neilfergylee Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 23 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Would it help to print the blue/yellow squadron colors in a slightly lighter tone ? Once placed on the dark base it should bring the colors back to a normal range ? Or close enough to call them faded at least ? Dennis Actually, why didn't I apply the decals twice to increase their opacity? Doh! Fortunately, I'm onto Plan B and have ordered some white decal paper. Watch this space... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 On 04/02/2018 at 10:34, neilfergylee said: Thank you! The masking was quite - er- challenging but I felt it worthwhile. Certainly I will appreciate the availability of pre-cut mask sets! Regarding the grey, in early meteors, they were Sea Grey Medium all over and then had green camouflage on the upper surfaces. This was just the same of WWII night fighters such as the Beaufighter and Mosquito. Later-on, the upper surfaces received a coat of Dark Sea Grey. Personally, I think the Sea Grey Medium looks a little dark when comparing it to contemporary photos but it definitely isn't as pale as Light Aircraft Grey. Great job, I've just been through the same learning curve with a 1/32 Beaufighter and agree, masking the second colour with tape and patterns is a big faff and not enjoyable. I think that brush painting is just as effective and to my twisted mind, more enjoyable. This is the end result: the Sea Grey Medium is Humbrol Acrylic from a spray can and the green is Humbrol 163 enamel. The contrast between the two looks "right" to me. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 39 minutes ago, 224 Peter said: Great job, I've just been through the same learning curve with a 1/32 Beaufighter and agree, masking the second colour with tape and patterns is a big faff and not enjoyable. I think that brush painting is just as effective and to my twisted mind, more enjoyable. This is the end result: the Sea Grey Medium is Humbrol Acrylic from a spray can and the green is Humbrol 163 enamel. The contrast between the two looks "right" to me. Completely agree, this is how I do mine! Spray the grey, brush the green and spray the undersides. Mine don't look quite as good as your Beaufighter though! How do you feel Tamiya XF-81 compares to your Humbrol 163? I'm also thinking the DSG I use on 50s jets looks a bit dark, your MSG looks better, but all instructions say DSG. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 14 minutes ago, Lord Riot said: Completely agree, this is how I do mine! Spray the grey, brush the green and spray the undersides. Mine don't look quite as good as your Beaufighter though! How do you feel Tamiya XF-81 compares to your Humbrol 163? I'm also thinking the DSG I use on 50s jets looks a bit dark, your MSG looks better, but all instructions say DSG. I've not used any of the Tamiya colours in recent years, so have no point of reference. The Beau is MSG overall, with DG pattern on the upper surfaces, so if I'd just brush painted the 163 it would have save me hours.......and several yards of masking tape! Live and learn, I guess! From mid 1943 the night fighter colours were overall MSG with DG over, some time in the late 40s/early 50s the upper MSG was replaced by DSG. I need to find out when..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilfergylee Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 (edited) On 07/03/2018 at 18:05, 224 Peter said: From mid 1943 the night fighter colours were overall MSG with DG over, some time in the late 40s/early 50s the upper MSG was replaced by DSG. I need to find out when..... Peter, MSG lasted longer than you might think! My NF11 still used MSG and I believe the change to DSG uppers took place somewhere around the mid-1950s. I shall try and find out something more definitive. Great paint job by the way and your MSG looks excellent and close to mine too! Cheers, Neil Edited April 8, 2018 by neilfergylee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilfergylee Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share Posted April 8, 2018 I'm calling it finished! It's been a month but life and work got in the way but - finally - window of opportunity presented itself this weekend. @Corsairfoxfouruncle, I finally managed to obtain some white decal paper and the results were good but not perfect. the resulting decal is good and white, but it is a little thick and, as you can see, there is a white outline. However, I am reasonably satisfied, while the clear decals for the serials have been a delight. as you can see, I made best use of the sheet by producing some fin flashes and roundels for the spares box. One subject that had taxed me was the colour of the radome. The example I was modelling, WM239, appeared to have a two-tone radome but I wasn't keen on having a green top-half as shown in the following drawing: However, by pure chance, I found a picture of the very aircraft on the Air Historical branch's Twitter feed: Now, I know that aircraft change over their lifecycles and radomes are the sort of component that might get swapped between airframes. Not only that, but the absence of squadron markings implies that this photo was taken early in WM239's life but the top half of the radome looks black, not green, to me and note also the tonal difference of the lower half. This suited me as it gave me the opportunity to a little paint mixing and come-up with a rather nice semi-gloss lower-half. Finally I added the undercarriage and aerials and aluminium tubing tailpipes. So, after four months, I'm calling this model finished. It's a touch like me really, looks reasonable from a distance but don't look too closely! It wouldn't stand a chance in any competition but I'm very pleased with the result as I have learned and re-learned many techniques from my past and I'm looking forward to my next project: 1/72 PR10 or 1/48 F8?! Finally, a big THANK YOU to all of you who commented, liked and generally gave me advice and encouragement. In the past, modelling was a lonely affair, but these days one can feel part of a mutually-supportive community. Thank you. Neil Ferguson-Lee PS: I have kept a log of the build here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/26690797@N02/albums/72157664737952408/with/41274251222/ 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 A beautiful Meteor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 Yes its definitely a looker I had to really zoom in on your original photo. Its hard but you can make out a slight tonal difference in the green/black colors. Good catch it helps the look a lot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 That is a really nice job there Neil. I've one of these to do a 6 sqn one off the Modeldecals sheet at some stage & have enjoyed watching this for ideas & inspiration. Your home spun decals are brilliant. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Really very good, looks "right" to me. One little know fact about the Meteor: the front ring on the engine nacelles is a single component, made of laminated ash and machined to shape! Possibly the last bit of woodwork on a British Fighter...... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilfergylee Posted May 8, 2018 Author Share Posted May 8, 2018 Brief update: PR.10 now in process with an Airfix Mk.III in RAuxAF silver to follow. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Beautiful Meteor! Well done! Håkan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilfergylee Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 15 hours ago, Azgaron said: Beautiful Meteor! Well done! Håkan Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 It looks great. There is a steep learning curve with home made decals (I know, I'm still on it!) but the finished result looks very nice. The PR one looks very tasty too. Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilfergylee Posted July 1, 2018 Author Share Posted July 1, 2018 On 09/05/2018 at 12:09, AdrianMF said: It looks great. There is a steep learning curve with home made decals (I know, I'm still on it!) but the finished result looks very nice. The PR one looks very tasty too. Regards, Adrian Thank you very much indeed! Meanwhile, here is the finished article PR.10 alongside the original NF.11. I have now started on a Mk.3! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 They look great Neil, you've done a beaut job on both of them. 👍 Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilfergylee Posted July 5, 2018 Author Share Posted July 5, 2018 On 01/07/2018 at 22:06, stevehnz said: They look great Neil, you've done a beaut job on both of them. 👍 Steve. Thank you very much indeed - it's really appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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