First ever model, 1/144 Trumpeter YF-23, need some suggestions

[RJBud1]

Hello all,

I am 15 years old and have run into a bit of trouble with trying to convert the Trumpeter 1/144 YF-23 from a "on the ground " position (aka with gear down) to a gear up position. There were no gear flaps included so I had to do some scratch building,  for the front gear I simply cut out a small piece of cardboard backing and glued it on, I don't notice it if I'm not looking for it. 

The back gear, however are more difficult and the cardboard backing did not work. I remember reading a long time ago that superglue can , carefully, be used as a stop gap cement / putty. I had squadron cement but it was dried up. The superglue worked, to an extent, but I would like suggestions on how to approach this next. After I have found a solution I will clean up the excess superglue. Bare in mind this is my first model I haven't totally ruined , so don't be to harsh on me. (Although I have done a few 1/100 tanks that somehow came out looking like the ones I've seen and raved about here ,I gave them away to a cousin who has a growing interest in the game War Thunder (a tank/plane video game). (Yes, I have painted models so badly I just threw the away, and my dad has a very good airbrush, but he doesnt want me using it when hes not home and doesnt have the time to supervise me).

 

 

 

[Dazzio]

Good Evening RJBud1,

 

Welcome to the forums!  I have heard that while superglue mixed with talc powder (not sure what it is called over in the pond) can be a good filler, I also believe it's hard to sand/shape once dry.  I am sure there are others around here who would be able to confirm/deny this for us both.   However looking at your model.  I have checked the kit myself (this is a kit I keep on starting then shelving).  The rear gear bay doors look to be a simple shape.  They should be on the sprue next to the main gear legs - parts 9 and 10.  If these have been eaten by the carpet monster or similar I think you could fill them in easily using either tippex (I have used this before on an F15 to great effect).  Or you could cut down the sprues and fill/sand them in.  Maybe make a filler with left over sprue and glue, depending on what glue you are using and the tools you have.

 

The paint work is looking good though.  I look forward to seeing it, when it is finished.  Hopefully this has helped you somewhat?

 

Kind Regards,

 

Dazz

[RJBud1]

2 hours ago, Dazzio said:

Good Evening RJBud1,

 

Welcome to the forums!  I have heard that while superglue mixed with talc powder (not sure what it is called over in the pond) can be a good filler, I also believe it's hard to sand/shape once dry.  I am sure there are others around here who would be able to confirm/deny this for us both.   However looking at your model.  I have checked the kit myself (this is a kit I keep on starting then shelving).  The rear gear bay doors look to be a simple shape.  They should be on the sprue next to the main gear legs - parts 9 and 10.  If these have been eaten by the carpet monster or similar I think you could fill them in easily using either tippex (I have used this before on an F15 to great effect).  Or you could cut down the sprues and fill/sand them in.  Maybe make a filler with left over sprue and glue, depending on what glue you are using and the tools you have.

 

The paint work is looking good though.  I look forward to seeing it, when it is finished.  Hopefully this has helped you somewhat?

 

Kind Regards,

 

Dazz

Hi Dazz!

I will try Tippex, over in the U.S. tippex is known as white out. Thank you for your suggestions, I would be interested in seeing your 1/144 YF-23 when it is completed as well. Thank you

RJ

[The Spadgent]

Hya.

looking good so far.

great to see a start at scratch building too. 😇 depending on your budget and if this is indeed the hobby for you I’d invest in some fillers. “Perfect plastic putty” or “PPP” is a good one that can be shaped and sanded really easily. Get some sanding sticks too or even nail files can be picked up cheaply.

Also instead of cardboard you can buy plasticard to use in a similar fashion to how you did the front wheel well but it can be sanded and bent to shape with ease.

Which ever way you choose it’s good to see this up on BritModeller. We are a good bunch with lots of help and experience for new modellers. Looking forward to seeing your next steps.

good luck kid.

 

Johnny.

 

Edited February 10, 2019 by The Spadgent

[RJBud1]

7 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Hya.

looking good so far.

great to see a start at scratch building too. 😇 depending on your budget and if this is indeed the hobby for you I’d invest in some fillers. “Perfect plastic putty” or “PPP” is a good one that can be shaped and sanded really easily. Get some sanding sticks too or even nail files can be picked up cheaply.

Also instead of cardboard you can buy plasticard to use in a similar fashion to how you did the front wheel well but it can be sanded and bent to shape with ease.

Which ever way you choose it’s good to see this up on BritModeller. We are a good bunch with lots of help and experience for new modellers. Looking forward to seeing your next steps.

good luck kid.

 

Johnny.

 

Hi Johnny,

I have used cardboard to make quite alot of things, for one, when I was into war video games, I made a cardboard pistol (and it actually looks like a legitimate weapon, ) as well as other things. Scratchbuilding actually comes easy to me as I have a very abstract way of thinking which lets me visualize how to make certain things. I only really finished two "models" before this, they were 1/100 Zvezda tanks, a T-34 and a KV-1. For the T-34 weathering (I also experimented the technique on this aircraft a little) I broke open a old sharply pen and made a pin wash. Then when it was nearly dry, I took some common household food ingredients (paprika and cinnamon) mixed them together and added a few drops of water and made a great weathering, it almost looked like some of what I see here. Seal it in varnish and you won't get a spicy sugary smell!

I also made a diorama out of some dead grass, and some red shale (I live in one of the rare places where the mineral shale is red not gray). I'll attach a few pictures. Right now I am in the PZ. IV Groupbuild, I am building a captured Panzer IV H. Depending on the result I may make it knocked out, only if I cannot find the missing track piece (it is 1/100 scale Zvezda ). I also have a KV-3 but I only finished the hull in 1/100 scale. If you want to know how to make the best turning turrets on tanks and spinning props I came up with a solution that is way easier than anything here. For aircraft , the prop may need to be blown at very close or moved by hand, but it will not be glued in place. What I do:

Well first, I ask my dad if I can buy Neodymium magnets from China off ebay. Depending on the answer i will continue to step 2 (or not). Step 2 is drilling a hole into the bottom of the tank hull where the turret will be placed atop or just glue something in (I once used a piece of a cork as an experiment, that was my T-34l. . Either way, glue a magnet into the hole or peg, and then glue another magnet to the inside of the turret. Make sure the magnets do not resist each other and are facing the right way. Only took me 3 months, (and 2 minutes to put it together, the rest of the time was shipping). 

I also made bullet holes and richoeted bullets by jabbing a small sharp pencil in carefully to the hull. (This is my only picture of it before I gave it to my cousins, sorry for the dust). 

This model was diecast and was made of 6 parts, but the casting quality was so bad that after 1 light coat of paint, I trashed it, and kept the diorama. I still have the model, I'm just slowly deciding if I should fully trash it or use the barrels for a scratchbuild project. RJ 

 

Edit: Regarding PPP, I will try the tippex method as it seems more readily available. Regarding plasticard, I've used sheet styrene that I found at a hobby store for cheap before I moved. Now I cannot find it. I used it for a resin subchaser model, but then my dog used it as his chewing bone. (I really do have bad luck, luckily there was no like metal parts or PE.)

Edited February 11, 2019 by RJBud1
Added content.

[The Spadgent]

Hya.

nice tank and use of magnets.😃

styrene dheet is the same thing so it’s cool you know about that. I was just going to mention “milliput” too. It’s an epoxy filler that can be molded like blue tac / white tac but hardens to a really useful surface for sanding/cutting/gluing etc.

Any way good luck and I’ll look forward to updates.

 

John.

[RJBud1]

Today I worked on a base. I plan to make a "low flying pass" type of diorama. First I started with a dremel grinder attachment and worked my way from there, drilling at an angle,

 

Found a metal peg from an old diecast model, and hammered it in at the angle. (one could probably use a cut rivet to the same effect) . I forgot to mention, you can buy four of these bases at hobby lobby for $1 total (only in the USA). My dad has a router tool, we probably could have made about 50 of these in an hour, but we didnt have time to make the base I had planned for in the past 4 or so months,  so I decided to just pay the $1 for them instead of wait for another month. 

A hole was then drilled into the model using the same grinder, and I was careful to not poke through to the other side.

 

I then put the model on the base and applied two coats of penetrating wood finish. My dad personally doesn't care for this particular finish so he just gave the can to me. (He has about 15 different cans of wood finish,ranging in sizes from just the size of a shot glass to a entire 1 gallon container). 

I am still deciding if I would like to add some fake grass over it to simulate the low level pass, luckily if I decide that route I have a bag full of fake grass. Do you guys think I should add the grass? 

 

I also am planning to make a plaque out of plastic, paint the plastic black and then glue a laminated text piece over it.

RJ

[The Spadgent]

Grass would look great! 🌾

[RJBud1]

 

 

As much as the camo looked nice, it wasn't historically accurate for the prototype I was going for and I wasn't completely satisfied with it anyways. So I primed it again. Hopefully my Dad can fix the airbrush, it is his though he bought it for me (he doesn't really let me use it often though). I believe it is clogged because it only sprays air even with acrylic paint thinned very much. When I put my finger over the opening the paint bubbles in the liquid cup.

I also sanded parts of the model that weren't smooth.

RJ

[RJBud1]

Hello all,

I will be starting this model again. I put too many layers of paint on the previous model, so I threw it away. Mineral spirits would not remove the paint either and I was just overall very unhappy with it. It was not a model I would look back on in 1 year and think " it's not too bad". It was hideous after I reprimed it. Hopefully I will go buy another two at hobby lobby. My Dad said he will try to fix the airbrush. 

RJ

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Thats a shame but in the end its your model and you need to be happy with the work. We will be here looking for updates. 

 

Dennis

[Steve Coombs]

11 minutes ago, RJBud1 said:

Hello all,

I will be starting this model again. I put too many layers of paint on the previous model, so I threw it away. Mineral spirits would not remove the paint either and I was just overall very unhappy with it. It was not a model I would look back on in 1 year and think " it's not too bad". It was hideous after I reprimed it. Hopefully I will go buy another two at hobby lobby. My Dad said he will try to fix the airbrush. 

RJ

Argh! Don't throw the kit away, get a bottle of nail varnish remover, preferably without acetone, and swab the paint off to get back a nice clean surface. The stuff works a treat on acrylics.

[RJBud1]

9 hours ago, Steve Coombs said:

Argh! Don't throw the kit away, get a bottle of nail varnish remover, preferably without acetone, and swab the paint off to get back a nice clean surface. The stuff works a treat on acrylics.

I actually tried that to some success, I was able to get down to the last layer which was enamel black spray paint that I used as a primer, but it wouldn't come off. Besides I screwed up the gear so badly, I basically had to make it inflight. Next time I won't screw up the gear. But I do feel the pain you feel , it did pain me a little to throw something away, but in the end it was $3.99 from hobby lobby (5 or 6 euros). 

RJ

[Bandsaw Steve]

Good to see you are getting ready to have another crack mate.

 

There are three kinds of modellers:

- those who have stuffed up a bit while while learning (and often continue to when they should know better)

 

- those who tell lies!

 

- those who have never built a model! 

 

Stick with it mate - the learning curve is all part of the exercise!

[Marklo]

As Steve says stick with it. Its a very rewarding hobby and no matter how much you do you're always learning.

 

Oven cleaner is apparently good at removing paint and Loctite do a superglue remover. I also  find that scotchbrite and fins sandpaper can sometimes do the job, you just meed to have the patience to polish things down.

[RJBud1]

5 hours ago, Marklo said:

As Steve says stick with it. Its a very rewarding hobby and no matter how much you do you're always learning.

 

Oven cleaner is apparently good at removing paint and Loctite do a superglue remover. I also  find that scotchbrite and fins sandpaper can sometimes do the job, you just meed to have the patience to polish things down.

I definitely will. I am a great scratch builder, I even made my own replica suppressed pistol. Not sure about rules re: replica firearms on this site, so if anybody wants to see it please PM me. 

[The Spadgent]

Sorry to hear you popped her in the trash.😥 Sometimes starting again is a great boost as you know about all the pitfalls, good luck with her new and less painted twin😍 . The pics you posted looked good, the grass really worked. Looking forward to the new kit.

 

all the best.

 

Johnny. 

[RJBud1]

On 2/19/2019 at 2:09 PM, The Spadgent said:

Sorry to hear you popped her in the trash.😥 Sometimes starting again is a great boost as you know about all the pitfalls, good luck with her new and less painted twin😍 . The pics you posted looked good, the grass really worked. Looking forward to the new kit.

 

all the best.

 

Johnny. 

It definetly will be a motivational booster , i kept the diorama (obviously) , hopefully i can get to the hobby shop in a week or two to pick up another, they had quite alot of them. I think my next project will be OzModels 1/144 F-80.

RJ

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

7 hours ago, RJBud1 said:

I think my next project will be OzModels 1/144 F-80.

Id like to see that the F-80 doesn't seem to be built often. I hope you go ahead and get the F-80. 

[RJBud1]

54 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Id like to see that the F-80 doesn't seem to be built often. I hope you go ahead and get the F-80. 

Yes, something about it just interests me. 

RJ

[SA80A2AR]

shame about the YF-23.  

but on the up side it's great to find another teenage modeler.  as per the airbrush i got a portable set and it seems good enough.  good luck on your next build

[RJBud1]

21 hours ago, SA80A2AR said:

shame about the YF-23.  

but on the up side it's great to find another teenage modeler.  as per the airbrush i got a portable set and it seems good enough.  good luck on your next build

Yeah, my dad bought a $150 airbrush from one of the top manufacturers. The first one we had was $15 from ebay, after it blew up he learned not to take the cheap route all the time.

RJ

[SA80A2AR]

not good blowing up airbrushes.........  to much paint and shrapell!

[Witness]

Don't give up! Learn from your mistakes and get cracking on the next one! Pick up some cheap kits that are widely known as easy builds and keep trying. It's sometimes daunting to see the modelling skill on forums but none of those people obtained their skill overnight!