MarkW Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 This is exactly what you are looking for: http://www.papermart.com/Product%20Pages/P...pID=19012#12026 As much as it may suck to do so, you may have to mail order it. A couple square feet truly will be a lifetime supply, even accounting for messing up (I did this about 4 times before it came out right). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Having gone about this bass ackwards, having the Academy SLAM Eagle would have been great back in March--before I bought the LAU-128s. Oh well. As is, work continues on the weapons. While the Academy AMRAAMS are nice, they have badly placed ejector pin marks. A little SGT will fix this. As previously mentioned for some unfathomable reason Academy left the 4th GBU-31 body fin off. Here is the simple fix using a strip of .04" by .01" styrene. This shows the rough strip and the trimmed back result. Overall, with the exception of the missing fin, the Academy GBU-31s are far superior to the Has weapon set D ones. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 More work on weapons. Proof of concept for the GBU-12 seeker heads. It's not perfect, but this is hard to do in quarter scale. And, this is still an improvement over the Hasegawa D set seeker heads. Next step will be making the clear seeker head lens. Comments/suggestions welcome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ken Middleton Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Mark - the weapons look great, and especially that seeker head :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jester292 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Awesome work, Mark. Looking forward to more! Aaron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 Awesome work, Mark. Looking forward to more!Aaron Thanks! Progress is a bit slow now-- I have 3 kits all basically getting done at the same time, which is splitting up my alreadysparse time. Also, I'm debating whether to gloss coat and decal, or polish and decal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 Ok, finally back to work. Starting hitting the panel lines, going for the worn out bright edge look, and a bit of fluid streaking on the control surfaces. Haven't touched the underside at all yet. Comments? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 (edited) Ok, more work done. What I've done today is the following: 1. Painted kit base gunship gray. By using a fast drying lacquer, this left a very uneven finish, and in some places pebbly/powdery. 2. Sanded with 3200 grit paper the engine NMF areas. Also buffed down most of the powdery area, with came mostly off with a tee shirt rubbing. 3. In the above picks, began playing with some oil and acrylic washes 4. Also did silver and FS 36375 panel lining by filling in rivets/panel lines, then quickly wiping excess paint off (you shoulda seen my finger...) 5. Lightly drybrushed gunship around the panel lines that were lightened to tone them down. 6. Did some very light balck washes of grills and what not. For today, lots of stuff done including a paint spill all over the canopy and some paint peeling. here you can see the silver/light gray panel linig n has been toned down quite a bit with a light gray overspray. I also did some panle variation, making the port flap a completely different color. The area aorund the frpont of the engine seems to get dirty, so I did some post shading there. Another view showing how the portion of the inlet ramp exposed when they go down is a different color. Also did some random panel darkening, like the one in front of the port flap. The port leading edge has also been lightened, but not enough I'm afraid. A view of the nose and wing root radomes/antenna fairings. This shot also shows how the fuel tanks don't match each other, or the rest of the plane... Here's a side shot, showing the darker side shaded area around the rotatiing part of the inlet ramp side. There are some weird discolorations under the gun i gotta check--could just be a tonal difference form a glossy spot... Finally, a close up of the topside. Still need to do the airbrake in its own color, then comes the next round of buffing, gloss coat, panel lining, etc. Edited July 13, 2009 by MarkW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 (edited) It's looking great there Mark. I like the tonal differences and such. If you want my honest opinion, I think it's probably a little over-weathered, even for an LN bird, but it's your model, so don't let me tell you what to/not to do. Aaron Edited July 13, 2009 by strikeeagle801 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ken Middleton Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Mark, your techniques and results look good. But I also agree with Aaron - most Strike Eagles I have seen are not heavily weathered and worn. But if you like it, that's all that matters Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 Hmmmmmm...any advice on what looks out of place? I am planning one more lightened gunship misting coat to try and tone some things down a bit. I'm not happy with the dark post shading, that needs cleanup for sure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Hi Mark, Good stuff so far. Convincing weathering is a very difficult aspect to get right in scale. Patience is the key. Take your time and build it up gradually until you're at a level that you like. You'll be surprised how each consecutive layer adds to the impression. As for the intensity of the weathering, as the others have mentioned, it's up to you. Here's a little "inspiration".......* (*net photo......I use this to illustrate a point. I apologise but I can't remember who posted this pic so could n't contact the author for permission. If this breaches any copyright please let me know and I'll take it down immeadiately.) I'm keen to see how things develop. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 Thanks! I do think some of the problems with the photos are due to lighting and sheen, as there are much harsher demarcations in the pics than in person. That bird, by the way, is exactly the sort of look I'm going for--I have several different shots that make those poor mudhens look like they just returned from a cruise on a carrier. I might do some off color bits, like the panel in front off the windscreen or the first bottom antenna being ghost gray, but not a really funky zinc chromate primer airbrake or panel, as I haven't found any in theater birds that trashed. And I really do need to tone down the nose cone and airbrake (not happy with either color. I'll keep perusing http://www.defenseimagery.mil/index.html for some more up to date in theater shots and see what I get. I do see the antenna behind the cockpit is a shark fin style now, and is showing up in ghost gray...also need to bang up the air refueling door a bit. Specifically on the rudders and ailerons/flaps, does it look like I cuaght the streaky leaky look OK there? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 (edited) I guess the thing that jumps out at me is the "spot priming" around the engine humps. You don't normally see that on Strike Eagles. Even though Chris (f-15crewchief) has said that he used Model Master paint for some touch-ups, we're talking very minor, very small areas. With Strikes you see a lot of fading and streaking on the top, but it's still mostly the same basic shade of Gunship Gray. If you see a different colored panel, whether it be Mod Eagle from a Light Gray (such as a rudder), or lighter/darker gunship gray, it's usually the entire panel that is replaced and will be a different color, not just a part of it. The streaking/fading you have on the rest of the plane looks pretty good, and when you blend it in more as you talked about, it will look great. I'd just get rid of the spot priming. Also, don't over-do the light gray "accessories". It's possible to see A rudder, or A panel be light gray, but that's more the exception than the rule. Whenever possible, crews are going to try and find parts from Strikes for Strikes, and parts from Light Grays for Light Grays. As far as the antennas go, do what you want with those. Straight or shark-fin, there really is no right answer. The shark fin is the newer type, but it's still quite common to see straight ones used. Aaron Edited July 14, 2009 by strikeeagle801 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 Fortunately, disaster has struck in time to slow down my weathering.... I was able to go back and redo the nose cone and airbrake to a more subtle color change than last time. Unfortunately, I managed to put too much paint on the nosecone, and then in a classic bonehead move gummy thumbprinted it. Not to be deterred by uncured paint, I tried to buff that out lightly with 6000 grit sanding film. Long story short a whole sheet of paint that became unstable from the spraying sheared off. As I was adzing the paint completely off the nosecone (adze is not a word or tool you should look forward too when modeling, I was able to review what I did right today: --Took the rear plate off the Academy SLAM Eagle kit that covers the hole created when you chop off the arrestor hook housing. This housing fits on the rear of the Revell kit with minor surgery, and adds a bit of detail to an otherwise blank slab of plastic. --Painted over the Gunze lacquer light yellow and silver portions with gunship, then light sanded away the gunship to reveal the yellow paint around the inlet mouth, and some pretty cool silver streaks on the air refueling port. --Sanded back some of the heavier shading around the front of the engine humps. My attempts to accomplish that effect with the AB is better served with a dark wash More pictures tomorrow once I evaluate the damage around the nose.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
1/48 scale pilot Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Looking great! Ive got 2 of these on the bench- Im eager to see how this turns out Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Samuca Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 S! I noticed that the canopy is painted. Do you have a extra one and are using this one just to protect the interior? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Nice progress!! I see you located the GPS dome correctly, something I managed to screw up on mine. Also like your prtevious posts on the weapons, the little GBU seeker head came out well! Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 S!I noticed that the canopy is painted. Do you have a extra one and are using this one just to protect the interior? Yeah, the one he used had a chip out of it, so he used it to cover the interior as he was painting. And no, I'm not a psychic. (although I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night) I gave him the replacement canopy. :-) Aaron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 Here's a quick update. First, the nose cone disaster: Paint is stripped, and waiting on a scratch repair to repaint. That cost me a day or two... And, now the "toned down" topside. I'm sure the color is looking a little off, mainly because I don't have a good lighting setup in my work area for photography, but this should give an idea about the overall look. Need to clean up around the refueling door a bit. More later.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Better Mark! By a long shot. Really starting to come along, and I can't wait to see it finished. Aaron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Very nice Mudhen! Cant wait to see it all finished up! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 (edited) Thanks! And thanks for all the other encouraging remarks. I have a finite amount of time to get this right... OK, repainted the nose. I now think the nosecone if perfect, but I need to let that sit a while so I can mask it off for the rest of the build. I also need to retouch the front around the nosecone. I actually meant to do this the first time--paint the nosecone, mask it and leave it. Now I get that chance again . I also have to redo a few dark antenna patches and other off color panels. Maybe time for the gunport too, as I think I'm done with AB tinting the whole kit. The most important thing is the paint blends. If I had a step there... One other thing I did was wash/scrub the topside. The lacquer thinner I use is pretty hot, and leaves the surface a bit powdery, which wiping removes. BUT, wiping fills in panel lines with the dust, so I scrubbed the topside pretty well with soap and water, and the previously obscured panel lines reappeared (I'm talking specifically about the light gray/silver panel lining and rivet wok I did earlier) Also worked on the canopy front frame. Shaved off the molded on hand holds: Replaced with some thin magnet wire: And painted. Since the canopy will be closed, and the rear view mirrors nearly impossible to see, I was content to paint them with plain old bright silver. The patch on the middle mirror that looks weird is due to glare. As Aaron pointed out, I made a desperate cry for a spare canopy, as the original AND the spare sent by Revell had sprue scars in bad places. I might be ale to recover this attached canopy by attacking the Future layer under all the enamel paint. Be fun to try. I put the base coat of OD green on the bombs. Those guys are going to be fun to dirty up. I'm hoping by Friday they will be set up enough so I can mask and get all the Light Ghost Gray work done on the JDAM kits and on the AMRAAM bodies. Last thing I'll do today if I get a chance is gloss coat. I'm really leaning towards ABing on Testors Glosscoat or Mr. Color Superclear lacquer becuase I have bottles of it, and I need it cured relatively quickly so I can move onto the decals. Normally Future would be my first choice, but I'm not sure it will be set up enough to decal with by Friday. Plus, a laquer glosscoat will let me get more intense with the acrylic or oil wash and weathering I do. It's also getting to be time to seriously consider the Alclad II... Edited July 15, 2009 by MarkW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulo Jose Simas Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Hi Mark ... You don't mask the canopy? ... It's paint on it ???? Sorry, but ... In some pics seems like that ... Cheers, Paulo Simas Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkW Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 (edited) Hi Mark ...You don't mask the canopy? ... It's paint on it ???? Sorry, but ... In some pics seems like that ... Cheers, Paulo Simas On no...that is a completely spare canopy and windscreen. The real canopy was just painted and will be mated to frame piece i just worked on yesterday. Once all is done, and the final flat coat sealed, then the real canopy and windscreen go on. Quick update--gloss coat is on--decals to follow. Edited July 16, 2009 by MarkW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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