Bare Metal Spit – 1/48 RAAF Mk VIII A58-303 ***FINISHED***

[Cookenbacher]

That is an immaculate base coat.

[Valkyrie]

Looks very sleek gorgeous 

[trickyrich]

lovely work on the paint finish Ray!!!   That looks to be a super smooth finish, the metal top coats will look amazing.

 

Can't wait to see that. 

 

I know the work involved just to get her ready for the undercoats!! 

 

Those  ailerons!! I've managed to brake them all off, one twice! The buggers are now super glued in place! They're just a really silly design and no proper locating points at one end. Breaking off 2 gun barrels and a rudder was just me being clumsy! 

 

For me the radiators were no problem at all. I built mine up separately just fitting them to the wing for alignment purposes. They were left off right up to I was ready to do the panel washes. Then they just popped in, fitted perfectly, the join looked like the panel lines around it end.

[Ray_W]

After leaving it overnight, the coating seems to have snuck down tight and to my eyes seems extra glossy. I still feel it is not hard enough to do any additional work such as polishing and there is a faint line near the aileron on the starboard wing I want to remove (not a hair seems a paint flow line). If I was to do this again, and I was putting my gloss coat over the Mr Finishing Surfacer, I would use a lacquer gloss coat like GCI Creos (Gunze) GX2. I think straight onto plastic, AK's base would be brilliant. Really I can't complain, first up use of the product and it looks good.

 

 

So we wait. I think prudent to leave another 24 hours. There's no rush and this is a critical phase.  Funny to say though, the final finish should not be a high polish, more a variation in the level of burnish, different levels from flat to slightly polished aluminium. Still better to have a good canvas to work with as we try to capture this look with airbrush and wash. 

 

 

 

 

[Ray_W]

While waiting I did the exhausts.

 

 

 

[Col.]

Those exhausts are stunning Ray. How did you go about creating such an authentic finish on them?

[Ray_W]

1 minute ago, Col. said:

Those exhausts are stunning Ray. How did you go about creating such an authentic finish on them?

1. Find a picture of what you want to model and use it as a reference. Try to recreate it. This, for me, is key.

2. Undercoat satin black - Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500.

3. Light spray Mr Metal Color copper down the sides some overspray to front ok. I don't polish the copper. It's a light spray.

4. Mr Metal Colour spray and/or brush - Iron, Stainless, Chrome depending where I want it based on the photo probably a tad more Iron. 

5. Rub with a Q-Tip or finger some places where needed for shine and variation in colour and texture. 

 

None of the Metal Colors are heavy coats. Subtle is the word and build to what you want. Like a weathering technique.

 

Always interesting how you achieve a bluing effect without using blue.

 

Done - total time less than 30 mins.

[Ray_W]

I just had a sad thought, it's lock-down and I'm literally sitting here watching paint dry!

[Col.]

27 minutes ago, Ray_W said:

I just had a sad thought, it's lock-down and I'm literally sitting here watching paint dry!

No other kits to work on Ray?

[Ray_W]

31 minutes ago, Col. said:

No other kits to work on Ray?

Waiting on my FR XIV to arrive and refusing to start anything else in my micro stash that's here with me. Planning my Airfix attack. 

[alt-92]

5 hours ago, Ray_W said:

I think straight onto plastic, AK's base would be brilliant. Really I can't complain, first up use of the product and it looks good.

Your approach's what I'm planning to do later (albeit on 1/72) as well. A test shot on paint mule seems to indicate it'll work out.

 

[Ray_W]

6 minutes ago, alt-92 said:

Your approach's what I'm planning to do later (albeit on 1/72) as well. A test shot on paint mule seems to indicate it'll work out.

 

Seems an excellent product and it is always good to pour something straight into the airbrush cup with no mixing. I want to do a little extra work on the surface, hence my patience in allowing it to harden. I also think it's good to allow plenty of time for anything going on between the two products to stabilise before throwing additional coatings on top. I suspect, if this step was not required, you could get into the aluminium coats much earlier. It will be interesting to see your experience with drying time when laying it down straight onto plastic. 

[Ray_W]

Apologies in advance for so many "the plane is black" images but the process has been interesting - well for me anyway. You definitely need to think "enamel" when using the AK black basecoat. Even though it cleans up nicely with lacquer thinners and I have no idea on its chemistry, its behaviour is like an enamel. After 30 hours I felt confident enough that it had hardened to a point where I could fix a couple of minor blemishes and polish out. I used what I had - a Tamiya 3000 sanding sponge with plenty of water and their polishing compounds. Finished up washing it with detergent, warm water and a soft broad brush to ensure no residual polishing compound. Dried it with a hairdryer and gave it a rub with a clean cloth and I am very happy with the result. It is now ready for the Aluminium coats. All going well, soon, it will be "the plane is silver".

 

 

 

[LorenSharp]

12 hours ago, Ray_W said:

I just had a sad thought, it's lock-down and I'm literally sitting here watching paint dry!

It's better watching paint dry rather than sitting on the porch watching your car rusting😎

[Ray_W]

I now have a Silver Spitfire. The AK Xtreme Metal was a delight.

 

I was trying to decide whether to put down "Aluminium" first and then highlight panels with their "Polished Aluminium" and "Flat Aluminium". The LHS made the decision for me as they had no "Aluminium" so I went with Polished first up and I am glad I did.

 

 

This has given me a nice base to vary texture and colour with some of the panels. I shot it at 20 psi preferring to stand off from the model 6"-8" and get good atomisation and not have drying before it was on the surface. Seemed to work.

 

 

There seems to be a faint smell of mineral spirits (white spirits, turpentine depending on which part of the planet you're from) so the product does seem primarily an enamel. It was touch dry very quickly. Much more so than the basecoat. AK do recommend 24 hours before masking.

 

 

I understand it will take a polish so I am interested to see when fully cured whether this effect can work on a couple of panels mainly the top of wing leading edge panel. As is, it looks very nice with no further work and gives a thin, lustrous coat just lacking the panel variation you can achieve with foil. Although, I think you could have a lot of fun with panel preparation to achieve these effects as, like Alclad and foiling, it will show every mark and blemish in the undercoat. For me, the time spent on the surface preparation has now paid off.  

 

 

Very difficult to get a photo that does it justice. 

 

 

If it is more robust than Alclad II, and I see not reason why not, then we're on a winner. My question mark is whether it will take an enamel wash without damage. AK claim so and all their washes are enamel so maybe so. I will be using oils/odourless thinners to achieve some of the panel shading and would prefer to not have to put down a clear protective coat before doing this. 

 

Let's put it aside and give it plenty of time to harden before masking some of the detail. I have to say, what a pleasure, for a change, to do a build without masking camouflage.

 

Ray

 

[Col.]

Oooh, shiny  

That looks great Ray. Nice work.

[Steve 1602]

Looking really good. The surface preparation has really been time well spent 👍🏻

[janneman36]

This looks exactly right for you model Ray, and I am very interested to see what your experience is with this AK..

 

cheers, Jan

[Johnson]

Lovely finish - very smooth. Better get the scourer out! 

[Ray_W]

2 minutes ago, Johnson said:

Lovely finish - very smooth. Better get the scourer out! 

Thanks Charlie,

Certainly the non-critical aerodynamic parts look burnished, such as the rear fuselage, but on close inspection of the photos of this aircraft I think at least the tops of the wings of A58-303 are polished. It seems to cover the full chord rather than the more critical first third. It even seems to be holding a reflection in the wing markings. So actually having a good finish on some areas of my build may not be a bad thing. I was also interested comparing colour and black and white images of metal RAAF mustangs how a sparkling mustang in colour looks flat grey in B&W. Hopefully Peter M @Magpie22 will happen by because I am sure he will know RAAF WW2 polishing directives and he will know what areas were considered important for any additional surface improvement, certainly, for a test aircraft based at Laverton.

Ray

[LorenSharp]

EXcellent look on the metallic finish!.The extra prep work definitely paid off. I've used Alclad and foil, so this will be interesting to see how AK enamels hold up. I may have to add another line of metallic  paint to the list.

[Ray_W]

Masked a few panels for a slight colour change and happy with the variation in shade but not happy with the product. Left the coating 24 hours, masked the panels with Tamiya tape with reduced tackiness, lightly applied because it's only a shading effect on the panel, pulled off slowly immediately after painting and away from the edge, not directly up and yesterday's coat lifted. Can't see anything that could be done differently. Plenty of curing time and I give zero credence to the "bad batch" claims of AK. Only thing different is don't use the AK basecoat and don't touch it when done. Convinces me not to use their black base coat on the next attempt with Xtreme Metal. 

 

The leading edge and aileron colour variation look good but see the base coat peeking through on the edges.

 

 

And again, 

 

 

I also give zero credence to its ability to withstand brushed oils and thinners even though AK show them plunging a sprayed engine block into their thinners. I'd like to see them brush it and see if it is robust enough. I'll be putting a clear coat over this before any such finishing.

 

It will be easy to patch, so long as it does not need sanding and polishing. I trust the basecoat will not show a stepped edge. 

 

This stuff is not as robust for me as others claim. A light polish also rubs it off. Is it just the "Polished Aluminium". I don't know. Disappointing? Yes, because its maskability is the key attribute I want. And this was only the start. More masking to come. Like lots. So it will be repair and clear coat.

 

Now for some repair work.

 

I did some further research and believe the issue for me is in the AK basecoat. I had no tape residue as experienced in this thread.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ray_W]

Repaired!! The wonder of post-it labels to give me a low tack edge. I really like where I was going with this so maybe the wet tissue mask or post-it label is the only way. Still, I'll be protecting that surface with a clear coat before I do the roundels and other colours.

 

 

I finished the painting of the aluminium and I'm happy. The problem now is which clear coat to use - my usual and preferred GX which seems to work well over the Xtreme Metal  or AK's Gauzy Intermediate which will be less aggressive I'm sure. I have some nice textures going and don't want to lose them.

 

I leave it for another 24 hours and decide tomorrow.

 

  

 

 

[Johnson]

Very glad that your repairs worked OK Ray, but also sorry about your problems with AK. Not least because I like the paint and I’d hoped it would be better than Alclad, and apparently it isn’t!

 

My pet theory based on the experiences of modellers on BM who experienced similar problems, and my own experiments with Alclad, is that it is the inability of polished aluminium, AK or Alclad to stick to a gloss black base coat. Two shiny surfaces with no key to grip, and insufficient chemical bond. Apply tape and off it comes. The only good thing is that it is so thin repair is possible.

 

best of luck for the rest of the build!

[Ray_W]

1 hour ago, Johnson said:

My pet theory based on the experiences of modellers on BM who experienced similar problems, and my own experiments with Alclad, is that it is the inability of polished aluminium, AK or Alclad to stick to a gloss black base coat. Two shiny surfaces with no key to grip, and insufficient chemical bond. Apply tape and off it comes. The only good thing is that it is so thin repair is possible.

 

Charlie, 

 

I believe what you say is correct. Possibly the "Aluminium" is better. I even tried again with very low tack Tamiya tape, the tape just about falling off the model, and still pulled some off. I must say though, that I still prefer it to Alclad and I do think it is more robust. There's always a learning curve. I will have to do another natural metal finish soon.

 

I finished the panel variation. I will overcoat it with GX100 tomorrow and hopefully that will give it enough strength before further masking. The roundels will be a real test. 

 

The panel variation is more subtle than the photo. Anything else I'll do with oils and look at all those rivets. It will be a challenging oils job to get the effects I want without over accentuating the riveting - with the exception at the wing roots and cowling fasteners which are conspicuous on the actual aircraft.

 

It looks gorgeous, just hope the clear coat doesn't spoil the effect.