1/72 PZL P.23 Karas #247. ++ Finished ++

[fightersweep]

3 hours ago, klr said:

When I built this about 15 years ago or so, I used the now discontinued Humbrol 142, rightly or wrongly.

 

Very nice Karas! Thanks for sharing. I'm sure 142 is fine. I read a fair bit online before starting my build about PAF colours. I think I ended up more confused than I was before, particularly concerning interior finishes. I got the impression, for example, that the Karas could be painted either the brownish colour or a sort of olive green, depending on year of manufacture (if I read that right). I decided to do my P.11 the field drab colour and the Karas will be an olive green. As you say, rightly or wrongly!

 

Steve

[fightersweep]

A Bit of a disaster with the Karas. Not sure what's happened, but I think it's the paint to blame. I used an old bottle of DBI enamel from the 80s that I had. Now, I have a few of these and they have all been superb paints, but the green I used on the Karas has behaved very oddly. First off, the finish was a bit strange, but manageable, but the disaster hit when I removed the canopy masks today. All the paint peeled off like it was acrylic, so that three hour masking effort on the canopy ended up being a waste of time. I'm a bit peeved, so I'm going to set this aside for a bit and go back to it once I've calmed down. 

 

Steve

[JOCKNEY]

Really sorry to hear that Steve 

I've  had that happen only too often, can you reuse any of the canopy masking ?

cheers Pat

[fightersweep]

@jockney

 

The masking is a bit of a lost cause to be honest. I've mulled it over, and I'm going to do one of two things. I'll either salvage what I've got, or start a new kit. Either way, they will be a completed P.23 in this GB from me.

 

In slightly better news, the P.11 is finished, and I'm quite pleased with it. Photos in the gallery tomorrow.

 

Steve

[JOCKNEY]

Please don't give up on it Steve, it looked the business when we last saw it, you're choice obviously !

 

I had a bad paint reaction in the Blitzbuild GB, with my Fulmar, I went back to it, repainted it , and bizarrely it actually makes me appreciate it more.

 

Good luck

 

Cheers Pat

[Rabbit Leader]

Sorry to hear this Steve, however if its any help I have at least one horror moment with everyone one of my builds. Among the many modelling tricks up your sleeve, nothing beats a good dose of experienced ‘recovery’ skill. Best to pause for a moment and get your confidence back up, then go back and finish off this lovely Karas. You’ll be glad you did. 

Cheers and good luck.. Dave 

[fightersweep]

Cheers guys! I'm going to put it to one side for a little bit, and start on my next couple of choices in the GB. I'll come back to it after a week and finish it off then. Sometimes it's best to walk away for a bit and come back with fresh eyes and a clear mind.

 

Steve

[fightersweep]

Right! Let's try this again. The Karas has been paint stripped, and ready for a second go as there was something not quite right with the paint I used first time around. Luckily, because it hadn't seemed to adhere properly, it was a doddle to clean off. Can't say I've had that before with an enamel. It was more like an acrylic. That also meant that the canopy got cleaned up again and all it took was to use masking tape to strip the paint. In fact, it was more like waxing something. The only downside was that it meant I had to do this all over again....

 

 

Another two and a half hours of happy, happy, joy, joy! Still, the Karas is back. Stay tuned!

 

Steve

[TonyOD]

6 minutes ago, fightersweep said:

The only downside was that it meant I had to do this all over again....

Yeah, but who doesn't love a bit of canopy masking?

[JOCKNEY]

50 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

Yeah, but who doesn't love a bit of canopy masking?

 

Me, Me , Me  

[JeroenS]

Nice job on the masking Steve and well done for returning to this build. Indeed the best thing is to have a break, lower the blood pressure, and then return to it as if nothing ever happened. And why not, I mean it's only a couple of bits of plastic. Mind over matter! 🙂 

[TonyW]

That's looking really nice.

 

I wouldn't loose too much sleep over the colour. Greens pass through that shade on the way to golden yellow, once a bit of sunlight gets involved, so your interpretation is as good as anyones. Your current green looks like a fairly new paintjob and your old build looks like a sun faded version of the same. Both look spot on to me.

Period colour photo's of US aircraft are my personal guide. There's a ton of them out there and they show every shade and fade of olive green imaginable. 

[fightersweep]

Finally ready for paint job 2.0. I hope it goes a little better this time. If all goes well, I hope to have this wrapped up in a couple of days.

 

 

Steve

[Rabbit Leader]

Looks like a great recovery Steve and I’m just thinking, why don’t you just use the same paints as for your lovely PZL.11? That little gem came out wonderfully well. 
Cheers.. Dave 

[fightersweep]

Thanks Dave. Yes! My thought's exactly. The P.11 was painted using a very old tin of Hu142 Field Drab mixed with 163 Dark Green. Over the last week, the tin of 142 was starting to dry out due to the 40 year old build up of paint caked around the lid. So time for a rescue with the aid of the new empty paint tins that Hannants sells, and I've decanted the remaining 142 into a new tin with the 163 mixed in ready to go. That worked really well on the P.11. Blue undersides again first....hopefully tomorrow.

 

Steve

[fightersweep]

Well, I've got the paint back on the Karas and I think I'm happier with the shade this time too, using the same mix as the P.11. It's all futured up and ready for the decals this afternoon. I really hope that canopy masking has worked out this time. I'm going to have to wait a little longer for that reveal as I'll be matt varnishing before that happens. Looking forward to applying the decals as it's all looking a little bland at the moment.

 

 

...and the underside. I've just noticed what appears to be a hair to the stbd side of the gondola. Oh well, a bit of sanding and a dab of paint will soon sort that out. 

 

 

Steve

[TonyW]

Excellent save! The colour looks good from here.

[fightersweep]

Despite the initial setback with the first paint job, I think I've managed to beat this Karas into submission. Much happier with the colour now, and this time around, the canopy masking worked just fine (Woohoo). Just a few little bits that could do with a touch up here and there. Decals are on too, which now makes the drab looking colour scheme pop a bit, and she's all matt varnished. Just the fiddly bits and pieces to stick on now, such as the exhausts, pitot and other odds and ends. I'll let the photos do the talking instead.

 

I do believe the finish line is in sight!

 

 

 

 

Steve

[TonyOD]

That's looking fantastic!

[fightersweep]

Thanks Tony! I still can't get the camera to get the colour looking right though. It looks very olive drab here, but it's more brownish in the flesh.

[TonyOD]

46 minutes ago, fightersweep said:

It looks very olive drab here, but it's more brownish in the flesh.

If I scroll up will I see what colour you used somewhere? I have one of these in the stash and as I've said before this GB will basically be my reference point for every Heller build I do 😁

 

(Those mismatched upper wing roundels - squaredels? = are playing hell with my OCD...)

Edited November 19, 2020 by TonyOD

[fightersweep]

2 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

If I scroll up will I see what colour you used somewhere? I have one of these in the stash and as I've said before this GB will basically be my reference point for every Heller build I do 😁

 

(Those mismatched upper wing roundels - squaredels? = are playing hell with my OCD...)

 

Come to think of it and looking again at the photos, the camo on the Karas looks closer to the photos I took of my P.11. More brownish in tone, but with a hint of olive. Bit like the current army uniform colour.

 

Yes! Those "squaredels" (I like that by the way) are OCD inducing. On top of that, the off set outer white portions have this weird optical effect of making it look as if they've been applied on the wonk. I keep noticing it and thinking I've positioned them wrongly, then see that the line up with the correct panel lines ok. 

 

Steve

[fightersweep]

The Karas is finished! This one fought me a little bit along the way, but that was all my doing and no fault of the kit. It's a great kit from Heller and I've really enjoyed building it and so the "Polish Duo" is now done and dusted. Naturally, there's a few things I'm not happy with, but for an "Old Skool" OOB build painted with hairy sticks, it's not too bad. To be honest, I'm really enjoying these simple builds. Takes me back to my early modelling days when I wasn't worried about accuracy, tons of after market and getting everything perfect. It's so much more relaxing and this GB has given me my modelling mojo back.  Time to hit the gallery, and thanks for following my build. Time to start a few more!

 

 

 

 

Steve

[TonyOD]

Cracking job on the two Polish kites, even if those weirdo squardels are still freaking me out.

[fightersweep]

Thanks Tony! To be honest, they freak me out too. Every time I look at them, they look as if they've been applied wonky and in the wrong places.