supergru Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 I'm taking another break on this subject ... This time it's cause there's almost nothing else to do without painting, and its still cold out there ... Anyway, I did some homework ... I was cross-checking all decal sheets I mentioned here somewhere: - mine, for TAP 2005 livery, still in Illustrator - F-DCAL FDS14033 PIA Airbus A310-308/325ET „Thatta“ & „Mohenjodaro“ (see post no.11) - Carpena/Colorado DCA14404 Airbus A310 TAP 2005 (see post no.11) - Revell 04254 A310 Interflug/Luftwaffe - Skyline Decals 144-59 Engine spinners (see post no.11) - TwoSix Decals 144-55 TAP Portugal Airbus A310 (see post no.11) - TwoSix Decals STS44112 TAP Portugal Airbus A310-300 I didn't post Revell sheet before, so here it is ... As this last one, the new TwoSix STS44112 screen-printed, is most complete from all others, I take it as a base - I check one decal after another, by comparing it with similar ones on other sheets. There was a very constructive dialog between me and Mr. Ray Charles from TwoSix Decals in October last year. As a result of this, some elements were added on this sheet in the last minute, so to speak. The first one is white lettering „TAP PORTUGAL“ for vertical tail printed separately in addition to the one printed with the decals for vertical tail. This pair of spare ones you can use if you want to mask and paint vertical tail by yourself. The second one is lengthen base of letters „TA“ on the port side decal for vertical tail. Right beneath this decal is spar box which has complex 3D surface, so you'll need that extra part. Starboard side is free of letters in this area. The last ones are decals for CS-TEI, added to the ones for CS-TEX. I would like to thank to Mr. Charles on this small effort, because this is benefit not only for him or me, but for all of modellers around the globe, who will use this sheet. I also sent Mr. Charles this text for reading prior to this posting, and he answered positive. Now, let's go back to the decal sheet comparison... No.1 Starboard vertical tail As for four distinct colours for new TAP livery, colour match is very good. This is valid for all „TAP“ signs on this decal sheet. Maybe the bright red on the letter „P“ could be a bit lighter. As for shape, it's better than the one on Carpena or laser printed TwoSix. I’ve covered one side of the vertical tail with Tamiya tape then removed the tape and scanned it. I compared the scan of Tamiya tape with the scan of this decal in Photoshop - they fit perfectly! White insignia „TAP PORTUGAL“ is printed correctly, with „TAP“ as bold printed. Border between dark and bright red, which goes thru white letters, is good positioned. No.2 Starboard fuselage „TAP“ letters Shape is good, with a correct cut-out for wing on letter „P“ and upper left corner on letter „T“ for cockpit-fuselage curvature transition. Size .. Well, mine are 10-20% smaller, but this could be due to fuselage curvature, since I used photos on A.net as a reference, and draw mine directly over the pics. We'll see how this goes with the windows decals in this area. Carpena left smaller (and incorrect) windows from Revell, which results with incorrect window position when compared with „TAP“ sign. As for laser-printed from TwoSix, letters are smaller, almost as mine, with doors and windows printed together. Doors lack warning signs, so they are a bit funny. Window position is off, too. No.3 Port vertical tail As for starboard side, with the border between reds slightly off, when compared with reference photos. No.4 Port engine inside (Revell sheet no. 49) and starboard engine outside (Revell no.51) Correct shape, size and color. No.5 Starboard side cargo door warning (a part of Revell no. 7 (front) and no.84 (rear)) OK No.6 Starboard fuselage „TAP“ letters Same as for port side, with a correct cut-out on letter „P“ for cockpit-fuselage curvature transition No.7 Web page sign Size: TwoSix are same, both laser as screen printed, but they are 87% in width when compared with Carpena and mine. This IS an error. Best clue for that is how many windows bellow that sign are „covered“. As on pics, mine sign covers 7 windows in total (with a gap between 7th and 8th included). TwoSix sign covers 6 windows and a half of 7th - they are too narrow. Height is OK. No.8 PORTUGAL sign Size: This time mine and TwoSix are identical, but Carpena is too narrow. Height is OK. No.9/10 Portuguese flags All flags are correct. Details are missing due to scale. No.11 Airbus logo Well, Mr. Charles, it should be AIRBUS, not Airbus (capital letters only, if you please). You missed this on both laser and screen printed sheets, but you made it correctly for your STS44110 Pan Am A310 sheet. Size is OK, for all compared. Revell sheet has no Airbus logo. No.12 Star Alliance logo Logo is now 20-25% bigger than on laser printed sheet. This is OK now. Carpena has no Star Alliance logo, at all. No.13 Cockpit windows Same when compared with F-DCAL sheet. Carpena and Revell have no decals for cockpit No.14 Windscreen wipers They are printed separately from cockpit decal, so you can choose if you want them or the PE ones (or none). Another plus! F-DCAL doesn't have them separate from cockpit windows. No.15 Port engine outside (Revell no. 50) and starboard engine inside (Revell no.48) These are mirrored no.4 and they are OK, too. PIA doesn't use any stencils for engines. No.16 Port front side windows row Size and shape OK, but the gap between two windows is large. And if you place them over the „TAP“ letters for port side (decal no.2), which are big, too, you'll get window misplaced anyway. I hoped that this oversize is proportional for both windows and „TAP“ letters, but it's not. Those errors are within 1-2 mm, but this is 1/144 scale! And if I, as an amateur, managed to place those windows correctly (see post no.2), then I have the right to say this is wrong. Number of windows is correct. No.17/18 Port middle/rear windows row Size and number OK, as for no.16, but the gap is big. No.18 are last 13 windows, when looked from profile, which are curved upwards, since fuselage diameter starts to shrink just aft of the wing (tail cone !), and they are correctly printed upwards. Another plus! No.19 Starboard front windows row Same procedure as on port side - in Photoshop I placed them over decal no.6. And only 1 (one) window was way off! If you forget above mentioned comments, this is very good result. Number and size are OK, again. No.20/21 Starboard middle/rear windows row Same as for port side. Number/sequence of blind windows is correct for both port and starboard side. On the second sheet from TwoSix screen printed decals you can find closed or half closed windows if wanted. Another plus! No.22 Starboard back doors When compared with pics, this is far better than Revell's no.17 or no.97 decals. F-DCAL R10 decal has the same width but it's shorter. It is hard to tell which one is better, since this is deep in tail cone area (surface curvature). No.23 Starboard cargo rear doors This one is curved, too. It's because this decal goes over rear part of wing-fuselage joint, so this area has a complex surface shape. They are far better than R9 from F-DCAL. Revell has no decals for two cargo doors, only panel lines, which are very simple, again (not to mention raised). No.24 Starboard cargo front doors At the first moment, very good. F-DCAL covers this door with a part of R8 decal, but it has no hatches on lower end, and it's short again. But, when I compare it with no.6 (TAP starboard lettering), width is OK again, but the height is short, or the letters are too big, again. No.25/30 Starboard/port emergency exit For the starboard the hatch is on wrong side (right instead of left side). Port side (no.30) is OK. It seems like no. 30 is printed twice. Starboard for Revell sheet is no.16, and port side no.15. F-DCAL are even worse (sheet no. R2, L2): they placed hatches in the middle. No.26/29 Starboard/port rear passenger doors They lack warning signs. Lower edge of emergency gear foil right beneath the doors is chamfered, which is correct. When compared to F-DCAL (R4/L4) and Revell (no. 36/35) they are about 20% bigger (higher). I think TwoSix are correct one. No.27/28 Starboard/port front passenger doors Similar to the rear doors: lack of warning signs. Starboard side warning colors are white/yellow instead of black/red, because they go over red letter „P“. When compared to F-DCAL (part of R1/L1) and Revell (no. 37/34) they are about 20% bigger (higher). I think TwoSix are correct one. Next to that is, TwoSix doors have a small shear, F-DCAL has curved doors and Revell has normal, square doors. Since here comes transition between fuselage and cockpit, normal doors are definitely bad solution. No.31/32 Aerials & lights on starboard side, near front cargo door Decal is good as well as those from F-DCAL (part of R8) and Revell (no.7). But for this specific livery, those two aerials are well inside red letter „P“, so they are circled with white instead of red, as usual. No.33 Aerials & lights on port side, near front passenger door Decal is OK, although it seems it lacks some details as on Revell sheets (no.54, 115 and 116) or F-DCAL (no. L8, L9 and L10). No.34 Two aerials This could be the spare ones. They are not on the instruction sheet, and I'm not missing them on the pics either. There are no additional aerials on F-DCSL or Revell sheet. No.35 Starboard stencil in front of the engine Correct size, shape and colour when compared with F-DCAL (R7) and Revell (no.42). Warning message is written in black on Revell decal instead of red as it should be, if used for TAP livery. No.36 Port stencil in front of the engine This is mirrored no.35 (F-DCAL L7 and Revell no.41). Warning message is written in black on Revell decal instead of red. No.37 Don't walk warning, wings, upper side + black strips Letters are readable. These are covered with Revell's no. 74-79,120,121,128,129,131,132. Conclusion: If you want to use Carpena sheet - DON'T !!! See post no.11 for reasons, from which the worst is that decals are printed outside transparent film. But if you manage to overcome this problem, and still want to use them (for whatever reason), you need to combine it with Revell because Carpena covers only decals specific for TAP livery. From Revell you'll need doors and all of the stencils. And... don't change anything. PE set OK, but that's it, anything else - just leave is straight out of box. But ... If you target far better accuracy, as both for model and decals, I recommend you to use the new TwoSix screen printed sheet: errors are not so visible for an amateur (but what will the judges say???) and you'll need far less stencils from Revell sheet. And if you make some modifications on the tail, as I did, then you'll be glad to see that there are some extra colour strips in the four distinct colors of TAP, just in case you need them. Stencils covered only by Revell's sheet and which could be used for this project: 42,43,52,53,72,73,85,86,95,96,98,99,101-106,110,111,114,117,119,123,124,127,133-135. Engine spinners: Special Skyline decal sheet covers most of the spinner spirals for a variety of airliners and A310 among them (decals no.3 and 6 in white colour, acc. to instructions). TAP A310 with reg. no CS-TEI has different shapes of spinner spirals thruout the history (so did other TAP A310 as well), so I took decal no.3 for A310 and no.2, which is intended for A320 family. Other decals: Six „CUT HERE IN EMERGENCY“ markings are missing on all sheets, which are positioned on the fuselage top. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted May 2, 2010 Author Share Posted May 2, 2010 I made some progress after two and a half months ... Yesterday I read whole topic once again from start .. Just how many time did I wrote that I'm about to prime this thing - and still nothing ... And I also said that I'm about to make a break since there's not so much else to do prior to priming. :blink: Yeah, stupid ... Now let's hit that 5000 barrier ... First, let's focus on the engines ... Some 2 days ago I read on the airlinercafe.com that these CF6 engines and pylons, you get with Revell's kit, are actually for early A310-200, and with introduction of A300-600R, the A310-300 got its more powerful engines and different pylons in the mid 80's. This means that the best solution at this moment is to get Revell's Beluga kit and to snap its engines, since this A310 (CS-TEI) dates from 1989. Visually, these engine (cowlings, pylons) are different, but my conclusion is that I have neither money nor time to further extend this project for an OOB kit whose price on the eBay is twice or triple the regular and all I need are engines from it. I decided to glue them, rescribe, blend hot gas cone with pylon and drop the pylon leading edge. Front landing gear >>> Click here for screenshot from Airbus flight crew operating manual <<< On the pic below, far right is first version, and in the middle and on the left is current state ... For time being, with port wheel only, since pin for starboard wheel is too narrow and the wheel drops off easily... I took care about this issue in the meantime ... These are all changes made to the original gear strut: A - PE part from Extratech's sheet with landing lights (red arrows on the original pic from the manual) B1 - First version had original Revell's steering cylinders ( I even replaced the missing one with a piece of toothpick) B2 - Current version have cylinders made from Ø 0.7 mm copper wire with 2.5 mm length C - I added a missing strut from 0.25 mm styrene D - Intercom box is made a a 1 mm styrene cube (port side only) E - Front gear strut cover (fixed one), which should be replaced with Extratech's (missing) part, is thinned down and reshaped. I was thinking about changing the torque fork and shock absorbent strut and maybe to add towing pins and ... and .. and ... Will this ever stop? Main landing gear >>> Click here for screenshot from Airbus flight crew operating manual <<< First the Extratech's stupidity about the main landing gear covers ... After consulting the pics from the web I decided to use ONLY PARTS No. 19 and 20 from Extratech's sheet (right side). Plus parts 21 & 22. Please see the fourth pic of the post No.24, or just click here. But this wasn't good enough for me, so I bent them and added styrene struts on the inner side (left side). You can check how the original looks like here (linky). Now, back to the gear strut ... On zee left is port leg, as you get one from Revell, and on zee right is my hightec starboard leg Can I have A bit more drooling for the starboard leg ...? :D And with those nice wheels ... OK, things I've done ... Next post please ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted May 2, 2010 Author Share Posted May 2, 2010 This is port leg, with original, as side-by-side comparison. As shown in the link in the previous post from Airbus manual: A - Shock strut narrowed B - Gear actuacting cylinder added C - Front torque fork replaced, rear one (with hydraulic lines) added D - Hydraulic lines added E - Rings for shock strut added F - Pitch damper added (front side only) G- Brake bars added H - Hole drilled in wheel base, instead of molded extruded disc Let's go back to start ... I'll explain it step-by-step for port side .... First I made a negative in plasticine .... Shock strut was narrowed with Ø 2 mm wire isolation and Ø 0.7 mm copper wire for support (in origin it's Ø 2.3 mm thick) Now we get back to the plasticine ... I used the negative to preserve the forward sweep angle of the leg while glue dries... Next was actuator cylinder ... Made from Ø 1.5 mm wire isolation and Ø 0.5 mm copper wire. Maybe a 'bit too long.... Those "triangles" on the lower end are 0.25 mm styrene (2 x 2 mm, diagonal cut) Front torque fork is 0.5 mm styrene with 0.65 mm hole ... Rear fork is made from 0.06 mm metal plate ( 1 mm wide). Sides are 3 mm long, with 2 mm base. Up to next post ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted May 2, 2010 Author Share Posted May 2, 2010 (edited) Hydraulic lines are 4 copper Ø 0.07 mm wires. Each wheel axle got one - this is rather simplified, when compared with the real A310, but it's far better than Revell's idea (no lines, at all). Rings on the shock strut are made from 0.06 mm metal plate and about 0.33 wide. There's no need that they should be a full circle, since the rear side will be covered with Extratech's parts 19 & 20. Hole (H) is drilled with Ø 0.65 mm pin vise. This additional Ø 0.07 mm wire, that you can see below, is just an assistance while gluing the rear fork. I had some difficulties with CA glue. The wire was removed later on. Pitch damper was made from Ø 1 mm wire isolation and Ø 0.5 mm copper wire. Brake bars (G) were made from 0.25 mm square styrene with 3-3.5 mm in length. No separate photo, sorry, but you can see them on the finished pictures. Here you have some dryfitting photos of both main gear legs, with wheels. I can hardly wait to see some paint on them. If you're still unsure, port one has red cylinder "B" and starboard has white one. If you missed the thread title, this is 1/144 scale. So long for now ... Edited May 2, 2010 by supergru Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted May 21, 2010 Author Share Posted May 21, 2010 Yeah, I got that 5000 barrier! Although there's no comment on my last update... You're all speechless, right? For the past month or so, I was busy with my self-made spraybooth and cleaning station ... As base for spraybooth I used a large see-through plastic box (largest I found in the hardware store), bathroom ventilator (sparkless), LED's (to be replaced) and combo filter with active carbon for kitchen exhaust hoods. For cleaning station I took glass jar and drilled two holes (actually there was some 200 small holes to get 2 big ones). Plastic eraser pen was used as an airbrush head guide and as a evapor escape (exhaust). Holder for airbrush body was made from thick copper wire. Everything is smoothen with hot glue. Glass is filled with destilled water at 3/4 of height. Both of them aren't 100% solutions, as I need to make some corrections, but I think this is the best I could think of at this moment. A310 in deep dive ... Before I start describing how the priming went, I solve the "main gear link" problem (see post No.30 for details) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted May 21, 2010 Author Share Posted May 21, 2010 Priming: First, a warning: I DIDN'T AIRBRUSHED ANYTHING FOR THE PAST 13 YEARS And when I did ... Well, you can't compare this two stories... Let's just say I'm starting from scratch here ... :unsure: As a primer I'm using Tamiya Light Gray (spray). First coat... Well, I built Zvezda's Su-27 Trashlanker (1/72) as a cheap testbed just to get some practice, but I skipped this. I didn't decant paint as I should (I sprayed directly into a plastic cup and then poured the paint into the brush). Although there wasn't any backdraft from gas trapped in paint, the final results were dreadful per se. I spent whole spray dose for just one plane and this wasn't enough. My T-shirt got some paint drops. My main problem was that the paint was too thick (it started drying inside the collecting plastic cup, while I was brushing, and then I poured half-dry paint back into the brush). This ended with spider web, small drops on the model and surface that was more likely to be a sanding paper, that a model kit. Eventually the sun came down, and my LEDs proved to be a big mistake, and the roof light has a fogy enclosure, and ... Anyway I was playing with the distance, air pressure, mixture... And my model. But, actually I expected something like this to happen, and since this isn't the last coat, well I still have time to correct it and to improve my skills ... Here are a few pics ... Port vertical tail came out quite good, actually ... Next day I just googled "decant spray" and there it was... A simple solution with large straw and hot water... Anyway, I started to wet sand the surface with 1000 grid and apply putty where past errors popped up with primer. Putty is Tamiya white, and since the kit is also white I got a very nice patern .. Beauty and the beast ... A343 and A313, both future TAP ! I just started with A340 and this was a wish from my friends from Portuguese modelismo-na-net forum. I gave them the poll A332 or A343 ... And I'm already stucked with front wheelbay (will this ever end?!), but I'm still an optimist regarding the work on this beauty - this will be a quick one... Ha, ha, ha ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted May 21, 2010 Author Share Posted May 21, 2010 2nd coat of primer (yesterday) This time I decanted the spray properly but at first I made another mistake - I thinned the paint. OK, it was Tamiya lacquer thinner, but this was not necessary... The paint was faided out, and with a small air pressure ('bout 1 bar), I only got smelly balcony. So, I came back to 20 psi (about 1.4 bar) without thinning... I still got some rough surface, but this was still OK since I need some further repairs... I'm in a spiral movement right now: priming - filling - sanding, but the radius is getting smaller... After first coat I didn't rescribe the fuselage, so there are many lines that are still missing... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Atlant Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 (edited) supergru, try to thin paint more and move airbrush closer to surface. It looks like paint is drys out in the air, causing this "dusty" appearence. I love your job! Edited May 21, 2010 by Atlant Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 supergru.. I just spent best part of an hour reading from beginning to end and I am amazed at your extra work and effort that you have put in to this project.. {MY eyes are :wacko: }Many facts to take in...Phewf!! I look forward to the end now... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 I just spent best part of an hour reading from beginning to end and I am amazed at your extra work and effort that you have put in to this project.. Thank you Holmes on those kind words, although I'm sure that you (or anybody else) need 1-2 hours, maybe 3, for whole topic. Decal sheet comparisson would be 1/2 hour job per se. I was quite sure that you've seen this thread already. Maybe you could give me a hint-or-two regarding the paintjob, colors, decaling, wash, ... Stuff that's still to come ... As you can see, there isn't so much comments beside mines. Please ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted June 8, 2010 Author Share Posted June 8, 2010 Here are some pics after the 3rd primer layer. This layer was applied directly from the spray can. Nose and cockpit area are still to be fixed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted June 8, 2010 Author Share Posted June 8, 2010 Last post continued ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted June 8, 2010 Author Share Posted June 8, 2010 Some more pics ... Some overspray on the left engine side ... Same here ... I've punched all holes on the wheels again, since they were filled with CA Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted November 8, 2010 Author Share Posted November 8, 2010 Copied from modelismo na net forum: I reengaged TAP A310 after 4 months break. Actually, I'm a bit bored with Flanker. It's very, very time consuming. Big step is that I finally married wings and fuselage, as an aerospace term. Horizontals followed. I also removed all extensions on the fuselage top (antennas, beacon, ...) - as old mold you need to sand a lot of in the central area and it's very hard to preserve all those tiny bits, without damaging 'em. Lower rear fuselage was quite flatten (bad molding I guess), so even more epoxy followed .... I started sanding down everything ... These pictures are taken after 1st sanding session, and I already took some putty to fill several mistakes ... I also formed a new pointy nose (I'll flatten it a bit later on) and I removed nose static dischargers - they were way too big - I already have a new idea with stretched sprue so the nose won't be baldy after all. That wing-to-fuselage joint area isn't the best, but what the heck ... I must admit that this big break was actually very good, 'cause I finally persuaded myself to correct several dozens of errors (those tiny grey spots are Mr. Surfacer), which I would probably left as is, back in June, if I continued pushing it. Engines are next, but I'm already thinking of buying Beluga kit, since Revell was so kind to rerelease old kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted November 8, 2010 Author Share Posted November 8, 2010 This is what happened yesterday (copied from General Discussion thread, since there's no response): I was just finishing everything for today when it happened ... The whole model was on my left upper leg (I have a small desk so sometimes I need to place a model temporarily on most unwise places) and with right hand I was storing acetone bottle away when I felt that the model is slipping away.. With nose down ...Since that nose was a big headache for me (already made a third or fourth revision, so to speak) I instantly wanted to grab the vertical tail with my left hand, but all I managed was to crush port horizontal ... Anyway, from this ... ... I got this in a blink of an eye ... Horizontal was in tact ... The main reason was that vertical is molded with the fuselage and horizontals are glued in... CA glue did it's purpose - the plastic cracked not the glue... Part of the fuselage just underneath horizontal actuator cover just bumped out, since I pushed horizontal stabilizer upwards ... I needed an hour to clean the parts and I also removed all the putty from port cone side ... That small piece on the right side, just underneath the fuselage is inner support for the horizontal.... Since I cannot glue it back in place I got a bigger hole than I wanted ... Another half an hour to place some epoxy putty ... I used the stabilizer to mold a new hole for it ... I've seen here when kids or pets are guilty for modeling madness, but this time it's just me ... I hope tomorrow will be a better day for modeling ... A good lesson for a returnee ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted November 13, 2010 Author Share Posted November 13, 2010 Port tailcone shoulder ... As new ... Starboard got similar treatment since that Italeri putty is just pealing away ... New(est) APU exhaust, made with Ø 1.5 mm drill bit ... I hope this is the last one ... Reshaped wing leading edge roots ... Now, this couldn't be done prior to glueing wings ... Winglets are also glued, filled and sanded ... To be continued in a moment ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted November 13, 2010 Author Share Posted November 13, 2010 Engines are glued ... Some more details ... Next post, please ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted November 13, 2010 Author Share Posted November 13, 2010 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted November 26, 2010 Author Share Posted November 26, 2010 Been busy lately ..... New beacon lights, made from 0.6 mm wire, same principle as for static dischargers for Flanker, but different shape And with some Revell florescent red .. I'll glue them last, after whole model is finished, I just punched holes for them on the fuselage Blades got MM Gun Metal... Maybe this is strange choice from your point of view, but I experimented a bit ... And I experimented a bit more - look at those struts, and think about them for a second ... It's a mixture of MM Aluminium and MM Chrome Silver coated with MM Dullcote ...Chrome Silver (MM) for actuators is still missing on this pictures ... In reality they look much better than on these pictures - I got already some comments about grainy, inconsistent paint, details lost ... It's just the camera, supermacro mode, light and metallic paint. Oh, and too much CA glue, that I used back in summer.... Scratchbuilt antennas + inner frame for front wheelbay doors, rest of antennas is from PE set Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted November 26, 2010 Author Share Posted November 26, 2010 Wheels, front ones got flat gull grey (MM) for central pins, but main ones don't have central pins, once you glue PE rims... Original Revell rims had it ... What you don't see is that inner rims on main wheels got steel (MM) for brakes. I'll restart working on wheels with new set, borrowed from PIA A310. Wheel struts with Chrome Silver - check them again.... No drybrushing, no wash !!! So, did I made it or not ? Antennas in position: VHF #1 (unclear, closest), VHF#3, ADF #1 & ADF #2. Reflection of the vertical tail is a result from sanding with 2000 grid ... Antennas on lower half: no clue about their names, except for VHF#2, which is the same as upper two. Most of original ones, are oversized, in wrong places, wrong shape, or they just don't exist.... Oh, I forgot about TCAS in front of VHF#1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted November 26, 2010 Author Share Posted November 26, 2010 After several coats of Tamiya White Primer ... Although many people suggested it to use this primer instead of white color, I must admit that I'm not so happy with the results - covering is not the best side of it... What should be white are fuselage, vertical and engine nacelles, while horizontals, engine pylons and wings are shades of grey and metallic so I didn't even tried to repair those areas ... New mustaches and rain chases made from stretched sprue ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Wow! I am amazed I missed this epic build since the time you started. Looks like you have had your fair share of issues and I can see you skills have improved along the journey. Have you progressed/finished or is there another thread somewhere? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Wow! I am amazed I missed this epic build since the time you started. Looks like you have had your fair share of issues and I can see you skills have improved along the journey. Have you progressed/finished or is there another thread somewhere? No & No. I didn't finish it, and this thread is still active. Thing is that I ruined it last fall, with thick white paint airbrushed under high pressure (20 psi, about 1.4 bar). It was Revell no.8 Flat White, but it was yellowish in the end, and despite several coats, it was still "see-through". And these several coats ended with rough finish (like sanding paper). I also managed to fill all rescribed panel lines, while trying to repair it by adding another and another coat of paint. And since it's winter here, I cannot airbrush anymore. At the beginning of February we got some extreme warm weather (about +16 deg C), which I used to airbrush/practice on another project, while this was on hold, since I didn't know what to do with it. Sanding was one option but I was scared 'cause of all tiny antennas I already glued. I also managed to melt a rubber seal on the airbrush nozzle, so I had to order spare ones from Germany. Do I have to say that painting/airbrushing is PITA for me? Anyway, last week I managed to get Chante Clair, and with old toothbrush I got rid of all that enamel paint (it works with acrylics, too, but not with the primer). There are some areas where layer of paint is thick, so there's still some enamel residue, but I'll get rid of it with some fine sanding paper. I dimmed all photos, so you can see anything, 'cause of bright light. Generally, I'm still waiting for some warmer weather here, but I'm going to minimize my modelling time in upcoming weeks, 'cause of some private issues. After some 10-20 sec. of brushing Chante Clair with old toothbrush this is what you'll get ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
supergru Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Sorry, Ray. But this is all I can offer you at this moment ... I hope I can return to this project in summer... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dirkpitt289 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 WOW, this looks like an effort, but you seem to be gaining some ground. The effort will be well worth it in the end. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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