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Heller PZL23


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The PZL23 was a 1930s Polish built light bomber which saw service into WW2 and in fact was the first aircraft to
attack a target within German territory during the Polish invasion. Suffice to say, it's elderly design was no match
for the Luftwaffe and it suffered heavy losses early in the conflict. The Romanian airforce also used them against
Russia.

 

It was a nice little kit to build and Heller provided both Polish and Romanian decals. What started out to be a simple
paint job using Revell Aqua was almost ruined by a bad reaction to Humbrol matt varnish. I had to sand it back and 
repaint while trying to preserve the Romanian decals. 

 

Anyone else had a problem with Humbrol varnish?

 

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Nice build of an unusual type.

 

Humbrol varnish - can't remember any specific problems but I moved on to other products years ago - Winsor & Newton Galeria, and lately Mr Color GX 114 which I can definitely recommend. It's excellent stuff.  

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6 hours ago, Vinnie said:

during the Polish invasion

You mean German invasion, aren't you?

 

Very well done model! To be honest, PZL 23 Karas wasn't THAT bad airplane, Karas squadrons really suffered heavy losses but against such overhelming Luftwaffe superiority even the most advanced designs would have hard time. In fact these were similar to many other light bombers of that time, Stukas in BoB or Blenheims and Battles in 1940 in France didn't manage to do any better, even if they had some modern fighter escort, unavailable for Karas in 1939. Still some PZLs survived and managed to be evacuated to Romania and served well in the Romanian Air Forces on the Eastern Front.

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On 21/10/2020 at 17:31, Vinnie said:

Anyone else had a problem with Humbrol varnish?

 

Very nice model! You could have entered it in the current Heller Classic GB - the other freaks would have been delighted.

 

Regarding flat clear over acrylics: That's a problem generally. I had a similar experience with Revell flat over Tamiya acrylics. The flat varnishes are quite aggressive, more so when you add thinner. Acrylics should always be last in the colour coat sequence but often I don't follow this rule either. It works better when you first coat the camouflage with acrylic gloss clear (before decals) and then switch to flat enamal clear.

 

Cheers, Michael

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On 10/21/2020 at 5:31 PM, Vinnie said:

What started out to be a simple paint job using Revell Aqua was almost ruined by a bad reaction to Humbrol matt varnish.

I stopped using Humbrol varnish rattlecans after several cases of fogging/frosting.
However, recently I had a layer of Revell Aqua react rather badly to another varnish (Motip); the whole layer started crackling. I never experienced this reaction with Vallejo, so possibly it's not entirely the varnish itself but the specific combo with Revell Aqua.

Did you experience a similar reaction with your varnish?

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8 hours ago, Luka said:

I stopped using Humbrol varnish rattlecans after several cases of fogging/frosting.
However, recently I had a layer of Revell Aqua react rather badly to another varnish (Motip); the whole layer started crackling. I never experienced this reaction with Vallejo, so possibly it's not entirely the varnish itself but the specific combo with Revell Aqua.

Did you experience a similar reaction with your varnish?

No it didn't crack the paint, but left blotches. I usually use Army Painter varnish but my local shop was out of stock and only had Humbrol. Never again.

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7 hours ago, Vinnie said:

No it didn't crack the paint, but left blotches. I usually use Army Painter varnish but my local shop was out of stock and only had Humbrol. Never again.

Blotches like white-ish patches? Sounds like frosting. If the frosting occurs at the surface you can sometimes save the layer by adding a coat of gloss first and then redo it with a (proper brand of) matt coat. If the frosting occurs within the layer itself then repainting is the only option. Still got half a can of Humbrol that I need to dispose of.

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On 10/22/2020 at 6:54 AM, Vinnie said:

I'm sorry. I did word that badly. Yes I meant the invasion of Poland.

No offense 🙂

Again, congratulations for a very good model - and for choosing Polish subject!

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Hi,

 

beautiful Karas!

Congrats.

Sorry to hear about your problem with Humbrol varnish.

I use Gloss Cote from Humbrol, using a flat paint brush, and the secret with this varnish is to dilute it with turpentine to a very high ratio. As high as 75-70% dilution, otherwise it is a sticky mess and disaster is usually not far away. Two coats of highly diluted Gloss Cote are usually necessary, and I have never had any problem over acrylic paints.

For mat varnish, I use Revell Nr 2 (mat varnish), and there as well a high dilution with turp gives very good results. It is a very mat varnish and  I like it.

 

Trial and bloody error is the name of the game!

Good luck and well done for a terrific Karas.

 

JR

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2 hours ago, jean said:

Hi,

 

beautiful Karas!

Congrats.

Sorry to hear about your problem with Humbrol varnish.

I use Gloss Cote from Humbrol, using a flat paint brush, and the secret with this varnish is to dilute it with turpentine to a very high ratio. As high as 75-70% dilution, otherwise it is a sticky mess and disaster is usually not far away. Two coats of highly diluted Gloss Cote are usually necessary, and I have never had any problem over acrylic paints.

For mat varnish, I use Revell Nr 2 (mat varnish), and there as well a high dilution with turp gives very good results. It is a very mat varnish and  I like it.

 

Trial and bloody error is the name of the game!

Good luck and well done for a terrific Karas.

 

JR

Hi, Jean thanks. So is it Revell enamel varnish you use over acrylic paint?

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26 minutes ago, Vinnie said:

Hi, Jean thanks. So is it Revell enamel varnish you use over acrylic paint?

Hi Vinnie,

 

when I use Revell ENAMEL varnish, it is on top of Humbrol Gloss Cote, and that Gloss Cote is brushed over both acrylic and enamel paints, without any problems.

Some acrylics' reactions may differ, and I am not really an acrylic man. I use Xtracrylics, Gunze, Tamiya and some old Model Masters. I have never used the likes of Vallejo, etc. When given the choice I try and paint in enamels.

I actually do not see why Revell enamel mat varnish would glaze or create problems with acrylics.

The answer to that is to do some testing on a paint mule and see what happens...

 

Good luck

JR

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Nice Build - built 2 a few years ago on my return to modeling - for their age the kits build well - I have a modern 1/72 IBG kit of the Karas to build - will be interesting to see how it compares when I build it. 

 

I am loyal to Humrol enamels - but had so many problems with their Gloss & Matt Coats - for gloss I now use Quickshine Floor Polish ( From Lakeland here in the UK) this also sucks decals down like you cannot imagine - for Matt & Satin I use Windsor & Netwon.

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