453rd BG Museum Build #2 - P-47D "KOKOMO", Tamiya 1/48 - Completed!

[CedB]

AK paste I say, but then I would…

[Cookenbacher]

I've had trouble with Vallejo Metal Color chrome, and prefer their aluminum for a shiny finish. Of course, nothing is as shiny as brushed on MM metalizer!

Here is a B-57 painted in VMC Aluminum over just matt black primer - the ailerons are brushed/polished MM metalizer for comparison:

 

I agree with @hendie that Alclad Polished Aluminum would probably give a great result if it's available to you (my asthma has forced me to reduce the number of lacquers I spray - which has lead to my many non-lacquer or just brushed lacquer metal experiments)

[perdu]

 

Of course, if you want shiny-shiny-shiny

 

You can buy Molotow Liquid Chrome™ refill from someone like the Mighty River Of South America™

 

I believe it was Terry who put me on to this amazing stuff.

 

Brushes very shiny and also sprays using IPA

 

I used it on my Hawker Hind and its shininess almost scared the pants off me

 

I used this blurred image to show how the shine wins through.

[giemme]

9 hours ago, hendie said:

I've found that Alclad Polished Aluminum gives an almost but not quite chrome effect, and Mr Color Super Clear Gloss gives a great gloss finish.  I've never tried the two in combination but it may be worth an experiment if you get bored.

If it works I'll claim the prize. Otherwise, ... well it was just a suggestion.  

Thanks Alan   But I'd prefer to stay away from Alclad, given the notorious smell (not really want to get into a fight with my missus over that  On the other hand, Alclad Aqua Gloss (acrylic) served me well so far; I know you're not a fan, to put it mildly  , but I think I can trust it for the results I'm after.

 

8 hours ago, CedB said:

AK paste I say, but then I would…

Thanks Ced - I've never got hold of some, but I'd rather stay on something I can airbrush, in this case  

 

8 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

I've had trouble with Vallejo Metal Color chrome, and prefer their aluminum for a shiny finish. Of course, nothing is as shiny as brushed on MM metalizer!

Here is a B-57 painted in VMC Aluminum over just matt black primer - the ailerons are brushed/polished MM metalizer for comparison:

 

I agree with @hendie that Alclad Polished Aluminum would probably give a great result if it's available to you (my asthma has forced me to reduce the number of lacquers I spray - which has lead to my many non-lacquer or just brushed lacquer metal experiments)

Thanks Cookie, good to know!  I know brushed on MMM would give the right amount of shine, but I said earlier, I'd rather use the airbrush in this case.

 

Well, thanks everybody for your hints, they all provoked some thoughts - more tests are in order, for sure  

 

Ciao

[giemme]

6 minutes ago, perdu said:

 

Of course, if you want shiny-shiny-shiny

 

You can buy Molotow Liquid Chrome™ refill from someone like the Mighty River Of South America™

 

I believe it was Terry who put me on to this amazing stuff.

 

Brushes very shiny and also sprays using IPA

 

I used it on my Hawker Hind and its shininess almost scared the pants off me

 

I used this blurred image to show how the shine wins through.

Sorry Bill, I missed your post. I considered Molotow refill (I do have some) but that's too shiny for the effect I'm after; it's not really a mirror like surface, it's more a hint of that. Thanks anyway!

 

Ciao

[corsaircorp]

Well Done Giorgio...

I turned on AK extreme metal now....

Over a base VJ black primer which is matt

Then, if I want it more shiny, I spray a gloss coat of varnish....

Sincerely.

CC

[Terry1954]

I've had various experiences with NMF and silver paints.

 

Alclad on a 1/72 Sabre....

 

 

AK Extreme metallics on another 1/72 Sabre ..........

 

 

Only ever used Vallejo Metal Colour on an Airfix 1/48 Meteor, emulating metal paint. Not very shiny of course....

 

 

I was most impressed with the AK extreme for shiny finishes but of course as Bill suggests, and I believe you know Giorgio, we know Molotow gives a mirror like finish.

 

Unbeatable for the chrome look....

 

 

The MM Metalizer looks awesome on Cookies B-57, and since learning of it's scarcity, I keep mine in a locked cupboard! I should probably use it one day, perhaps on the museum build Mustang.

 

I must try Ced's paste at some point also!

 

Re your test on the F-4 wing tanks, I would agree the lower one in your picture appears more reflective.

 

HTH

 

Terry

 

 

 

[The Spadgent]

Lovely work as always G. You’ve seen the metal finishes I get sometimes. Vallejo metal colour. Really good stuff, I find the flat aluminium can give a multitude of finished depending on how wet you spray. Not quite molotow but you can get it quite shiny. 
 

Johnny

[VT Red Sox Fan]

G, your engine is ace—will use it to further improve my radials. @Cookenbacher—amazing and jaw dropping B-57.  Really appreciate everyone’s NMF info—best to all, Erwin

[giemme]

On 15/05/2023 at 10:29, corsaircorp said:

Well Done Giorgio...

I turned on AK extreme metal now....

Over a base VJ black primer which is matt

Then, if I want it more shiny, I spray a gloss coat of varnish....

Sincerely.

CC

Thanks CC, I use AK extreme Metal myself, in fact I used tehm on my recent Mustang build  See below, I made an attempt with them too

 

On 15/05/2023 at 11:25, Terry1954 said:

I've had various experiences with NMF and silver paints.

 

Thanks Terry, terrific NMF models you have there!  See below for my endeavors

 

On 18/05/2023 at 07:25, The Spadgent said:

Lovely work as always G. You’ve seen the metal finishes I get sometimes. Vallejo metal colour. Really good stuff, I find the flat aluminium can give a multitude of finished depending on how wet you spray. Not quite molotow but you can get it quite shiny. 
 

Johnny

Wet you say, uh?  Thanks Johnny!

 

On 19/05/2023 at 23:57, VT Red Sox Fan said:

G, your engine is ace—will use it to further improve my radials. @Cookenbacher—amazing and jaw dropping B-57.  Really appreciate everyone’s NMF info—best to all, Erwin

I don't really think you need to improve your radials, Erwin - especially considering that you made them in 1/72!   But thanks, much appreciated!

 

Alright, before we delve into the subject of metallic paints, some progress on the main AC: I completed the masking (wet kitchen paper and blue tack here)

 

 

and sponge and blue tack here

 

Tamiya Flat Black airbrushed as a base coat, and I was happy to find that there was no remedial work needed in terms of seams or any other blemishes

 

Now, back to metallics: you may remember from the last update that I sprayed the cowling with Tamiya Gloss Black; I decided to try AK Extreme Metal Chrome on it - I used this paint on my recent Mustang build to give a bit of a shiny and different hue to the wing fairings, and thought It could have been a bit too shiny for the finish I was after with this. In fact, checking back on that build, I sprayed that on top of Tamiya Gloss Aluminium (the latter decanted from a rattle can and airbrushed), but I only remembered that after I sprayed the cowling....

 

Anyway, the cowling came out quite dull, so much that I thought maybe the paint pot had gone bad, but in fact probably due to the not-so-gloss base coat - I didn't take any pics of it, but what I did was to think: what if I try and polish it?

So out came these two Dremel tools:

 

The one on the left is made of felt (or something similar) and I used it with some Dremel polishing paste; the one on the right is very soft, made of layers of some kind of fabric, I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. I often use it to polish clear parts.

 

Anyway, I tried the two on the dull cowling, at the lowest possible speed for the felt disc and at medium and maximum speed for the fabric one, and this is what I got:

 

Now, photographing metallic parts it's always tricky, and what this picture doesn't show is that there are a lot of variations and hues on the cowling surface (which I liked) but the underlying black  is somewhat showing through too much, making it quite dark. I don't think this is appropriate for the actual material the aircraft was made of. If anything, it should have a much lighter, blue-ish hue (more on that later).

 

At this point I thought: why not trying that on other metallic parts I had already painted? Remember the Phantom drop tanks? Those were airbrushed with decanted Tamiya Gloss Alu on top of Tamiya Gloss Black. This picture show the nose section after polishing

 

Interesting too, but not quite like what I was after, either.

Next, I tried on one of the Jug flaps, that were instead airbrushed with Vallejo Metal Color Chrome

 

 

I hope you can see the difference, and so far is the effect I like more - again, plenty of variations and probably the right amount of shine and reflection 

 

Here are the three of them side by side, although this pic really hides most of the effect on the flap

 

I still wanted to do some testing, though, so out came the plastic spoons: I airbrushed them with decanted Tamiya Light Blue, which is a quite glossy color

 

Then I airbrushed the left one with Vallejo Chrome and the right one with AK Extreme Metal Chrome

 

About the Vallejo: I know it's a mess, there must have been some residual inside the airbrush that made it go crazy, but the point is that spraying it very wet makes for a very shiny effect, almost mirror-like, but this is probably also due to the gloss base. AK Chrome came out much shinier than on the cowling, but once it has properly cured, I intend to try again with the polishing tools.

 

I did try Molotow ink too, on the spinner cover; I first airbrushed it, thinned with IPA, as Bill @perdu recommended, but for some reason it came out completely dull. Thinking back at his build, he probably mentioned it had to be sprayed in wet coats, which I didn't..... . Anyway, I just went over it with Molotow ink by brush, and here it is

 

 

Super-shiny, but as I mentioned in previous post, too much for what I'm after for the fuselage. It's perfect for the spinner cover, though

 

Alright, more experiments to come - in the meantime, all comments welcome.

 

Ciao

 

 

 

 

[corsaircorp]

Really interesting experiments indeed !!

Well done that Man !!

Learning CC

[The Spadgent]

7 hours ago, giemme said:

Wet you say, uh?  Thanks Johnny!

Yeah. I was just going to E plus then saw you know what I mean. I have found that chrome metal colour is les shiny than flat alu when sprayed wet. If that helps.  Which thinking about it won’t for this build but one for the old memory banks. 😉 Great stuff G. I especially like the polished finish. I might give that a go myself. 🤩

 

J

[CedB]

Great experiments G. Personally I like the flaps.

[perdu]

2 hours ago, CedB said:

 Personally I like the flaps.

Hmm yes  Okayy yess hmm

 

Atcherley so do I

 

After 'enjoying' so much pure pleasure watching bare metal foil crinkle on the edges this tack seems 'a better way'

 

The next Lightning of mine maybe

[billn53]

For metallic finishes, I’ve been spraying over Alclad’s Pale Gray Gloss and like the results. Here’s my latest, using SMS Metallic Aluminum over the gloss gray, followed by a coat of Aqua Gloss clear:

 

 

It’s not the ‘almost mirror like’ effect of polished metal, but that’s due to the SMS Aluminum. A different metallic over the gloss gray would likely be better for that.

[Cookenbacher]

Metal experiments are my favorite - great update Giorgio!

I really like the depth that results from the polishing discs.

[Fritag]

You perfom a service with your experiments, G.

 

I haven't tried a NMF finsh since I was a teenager attempting to cover a 1/24 Airfix P51 with kitchen foil.  Perhaps I should bookmark this thread  

[Terry1954]

Great experiments Giorgio, and all for the greater good of NMF modelling! I must try that polishing disc idea. I have some, unused, in my dremel bits box. 🤔

 

Terry

[giemme]

On 22/05/2023 at 06:33, corsaircorp said:

Really interesting experiments indeed !!

Well done that Man !!

Learning CC

Cheers Alain, thanks!  More experiments (and a decision) below

 

On 22/05/2023 at 06:53, The Spadgent said:

Yeah. I was just going to E plus then saw you know what I mean. I have found that chrome metal colour is les shiny than flat alu when sprayed wet. If that helps.  Which thinking about it won’t for this build but one for the old memory banks. 😉 Great stuff G. I especially like the polished finish. I might give that a go myself. 🤩

 

J

Thank you Johnny - I tried wet. And more. See below  

 

On 22/05/2023 at 08:33, CedB said:

Great experiments G. Personally I like the flaps.

thanks Ced  Me too, see below

 

On 22/05/2023 at 10:51, perdu said:

Hmm yes  Okayy yess hmm

 

Atcherley so do I

 

After 'enjoying' so much pure pleasure watching bare metal foil crinkle on the edges this tack seems 'a better way'

 

The next Lightning of mine maybe

Ah, a Lightning - I should be building another one sooner or later. A single seater this time, but it has to be shiny!  

 

On 22/05/2023 at 15:15, billn53 said:

For metallic finishes, I’ve been spraying over Alclad’s Pale Gray Gloss and like the results. Here’s my latest, using SMS Metallic Aluminum over the gloss gray, followed by a coat of Aqua Gloss clear:

 

It’s not the ‘almost mirror like’ effect of polished metal, but that’s due to the SMS Aluminum. A different metallic over the gloss gray would likely be better for that.

Great stuff that, Bill  Thanks for the advice, but Alclad are out of the picture, too smelly for the rest of the house, IYKWIM...  

 

On 23/05/2023 at 03:17, Cookenbacher said:

Metal experiments are my favorite - great update Giorgio!

I really like the depth that results from the polishing discs.

Thanks Cookie, glad you approve of   I like that effect too  

 

On 23/05/2023 at 08:22, Fritag said:

You perfom a service with your experiments, G.

 

I haven't tried a NMF finsh since I was a teenager attempting to cover a 1/24 Airfix P51 with kitchen foil.  Perhaps I should bookmark this thread  

Next model, maybe? And I'm sure you'd come up with some modern technique to render the metal finish at the best - like 3D printing actual metal

 

On 23/05/2023 at 09:30, Terry1954 said:

Great experiments Giorgio, and all for the greater good of NMF modelling! I must try that polishing disc idea. I have some, unused, in my dremel bits box. 🤔

 

Terry

I encourage you to do so, Terry: the variations you obtain are very interesting.

 

Metallic experiments, we were saying; after base coating the spoons with gloss blue and airbrushing them with AK Extreme Metal Chrome and Vallejo Air Chrome, here's the polishing stage. AK first

 

Half polished (towards the spoon tip), half not: blue showing through, and it was already shiny enough, even too much, and too dark. No go.

 

Vallejo:

 

Ignore the orange peel effect, but again the polished part is towards the tip, which exposed completely the underlying blue coat. The untouched part is way too shiny.

 

So I decided to stay with the flaps method: flat black base, gloss black coat and Vallejo Chrome, polishing afterwards.

BTW, here is the second flap treated too:

 

The cowling got stripped back to bare plastic (IPA at the rescue, here)

 

I airbrushed bits various with YZC (on the inside) and the two blacks for the outside

 

The cowling too, obvs

 

and the main AC

 

You will notice that there are some areas glossier than others - I tried Tamiya Gloss Black before and I could never get the hang of it. I guess the glossy areas is were I sprayed it wet and up close. Whatever, I wasn't looking for a uniform gloss base here, since my end goal is to show variations (and polishing the top coat will do the trick, mostly). So I was happy enough with it, but whenever I tackle the Porsche kit I acquired some time ago, I will have to master the technique for very glossy and uniform paint coats

 

Anyway, after airbrushing with Vallejo Air Chrome

 

 

 

 

As you can probably see (but it's hard to photograph, the effect is way more visible in real life), there's already a lot of variations on the main AC as it is (in some areas I also went with a very wet coat).

Alright, this has to cure properly, before I get to it with the polishing tools.

 

In the meantime, all comments welcome  

 

Ciao

[CedB]

Looking good Giorgio. Good luck with the polishing. 

[hendie]

The airframe is looking good Giorgio - seems like you managed to capture a bucket load of variation in that finish

[corsaircorp]

Great result Maestro G !!

Thanks for the tips dully noted....

I'll put it in good use soon.... 

Sincerely.

CC

[perdu]

Notes made G, thanks

[VT Red Sox Fan]

On 5/21/2023 at 5:18 PM, giemme said:

I don't really think you need to improve your radials, Erwin - especially considering that you made them in 1/72!   But thanks, much appreciated!

G, thank you so much—high praise coming from you—it made my day🙌—you are masterfully tackling this NMF—taking you are happy with Vallejo compared to other products?  Best, Erwin

[The Spadgent]

The airframe looks amazing but the flaps are my favourite! 🙌❤️