Back in the Saddle Posted November 26, 2019 Author Share Posted November 26, 2019 I've managed a bit more work on this. Yesterday, I sprayed what was meant to be the final coat of grey on the topside: However, whilst marking out some pencil lines to mask the camouflage I noticed a few issues - there is a small crack in the nose, the intakes need even more filling and I forgot the spray the trailing edge of the elevons...! I will get those problems fixed, finish spraying the grey and then mask it ready for the green. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted November 27, 2019 Author Share Posted November 27, 2019 Just pre-ordered the new tool Vulcan by Airfix; delivery in about a year. Can’t wait to see how it compares with this kit! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 So I finally finished spraying the grey this morning, after fixing the crack in the nose. Tonight I decided to start the masking, using Vallejo liquid mask - a great product for this task. However, the pencil lines I made on the upper surface are not quite right, leaving the camouflage looking incorrect: My original intention was to mask up to about 1mm from the pencil lines, then spray the green over them so they do not show. However, as the lines are in the wrong place that will not work... I've tried using an eraser on the pencil lines, but that hasn't touched them. I think my best plan is to mask correctly, ignoring the pencil lines, then re-spray the grey again if the lines are showing. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted December 8, 2019 Author Share Posted December 8, 2019 It was a mammoth session (even longer than expected) but I have now masked the whole fuselage: It's not quite as accurate as I would have liked, but I believe there was a degree of variation on the real aircraft too. Hopefully it will look close enough, otherwise I will have to respray it, something I'd rather avoid... If the weather is suitable tomorrow the green will be applied. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted December 9, 2019 Author Share Posted December 9, 2019 Managed to get the green sprayed today, although in the late afternoon light it looks more like grey in this picture: Then my favourite part - removing the masking to reveal the final scheme: I'm not completely happy with it, as the edges are much less defined than I had hoped - they are a bit ragged in places. I will try touching them up with a brush, or maybe some very gentle sanding to try and improve things. The scheme is not 100% accurate either, but I think it is close enough - I am now treating this as a practice run for the next year's new tool Vulcan and trying out new techniques to see what does and doesn't work. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 So I've slept on this for a couple of nights, but am not really happy with how it looks. There are two issues - firstly, the demarcation lines are not quite right. I've expanded the painting diagram to the exact size, which shows the problem more clearly: The second issue is the quality of the edges - frankly they are a bit ragged, as shown here: If it was just one issue, I could possibly live with it. However, I know every time I see this model, the quality of the finish will bug me... No option other than a respray - hopefully I'll get it right next time, especially now I have some templates I can use! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Touch up with a brush? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 8 hours ago, Adam Poultney said: Touch up with a brush? I thought about it, but I think there’s too much to touch up... Airbrush it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted December 15, 2019 Author Share Posted December 15, 2019 So I've committed myself now, after gently sanding the affected areas with some 3000 grit and reapplying the pre-shade for my second attempt: My plan is to use the scaled-up painting diagram as a guide, to ensure I get the lines portrayed correctly this time. I will apply the grey first again, then mask more carefully before spraying the green... Hopefully it will be painted later this week and ready for decals. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 I sprayed the grey again yesterday: At the time, I thought it looked OK. However, I now think another light coat would be best, as the pre-shading still looks a little heavy! I cut the guides out from the scaled up painting diagram and tacked them lightly into place. You can see what I mean about the heavy pre-shading more clearly here: Once it has had another coat of grey to tone things down a bit, I will mask the exposed areas and then remove the paper. I can then spray the green it will hopefully look better this time. I didn't bother with paper guides for the central fuselage as I'm confident I can mask that accurately from the wing guides and painting diagram. If the weather cooperates, it will get more paint tomorrow. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinxman Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Looking good - I think the decision to have another go at the camo was the right one. I use the same method for camo masking and it usually turns out ok, though the Vulcan is a bit bigger than kits I have used it on before - good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted December 19, 2019 Author Share Posted December 19, 2019 Thanks Jinxman. It’s was a nuisance, but I agree it had to be done again - it wasn’t good enough before. Still hoping to get some spraying done this afternoon, but spent the morning wrapping presents... fingers crossed for some spare time soon🤞 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 Well that's been a busy couple of weeks...! Managed to get the second coat of grey sprayed yesterday and toned the pre-shading down a bit: The Vampire is today's project - my five year old daughter wanted to build a model and did quite a bit of the work herself. No harm in starting them young! It also shows how big the Vulcan is in comparison. Next step for the Vulcan is to mask the grey, ready for spraying the green. Still hoping to get this and the Victor finished by the end of the GB... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted January 5, 2020 Author Share Posted January 5, 2020 It's taken a couple of days, grabbing a few spare minutes when I could, but I have now masked the grey again - it's been a long job, but looks much more accurate than my first attempt... There are a few areas where I can still see the old, incorrect camouflage, so I'm hoping it will look OK after the green is sprayed. If not, some strategic touching up on the grey will be needed. It's all a learning curve! As an aside, the Vampire kit which I started yesterday is proving to be a mare. I have built a few of these without any problems, but this one just does not fit together very well... Fortunately it will be good enough for a five year old - they are not as demanding as me! I have spent this evening weathering the undercarriage doors on both sides. The photo does not show it very well, but I'm quite pleased with how they look. I used some artistic license on the entry door, adding a squadron badge I had in my spares box. Not accurate at all, but I think it adds a bit of interest and was certainly applied to some Vulcans... I need to fix the crack in the aerial on the nose undercarriage door, as it is very noticeable. Hopefully some more pre-shading and then green paint will be added soon - tomorrow if I get a chance, now that the house has returned to normal after Christmas! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Think I'm about to be in the same boat as you, I've decided to repaint my Vulcan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted January 5, 2020 Author Share Posted January 5, 2020 10 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said: Think I'm about to be in the same boat as you, I've decided to repaint my Vulcan... It’s a major job but might be worth it - which one are you contemplating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 1 minute ago, Back in the Saddle said: It’s a major job but might be worth it - which one are you contemplating? My Airfix 1/72 painted as XM575. Vallejo's Dark Sea Grey is far too dark and it just don't look right at all. Plus I kind of want to repaint it in scheme I like more than wrap around camouflage. I'll go for earlyish half and half camouflage/white or grey. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted January 5, 2020 Author Share Posted January 5, 2020 Nice choice👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted January 5, 2020 Author Share Posted January 5, 2020 (edited) Have you got a picture of it, before you do any work? Edited January 5, 2020 by Back in the Saddle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Back in the Saddle said: Have you got a picture of it, before you do any work? I'll have to get more decals because I don't have any M or L decals in the right size. No XJ aircraft had two ECM plates, and no XH aircraft had two ECM plates either and only 557 ever had Olympus 301 engines Edited January 5, 2020 by Adam Poultney 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted January 8, 2020 Author Share Posted January 8, 2020 Definitely looks a bit too dark😕 I had hoped to get some spraying done this week, but the weather hasn’t been suitable yet - whenever I’ve had the time, the heavens opened... Maybe tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted January 10, 2020 Author Share Posted January 10, 2020 I thought I'd take advantage of a day off, with the kids at school and my wife at work! It was a bit colder in the shed than I would have liked, but it didn't seem to cause any issues whilst spraying. Firstly, I re-applied the pre-shade to the areas about to be painted green (it feels like I've been here before...!): Next, a coat of green: I will see how this looks in an hour and if necessary, spray any areas that look like they need more attention. Hopefully unmasked later today! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinxman Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Looking good - taking off the masking is one of my favourite parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 (edited) Seeing as it's too windy outside to airbrush, I thought I would update this thread too! The masking has been removed, with mixed results. The demarcation lines are better, but still need adjusting in a couple of places. However the pre-shade was far too heavy, so this also needs addressing: The side of the fin is particularly bad and the whole spine area needs attention: My plan is to re-mask the affected areas and have a final spray of the light grey. It's getting there - at least I'm making my mistakes on an old kit, not the new one! Edited January 16, 2020 by Back in the Saddle 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 The mistakes are continuing...🙄 I thought I'd experiment with a dirty wash tonight. The underside was my selected area to try this out, as the painting here is complete. I wanted to weather the aircraft quite severely, but I *may* have overdone it: I'll look at it again tomorrow and might give it a quick blast of light grey again, just to tone it down a bit. Less is more? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now