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Hasegawa 1/48 A-4E/H/L and TA-4J Skyhawks - Finished! 27/04/2020


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Sadly things are not progressing well. For the first time in ages, Mr Color has failed on me and lifted in patches. Since the Mr Surfacer primer is still good, I believe this is because I handled the primed model for a while without gloves. I have found in the past that Mr Color is *extremely* sensitive to my skin oils.

 

Nothing for it but to press on and deal with fixing this once all the stripes are done. I fear the problem will repeat itself in other areas...

 

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Thanks for looking

 

Jon

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  • Jon Bryon changed the title to Hasegawa 1/48 A-4E/H/L and TA-4J Skyhawks - update 20/02/2020

Well this is taking ages! I'm approaching halfway through painting the main scheme; each stripe is taking about an average of 15 minutes to mask. Lessons learned so far:

1. Never handle my model prior to painting without wearing gloves. I believe this is why the Mr Color has lifted down to the Mr Surfacer primer around the mid fuselage.

2. The Silhouette cutter hasn't really done a great job with the curves; the cut is rather too angular. I've ordered a gyro cutter to see if I can do a better job by hand.

3. Drawing and cutting the mask is a massively inefficient way of doing this. For the tiger-stripe F-5E I have planned in a couple of years' time I will simply try scaling the markings diagram and cutting masks from that with Tamiya tape.

Not only do I have to do the other side, but then make all the corrections due to the paint failure. Progress is slow and it's looking depressingly poor...

 

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Edited by Jon Bryon
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  • Jon Bryon changed the title to Hasegawa 1/48 A-4E/H/L and TA-4J Skyhawks - update 26/02/2020

Seen this one on Facebook and came looking for it here. You've picked what must be the most complicated scheme ever applied to the Skyhawk and while it's tough work the result will be worthwhile and a stunning result.

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This why painting this thing is taking so long. That masking is for 5-6 stripes, which will be airbrushed, the masking then removed, and the process repeated for the next 1-6 stripes, depending on the location. There are a lot of stripes...

 

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I'm hoping all the stripes will be done by the end of next week.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Jon

 

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  • Jon Bryon changed the title to Hasegawa 1/48 A-4E/H/L and TA-4J Skyhawks - update 28/02/2020

Well after painting them almost every day for two weeks, the light grey tiger stripes are done. I've also fixed all the areas that lifted with the masking tape. I used Post-It labelling tape to help with this as I wanted something very low-tack to prevent any more lifting.

 

It's been quite exhausting getting this far, and it is far from perfect, but it will do. Next will be a gloss coat I think, and then decals.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Jon

 

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  • Jon Bryon changed the title to Hasegawa 1/48 A-4E/H/L and TA-4J Skyhawks - update 04/03/2020

Wow, this is amazing!

 

Love the Scoot, and you've got 4 of them on the go, including the TA-4J which I like the most.

 

It's very interesting reading your methods.

 

I actually just missed out on a Classic Airframes TA-4J on ebay which ended up going for £18!! 😭

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2 hours ago, Shashman said:

Wow, this is amazing!

 

Love the Scoot, and you've got 4 of them on the go, including the TA-4J which I like the most.

 

 

 

Thank you :) These are actually the 6th-9th Hasegawa A-4s I've built. I originally made the F and C together, then the B, K and M together, so thought I'd go for broke and finish the remaining four in my stash. I think I've had enough of Skyhawks now, although if Hasegawa ever did release the A-4A, I'm not sure I'd be able to resist!

 

Jon

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You have building Skyhawk models down to an art. The instrument panels are dazzling, consoles look very good. I'm impressed with the look of the landing gear and your plastic work is superb. 

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The finish line is now in sight. Pin wash has been applied using oil paints, decals are on (by Fights [sic] On), and the model has been sprayed in a 50/50 mix of Gunze GX100 Gloss and GX113 Matt.

 

My main issue so far is that this model has been a microfibre magnet and under magnification this is all too obvious :( If there was one thing I wish I could do to improve my models it would be to get some sort of sterile environment for airbrushing.

 

A little weathering with oils next (only a little!) then all the other bits can be added and it should be done by the end of the week.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Jon

 

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  • Jon Bryon changed the title to Hasegawa 1/48 A-4E/H/L and TA-4J Skyhawks - update 08/03/2020
22 hours ago, Jon Bryon said:

 

 

My main issue so far is that this model has been a microfibre magnet and under magnification this is all too obvious :( If there was one thing I wish I could do to improve my models it would be to get some sort of sterile environment for airbrushing.

 

 

 

Eugh, tell me about it buddy!

 

I have a really fuzzy cat.

 

I've resorted (quite successfully) to using a seed propagator. It looks like a little tabletop greenhouse. My one is big enough to fit parts for models up to 1/32-ish in size. I paid about £4 for it from Wilko's. I store WIP projects in it when I'm not working on them.

 

By the way, excellent job on the weathering. Very, very effective and realistic.

Edited by Shashman
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Pushing on with the A-4L, and since it shares quite a lot of white paint with the TA-4J, I've got that ready too for some Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 White. 

 

You might notice the intakes have yet to be attached. I intend to fit them much later in order to get good coverage behind the splitter plate on the TA-4J and to ensure a good internal demarcation between the red and the white. They will require so paint touch up after they've been attached, but I that will be easy enough to sort out.

 

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Thanks for looking.

 

Jon

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5 hours ago, Shashman said:

Sweet! I've been looking forward to seeing how you do the TA-4J

 

Sadly you'll have to wait a fair bit longer. The TA-4J has got to this stage and is now going into storage while I focus on the A-4L:

 

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The A-4L has had the white applied. It's a base coat of Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 White covered with a variable coat of Mr Color 316 White. You can't see it in the photo, but the 316 is a bit warmer than the primer.

 

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Tomorrow I should get the white finished, fix a moulding flaw in the rear fuselage, and make a start on the Light Gull Grey on top. This aircraft had a soft demarcation between the white and the grey so there won't be much masking required - just the rudder and ailerons.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Jon

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Being in isolation (extended by a week today!) has its advantages. I've made good progress on the A-4L, although there is some touch up to do. I wish I'd put the Mr Color 315 Light Gull Grey over a white primer as it's very fragile directly on the plastic. I hope it survives.

 

Tomorrow I need to do the blue trim (hump, wing tips, rudder ribs) and the black anti-glare panel and nose, and then the main scheme should be finished.

 

Quite boring photos I'm afraid, but definitely progress.

 

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Thanks for looking.

 

Jon

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Main scheme is now done. Some touch up with the light gull grey will be required tonight and I think I'll attempt the decals tomorrow...directly on the paint 😱

The blue is a bit too light and electric compared to the real thing, but unfortunately the colour is set by the tail decal provided in the kit. It's too complex to mask and spray, so I'm hamstrung by what's been printed by Cartograf. It will be fun attempting to merge the painted hump and the tail decals...

 

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Thanks for looking,

 

Jon

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So the decals are now on:

 

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I need to do some touch up with the light gull grey around the hump. This was very difficult to mask accurately. The hump is airbrushed with Mr Color 34. It has to merge with the printed tail decal - the blue on that is all printed. The paint match is excellent. Unfortunately, the hump then needs to be lined with a black decal. I did not get the masking quite right at the front of the hump and the blue bleeds out on the wrong side of the black border. I'm nervous about attempting to correct this, but will probably try later today.

 

The national insignia over the wing and on the starboard nose have been applied over a big puddle of Mr Mark Setter and then had a good quantity of Daco Red decal solvent dumped on top of them. Beyond positioning *they have not been touched* - no cotton bud to press them in place, no solution/water wicked away, etc. They have been poked and prodded a bit with a brush laden with each solution. This was all done directly over the paint (no clear coat). I think they have performed remarkably well. They are not perfect, but more has been asked of them than could reasonably be expected since the surface detail they are covering is *very* prominent. The settling into the regular panel line detail is exceptional. With some touch up and further decal solvent applied, I am confident they will look okay.

 

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Some touch up and then a gloss coat before the oil pin wash will be next.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Jon

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