Martian Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Nice work Heather. I understand the problem of having to break off to do paying work. Having given the matter some very deep thought, I have come to the conclusion that we really need is for you to come up with a cunning plan for us to get paid for modelling whatever we want, whenever we want. Martian the Helpful 👽 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Heather Give it time and a bit of practice and you will find it will become second nature to you. It's very good at handling those misty blotches that you get on the German planes and doing mottle style pre-shading. The main thing is to keep the airbrush clean and keep the needle clear while you are airbrushing. They can clog up very quickly with certain paints and colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Coming along nicely, Heather. We wouldn't be modellers if some of our paint didn't lift off once in a while, eh? I have the Hasegawa Aussie 21 in my stash, which I bought to keep my Aussie Beaufort company. It's good to see one of these beasties go together. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Nice to see an early DE/DG scheme. When I first saw the masked underside I had a Trainers GB flashback! Regards, Adrian 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 11 hours ago, Martian Hale said: I have come to the conclusion that we really need is for you to come up with a cunning plan for us to get paid for modelling whatever we want, whenever we want. There’s the concept of a universal basic income. That would mean we could all follow our dreams. Or something. Wibble. 6 hours ago, Greg Law said: Give it time and a bit of practice and you will find it will become second nature to you. That’s what I keep telling myself, Greg. Now the gear is somewhere warmer and more comfortable, I will be tempted to practice and experiment more I think. Well, that’s the plan. Those Italian camo schemes have been rolling round the noggin, and will have to be tackled sooner or later - probably sooner as November approaches with speed. 😱 6 hours ago, Navy Bird said: We wouldn't be modellers if some of our paint didn't lift off once in a while, eh? Once in a while, Bill? More like every bloomin' time with me! It’s down to lack of careful prep, I think. 5 hours ago, AdrianMF said: When I first saw the masked underside I had a Trainers GB flashback! I did too! The good news, if that’s the right term for it, is only one chunk of the Sky underside came away, on the port stabiliser. I have resorted to hairy stick to patch it. Meanwhile... A coat of gloss clear on the top in the hopes of some sticker action soon. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Lovely work, Heather. once I've finished the 3 Hurricanes and a Swordfish I'm doing at the moment, I think I'll be doing an early Beaufighter next. Won't look as nice as your one though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 12 minutes ago, Beard said: Lovely work, Heather. once I've finished the 3 Hurricanes and a Swordfish I'm doing at the moment, I think I'll be doing an early Beaufighter next. Won't look as nice as your one though. I’m sure it will. I’m good at photographing the good sides. I was packing things away, as I need to do some "proper" work again, and I noticed the moisture trap had been working. I hadn’t thought my work environment had been all that humid, so I think we can say it works as advertised. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 On 2/3/2020 at 12:49 PM, dogsbody said: it's already in his big Texan mitts. You know what they say about us Texans- big mitts, big ....! Mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 ...hat? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfSparks Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Gloves? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 Sticker time! Well, the main national markings and the squadron codes, at least. There’s a plethora of stencils to go on, but I’ll leave those and the serial number until these main decals have settled and dried. This kit's decal sheet is printed by Cartograf. The decals perform really well, and began to settle into panel lines just by careful pressure with a cotton bud. I’ve applied some Humbrol Decalfix to help matters. We shall see how it turns out, but the signs are good so far. The only problem areas, as I always find, were the fin flashes. They are supposed to meet on the leading edge of the fin, but inevitably take some persuasion to settle there. There will be gaps, so I’ll need to apply some paint to cover the joins. This lot will have plenty of time to dry, as I’m going to be out and about on Saturday. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Looks good! I tend to put a blob of decalfix between the two loose corners at the front of the fin flash and walk away. Quite often they just bed together as it dries out. I haven’t thrown away my touch up brush though! Regards, Adrian 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 I have to admit, I’m not having much joy with Decalfix. The Humbrol video shows it working a treat on a very large transfer, but I find it doesn’t coat cleanly. It tends to pool, and then creates a sticky mess if you don’t carefully wash it off with clean water and a soft brush. Yes, it does soften the transfer, but I can’t see how you stop the surface tension pulling the stuff into pools and blobs. Maybe it’s just me. I’ll keep it in reserve for really recalcitrant transfers. The Microscale fluids seem to work well, particularly with transfers from the likes of Cartograf. I’ve decided to use "transfers" as my go-to term from now on. I never liked "decal", and such things were always transfers in th'olden days when I first got the plastic kit bug. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Looking very smart Heather 2 hours ago, Heather Kay said: I’ve decided to use "transfers" as my go-to term from now on. Quite right. There was a campaign on BM some time ago in response to ‘how to pronounce “decals”’. It was decided, as you say, to pronounce it ‘transfers’. Standards must be upheld! 3 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 1 hour ago, CedB said: Looking very smart Heather Quite right. There was a campaign on BM some time ago in response to ‘how to pronounce “decals”’. It was decided, as you say, to pronounce it ‘transfers’. Standards must be upheld! That all depends on just where in the old Emipre you hail from. The accents and terms in this old colony vary greatly from one coast to the other. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglierating Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 On 1/20/2020 at 6:42 PM, Pete in Lincs said: Nice choice, Heather. The early Beau's (From what I've read) weren't too popular with the Aircrews. A pre-service test flight I read went something like, 'Entry into this aircraft is difficult, it should be made impossible'. AFAIK, The flat tailplane made handling 'interesting' at times. And, I've just read Guy Gibsons' 'Enemy Coast Ahead'. He flew Beaus' on Night Fighter missions from just South of Lincoln in late 1940 & early 1941. I'm sure I remember a passage about the early Aircraft not having any heating. It had to be retrofitted. I also seem to remember that he crashed one on approach to the airfield. Anyway, watching with interest. It certainly seems a leap ahead from what I remember of the ancient Airfix kit. Sounds like a Merlin.....another 15 years and it might make it😃 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 More from Planet Wibble (with apologies to our own dear @Martian Hale). All the trestle, slinging and jacking location stencils are done, as are the serial numbers. I’m hoping the silvering will be minimal on these, despite having a gloss coat to lay on. Things need to dry, then I’ll get a satin varnish coat over everything. The Beaus delivered to No 25 Squadron in 1940 had a semi-gloss/satin finish overall, and as I’m hoping to replicate a newly delivered aircraft that’s where I shall go. 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Looking lovely in that day scheme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teuchter Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Very nice painting going on here. Going back to the Chivenor pics, I can't see any comments, but are the ailerons painted white in the flying example, then the whole wing overpainted (as well as the rounded) in the first picture of the taxying one? Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Very nice looking Beaufighter the day scheme really suits it. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Your Beaufighter is looking brilliant - transfers/decals/stickers and all! Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 2 hours ago, woody37 said: Looking lovely in that day scheme It does suit, doesn’t it? I think it’s because most Beaufighters modelled are later marks and in later camouflage and markings. 2 hours ago, Teuchter said: Going back to the Chivenor pics, I can't see any comments, but are the ailerons painted white in the flying example, then the whole wing overpainted (as well as the rounded) in the first picture of the taxying one? I can’t speak for the Chivenor photos. I think they date either much later in 1940 or into 1941. I do know it was fairly common for control surfaces to be doped linen and balanced, and it was generally frowned upon for them to be repainted in the field unless rebalancing could be done. Perhaps that’s what we are seeing in the photos. As for the painted-out roundels, I’m pretty sure they were removed from marking schemes towards the end of 1940, which would fit with my proposed dating of the photos. 2 hours ago, Hamden said: Very nice looking Beaufighter the day scheme really suits it. It’s coming together nicely. Just the final varnish, final assembly and mild weathering to do before we can head for RFI! 17 minutes ago, Learstang said: Your Beaufighter is looking brilliant - transfers/decals/stickers and all! Thank you! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Very nice looking Beau Heather, great work and paint looking good. Your recent purchase looks very nice. Keep up the good work All the best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Looks fine Heather. Don't worry, your recently conferred rank of "Usual Suspect" automatically confers on you citizenship rights on Planet Wibble. Reassuring of Mars 👽 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 Paying work? What paying work? Nothing to see here, guv. i thought I’d try the extraction box in its alternative position - flat on its back. I’m still working out the best orientation for all the spraying equipment, but it currently takes up all my bench and means the *cough* paying work can’t be done while it’s all set up. On its back, I get better light into the space, but the mesh filter cage is a bit wobbly. I may have an idea to overcome that. Anyway, nasty, smelly, enamel satin varnish has been applied. It’s the stuff I use for the railway models, from Phoenix Precision, and it’s ready mixed for airbrushing. Let’s see how it looks when it’s dry. That leads to a question of the BM Hive Mind: varnish - what’s your poison? I would like, apart from notable exceptions from Sovereign, to move most of my plastic bashing paintwork to all acrylic. I’ve had reasonable results from Xtracrylix and I’ll probably stick with them. I’m also beginning to work with the new range of Humbrol acrylics, which seem to work well for me. Also from the latter stable, I use the acrylic clear gloss for the pre-transfer phase. It’s nice, airbrushes straight from the bottle, and isn’t nasty and smelly. Do you think it’s worth my time and expense acquiring the equivalent matt and satin bottles? Previous experience with the Humbrol enamel varnishes have been variable. The acrylic stuff, though, doesn’t seem to suffer from the yellowing the smelly stuff used to exhibit. So, what do you think? Bear in mind, I’m keen not to have too many different concoctions available to me. I like to keep it simple, if I find things that work for me. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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