Heather Kay Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 1 minute ago, TonyW said: That photoetch looks quite amazing. I would be seriously tempted to make the plane as a cut away. The thought of all that fine work disappearing into the closed fuselage would have me in tears. It’s not the first in my collection to hide it’s interior, and it won’t be the last! I have to admit, it’s more detailed than I need (yay Eduard!) but way better than I’d have managed with scrap styrene and bits of brass wire. A lot of my builds now don’t go overboard for interiors. First, who has the time these days, and second, it’s never seen again so why even bother! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 Oh, hello. I think this airbrush game isn’t difficult as I make it out to be. I may need to reapply the underside grey, as it wasn’t quite dry enough for the masking tape in places. We shall see... Meanwhile, I had a play with the new Humbrol acrylic dropper bottle for the aluminium undersides on the CR.42. The usual issues with paint balling up on the surface, but I finally got the effect I was after. I was aiming for a slightly metallic sheen, and when the paint worked properly, it’s captured what I wanted over the grey primer. Patience kicks in. Waiting for paint to dry. Thank goodness we’ve finally managed some test cricket this summer! 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 The super glue method will only work if the windows are standing sufficiently proud of the fuselage to allow the dimples to be sanded away before the sanding gets the windows flush with the fuselage exterior. Martian 👽 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 The Falco gets some camo. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 I’ve really been enjoying this thread and I’m looking forward to the camouflage work and further colour masterclass and debate, I like Italian colour subjects... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 4 hours ago, Heather Kay said: Oh, hello. I think this airbrush game isn’t difficult as I make it out to be. I may need to reapply the underside grey, as it wasn’t quite dry enough for the masking tape in places. We shall see... Patience kicks in. Waiting for paint to dry. Thank goodness we’ve finally managed some test cricket this summer! That's a very nice finish you have achieved there, but maybe we can help with the drying time without moving you backwards on the quality? What paint : thinners ratio did you have, roughly, and what pressure was the compressor putting out? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 8 minutes ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said: What paint : thinners ratio did you have, roughly, and what pressure was the compressor putting out? Hi Jamie. It was roughly 50:50, and the pressure was around 15psi or so. I’m still experimenting, and for the yellow top coat I went with a slightly higher paint ratio, which may be the way forward. The paint lifted on various sections of the underside as the tape came off. There was also a visible mark left by the tape, which I suspect was due to there being a bit too much thinners in the mix. I will also put it down to poor surface prep by me and dodgy primer. I’m still learning the ways of ColourCoats, and thankfully for these planes I won’t need much more masking to be done. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 13 minutes ago, Heather Kay said: Hi Jamie. It was roughly 50:50, and the pressure was around 15psi or so. I’m still experimenting, and for the yellow top coat I went with a slightly higher paint ratio, which may be the way forward. The paint lifted on various sections of the underside as the tape came off. There was also a visible mark left by the tape, which I suspect was due to there being a bit too much thinners in the mix. I will also put it down to poor surface prep by me and dodgy primer. I’m still learning the ways of ColourCoats, and thankfully for these planes I won’t need much more masking to be done. Generally you'll find it difficult to have too much thinners in the paint:thinners mix, and the thinner you go the faster each total colour application will be dried however you do need to handle the stuff differently - it's counter intuitive in many respects but aiming to lay down less paint speeds you up overall, as a very light dusting will flash off more or less immediately getting a nice blow dry from the airbrush's air flow. Keeping the air flowing and being miserly with the needle valve for paint flow is the trick. You can just keep your airbrush moving and keep coming back to any given area again and again but you always leave it virtually dry rather than wet. You'll be done before you know it - and it works a charm for yellows and whites especially. More thinners shouldn't (and for me has never) caused any lifting under tape, but I do work hard at finding lazier ways to do stuff and quicker I always hold the work piece such that the glossy sheen of the wet mixture being laid on is reflected to my eyes when actually painting. I'm less bothered about opacity of the coat when actually shooting paint - I can look at that between passes. It's the wetness going down I want to get just right, and with the airbrush nozzle tucked in nice and close to the target I can literally see the recently laid down paint maybe 1/4 to 1/2 an inch behind the new target turn matt as it flashes off in the breeze and it's dry to the touch from that point until I go over it again next pass. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted July 26, 2020 Author Share Posted July 26, 2020 Jamie, thanks for that explanation. It makes counter-intuitive sense! In fact, I put it into practice just now to repair the G.50's grey underside. Sadly, I don’t think the same technique will work with the Humbrol acrylic on the CR.42, so I shall resort to hairy stick for that. It’s only on the underside of one tail plane, and will hardly notice in the big scheme of things. My ColourCoats collection consists of the French, Dutch and Italian air forces, but I’m thinking I will invest in further sets to cover the RAF, FAA and Luftwaffe. I had been hoping to switch entirely to acrylics, and I’ve been very happy with most of the models painted with Xtracrylix, and those I’ve brush-painted with Humbrol and Revell, but the CC range is luring me back to enamels. I like the smell of naphtha in the mornings. Now, I think I shall let the paint work dry and harden for a while before I think about starting the mottling. Besides, there’s another model to get on with. 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 This thread's a joy to follow Heather,the etch work is first class and great to see the progress of the other kit's too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Speaking of BR.20 interiors, I suspect that grey is more likely. I'll get back to you on this later 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted July 26, 2020 Author Share Posted July 26, 2020 9 minutes ago, Giorgio N said: Speaking of BR.20 interiors, I suspect that grey is more likely. I'll get back to you on this later I did wonder, but I’ve seen a drawing/painting which shows light green. I’ll wait on your expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 I checked some references but could not find anything certain. It is known that Fiat used grey for most of their aircraft cockpit though, reason why I would go with this colour if I were building the same model. The anticorrosion green was a primer for aluminum surfaces and In many cases it was covered with a grey paint. There were however also grey primers for aluminum in the list of colours allowed by the air force technical offices and we know Fiat used them. So grey is probably more likely but not certain. There are some colour pictures of BR.20s, here's a few. It's hard to see the interiors but maybe you con guess something http://www.cmpr.it/Regia/ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 1 hour ago, Heather Kay said: …but the CC range is luring me back to enamels I'm sold too. Jamie recommended cheap low-odour white spirit for clean-ups and that's smellier than the Colourcoats! So smooth too. Love it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted July 26, 2020 Author Share Posted July 26, 2020 Good news on the BR.20M fuselage glazing: most of the dimpling was on the inside face. Sanding and polishing has cleaned it up nicely. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 I’ve been busy with paying work again. A commission build from a brass etched kit, 1/43rd scale. The detail work on the body is almost complete, the cab detailing is next. The chassis runs, but I’ve not installed all the rods yet. Another week or so and I can begin to think about painting it. Speaking of paint... I found a bit of time to revisit the BR.20's interior. Taking a leaf from @PeterB's SM.79 build in the Kit You Built As A Kid GB, I found a tin of Humbrol 64 and resprayed the interior parts. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 (edited) Hi Heather, From what Giorgio said I guess it is probably more accurate on your kit than mine, but then you do have more windows to see it than I have - my interior is barely visible! Lovely work on the etch. I guess the Praire is what I would call "O" Gauge? That looks good too. Cheers Pete Edited July 29, 2020 by PeterB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 Lovely progress, Heather I don't remember if you've already mentioned it, but did you use solder for the assembly on your paying job? Ciao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 25 minutes ago, giemme said: I don't remember if you've already mentioned it, but did you use solder for the assembly on your paying job? I do solder. Most uses a standard cored electrical solder, but some bits use lower temperature stuff. It helps stop other parts dropping off again! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 Good to see you making progress with the airbrush painting Heather. You might use hairy brushes, but I had to deal with hairy benches all the time, as a result of all the farm cats in the garage where I spray paint. Love the engine. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 Two steps forward, one back today. Buoyed by airbrush success earlier on a French build, I felt confident enough to go for the blotch patterns on the two fighters. Well, let’s just say it’s not bad for a first draft. The Freccia went reasonably well, as the camo is a more diffuse pattern of green and maroon. A couple of places things went awry, but I felt I could correct those later with careful reapplication of the sand colour. The Falco started out well. It has a denser pattern of irregular patches of colour. Like the other model, the occasional splurt was ignored as being fixable. Then I started on the the second colour, and it all started to go wrong. I decided to stop at that point, hence the partial pattern on the lower starboard wing. I’m going to recoat with the sand colour and start again. I may do that in the monoplane, too. Still, valuable experience. Nothing here to be scared of. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Tough camo scheme this one, but you're pulling it out Ciao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 Yes, nice mottling so far Heather - a complex task alright, but these initial results assure that the completed schemes are going to be stunning. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 You must keep your tip clean when doing these mottle patches. It isn't easy for sure. Also different colours act differently at low pressures. So it is best to get a lot of practice in before tackling the plane, so you are ready for the changes. I mainly practice by doing mottling pre-shading. It helps. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 3 hours ago, Greg Law said: You must keep your tip clean when doing these mottle patches. Would doing 10-15 dots, a quick swipe with a cotton bud with thinner, a test shot and then another 10-15 dots work better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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