Jump to content

RAF FE8, Scaleplanes 1:72 vac


Brandy

Recommended Posts

It seems I forgot to post the pic of the underside of the wings. There were a few areas of seepage but easily corrected with a scalpel blade and VERY gently removed by scraping, but otherwise the wrap-around has come out nicely.

 

49912964452_0067fc8f09_z.jpg

 

I started to add the decals on the nacelle this evening. Numbers from the Pegasus sheet.

 

49912666101_29e3b9ddf8_z.jpg

 

The big number 6 on each side of the nose which I printed myself didn't come out too well, although the concept seems ok. The problem was accurately trimming the number out of the white backing sheet without leaving a white edge. I got one ok but then it folded on itself and stuck together. By the time I got it separated the red edge had started to seep. I printed 4 so I have given the other 2 another sealant coat and will try again tomorrow with a fresh number 11 blade.

 

49912668691_d98656899d_z.jpg

 

The wheels also needed more work. Apparently when I first used them I had filled the inner sides with putty to reduce the tyre overhang. Unfortunately I couldn't get that smooth so I scraped it all out and pulled out my (relatively) new circle cutter. Two 8mm discs of .5mm sheet later and I have these.

 

49912150758_4814d5ce84_z.jpg

 

Much better! One other unexpected benefit of redoing the wheels was that I noticed that it was not only the outer faces that were white. The inner faces were also, so the whole lot can now be repainted correctly!

 

That's all for now, thanks for looking in!

Stay safe!

 

Ian

  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hadn't caught up on this one for a while. Coming along splendidly Ian. I like it all but I especially liked the way those propeller tips turned out!

 

Terry

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys!

I attempted the number 6 again tonight. Not too bad..

 

49917147847_3a18b436c1_z.jpg

 

49916334148_ee87283bdd_z.jpg

 

I know many have said it, but really, it doesn't look that bad "in the flesh"! The white edges are barely visible with the naked eye. My main concern is the white. Or more accurately, the not-quite-white! I think plan "A" will be to print some more tomorrow and see if I can lay another one over each of those to brighten up the white. The edges can be cleaned up with a fine brush.

 

More to come....

 

Thanks for looking in, and stay safe!

 

Ian

  • Like 13
Link to comment
Share on other sites

laying a second transfer over the first is going to test your patience Ian - rather you than me, but form past performance I suspect that will will succeed. If you have to put one on the top wing why not underpaint the area with white first and clean up with a fine brush if necessary afterwards?

 

P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, pheonix said:

laying a second transfer over the first is going to test your patience Ian - rather you than me, but form past performance I suspect that will will succeed. If you have to put one on the top wing why not underpaint the area with white first and clean up with a fine brush if necessary afterwards?

 

P

With that thought in mind I have just ordered a Silhouette cutter, with the full expectation that I will have to mask and paint the white then lay a clear-backed decal of the red outline over the top!

 

Ian

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, StephenCJ said:

 

Your 6's look good especially without magnification you won't see the white.

Thanks Stephen. It does show a tiny bit but you have to look for it. Still needs cleaning up though, not good enough for me!

 

5 hours ago, malpaso said:

As an alternative, if you do a second set of 6s could you drybrush the cut edges with red?

That's the plan, we'll see whether it works or not soon!

 

5 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

My first catch-up for a bit; you’re doing a superb job with this beast

Cheers Crisp. Welcome back from the land of floaty things and tiny etch!

 

12 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Sounds like an excellent plan!

 

Regards,

Adrian

Although I think Pheonix was referring to the number on the upper wing surface, which I don't have to do, I still think it may come down to that. It was, in fact, my first option and I tried hand cutting masks but they were crap. Hence this attempt, and the purchase of a Silhouette cutter so I can cut them properly if (when?) they are needed!

 

I printed 6 more 6's today, they have been sprayed with fixative and will sit until tomorrow....

Since decals were no longer on the cards for today I made these.

 

49919410981_a371b58670_z.jpg

 

1mm aluminium tube with a .5mm brass rod stuck in to fix them. Any guesses?

 

No, they are not "potato mashers"! They are, in fact, "pulleys" for the tail control cables and have been stuck in their holes in the lower wing as shown here

 

49919709772_c5db43d915_z.jpg

 

49919411016_8c9e0a29ee_z.jpg

 

Happy with those, and much easier than trying to cut lengths of plastic rod then drilling them! (Then painting them aluminium!)

 

Thanks for looking in, and stay safe!

 

Ian

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I need 8 more smaller ones for the aileron cables but no point in making them until I'm ready to fit them. They'll only get lost!

 

Ian

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today's jobs: Decals and paint.

Part 1 - s I mentioned I printed out some more 6s yesterday so this morning I set to work to see if I cold make this work. Instead of using a scalpel blade though, this time I used my Iris scissors. This gave me a much closer cut and much more control too. After applying the decals over the previous ones I left them for an hour or two, then went at them with a very small brush. First I used PC10 on the white bits, then red to touch up the borders as necessary. I still have a slight problem with the white, and it's not the PC10 showing through. I noticed that despite a good coat of sealant, the red was bleeding. I think maybe because I cut right up to the edge and "broke the seal" as it were. However, despite the slightly pinkish look I think they'll do. Opinions welcome!

 

49922045103_38df46eb44_z.jpg

 

49922045178_1e1ab43ee5_z.jpg

 

Upon further comparison to pics of the actual aircraft it is obvious that the number is too tall and thin. I think this happened because of my "cheat". Instead of adding a border I printed them with the edge line wider. Instead of adding on to the outside of the number when increasing width, as I'd expected, it expanded inwards. In other words, what is red here should be white, with the red border outside that, giving the appearance of a taller, thinner, number. Since I don't intend to sit in front of my cabinet comparing it to the photo, I'll stick with what I have, although it's slightly annoying, having gone to great lengths to get it right.

 The eagle eyed will also notice that I have added a larger centre to the roundel. It's still slightly smaller than the photo but much better than it was. It too will stay as is!

 

In other news, the wheels got painted white (both sides!), the stitching got a black dry brush, and the decals got a dull coat. RAF Green paint was also sprayed at another project.......

 

Thanks for looking in, and stay safe!

 

Ian

 

 

 

Edited by limeypilot
  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something I have done when making difficult decals is to give them a 'ground' colour as close as possible to the model thus giving a margin around the decal design. it is then much easier to blend the edges to the model's background colour and bleed is no longer an issue.

 

les

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The issue for me would be the big contrast between the white of the roundel and serial and the white of the 6. Would they have been painted at the same time though on the real thing? If the 6 was a local job than we can blame the Erk (always blame the erks)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Close ups eh?

I think if you took a photo 'from a bit further away' and included something for scale we could all see that it looks fine…

But your model… :) 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took a small hairy stick to this this morning, and as recommended by @CedB I then took a pic at a decent range.

 

49926002903_6db4acc213_z.jpg

 

Less pinker!

 

I'm staying with that.

 

Ian

  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, CedB said:

There you go! Looking very good Ian :) 

Cheers Ced!

 

I had planned to attach the upper wing today, so the first step obviously was to add the cabane struts. I used Gators grip to give me a little time to get them set correctly, then a tiny drop of thin CA to fix them in position

 

49930263161_e1d76bf208_z.jpg

 

49929746908_5490b9302d_z.jpg

 

Unfortunately I then knocked off the little brass pin on the rear pair whilst fine tuning the wing alignment. I CAd it back on but decided to leave it alone after that  to ensure everything was set properly. Work was done on the battle instead!

 

Tomorrow?

 

Maybe...

 

Thanks for looking in, and stay safe!

 

Ian

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The day has arrived!

 

Time to fit the upper wing. First on just the cabane struts plus the two outer front struts to keep it level.

 

49933457583_c171f42e75_z.jpg

 

49933974816_a8243ce7a4_z.jpg

 

Spacing looks good, alignment looks good! I'll let that sit for a couple of hours before continuing with the rest....

 

I feel like I'm on Blue Peter...I haven't actually waited since that last post 'cos it's actually "one I prepared earlier"!

Anyway, once the first two struts had had a chance to set properly I continued with the other 6. A tiny drop of Gator Grip was added to the strut holes (not the strut end, just in case I didn't get it in first time - that would clog up the pre-drilled rigging holes. Ask me how I know...)

 

This is what I had to aim at (using a sharpened tooth pick)

 

49934280967_f070098b86_z.jpg

 

The struts were added alternately left and right to keep it balanced, and after a fairly straight forward session I ended up with this. 

 

49934280877_78d81c9770_z.jpg

 

49934280817_58b8069dfc_z.jpg

 

49933457678_6912856b24_z.jpg

 

The struts are all in line, despite the first pic. Viewed from the end they are parallel.

 

It looks like something Bert Rutan's Grandfather might have designed!

 

Anyway, that's it for this one for today. Thanks for looking in, and stay safe!

 

Ian

  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...