jim.skinner Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Hi Guys, I started this OOB build while waiting for some bits for a tiger moth that I was building for my father in law's train layout. It is the Revell boxing of the old Monogram kit from (I think) the early 80s. There was quite a bit of flash, dodgy fit, and soft detail, but I reckon you get plenty of kit for your money at AU$30-$40. My aim with all of my builds in 2014 is to show the finished build and its good bits, and then show worst bits and discuss what I could/should have done to fix them up. So without further ado...... The Finished Product Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jim.skinner Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 The Bits That Do Not Suck The kit gun turned out fantastically compared to how it looked when it came off the sprue. Copious amounts of fiddling, and redrilling all holes and barrels left me with this The paint job. My first real camo pattern since returning to the hobby, and all airbrushed freehand with Vallejo Model Air paints. The Bits that Suck 2 problems in this picture: - I'm not happy with my canopy masking. Particularly the bottom of the windscreen side. It has a bit of a white-ish look to it? Perhaps my light grey primer showing through? - Little specks of cr@p inside the canopy. I painted the wheel wheels after assembling the fuselage. I shouldn't have had the masked canopy already attached. There is a clear way for the air and paint to get through from the wheel wheel to the cockpit on this kit :(/> Solution: should have added the canopy after painting the wells. So close to being a good thing, but not quite. The kit is not designed for a closed canopy. I had to cut off the rear of the clear canopy part and fair it in with Milliput. Really happy with the shape, but the scribing job was messy. I should have filled it and re-done it, but I didn't. Lazy. Various seams that are NQR, and a messy loadout. Too many seams that I knew weren't perfect that I didn't spend any extra time on, for example, the nose of the landing gear sponson. yuck. Being the first weapon load-out I have done since returning to the hobby I made the fatal mistake of leaving it until last. Everything else was done, so I rushed through the load-out to finish it. This can be seen in the sloppy mavericks and badly painted mk82 in this pic. Final 2 things. - The only decal that silvered on the model. Because I am impatient, I had already cleared and flat coated the model before this problem arose. In future, leave it a good couple of days before sealing so I can apply some more settling solution. - My white paint is yucky and leached under the masking at the top of the stab. I should have then masked the white and cleaned up the edge with more grey. I didn't. So that's completion number one for 2014. Hit me with your thoughts. Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jinxter13 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Verrry Noice.. :D . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 (edited) Very nice Hog Jim- especially on a tough kit. Since this is Critique corner, I do have some suggestions. The formation light behind the canopy should be forward of the small antenna, not behind it. Here's a pic for reference: Antennae and Slime Light The greys are too blue, but I'll bet that's just the white balance shift of your camera? The front antennae on the nose and rear tail should be flat black, or clear depending on the version of the kit. There should be a large almost spear-like pitot tube on the tip of the right/starboard wing. Is there a spot where the canopy joins the fuselage where you can gain access? If so, I would use a can of compressed air (with thin nozzle) to at least redistribute the dust particles so that they show less. Masking canopies and windscreens is very tough. I suggest you always use some very thin Tamiya tape (1 mm or so) to mask the edges, followed by wider tape to cover the rest. The thinner tape flexes easily and will sit down on the plastic tighter- and make sure you rub all edges down again just prior to painting. Same can be said for the white demarcation line on the vertical stabilizers. Use thin tape first, followed by wider tape to mask things off. You can still fix this by spraying some grey over the white, but be careful to not get tape on any decals or they will pull off. I bet you can fix or at least improve the silvered decal. Use a very sharp #11 knife and poke holes in the decal with the tip, followed by some decal solution like Microsol. This might take several applications and lot of pokes, but you won't see the cuts and the decal should suck back onto the plastic. Once you're happy, re-spray with dull coat. I've done this many times with about 90% success. Hope this stuff helps Jim. Otherwise, a really nice model! Edited January 22, 2014 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jim.skinner Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 (edited) Thanks for taking the time to provide the detailed feedback chuck. It will definitely help me to improve, and that is the aim of the game! Edited January 22, 2014 by jim.skinner Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Combat Zero Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 the detail stands out to me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 (edited) I think you're being too hard on yourself Jim. The little mistakes are just that: little! You've done a great job overall, and I think you demonstrate how nicely Monogram kits still hold up. As for leaving the loadout until last, I fell into that same trap several times. Those last bits on a model always tend to get rushed and suffer for it in consequence. I try to do things like loadouts and landing gear first now. But I still don't like those aspects of aircraft modeling :)/> Edited January 23, 2014 by RKic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I like it. Paint looks good. There's no such thing as a perfect model so as long as you're happy with it then great. The maverick loadout is wrong though. They could never carry 3 Mavs per pylon operationally. The inboard Mav on each side (closest to landing gear) wouldn't be there. It would burn up the landing gear lines or something. Something I learned on here while building an A-10 model so I'm passing that on. I too don't really like doing ordnance and find that if I wait till the end they do get rushed. Good thing about them though you can usually remove them easily and either re-do or replace at a later time if you feel like it. Keep it up Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jim.skinner Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 Thanks for the feedback guys. Re: the Mavericks, yes, I fell into the trap of trying to make it look as mean as possible :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Exhausted Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 The white stripe isn't really bad. I could believe a sloppy job could make it onto an A-10 in real life, if it was in the combat theater. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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