1/35 Whippet

[Kipsley]

My first model and it only took me one evening to get this far. I figured given it's been a while, I'd start with something simple, and having never used an airbrush before, something to practice on. But ohhh boy. Eventhough I do wear glasses, my did not realise how bad my eyesight has become. You may notice on my model there are no engine handles, and no tow cable hooks. I just can't see them. I do have a big magnifying glass but trying to hold that, and hold the model still, and get the glue......., Gah!

Any suggestions for a good headset type magnifiers? Or maybe a desk mounted one with a built in light? What does everyone use if their eyesight is not as it used to be?

As for my lack of tow cable hooks and engine cover handles, I'm just going to scratchbuild them. For the life of me I just could not see such tiny parts to place them with any accuracy, much less make sure they were tidied up nicely.

Anyhooo, my first evenings work. I think she turned out pretty well so far (even though I managed to get a glue-fingerprint on the underside in my first five minutes. Lol). But it's all coming back to me. Tomorrow evening (I work) I'll scratch build those handles and hooks. After that, it's onto the primer.

 

[Stef N.]

Looks great to me. 👍

 

Optivisors, head band type, are a God send to me. I have the cheaper version and they are definitely worth the investment. 

[Kipsley]

Oooo... Looking that one up right now. Thanks.

[Kipsley]

Bought!

[APA]

Hi kipsley

 

Excellent start to an excellent kit. Built this myself and it's a corker. 

As for eyesight, since you already wear glasses like me. Pop down to your opticians and ask for some close work glasses. They will increase your prescription by a factor of 2 or 4 or what ever. Show them how close you want to be from your subject and they will run you up a pair. Get the cheapest frames. Just make sure the bridge sits snuggly on your nose so they don't slip. I have two pairs, one for general 8inch distance work and the other for 4inch detail work. 

 

🥸😊

 

Andrew 

[psdavidson]

Looks like you're off to a great start

+1 on the optivisors, but you've already bought them anyway

Lurking to watch the rest with interest

 

/P

[Kipsley]

Engine panels handles....... done. Side hooks for the tow cable..... done. Took a few hours and was very fiddly as I still have no magnifiers, but got it done, and her first coat of paint in grey primer.

Like my homemade spray booth? It folds flat for when I'm not using it.

Next is my first attempt at using an airbrush. That will be tomorrow (weekend) as I'll let that primer dry first. In the meantime, any good hints and tricks about airbrushing would be greatly received.

 

[Milan Mynar]

Your building looks very good.

[edjbartos]

That's a really good  start, looks fabulous to me from here, as Stef has said earlier, Optivisors are a good start. I use mine all the time and they are a godsend. I couldn't do a build without a set...

 

all the best

 

Ed

[Model Mate]

Tips for airbrushing…. Well there are lots, but first is ventilation - you’ll need to be outside, or using an extractor.

Aside from that, Tamiya acrylics are my go-to, using Tamiya thinner. You’ll need a compressor, preferably a quiet one with a decent sized tank, not a really tiny cheap one - they pump and won’t give a reliable air source. I use a pretty low pressure - around 5psi and a double action airbrush. Mine is Iwata and it’s fabulous, but there are some really nice cheap double action brushes around now. Have fun!

[Kipsley]

My first ever attempt at airbrushing. I've tried to get some "depth" in the paint so i sprayed it black then began with my base colour, a Tamiya Khaki Drab. Second coat was a highlight coat of the same base coat but with some yellow added. I begun some spot painting to bring out the rivets but my eyes are letting me down there. Next is to finish of the red on the front, then more detailing, scrapes and such, then a coat of lacquer b before applying a pin wash to bring out the detail. It's keeping me well occupied in my evenings, and so far I think it's coming out ok. As always, advise welcome.

 

[echen]

1 hour ago, Kipsley said:

As always, advise welcome.

Keep this up - you're doing fine

[Maddoxx77]

Great kit, have built it myself. Did some scratchbuilding on this one because the stowageboxes on the back aren't provided by Meng. 

Good progress so far. 

 

Here is my version ( to give some inspiration ) 

[badger]

On 25/11/2023 at 14:03, Kipsley said:

My first ever attempt at airbrushing. I've tried to get some "depth" in the paint so i sprayed it black then began with my base colour, a Tamiya Khaki Drab. Second coat was a highlight coat of the same base coat but with some yellow added. I begun some spot painting to bring out the rivets but my eyes are letting me down there. Next is to finish of the red on the front, then more detailing, scrapes and such, then a coat of lacquer b before applying a pin wash to bring out the detail. It's keeping me well occupied in my evenings, and so far I think it's coming out ok. As always, advise welcome.

 

Ive been modelling 30+ years and would be well chuffed if mine came out like that!

 

Well done!

[Andy H]

Coming along nicely. I never did get the hang of airbrushing and gave up - so you're well ahead of me already. 👍

[Longbow]

That's a great little kit, and I'll second the Optivisors, for general use...

Once you reach a certain age, you even need them to see the part numbers on the sprue

 

 

[Bandsaw Steve]

On 24/11/2023 at 01:26, APA said:

 

As for eyesight, since you already wear glasses like me. Pop down to your opticians and ask for some close work glasses. They will increase your prescription by a factor of 2 or 4 or what ever. Show them how close you want to be from your subject and they will run you up a pair. . 

 

🥸😊

Great advice. I did exactly this a few years ago and now use my ‘close-focus’ glasses for all modelling work.

 

 

[robw_uk]

very nice... am thinking i would like to build this too to go with the Austin A/C i am working on....

[Kipsley]

Update on the Whippet build. Finished the main paint and applied some chipping effects. I'm not one for loads of weathering as I think it can deter from a great build, but a tank is a tank and would never be pristine. I added some soot for the exhaust and have applied two coats of Alclad II Lacquer in preparation of decals and trying a pin-wash. I'm leaning towards using a very thin acrylic for the pin-wash rather than the usual oil-based paints as I just don't have any, and I have seen some Youtube videos that use acrylics with great success. Anyhow, let me know your thoughts on oil-based vs acrylics for pin-washing as I'd be interested to learn.

 

[echen]

You might find acrylics dry too quick. Oils take longer before they stop being "adjustable". At least, thats what I found.

 

[Maddoxx77]

23 hours ago, echen said:

You might find acrylics dry too quick. Oils take longer before they stop being "adjustable". At least, thats what I found.

 

If you want to work with acrylics while weathering a model, try to use some retarder. It lengthens the drying time to give you a little more room to work with the paint. It also lowers the surface tension so it flows a bit better. 

Personaly i prefer oils but with some expirimenting acrylics can do the job.

 

Great work so far on the Whippet @Kipsley

[Model Mate]

Definitely oils for me. You can cut their drying time by leaching out some of the linseed oil. To do this, squirt a blob onto a piece of cardboard and leave for about an hour before applying, but personally I like the long drying (working) time so I don’t bother with this. Use white spirit to thin (very thin - basically dirty thinner for most tasks).
For pin washes, good quality paints help as they don’t go grainy when heavily diluted, but for general sloshes, dot method etc. just get to a cheapo shop and get a cheap set of oils. The works is good for this - and cheap, but surprisingly good brushes