ALF18 Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Here is a build I started a few weeks ago, but have been too occupied with other things to keep up to date. The next several posts will be an attempt to catch up to where I am today. I started this build a couple weeks after the start of the GB. The kit I am using is the excellent Hasegawa one. Very impressive in terms of detail and complexity for a WWII fighter in this scale. I am using this kit as a bit of a test bed for the use of kitchen foil for the natural metal effect. I boiled some eggshells with some foil, and plan to use the differing hues to achieve some natural-looking panel weathering. Today I am at the foiling stage, with the upper wing surfaces done, and some foil applied to the fuselage. Here is the history so far: The kit The inside of the box was very impressive. Great detail. I liked the addition of two options for the canopy - one-piece closed, or two-piece open. Given my 'skill' at cockpits, I just might have to use the one-piece closed version - just to test it, you understand, and not at all because it will hide any imperfections inside the cockpit. I will definitely use this decal - just can't say no to someone as 'persuasive-looking' as her! ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted February 25, 2010 Author Share Posted February 25, 2010 Cockpit painted. I may not have used the exact hue of zinc chromate for the interior colour. This is where I should advise you that I subscribe to the Larry Shred school of 'what looks right' when building most of my models. It may not be exactly correct, but I like the way it looks! Side panel. Used some silver pens for highlights, plus some minor dry-brushing. I was a bit lazy with the dry-fitting of the fuselage sides, and there was a small gap to be closed. Some putty did the job with this. The fuselage to wing join was fairly easy, except that I needed to do some trimming to make it fit. That's all for now - will upload some more pics to Photobucket from my PC tonight, and add updates tomorrow. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted February 27, 2010 Author Share Posted February 27, 2010 I decided to paint the green anti-glare stuff, as well as the blue on the tail, before the foiling. The main reason was so that I could avoid masking, and make the demarcations with the foil itself. I used Tamiya for the colours (acrylic). ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 Good start I also paint before foiling its easier to trim the foil with the xacto blade following a panel line !!It take care of the damagin the foil while removing the tape issues! also it dosent leave masking marks (I paint brush my model so demarcation shows alot more) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted February 27, 2010 Author Share Posted February 27, 2010 Good start I also paint before foiling its easier to trim the foil with the xacto blade following a panel line !!It take care of the damagin the foil while removing the tape issues! also it dosent leave masking marks (I paint brush my model so demarcation shows alot more) Neo When I boiled the eggshells, my wife complained about the smell. I hadn't cleaned out the residue of egg yolk before putting them in the water. Do you clean them thoroughly before boiling eggshells with the foil? Does it make a difference to the smell? Merci ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 NeoWhen I boiled the eggshells, my wife complained about the smell. I hadn't cleaned out the residue of egg yolk before putting them in the water. Do you clean them thoroughly before boiling eggshells with the foil? Does it make a difference to the smell? Merci ALF Hey alf i never herd of boiling the foil with egg shells !!!!! All my foiling was done with Bare Metal Foil but i did buy some gold leaf adhesive to make the next one with kitchen foil but i really never heard of the technique boil with egg shell! PM me you email ill send 2 PDF i have for foiling with kitchen foil might give you some idas Cheers Neo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 First of all - apologies for letting this thread stall for so long. Got wrapped up in numerous other things, and the model building stopped as a result. Another reason was the kitchen foil - I have been having a real love/hate relationship with it. I've found that foil can look fantastic if you take the time to do it right. That is why I love it. I also hate it because I am more of an impatient speed-builder, and the time it takes to cut many small sections and glue/burnish them into place is very long for me! Here is some progress lately. Starting with the easy part - large flat sections on upper wings. I like the way it is easy to make a demarcation with the painted portion. One plus for the foil! Used some boiled/stained foil for the bottom dark metal parts. These won't show much, but the effect is pretty good. Foiling can leave gaps. A little silver pen fills them in. End result. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 Tried using the back side of the foil, plus other coloured ones, to give a varied appearance to the wing panels. The eggshell boiling left some blotches that didn't look right to me. I used some steel wool (but the kind with the blue detergent mixed in, that blew off easily), and it cleaned it up somewhat. Just as I lost my inspiration for working on this, I also lost the drive to take pics as I went through the long and painful process of foiling. At one point I managed to spill most of the $8.00 bottle of foil glue all over the instructions and my bench; I am still scrubbing off sticky areas from the bench. What a nightmare! Finally got to the stage where decalling could start. To my dismay, the big decal for the upper wing did this on me, and refused to come unpeeled! I decided to use the other big one intended for the lower wing surface, and toss out the scrapped decal. The lower wing will go without a decal... sigh. On the positive side, once I started decalling, it started to look good. Just don't look too close at the burnishing job on the foil! A larger view of the first half, with most big decals applied. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rocat Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 very nice! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted April 14, 2010 Author Share Posted April 14, 2010 very nice! Thanks Rocat. You wouldn't believe how discouraged I was getting. Amazing how decals can change the look of a kit - and how a lot of perseverence can eventually get results. I have learned a lot from my foil experience, and have some ideas what not to do when I finally get my hands on the big 1/32 scale T-33 kit that I will be doing in natural metal finish. The shape of the aircraft is roughly similar between the P-47 and T-33; lots of compound curves with some flat areas on the flying surfaces. Comments like yours help to keep me motivated! ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted April 19, 2010 Author Share Posted April 19, 2010 Finally finished! Here are some shots I took in the back yard - the snow has just melted enough to be outside. Thanks to those who commented. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tilt Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 Whoa!! That turned out fantastic Alf. That has a very realistic finish to it. And a big salute to you for taking on the foil challenge. :lol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted April 20, 2010 Author Share Posted April 20, 2010 Whoa!! That turned out fantastic Alf. That has a very realistic finish to it. And a big salute to you for taking on the foil challenge. Thanks Tilt! I made sure to take the pics from a bit of a distance, so as not to show the flaws in the foil. It's a really difficult medium to get right, but the look is worth it. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete W Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Alf, For a first attempt at foling I'd say you have everything to be proud of, it looks good from where I sit. I've always looked at these foil builds and quaked at the thought of doing one, so kudos for giving it a go. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 Alf,For a first attempt at foling I'd say you have everything to be proud of, it looks good from where I sit. I've always looked at these foil builds and quaked at the thought of doing one, so kudos for giving it a go. Pete Thanks Pete! It may be a while before I do another foil job, but at least I know what's in store when I do. I have several other NMF aircraft to do soon, but I think I will go with foil on two only: 1:48 CF-104 Dual from 417 Sqn Cold Lake (I've done one with Alclad in this scale, and I want to see how the foil looks) 1:32 T-33 when it comes out. Those two aircraft types are sentimental favourites of mine, and that's why I want to expend the extra effort on them to make the best-possible metal finish. I have been very happy with the foil effect, but on close examination the shortcuts I took become apparent. This model was a great test bed, and I hope to 'build' on that experience next time. Great encouragement like that from you and Tilt really help to motivate me to try again - sincere thanks for that! ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rocat Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 a really nice work! the medium may not be easy to deal with, but the results can look great. bye roberto Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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