Jonners Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 A few minutes later: It's properly fiddly, but it seems to be working: Time for a break from the 'Beest, as I have a language course to keep up with. So much to do, so little time... Jon 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 Gettin' there: 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 3 hours ago, Jonners said: Time for a break from the 'Beest, as I have a language course to keep up with. So much to do, so little time... Now I wonder which language that might be.......? Queens English perhaps? Or one without expletives....? After all that fiddling and the thought of the rigging I would imagined that either would be suitable! P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putty Animal Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Oh my. That is beautiful! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 Well, I blew the dust off the airbrush and gave most of the airframe a coat of Humbrol Matt Cote. To my great surprise the mix was spot on first time: Rather annoyingly, though, the decal film on the lower wing walkway markings and rudder serials is quite obvious. With hindsight I really should have glossed the airframe with Klear before applying the decals - I thought I'd learned that lesson years ago! Although I know I've missed off some of the underside details, I'm really not worrying about it and I think it looks okay: The fuselage from the gunner's position forward was masked before airbrushing, which seemed to work okay: ...except that, when removing the Tamiya tape, I also inadvertently removed the canopy, central hatch cover and gunsight mount. D'oh. Re-attaching was straightforward, though, so no real harm done. Onto the final details now, including the rear gun, prop, ring sights...and the rigging, obviously. The red at the rear of the spats needs some minor touching-up, and I'm fiddling with the approximately tubular vacform shapes that purport to be the basis of a torpedo. Or, alternatively, I could just 'man up' and rig the darn thing. Jon 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Wow that is looking good, especially as it is a vacuform. Shame about the lower wing walkways - they do look rather obvious in the photos: are they as bad in real life? I see that you have done some rigging - when complete this is going to be a very fine model indeed and of an unusual topic. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 23 minutes ago, pheonix said: Shame about the lower wing walkways - they do look rather obvious in the photos: are they as bad in real life? Not quite, as the reflected light from the desk lamps really highlights the error, but they are still there. I might have to do something drastic about them before I add any more fiddly bits - a case of ‘one step forward, two steps back’. To paraphrase a TV character I was watching last night: if you make mistakes and give up it’s a waste of time, but if you make mistakes and keep trying it’s called experience. The character didn’t explain what making the same mistakes is called. ☹️ Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 16 hours ago, Jonners said: I could just 'man up' and rig the darn thing. That would be my vote! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 39 minutes ago, John Masters said: That would be my vote! Too late! The walkway and rudder code decals have been removed and the rudder and lower wings have been given a first gloss coat of Klear/Future. Committed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 7 hours ago, Jonners said: Too late! Not really. As lovely a model as it is, and after all the fine work you have done, it looks a bit unfinished. Stretched sprue is excellent and can be attached with regular glue after being cut to fit. The same goes for ceramic wire or stainless wire but you will need CA for those. By the way, this kind of rigging can only be done after the decals are on anyway since sometimes the rigging goes over them. I would go ahead and do it. You only have 16, maybe 20 pieces. Not that much really. You have already rigged the interplane and cabane struts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 1 hour ago, John Masters said: it looks a bit unfinished. Sorry John, I think we misunderstood one another. I'll definitely be rigging it - I completely agree that it would look unfinished otherwise. I'm certainly not afraid of rigging biplanes: (1:144 Hyderabad) By 'Too late!' I meant that I had committed to removing the shiny lower wing decals and making the effort to do the job properly second time around. Thanks for the encouragement though; that's what is so great about this forum. Anyway, the dodgy wing and rudder decals were carefully removed using Tamiya tape and three brushed coats of Johnson's Klear/Future applied. More walkway markings were printed onto clear decal sheet, sealed with aerosol lacquer and, this time, applied onto wet Klear. Once this had dried the airbrush was brought out again and the fresh decals sealed with more Humbrol Matt Cote. This time I'm much happier with the result: Of course, I could have done that the first time around and saved myself a lot of faff! Mental note made. Right! Rigging... Jon 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 1 minute ago, Jonners said: I'm certainly not afraid of rigging biplanes It feels that sometimes we are a rare breed around here. It'll be great to see this all wired up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 There - that will do for tonight. Time to stop while things are still going well: I decided to rig with EZ Line instead of fine dental wire. The Vildebeest was a single-bay biplane so I was slightly concerned that long-ish lengths of wire would be quite inflexible and so be prone to distortion or becoming disconnected. By applying accelerator to the end of the EZ Line with a small brush, rigging proceeds fairly quickly and actually becomes quite enjoyable. (Honestly!). Jon 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 A good fix on the walkway decals. I see the 'spiders' are busy at work, looking great. My last outing with Humbrol Matt varnish didn't end well, had this chalky finish to it. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 12 minutes ago, Courageous said: My last outing with Humbrol Matt varnish didn't end well, had this chalky finish to it. Agreed, Stuart, neither did mine. A while ago I used an aerosol Humbrol Matt varnish on a Whitley that I was quite pleased with, but when the varnish dried it looked like I'd sprayed a light coat of matt white on the model. I'd shaken the can for ages to make sure it was well mixed. A subsequent internet search showed that this seems to be a common occurrence, so now I stick to oil-based Humbrol Matt Cote through my airbrush. It's worked for me for more than 20 years. I may try the Windsor and Newton matt varnish sometime, as I've read lots of reports that it's good stuff, but for now I'm quite happy with Matt Cote (and likewise Satin Cote). Jon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 Rigging and aerials done: On the home straight now. Jon 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 7 hours ago, Jonners said: aerosol Humbrol Matt varnish That's what I used, so maybe I should retry the bottle stuff again as I haven't thrown it away. Rigging looks great although my initial thought was that it looked a bit messy until I realised that I was looking at the aerial amongst the rigging. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Outstanding aircraft. Really shines. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 That looks really lovely - a real silver wings. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattlow Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 2 hours ago, Courageous said: thought was that it looked a bit messy until I realised that I was looking at the aerial amongst the rigging Same here... That's lovely, really brings the machine to life. Well worthwhile fix for the walkways as well - they look 100% better. Nice work. Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 (edited) At last, my second-ever vacform model is finished: As always, there are things that I could have done better and more detail that could have been added, but I'm really rather pleased with the result. It's been a fantastic learning experience, not without its frustrations (hence the months-long gap in the middle of the build!), and I'm incredibly appreciative of all the support, encouragement and top tips from fellow Britmodellers. I'm especially grateful to those BMers who have, on occasion, very diplomatically suggested that I could do better at certain stages. Thank you, all. At some point I will be making a suitable base, and I'd like to include a torpedo on a trolley, but for now I need a change of subject! I'll try to take some photos tomorrow in natural light, then I'll put the 'Beest across in the RFI section. Now, back to that Berkeley... Jon Edited April 15, 2020 by Jonners 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Now't wrong with that. Good work. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Beautiful piece of work! Martian 👽 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Agree with the others - that was well worth the effort. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Lovely result. Enjoyed the build. What’s next ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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