The Mission Models Spitfire IX paint mule

[Christer A]

I seem to recall that I wasn't to start any new kits for a while, but rather finish the ones that I was working on.

That sort of went out of the window, but in my defence this is not an actual build, this is just a way for me to gain confidence in using Mission Models paint.

Honest!

And I also need to do a proper test of this little gem.

The God Hand Sprue cutter. It's not their top of the line model that costs about as much as Tamiya F-14D in 1/48 but the slightly cheaper one, that is about as expensive as an AMK F-14D.

I got mine used for half the price

So far I can say that I love it. It slices through the plastic, but leaves a tiny tiny piece still on the part so you cannot shear it off as good as with the top of the line stuff. However, a few swipes with a sanding stick solves it.

Compared to cutting the pieces of with a scalpel feels very outdated now, since the precision is as good or even better, and the parts doesn't go ping as easily.

So that's excuse number one for digging into a new kit.

 

For excuse number two, well I've bought a lot of Mission Models paint during the last year, but so far I've just painted a few areas with it.

It is a paint that requires you to think and act differently, but from my previous attempts I know that I can airbrush and paintbrush details from same bottle and have a finished result that is very close in both tone and shade.

Ok, here goes!
Since we have a Spitfire GB I toyed with the idea od doing a Airfix Mk22 in 1/72, but after looking at it in the box and fondled the sprues for a while I felt that it was almost the same amount of work with that, and I wouldn't have tested as much paints so out came the old Eduard IXc

Popular subject in this GB that for sure, and I also note that @Dansk will do just the same machine as I intended.

But whocares eh? _I'm here for testing the paint...

 

(I am thinking of add full invasion stripes just to be a little different)

I did get a nice surprise when rummaging through the box though. There was an Overtrees IX in there too!

When did I order that one?

 

And here I was hoping that this would clear the stash a little...

Oh well.

 

But lets focus on painting, since that's the whole point.

After a cuick concpit construction sequence where I didn't change a lot, just added a few cables I used my trust UMP black primer.

That's not Mission Models primer I know, but in this case I felt that UMP is what I want to use, and it was black too!

First paint to be used is the newish RAF High Speed Silver MMM-09.
 

I haven't tried their metallics before, but I seem to recall that their chrome stuff requires something extra, but the result is good enough for car modellers.

My first attempt was to treat it as a normal MM color, so to 4 parts paint I added 1 part thinner and 1 part Poly (that stuff is like a retarder, flow improver , glazing +1 adhesion-thingie)

That was too thin and also looked kind of bath in the airbrush cup, almost like it didn't mix properly.

Out with that batch, and make a new one without the Poly then.

It worked a bit better, but it was still spluttering like my Airbrush needed a good cleaning . I should probably strip down the AB and do a thorough cleaning any day now...

Still, this was not giving med what I wanted so I cleaned out the brush again and just added the paint stright from the bottle.

In this form it's VERY thick but amazingly it is still possible to airbrush it. This probably has something to do with the size of the pigments or something, but any other paint would've just clogged it all.

Finally it sprayed well -ish enough to use.

Yesterday the grains looked quite large but today it feels like they are a lot smaller?

The finish is not stellar in any way since there are some specks of dried paint in there. Why that happened I have no clue.

 

Verdict: Compared to the Vallejo Metal colors I usually use, this is a little trickier to use, and the result is similar. Now, this is High Speed silver, a metal paint not an attempt in simulating metal so how the other metallic colors behave I have no idea of.

I definitely need to practise more with it to see what I did wrong.

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by Christer A

[Dansk]

Hey christer i experimented with mm earlier in the year after having trouble with them.

i found heavily heavily thinned With mr levelling thinner and very low pressure worked quite well

[Valkyrie]

Another one worth watching. I don’t have an airbrush yet, but looking at good metallic silver options. Are MM metals good for paint brush, I usually just stick with Tamiya XF-11 silver....

Good luck with the practice session

[uncletommy]

1 hour ago, Christer A said:

Verdict: Compared to the Vallejo Metal colors I usually use, this is a little trickier to use, and the result is similar. Now, this is High Speed silver, a metal paint not an attempt in simulating metal so how the other metallic colors behave I have no idea of.

I definitely need to practise more with it to see what I did wrong.

 

 

I've been having the same issue with the MM RAF High Speed Silver.  Just ends up looking too grainy.  I've tried  various combinations of paint, thinner, and poly to no avail.  I've even tried the Clear Primer and thinner brew that John of Model Paint Solutions recommended (at the bottom of that page).  So far, nothing has worked.  The paint sprays on beautifully but once dry, it still has a distinctive grain appearance.  I'm sure it's just something I'm doing since I've seen other people get  beautiful results with the Mission Models metallics.  

 

I'm going to experiment more to see if I can figure out what I'm doing wrong but for now, I've switched back over to the Vallejo Metal Color line for my metallics of choice.  

[Christer A]

34 minutes ago, Dansk said:

Hey christer i experimented with mm earlier in the year after having trouble with them.

i found heavily heavily thinned With mr levelling thinner and very low pressure worked quite well

The normal paints are quite easier to use though. Mr levelling thinner sure is the bees knees, but the rest of the family does not approve of it

16 minutes ago, Valkyrie said:

Another one worth watching. I don’t have an airbrush yet, but looking at good metallic silver options. Are MM metals good for paint brush, I usually just stick with Tamiya XF-11 silver....

Good luck with the practice session

Can't say that MM Metals are easy to use for brush painting, since I haven't tried that. 

Another thing to test is Uschi Van Der Osten metallic powders. That is actually metal, and works good too!

8 minutes ago, uncletommy said:

 

I've been having the same issue with the MM RAF High Speed Silver.  Just ends up looking too grainy.  I've tried  various combinations of paint, thinner, and poly to no avail.  I've even tried the Clear Primer and thinner brew that John of Model Paint Solutions recommended (at the bottom of that page).  So far, nothing has worked.  The paint sprays on beautifully but once dry, it still has a distinctive grain appearance.  I'm sure it's just something I'm doing since I've seen other people get  beautiful results with the Mission Models metallics.  

 

I'm going to experiment more to see if I can figure out what I'm doing wrong but for now, I've switched back over to the Vallejo Metal Color line for my metallics of choice.  

It seems that we share the same  experience then. Very very strange.

[Christer A]

I've seem to have contracted a nasty cold, but not of the severe Man-Cold variety but more of the contentiously runny nose. Still, that means that I'm forced to work from home, and you all know what that means?

Yes, off course there will be modelling!

 

But during the weekend I tried to purge my sinuses by breathing in the fumes from some much delightful airbrush sessions.

The RAF Interior green MMP-079 was mixed with about 60%-70% paint, and equal amounts of the MM Poly stuff and their thinner and it was a very pleasant experience. The pigments are really tiny but boy do they perform! No trouble with spraying directly on plastic either, so in this particular pint in time I'm very happy with this color. I think I can safely retire those Xtracrylix IG that I've been using so far.

Well, a little while later I started to do all detail painting in the cockpit, using Mission Models black mostly. Naturally i left some spots in unwanted places but it's not a big deal to brush paint over Interior grey green  and have the result being indistinguishable from the airbrushed areas. 

Terrific!

So, last night I covered the hole cockpit with Mission Models clearcoat mixed as above and that too worked like a charm.

I'm liking this stuff more and more!

I'll soon take a lunchbreak and then I think I could do a fast and simple wash just to get the cockpit a bit closer to finished 😃

 

 

[Ray_W]

3 hours ago, Christer A said:

I've seem to have contracted a nasty cold, but not of the severe Man-Cold variety but more of the contentiously runny nose.

Mmmm, don't want to wish the common cold on you, but I hope so.

[uncletommy]

On 5/17/2020 at 8:39 AM, Christer A said:

It seems that we share the same  experience then. Very very strange.

Hmmmm... your statement got me thinking this morning.  A rare enough occurrence these days.

 

Since we were both having issues with the High Speed Silver, I went back to some test squares I had done some time ago.  Things like the Aluminum, Duraluminum, and the like.  I hadn't done a test bit with the HSS though.  In any case, the aluminum type pieces I did seemed to be fine.  No obvious grainy look.  So (this is the bit where my brain kicked  in), I said to myself, "self.  Let's shoot a test piece with the regular silver.  Not the RAF HSS. I had a paint mule that I'd primed yesterday afternoon and it was now ready to be sacrificed.

 

So, out with the airbrush, in with the MM Silver, on with the air pressure, and the spray booth fan.  About 5 minutes later I had a beautifully smooth, silver colored, 1/72 P-51D wing without the slightest hint of graininess.  I compared it to a wing I did yesterday with the Vallejo Metal Color Silver and they both look equally smooth.  The only difference is that the Vallejo is lot shinier than the Mission Models Silver.  However, there's about a zillion things that could account for that.  But the finish on the MM Silver was as smooth as I'd  hoped it would be and it's perfectly adequate for my needs.

 

Methinks the Mission Models RAF High Speed Silver may the the problem child here.  Your mileage may vary.  

[Christer A]

On 18/05/2020 at 15:15, Ray_W said:

Mmmm, don't want to wish the common cold on you, but I hope so.

Thanks.

It's a lingering variant for sure, but a slightly clogged nose is not that bad, considering.

On 18/05/2020 at 16:39, uncletommy said:

Methinks the Mission Models RAF High Speed Silver may the the problem child here.  Your mileage may vary.  

Yeah, it seems likely that this paint seems to be the trouble.

I don't have any of the other metallic paints so I cannot verify what you say though.

 

The cockpit was finished, weathered and flat coated. Except for the seat, all was painted with MM, using brush mostly.

The washes that I used worked perfectly on top of the MM gloss clear.

 

 

Ok, now I really want to paint, but before that I must slap it all together.

Well, since this is my fourth Eduard Spit it wasn't too hard or complicated. 😎

Then I rummaged around in the AM cupboard to see if I could find the secret weapon for this kit:

Ah yes, the Ultracast resin cowl!

Drop fit, easy to clean up and it's Unique Selling Point over the Barracuda cowl is the resin pour lug. It's located on the front instead of the rear as with Barracuda, so this time I didn't goof up like I did with the Barracuda cowl on my Velveta Spit.

 

Right.

I wonder if everything has set now, so that one can do the first round of sanding and filling?

[Dansk]

Now that is what an aftermarket cowl should look and fit like.

 

 

And great work all round! 👍

Edited May 22, 2020 by Dansk

[Christer A]

Thanks Paul!
It's been a somewhat busy week but I have managed to paint a lot!

I did toy with the idea of using the Mission Models primer, but since I didn't have any luck with it for the first test, I decided to stick with my trusty UMP black primer. Lovely stuff!

 

So after the whole kit had been primed I made a small batch of MM Sky for the tail band. This was then covered with MM gloss coat since I expect that this masking tape will used for quite some time.

This two paint sessions went absolutely flawless and I was more than happy.
Then I began on the underside...

 

Mission Medium Sea Grey was used, together with few drops of Poly and MM Thinner, and off I went. But something was way out of character this time. The paint clogged the nozzle constantly and I had to use a cotton bud to keep it clean every few seconds. It felt like Xtracrylix on a real bad day and very far from my earlier experiences.

The interesting part is once the paint actually hit the model it was a little bit better, even though I had what felt like enormous spidering problems and splutter, but in hte end I got a finish that was a bit decent.

The self leveling properties are really good, especially considering the family friendliness!

I shot another coat of gloss on it and let it harden in the sun for most of a day. I like to cover the paint with clear nowadays, since I discovered that I'll have close to zero issues with tape residue when doing so.

After a "lagom" long masking session (yeah, it was lagom! It's not a splinter scheme for a Viggen) I started to prepare some Ocean Grey for the topside.

But while doing the marble coat the paint was behaving as badly as before. What in the blazes was I doing wrong this time?

I couldn't figure it out until I had a look in the mixing cup.
This can't be right!

It looks like when you fail to do a sauce!

After a chat with a bit more knowledgeable persons on social media (yeah I've got Instragram too....) I started to gain the insight that maybe this miracle paint is a bit sensitive to sunlight and heat? Especially the Poly.

I might've forgotten the thinner in the spray booth and since that is located on the balcony and during summertime the greenhouse effect is strong there so it's not impossible at all that the thinner have been subjected to high temperatures and UV-light.

 

Well, I didn't have any extra of that stuff but I did have a large bottle of thinner that was unopened, so let's grab that and have another go.

This time the result in the cup looked as it should when using only thinner!

A few drops of Poly didn't change that either, so I started to paint.

This time it behaved like one expect a paint to do.

Almost no needle buildup and good control. Finally!

I think I need to go back on this layer a bit though since I want a bit more faded look, or I just darken the rudder a bit and cheat like that.

 

So to conclude:

Do not leave your Mission Models paints, thinners or poly out in the sun!

If you do, then you're in trouble, but the paint itself will try it's best to save you from this mistake!

Edited June 1, 2020 by Christer A
Spelling

[Ray_W]

Thanks Christer, very useful post. Results look good. Ray

[Christer A]

Gosh, is it July already?

Well, it seems that work killed off my modelling mojo for the entire month, but yesterday my vacation started, so now I have 5 free weeks ahead of me.

I'm sure a new project will be started just to celebrate, but lets focus a bit on this Spitfire first.

To start with, I masked off the grey areas and laid down a black coat using MM Nato black. It has a slight green tint, but for black basing this doesn't matter.

It was felt though that this Dark Green was a bit too dark, so it was lightened with some grey just to knock it down a bit.

After all masking was removed I had this!

That roundel sure looks interesting, but that was just a bit of confetti that had drifted onto the modl. Pay it o mind!

Then I went to work on the distinctive markings, or D-day stripes if you prefer.

Luckily, the MM white was wonderful to work with, and a good (well, for a faded scruffy look at least) coverage was had.
 

The leading edges got hit with some RLM04 , but that is a yellow enough for my purposes. Yellow is another one of those hate -hate colors and here MM was no different.

I didn't get good coverage, and the paint was quite thick.

Well, let's call it weathering and live with it.

So, off with all tape then!

 

Let's see....before starting decals, why not paint the wing walkways instead?

That went really well!

All right, now it's time for stickers!

[Christer A]

Let's see if this old thread still works.

I've got most of the stickers on now, but lost the speed to cross the finish line back in july.

Perhaps one should try to find the last bits of this one and push it over the finishing line?

[Col.]

20 minutes ago, Christer A said:

...Perhaps one should try to find the last bits of this one and push it over the finishing line?

Yes I think that would be a very good thing to do.

[Ray_W]

35 minutes ago, Christer A said:

Let's see if this old thread still works.

Still working. Still following. Looks nice.