Revell 1/24 Land Rover Series III LWB - First WIP post for me!

[Lee1]

So, as I stated in my new member post, I've been scale modelling now for just over two years and this is my eighth model. I very much consider myself a beginner still and I have everything to learn. I was unsure whether to actually create an account here and post my WIPs because of this - but I really want to learn, and direct feedback and being able to ask questions and get advice, is the best way for me. So far everyone has been incredibly welcoming and friendly, so I'm sure I'll be fine!

 

This is my first "car" model and my first non-military model (if you count the Millennium Falcon as military, that is 😄). I'm already a fair way through this build and I've had multiple problems along the way. So far I've been working on it for around 8 months, mostly because my interest in my different hobbies naturally waxes and wanes, but also because of the issues I've been having with this model, and modelling in general. More on this later.

 

I started by building, painting and weathering the engine. I was really happy with the results of this and it was some of the best work I'd done. Although far from perfect, I was pleased with some of the tiny detail brush painting I managed to achieve, also I managed to nicely apply by far the smallest decal I'd ever done.

 

The floor? of the car is where I've had most of my issues, I have a cheap airbrush and that's probably part of the problem, but I'm sure most of it lies with my inexperience. In the past, on previous models, I've had great results with airbrushing. But more recently, I've had multiple issues with my airbrush clogging for no apparent reason, no matter how much I thin the paint. And then, just as suddenly as it will stop spraying, it'll start back up again. Not only was this confusing and frustrating, but often left me with a mess. I managed to spray this piece with a white primer and then the green/blue colour on top, and they came out alright in the end, although quite rough and bumpy in places. This was caused by me not cleaning the part properly before painting, and not sanding down the primed piece in places it probably needed it. I masked off the piece to be able to apply the black paint - but by this stage I was so fed up with my airbrush issues, I decided to brush paint as much as possible. I managed to brush paint the black on quite nicely, although I had some seepage, which I poorly covered up. I then inverted the mask and went to apply X-22 by brush and this was a disaster. At first I thinned it down the same amount I usually would if I was airbrushing it, and it just wouldn't take to the piece at all. So I then brushed it without thinning it enough, because it then started going on like wallpaper paste. So I was left with a finish that was randomly very glossy in parts and much less glossy in others, it was also very lumpy and showed brush strokes and tide marks all over the place. So I thought airbrushing some more layers on top would potentially help fix it. It has helped a bit, but of course, it's never going to cover up such bad mistakes.

 

As you can also see, I didn't even sand off the Revell logo. So this whole piece has been a bit of a comedy of errors. Lots of lessons hopefully learned though and any advice with the issues I've been having would be greatly appreciated! My plan with this piece going forward is to try to make the most of the situation. I'm not going to start the painting again, most of this part will be hidden or not very visible once the build is complete and at this stage, I'd rather move forward. So I've ordered a range of fine grade sanding sponges and the three Tamiya polishing compounds (these will all be used later on in the build and on future builds) - hopefully with some good sanding and polishing, it will be slightly better than it is now.

 

The next bunch of steps means I now have most of the frame complete, with the suspension, exhaust, drive shafts all attached, painted and weathered. I have also attached the engine. I'm happy with the work on this stage. It's all brush painted, even in places I should have airbrushed - but I'm mostly happy with the results. Definitely areas where I didn't thin the paint correctly and the weathering was mostly making it up as I went along. But I think, all together, it looks okay.

 

So as you can probably tell so far, I can be overly self-critical. I'm trying to work on that! 😅 But overall I'm happy with how things are going. Another thing you may notice, if you know this model, is that I mostly follow the instructions to the letter - in terms of the order of things, but also in terms of paint choices. My plan is to mostly stick to this method while I'm still very much a beginner and then as I get more experience and confidence to allow myself to deviate away and make more modifications and more personal choices. But that's for future projects.

 

So the next steps on this project is to wait for the sanding sponges to arrive (the compounds arrived today), clean up the floor as best I can and attach it to the frame. Then to start working on the interior (seats, dashboard, gear lever and so on) - I can't fully work on this until I get the floor cleaned up and attached, but I can start painting the individual pieces and put them aside for now. If anyone has any questions or would like more photos, feel free to ask - and I'm open to any constructive criticism and advice anyone can offer!

Edited January 14, 2023 by Lee1
No photo host

[Spiny]

The good thing about starting with a Land Rover is you don't need to worry if the paint isn't super smooth and shiny as most of them have relatively dull paintwork anyway

 

I can't really offer much advice with airbrushing as it's something I also struggle with, but don't feel you have to use the airbrush if you are struggling with it. Rattlecans on large surfaces, and brushes for smaller areas can also give perfectly decent results. One other thing which may be hindering you is the time of year. I don't know where you're doing your painting, but for me I try to do my spraying during the warmer months as I tend to find that low temperatures, and even more so high humidity, can have a detrimental impact on the quality of my paint jobs.

 

Finally, I do think you're being over harsh on yourself. Apart from the paint issues you've already highlighted, and which I don't believe are as bad you you've made out, there's not a lot wrong with what you're doing so far.

[Lee1]

Thank you so much @Spiny! That's a good point about the paint work 😄 and it actually reminds me of a question I would like to ask, if you or anyone else would have the answer. I've bought sanding sponges that go from 1000 grit to 4000 grit and the three Tamiya polishing compounds to use on models which need nice smooth shiny surfaces. I've been watching some YouTube videos on how to use them - but they all end up going for mirror like finishes. This would be great if I was building a super car or something, but like you say, probably not accurate for a Land Rover. How can I use these products to get a nice, car paint like finish, while also controlling the level of shine/reflectiveness? 

 

With regards to the airbrushing - although I had my little falling out with it, I really would like to solve my issues and learn to use it well. I will probably always paint certain parts by hand, small pieces for example. But for the large surfaces I do think airbrushing is the way to go for me. Rattle cans are an option, but under the circumstances I work under (a bedroom with not amazing ventilation, using a small spray booth with a fan at the back - and a tiny garden that isn't suitable for spraying rattle cans in!) I'm not sure they'd work for me. But never say never! I live in the South-East of England, so of course that means a wide range of temperatures and humidity - so you could be on to something with that! My plan going forward is to stick with my current airbrush for now and keep practicing and see if I can pinpoint some of the issues. But regardless - at some point, I will upgrade my airbrush and hopefully that can help alleviate the problems. Thank you so much for the advice though, it gives me some things to consider!

 

Thank you so much for your final comment, it means a lot and gives me encouragement going forward! 😊 It's very hard to judge your own work!

 

I had a brief look through some of your recent builds and wow, they are incredible! Something to aspire to! Also, your photography of the models is really good, something I also want to improve upon. I now have a DSLR camera (another burgeoning hobby of mine) and I'd like to learn how to set up lighting and the "scene" I place the model in, to get some amazing results!

[dbostream]

Don't know if it is something wrong on my side but I cannot see the photos.

[dcrfan]

I can't see the photos either

[Lee1]

That's concerning. I've used links from Google Photos, perhaps it's a permissions thing. I'll see about hosting them elsewhere and editing the post. Thanks for letting me know!

 

@dbostream and @dcrfan let me know if they work for you now!

Edited January 14, 2023 by Lee1
Fixed photos?

[dbostream]

It works now thanks. Looks like a very good start to me. I consider myself a beginner too and what I have learned so far is build for fun not pefection. If you can do both then great but for me only accepting a perfect result or otherwise redoing it took the fun out of building and I was more likely to never finish the build and put it back in the box.

Edited January 15, 2023 by dbostream

[Lee1]

@dbostream Thank you, that is great advice that I really need to hear. I think I'm always comparing myself to the best modellers on here or on YouTube, and I'm therefore setting myself up to be disappointed. But when I'm in the middle of a build, in that flow state, painting or glueing things together - I'm happy. It's such a great hobby, relaxing while also being challenging!

[Vesa Jussila]

Looks that you have done good start. And you will learn every build that you make. And you can also learn to looking others builds in this forum.

[Neddy]

2 hours ago, Lee1 said:

@dbostream Thank you, that is great advice that I really need to hear. I think I'm always comparing myself to the best modellers on here or on YouTube, and I'm therefore setting myself up to be disappointed. But when I'm in the middle of a build, in that flow state, painting or glueing things together - I'm happy. It's such a great hobby, relaxing while also being challenging!

I know what you mean!  When I first came across this forum I was bowled over by the standard some of the modellers here achieve and was hesitant to place any of mine on here, but all abilities (from them down to mine!) are equally welcome here and I find that there's a lot to be learned simply by following their projects and a huge amount of pleasure to be had from seeing what they achieve.  Their support and friendly encouragement spurs me on to achieve more and I've improved no end as a result.

[Toftdale]

Looks like a great start to me especially the chassis.   I use an airbrush, but am far from an expert, however the four bits of advice I can give are always wear a suitable mask,  even when using extraction,  use pre-thinned paint whenever possible (it just one less thing to get wrong), practice, practice and practice again.   Finally if you think its going wrong, its because it is so STOP, it took me a long time to learn that last one and I've lost count of the number of times where I kept spraying believing somehow it would miraculously get better, where in reality all I was doing was making it worse.   When ever I brush paint I always tip a bit of the paint onto a white tile and a bit of the appropriate thinner next to it.  You can then use your brush to mix them together to get the correct consistency and try it up on the tile before committing to you model. Keep up the good work and welcome to the forum - Andy

[Neddy]

I wouldn't presume to give any advice on airbrushing as I've only just got back to it myself and use a Humbrol airbrush which is more like a miniature spraygun than an airbrush!  I would say however (for what it's worth!) that I've discovered that Revell Aqua acrylics are great to use, Mr. Hobby Aqueous acrylics are even better, they're both water-based acrylics which makes cleaning the airbrush (and everything else!) a doddle and lastly that Revell Aqua Color Mix thinner works wonderfully with both the aforementioned paint ranges.  These tips may be of no use whatsoever but anything is worth passing on.

[Spiny]

23 hours ago, Lee1 said:

Thank you so much @Spiny! That's a good point about the paint work 😄 and it actually reminds me of a question I would like to ask, if you or anyone else would have the answer. I've bought sanding sponges that go from 1000 grit to 4000 grit and the three Tamiya polishing compounds to use on models which need nice smooth shiny surfaces. I've been watching some YouTube videos on how to use them - but they all end up going for mirror like finishes. This would be great if I was building a super car or something, but like you say, probably not accurate for a Land Rover. How can I use these products to get a nice, car paint like finish, while also controlling the level of shine/reflectiveness? 

 

I'm not really the one to ask as I've done almost entirely shiny paintwork, but if i was trying to get a typical Land Rover finish I would look at one of two methods. If you haven't got the colour on yet I would sand back the primer with something like 2000 grit - you don't want a shine, just a smooth surface - until you have a smooth surface for the colour. Then carefully build up the colour coat with thin layers until you've got a finish you're happy with. If you have already got the colour on, or just aren't pleased with how it came out after spraying, there is nothing to say you have to use all the sponges and polishing compounds right down to the finest, nothing to say you can't stop when you get to the level of glossiness you want. Just make sure you don't always polish in the same direction or you'll be seeing those lines every time you shine a spotlight on the model. As I say, this is pretty much 'in theory' as I've generally gone down to Fine or Finish level of shininess, others here may well have better advice.

 

 

I had a brief look through some of your recent builds and wow, they are incredible! Something to aspire to! Also, your photography of the models is really good, something I also want to improve upon. I now have a DSLR camera (another burgeoning hobby of mine) and I'd like to learn how to set up lighting and the "scene" I place the model in, to get some amazing results!

Put my ideas (and they are only ideas) for the paint in bold in the quote above.

 

As for the photography, there are some basics for taking photos, namely 1) don't just take a photo on your bench, get some sort of background, even if it's just a plain sheet of paper arranged as an infinity curve; and 2) as you have a DSLR, the tighter the aperture (higher f-stop number) the more realistic your model. Of course, as with all rules they're there to be broken, but they should give you a start with your photos. There is also a third rule, which ultimately is the most important - don't be afraid to mess around with the camera settings and composition as sometimes you can get surprisingly good results from a situation which 'shouldn't' work. With digital, it's not like in the old days of film where it cost money to take a bad photo - now you can take unlimited bad photos in pursuit of that good one 😆

[Lee1]

@Vesa Jussila Thank you! A lot of the enjoyment of this hobby and others for me is the learning process and I've certainly got a lot to learn!

 

@Toftdale Thank you! Your advice on airbrushing is really appreciated, I need all the advice and wisdom I can get!

 

@Neddy Thank you for your words of encouragement and thank you for your airbrushing advice!

 

@Spiny Thank you for your amazing advice. I think with the shine of the paint, like you say, it probably makes sense to sand and polish until I get to the level of shininess I like and then stop. We'll see what happens with that! Regarding the photography - I have used pieces of paper curved against an object for that infinity curve and it gives pretty good results - although when it comes to WIP shots, I'm a bit lazy to do that each time. The aperture advice is good, I often go the other way as I like the soft background shot and also I don't always have a lot of light to play with. But I'll definitely try some shots with a narrower aperture! I saw on a NightShift YouTube video once about the idea of buying a popup cloth light box and some lamps - tempted to give it a go some day!

 

I haven't had a chance to work on my scale modelling the last couple of days - weekends are often for socialising for me. But tomorrow I should get a good amount of time to work on the next few steps!

[JeroenS]

Looking pretty good so far. The airbrushing thing is something which takes a little time to master, you have to find your preferred paint, thinning, air pressure, distance etc. If you spray Tamiya paints, thin them with Mr Color Levelling thinner, 50/50 is a nice ratio. The levelling thinner does just that, it levels out the paint. I spray low pressure, low paint flow. Cover up your model after you've sprayed to minimize the dust. Also, remember that the sanding and polishing thing is not mandatory. I rarely do it, usually only in places where there's dust. But, I don't usually go for the mirror finish so if you want that, polishing will definitely help!

 

Sounds like in your "spray booth" setup with minimal extraction, spraying water based paints is a good idea. Prevents you from stinking up the place. 

 

 

 

[Keeff]

Your build is progressing well and you've achieved soe great weathered effects too.   

 

I'm starting to master airbrushing and use acrylic paints - Vallajo, Tamiya and MIG and have found thinning them with Tamiya thinners at 50/50 ish  works for me.  I tend to use a medium pressure and a fine needle while I get to grips with the art! 

 

Keep going .... 

 

Keith   😁 

[Lee1]

Thank you @JeroenS and @Keeff - that's some really good advice there. By the sounds of things, I probably wasn't thinning my paints quite enough - I was probably more like 30/70 rather than 50/50. I'll definitely be trying that next time. So far I've been using Tamiya Thinner - but that levelling thinner sounds amazing, so I'll be moving on to that next for sure!

 

Covering up the model after spraying is also a good idea - something I'll do from now on. Regarding the minimal extraction - I probably exaggerated a little too much before - but it really depends on the time of year and day. In the summer, with the windows wide open - it's not bad at all. But in the evening and in the winter with windows closed and blind down - it's pretty rubbish. But regardless - I very much plan on sticking to water based paint. Although I understand you can get some amazing results from enamels etc. - it's just not worth the risk for me. I use enamel weathering effects from AK - but because I'm applying by hand in small doses - the fumes aren't a problem. But I'm always open to suggestions and maybe in the future I'll work out a better ventilation solution for my modelling.

[JeroenS]

29 minutes ago, Lee1 said:

Thank you @JeroenS and @Keeff - that's some really good advice there. By the sounds of things, I probably wasn't thinning my paints quite enough - I was probably more like 30/70 rather than 50/50. I'll definitely be trying that next time. So far I've been using Tamiya Thinner - but that levelling thinner sounds amazing, so I'll be moving on to that next for sure!

 

Covering up the model after spraying is also a good idea - something I'll do from now on. Regarding the minimal extraction - I probably exaggerated a little too much before - but it really depends on the time of year and day. In the summer, with the windows wide open - it's not bad at all. But in the evening and in the winter with windows closed and blind down - it's pretty rubbish. But regardless - I very much plan on sticking to water based paint. Although I understand you can get some amazing results from enamels etc. - it's just not worth the risk for me. I use enamel weathering effects from AK - but because I'm applying by hand in small doses - the fumes aren't a problem. But I'm always open to suggestions and maybe in the future I'll work out a better ventilation solution for my modelling.

Something to note: if you plan on sticking to water based paint, then don't use the Mr Color Thinner. Tamiya paints are alcohol based and can handle that particular thinner, but water based paint like Revell's aqua color cannot. 

[Neddy]

As mentioned earlier, Revell Aqua and Mr Hobby Aqueous acrylics are both water-based and excellent in my view.  They each provide thinners for them - Revell Aqua Color Mix and Mr Hobby Aqueous Color Thinner - which will each work perfectly well with either brand paints.

 

As regards spraying I was lucky enough to be gifted one of these for Christmas and I can't praise it too highly.  For it's money it's an excellent solution, well made, efficient and easily foldaway to save space.

[Noel Smith]

You are doing well with this model. 

The airbrush issues probably come down to cleaning it thoroughly. Every now and again it will need stripping and thoroughly cleaning .

[Lee1]

Thanks @Noel Smith I do clean my airbrush thoroughly, taking it completely apart and washing each piece with Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner - after every time I use it. Some maybe I'm just not doing a good enough job with it?

[Lee1]

Really productive day today! Things are starting to move along quickly. This tends to be the pattern for me - start off fast due to the excitement of a new model, then slow down drastically during the middle stage, then when the end starts to appear in sight - I speed back up again! Let's walkthrough what I did today in order.

 

I started by carefully sanding the Light Blue on the floor piece with a 1000 grit sanding sponge. I then applied the Tamiya Coarse Polishing Compound. I was going to go further, with more compounds, but this actually gave me the look I was going for. It cleaned up most of the major issues, and any lumps or bumps left in the paint - we'll chalk up to the fact that it's an old Land Rover! 😅 (The photos don't really show this off well)

 

The next step was to attach the finally finished floor piece to the rest of the frame. I had a bit of a joyful time with this. The exhaust pipe has to stick through a hole in the front of the floor piece and then attach to the engine. The hole in the body wasn't really the right size and nothing seemed to want to fit. In the process of trying to make it all fit, I managed to snap off a load of engine pieces which I had to reattach. But with a decent amount of super glue and some widening of the hole I finally managed to make it all fit. ( A lot of innuendos in there... 😄) The exhaust is far from perfect in it's final location but it's super glued now and it'll have to do!

 

 

Painted up some tiny details on these controls by hand, pretty happy with the results

 

And attached them to the interior

 

Prepared the seats for painting

 

And painted them - by hand. Not the best result, but it's okay

 

I superglued the front seats together and then attached them to the interior

 

Attached and painted this bar on the back of the seats. As you can see, a pretty poor job, but under normal lighting conditions, it's not really noticeable - let alone when the body and windows are on.

 

Made up the frame for the rear seats, which was really fiddly, painted it. Also painted and attached another bar on the back of the rear seats and then joined everything together and stuck it to the floor of the car.

 

Forgot to apply the decal in front of the controls and the tiny tiny decal on the gear stick. Currently has the record for the smallest decal I've worked with so far! (Not really visible in the photo)

 

Made up, painted and attached these seats at the rear of the car

 

Painted the front bumper and attached to the car.

 

The next big step now is to spray the body panels. I've decided to cut out and prepare all the pieces I plan on spraying and then spray everything in as few sessions as possible. Everything will start with a white primer. Then most parts will get the Light Blue, while a few pieces will get Gloss White. Then everything will get some X-22 and lastly a select few pieces will then be sanded and polished. Here are the pieces to be sprayed and also the selection of paints to be used

 

So lot's of work done today, I'm really pleased. Literally spent the whole day modelling! It's been fun. The next chance I'll have to spray is Wednesday - so hopefully I can at least prime everything that day, if not more. Things might slow down for a little bit now.

[Natter]

Ah. Revell got their instructions wrong for the positions of the red and yellow topped gear levers. These always go on the right of the transmission tunnel for left or right hand drive models. The hand brake is on the driver's side, left for LHD or right for RHD. The indicator stalk on the steering column points right, towards the door. Revell really stuffed up on this one.

 

This post highlights Revells errors on their instructions.

 

This post shows some images from the inside of my RHD Series III (before restoration)

[Lee1]

@Natter That's very disappointing! Thanks for pointing that out for me! All of those levers are super-glued in - so for this model, I'll leave it as it is. It's a shame it's inaccurate, but for a basic representation of a Land Rover Series III, it'll do for my current level.

 

I have generally had a plan for my modelling. My idea is to slowly increase the level of my work every few models I do. Increase the amount of time taken and detail worked on. Increase the amount of research and accuracy. Increase the complexity of the models chosen and increase the amount of after-market / scratch built parts. Introduce more variety of techniques and more advanced techniques. And so on. At my current level - I'm still just working out some of the beginner concepts - airbrushing, brush painting, putting a model together. I'm still following instructions to the letter (mostly) - and this is what's led to this inaccuracy. I haven't done any research for this model. But future models, I plan on doing a lot more research and applying it as best I can to the model.

 

Also, there are a few models I have made already that I'd like to re-do in the future to a much higher standard - when I reach that point. My Spitfire and Churchill are two prime examples. Maybe I'll end up doing another Land Rover too at some point!

Edited January 16, 2023 by Lee1
Another point

[Noel Smith]

This model is really taking shape well Lee.

Sounds like you are doing everything right with regard to the airbrush cleaning so you should not be having issues on that score.

If you are still experiencing clogging maybe going up a size with the nozzle might allow for better flow perhaps. Acrylics can build up on a nozzle a bit from my experience. Whilst using the airbrush keep some thinners and a brush handy and every so often brush over the tip during your session. You may have already sorted the problem but hope this helps. Cheers.