Army_Air_Force Posted June 30, 2020 Author Share Posted June 30, 2020 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Bandsaw Steve said: .......What primer are you using? It's grey cellulose primer. The wood had already been varnished as supplied, so was sealed to some extent. Edited June 30, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 Thank you. I might look into getting some of that. Sanding dry just doesn’t come close to giving the same finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 (edited) Over the past few days, I've been tinkering on the laptop, sorting out the graphics for the decals. This is a paper test print to check the sizes of the print outs against the model. The winged bird logo. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 (edited) The TAP initials are about the right size, but need to be applied a fraction higher. TRANSPORTES AEREOS PORTUGUESES could do with being a fraction longer. On the original image I have, the words are the same length of the windows. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 (edited) Wing registration looks ok. I was in two minds about printing the green/red fin bands. I'm not sure the fins are exactly the same size or aerofoil section and don't want the decals on one side to look different to the other. The markings are also on the outside and inside of the fins. Six to print, possibly all a little different? Registration looks fine. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 (edited) An alternative plan was some decals film, sprayed red and green. I'll have an experiment with these first, cut to suit each fin. The fuselage underside was also sprayed silver today and has been left to harden. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 (edited) The workshop has been upside down for the last few weeks with household projects, but I finally managed a tidy up and did a little tinkering with the Constellation. The painted decal film from a few weeks ago was cut into 1/4 inch strips and then into small sections to be applied to the three fins and rudders; twelve pieces in all. A couple split during application, but I'd painted enough to have some spare film of each colour. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 (edited) Almost there now on this project. The graphics for the decals have been done for a while, but on Friday 14th August, they were printed onto clear decal film, then left to dry for a few hours. The decal paper was cut down to just the area of the decals and then taped down to a board to keep them flat. While taped, they were sprayed with Microsol liquid decal film to seal in the printer ink and once again left to dry. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 (edited) After a while to dry, I began cutting up the decals into single units to be applied. I began with the wing registrations. The registrations on the fins were applied next. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 (edited) The TAP logo on the rear fuselage was next. Followed by the bird logo on the front fuselage. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 (edited) The largest decal was the TAP above the cabin windows. That was left a little longer to soak to make sure it was free from the backing paper. Once free, it positioned easily onto the fuselage and didn't show any signs of splitting or stretching. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 (edited) Back to the wings next for the de-icer boots. I had some long strips of black decal left from a Fletcher Class Destroyer and they were used for the boots. A bit of Microsol encouraged them around the wing tips. That was all the decals applied and it was then left to harden. Today, I've given the model a couple of coats of satin clear to seal them all in and it is now drying in the workshop. Depending on how it looks tomorrow once dry, it may get a couple more coats. The only other jobs are to paint in the front of the cowls with a metallic grey and to remove the masking tape from the wooden stand as I've been using the stand as a hand hold while spraying. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 I've just done a long catch up and I'm very impressed. It's looking great. The end result should be very impressive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redshift Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Normally I'd prefer seeing the wood grain, but given how superbly this has turned out I am almost persuaded to consider paint on my next wooden model. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 (edited) The Connie had another couple of coats of satin clear this morning. It is fairly quick drying but I gave it a few hours to dry before handling it. This afternoon, between showers, I popped out into the garden to get a couple of photos. I still want to do a proper photoshoot, but that's going to have to wait for a bit better weather for some good light and dry ground so I can spread a cloth out for an even background. These will do for now. A bit of a change from when it first arrived. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneman36 Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 You did a fine job Stephen, this is a great looking model🏆 cheers, Jan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Beautiful work on this. ... The constellation series are my all time favorite classic airliner, and you have done her justice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Considering what you started with, the end result is nothing less than truly outstanding! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveWilko Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 An absolute beauty Sir,Bravo. One can just remember,as a small boy,these elegant machines doing evening take offs at the then Ringway Airport,now of course, Manchester International. On late summer twilight evenings,it was possible to see the flames from the engine exhausts as the machine raced along the runway. David. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted August 28, 2020 Author Share Posted August 28, 2020 (edited) With almost constant rain since I finished the model, I gave up on further out door photos and set up my photo studio in the workshop. A few pictures were taken while the glue was drying on the cardboard box the model arrived in. I'd added some dividers to hold the model pieces in place and cut some foam sheets to wrap each piece in. Finally, the box. It will be delivered later today. The owner hopes the fullsize engine from the original aircraft will be ready for its first run later this year. Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 What a gorgeous project! Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 Magnificent job! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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