips)!