janman Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Finally some notable progress. Our little baby girl and her mother are sleeping so daddy could do some modeling... I had some experince with WEM paints from my previous model (ICM MiG-29 9-13) and I should've known that more thinning should've been needed. Nevertheless, the surface became quite smooth, especially after the last layer was painted with extremely diluted paint. This gives you much more time for brushing before the paint starts to get thicker (i.e. to dry). I'll have to fix some of the more rough areas with Micro Mesh pads but that's not a big problem. All in all I'm very happy with this paint brand. The exhaust nozzles were also attached. The fit could have been better and the feather lines didn't match between the nozzle halves, so a lot of sanding was needed on this area. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 That's looking really cool!! Can't wait to see more. One point of suggestion - cut off the 3 ECM bumps on the forward intake fuselage area. None of the early vent/boat tail jets had those upgrades. That white is very impressive too. -brian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 That's looking really cool!! Can't wait to see more.One point of suggestion - cut off the 3 ECM bumps on the forward intake fuselage area. None of the early vent/boat tail jets had those upgrades. That white is very impressive too. -brian Thank you for pointing that out! I have some excellent books as reference material but had kinda missed that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Ssss.......moooooothh!! Nice paintwork Jan :lol: I salute you. Getting paint that smooth with a brush is awesome. Top job Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Looking great Jan ! Sounds like the Lil One and Mommy are doing good too ... :lol: Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dragan_mig31 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 :) :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berkut Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Looking great Jan! And as always, i don't get how you manage to get the paint so smooth. :wub: Superb! Finally some notable progress. Our little baby girl and her mother are sleeping so daddy could do some modeling... Had no idea you got a baby girl! Congrats Jan! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted March 21, 2009 Author Share Posted March 21, 2009 Looking great Jan! And as always, i don't get how you manage to get the paint so smooth. :wub:Superb! Had no idea you got a baby girl! Congrats Jan! Thank you, Anton! She's now three and a half weeks old - which also explains my lack of progress. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 (edited) The yaw stability finally under control. Since I made the marking decision very late, I had to resume painting white. This is going to be a Swordsmen bird and hence the all-white vertical tails under those beautiful yellow stripes. The markings will come from an old Microscale sheet, which includes a low-BuNo bird with an early style tail - just like in the kit. To avoid visible seam lines between the tails and the fairings under them (to which the white area extends), I decided to paint them while already glued on the fuselage. Yeah, it's pretty obvious. I'm building my first 1/72 cat. :) The simplest solution for masking the rest of the aircraft was to put it in a plastic bag and cut slits for the tails so that they would stick out from the bag. The later style strenghtening plates had to be sanded off and were replaced by engraved smaller ones. Raised plates made from thin styrene might have worked even better but I believe my engraved ones don't look that bad on this scale. As can be seen, I've also started painting the exhausts. Edited March 27, 2009 by janman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 The painted wings. Next I'll decal and weather them. I already highlighted the panel lines. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastijan Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Great work so far Jan! Glad to see you have time for some progress on the Kitty... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alrite Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Awesome work! It looks flawless Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pilatus Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Great job! I have this kit at my home, too and when I see your work have a great desire to begin work on my kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Great work so far Jan! Glad to see you have time for some progress on the Kitty... Thanks, mate! What comes to time, it truly is in short supply when you have a small kid. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastijan Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 I see you're managing to squeeze out the most of it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Your 'Cat is looking Great, Dad ! Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dax Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Looks fantastic, looking forward to watching you weather it. Congrats on the addition to your family as well. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Looks fantastic, looking forward to watching you weather it. Congrats on the addition to your family as well. :) Thank you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 Weathering the exhausts. At first I painted the nozzles either with Mr. Metallizer Chrome Silver or Aluminum (don't recall which one), sealed the paint with Tamiya smoke and then added other shades like brown or black by using diluted enamel paints and oil paints. The black on the petals was a mix of Tamiya Weathering Master's "soot" mixed with Xtracrylics flat coat. The wheels are now painted, weathered and glued on the landing gears. The tyres were sanded with sanding paper to get rid off the glossiness. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jack-Swiss Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Those exhausts are just fantastic!!!! thanks for sharing your technique too!!! Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 The wings still need some weathering and a coat of flat. Or actually, do the kitty people use satin coat for a gull-gray-over-white F-14s? I doubt they would be using gloss, even though the finish originally was quite gloss. I also painted the black area surrounding the pit. This exact plane had a quite unusual scheme since the anti-glare black didn't cover the front part of the radome but ends almost abrubtly on the fuselage/radome seam. Another quite unusual feature for a VF-32 bird is also the white/cream coloured radome. I've only seen one aircraft sporting such a radome and it's the one I'm building. Those who know better could tell if the VF-32 aircraft were delivered with such a radome since the gray on the radome seems to differ a bit from the light gull gray the rest of the fuselage was painted with. The radome is not attached yet but is being held by blue tac. The fit is basically flawless. Also the tail planes fit like a dream. Basically the fit is so snug that they don't have to be glued. The "no step" stencils didn't adhere as easily as I thought and I should've known that Mr. Mark Setter is too strong for these old Micro Scale decals... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Berkut Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Looks really sharp Jan! And i have said it gazzilions of times before, but i am still amazed this is brush painted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 Looks really sharp Jan! And i have said it gazzilions of times before, but i am still amazed this is brush painted. But not of course the white areas. They are by courtesy of Mr. Tamiya and his excellent spray paints. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastijan Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Great looking cat, Jan! I'd go with satin finish... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dragan_mig31 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 wow wow wow :) i like it a lot.the finish is beeter than what i do with my airbrushes.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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