KItty Hawk 1/48 F-101A Voodoo - A non-partisan build.

[jgrease]

Joel- I was a little annoyed with myself as well, but I don't do a lot on NMF planes, so I guess I've grown accustomed to a certain level of "doneness" on primer coats. I also didn't stop to think about the effect of the solvent residue on the next coat of paint. Lessons learned.

So my next dilemma- the plane is nicely over coated with Future. I started by using a Vallejo black wash beginning on the ADC grey panels. I applied a slightly diluted wash over the panel lines, and after it began to dry, I started removing the excess wash with a rag dampened with windex (mild soapy water wasn't removing anything). I find that regardless of how much I rub and rub, I am left with excess residue around the panel lines where I applied it. What gives? Is it on too long? Wrong stuff to remove it? Interaction with the Future? I tried an enamel wash of paint thinner and black on a small section of the underside, and I fear that was too rough on the finish, and began to remove paint. I was never a good wash person, so I really need some help here.

Thanks as always for looking.

John

[scorvi]

Joel- I was a little annoyed with myself as well, but I don't do a lot on NMF planes, so I guess I've grown accustomed to a certain level of "doneness" on primer coats. I also didn't stop to think about the effect of the solvent residue on the next coat of paint. Lessons learned.

So my next dilemma- the plane is nicely over coated with Future. I started by using a Vallejo black wash beginning on the ADC grey panels. I applied a slightly diluted wash over the panel lines, and after it began to dry, I started removing the excess wash with a rag dampened with windex (mild soapy water wasn't removing anything). I find that regardless of how much I rub and rub, I am left with excess residue around the panel lines where I applied it. What gives? Is it on too long? Wrong stuff to remove it? Interaction with the Future? I tried an enamel wash of paint thinner and black on a small section of the underside, and I fear that was too rough on the finish, and began to remove paint. I was never a good wash person, so I really need some help here.

Thanks as always for looking.

John

John

If I may. I experienced your same problems on my 1/48 A-4. You cant use ANY solvent based washes since the solvent is Ammonia in the Windex and if you use too much it will lift the Future too. At this point I would try to blend the wash with pastels to get a good weathered effect--this is what I did since this was for a commissison build and I needed to complete it;

My suggestion is to use a purely water based wash Best one I have used is from Flory models (Spruebrothers) IT is clay based and washes away nicely and doesnt stick to any top coats I have used.

Good LCuk

Steve

[jgrease]

Thanks Steve! I've heard about Flory washes, but never tried it. I also have Warpigs Wash, which I believe is water based. I will look further into this.

John

[Joel_W]

John,

The rule of thumb that I live (and die by) is that any wash that I need to move around or remove excess can't be of the same base type that the thinning agent will remove any of the preceding layer it is applied to. While I generally use Pledge to gloss my models to get ready for decaling, I almost always seal the decals with Testors Glosscoat. Then, depending on what type of weathering I'm going to start with, is if I want a gloss or matt finish. If it's a gloss finish, then I'll seal the whole model in Glosscoat. If it's a matt finish, then I use Dullcoat. Both are lacquer based, and neither will lift with the use of Alcohol or Mineral Spirits. For a Sludge wash I prefer Phil Flory's acrylic washes. I have only the dark and light colors, but you can mix them to virtually any color. You can remove them after they dry in 15 min or so, or next week, it really doesn't matter. Just a damp cloth, paper towel, will do the trick. But no matter how hard or long you rub, there will be a darkening of the base color. that just doesn't come out. In every case it's been a plus not a negative.

Future/Pledge is an acrylic polymer floor sealer. It's Ammonia based. That's how you strip it off a kitchen floor that has been sealed with Pledge. The directions do mention that. So using Windex which is Water, Ammonia, and a blue coloring agent will remove it as you found out.

I don't use Acrylics paints for sludge washes. They're hard to remove, & dry way too fast. Water doesn't work. Iso Acohol does, but also will react with the Pledge leaving a white residue.

As I said use Flory acrylic washes for my sludge washes. Other then that all my washes, pin washes, and weathering is done with enamel paints highly diluted in Orderless Mineral Spirits (never understood why they call it that, as it has a order.). Mineral Spirits have no effect on Acrylics either thinned with Lacquer Thinner or Alcohol.

You also mentioned that mineral spirits started to remove the paint on the bottom of the aircraft. What paint and base was it, and how did you thin it? If the paint wasn't sealed, the only way to weather it is with a very diluted solution of enamels and just let it dry. When it looks dry, very gently using a cotton cloth in a circular motion go over the surface just to even out the wash. Also apply your washes vertically to the surface. So basically you're doing a min of two applications. Some guys like Chuck, whose building that fantastic A-10 in 1/32 scale: Lipstick on a Pig, does it in four applications.

Joel

Edited July 24, 2014 by Joel_W

[jgrease]

Joel- I'm guessing the Future on the lower fuselage wasn't very evenly applied. I was using a rag dampened (slightly) with paint thinner. Lesson learned from that. Going forward I will Future for a decal surface, then switch to an enamel-based gloss over that for weathering. All of the washes I have are water based. Ugh.

John

[jgrease]

So while I let this thing settle for a day, I've done some work on the smaller stuff. First I attached the fuel vent masts (E29 and E30) to the tail section. They do not fit as molded into the slots provided, so trim off the "lips" around the base of the masts and sand down a little of the profile. That should not happen on this kit, but onward and upward. Next I painted and attached the tail hook assembly under the fuselage. Easy enough. Next, I finally wanted to get it on its' legs, so I started working with the main gear legs. I would really have liked a better mounting system. The locating pegs are short, and after primer and paint, the fit isn't too solid. I tried to clean out the locating holes in the gear bay a little, and I attached the main gear legs with CA. I also installed for nose gear at this time, which was a little easier to do. Here's a pic:

Everything seems sturdy, and it's sitting on it gear evenly, at least to my eyes. The big fit issue here is the support struts (E35 and E36) which were installed back when I assembled the wings. I think I could have left them out and installed them at the same time as the gear legs. The ends of the struts don't sit close enough to the gear legs to connect them. Not much to do about it now. I'm going to let the CA cure overnight before standing her up. Tomorrow I will try a coat of Glosscote to continue weathering. Thanks again for looking in and keep you feedback coming!

John

[scorvi]

So while I let this thing settle for a day, I've done some work on the smaller stuff. First I attached the fuel vent masts (E29 and E30) to the tail section. They do not fit as molded into the slots provided, so trim off the "lips" around the base of the masts and sand down a little of the profile. That should not happen on this kit, but onward and upward. Next I painted and attached the tail hook assembly under the fuselage. Easy enough. Next, I finally wanted to get it on its' legs, so I started working with the main gear legs. I would really have liked a better mounting system. The locating pegs are short, and after primer and paint, the fit isn't too solid. I tried to clean out the locating holes in the gear bay a little, and I attached the main gear legs with CA. I also installed for nose gear at this time, which was a little easier to do. Here's a pic:

Everything seems sturdy, and it's sitting on it gear evenly, at least to my eyes. The big fit issue here is the support struts (E35 and E36) which were installed back when I assembled the wings. I think I could have left them out and installed them at the same time as the gear legs. The ends of the struts don't sit close enough to the gear legs to connect them. Not much to do about it now. I'm going to let the CA cure overnight before standing her up. Tomorrow I will try a coat of Glosscote to continue weathering. Thanks again for looking in and keep you feedback coming!

John

Nice work It is a much Cleaner build than mine You did it justice...I will be doing my landing geara soon but I need to weather both the My KH F-101C & Monogram F-101B then landing gears and lights etc.

BUT you did a nice job makes me want to get another one!? Maybe!

Steve,

[Joel_W]

John,

About the only thing you can do with issues like you're having with the landing gear is to install a brass or aluminum tube sleeve over the pin, then just ream out the hole so that the tube fits. I've done that a few times in the past, and it solved my problems. I would strongly urge you to seal with Glosscoat before weathering. It gives you literally a best protection no matter what especially since you're planning on a enamel based sealer. Mineral Spirits doesn't smell that much better then lacquer thinner.The bottom of the Voodoo looks darn good to me.

Joel

Edited July 25, 2014 by Joel_W

[Don]

Marvelous work John ! Bravo Sir.

[jgrease]

Ok, a new week and some progress to report. I've begun painting some of the remaining smaller parts, and attaching as I go along. First area to get parts was the nose gear well. Here's a shot:

Thanks to Chek for the suggestion on the landing lights- it worked like a charm! I just have to hit the front of the lenses with some Future to get that glass look back. Something barely discernible in the instructions was the fact that the two lights are offset from each other. I'm no Voodoo expert, but if I didn't see a photo of the front gear in the D&S book, I'd have them side by side. While we are here, I tried to install part C11 before installing the doors and lights. Even after trimming the tabs off, I managed to break it in half trying to install it, so I binned it in the interest of not losing my patience. The next pain was installing the door actuators (E49 and E50) into the bay sides and then connecting them to the doors. If you use the locating holes, they would be on top of each other, so I did them one in front of the other. Looks fine to me in this pic:

Before you say anything, yes, I have to touch up the tires and clean the dust off. I also attached the probe A8 after getting the doors done. Next was the main gear area. I have to say the instructions for this area are awful. The illustration shows where to attach E34 to the main gear strut E54 at the base, but doesn't show where the other end goes! Ugh. Same with the retraction strut E35- it shows a connection point, but I couldn't get them to touch each other, so they are just kind of there. I've also attached the smaller doors B44 and B45. The actuators are still drying so they haven't been attached yet.

You can also see I've attached the flaps to the wings. This is another vague area in the instructions- the actuators E2 and E4 are shown with mounting points in the flap bay, but where do they attach to the flaps and what kind of angle are they on? One cannot tell from the illustration. Here's a shot of my flaps:

That's my best guess at how they go. Next one will have flaps up and speed brakes closed. You can also see the engine face or afterburner ring here. There was some talk on another build about removing the mounting points in the fuselage and just inserting completed engines and nozzles at the end. I've opted to install the stuff inside the fuselage and attach the nozzles when I'm done with the rest of the plane. The dry fit I did seems to work just fine. So here's an overall look at the plane:

The canopy and the ejection seat are just dropped in place for the photo. I'm in the process of getting a replacement canopy, which will be great. I also have the tanks ready to install after I get the rest of the landing gear doors installed. Oh, speaking of the doors, there are parts E7 and E8 that just attach to the wings in the same position regardless of gear up or down, so why didn't they just mold them to the wing? I may go back and post a list of do's and donts for the next person who builds this one. Thanks for looking!

John

[Joel_W]

John,

You made a ton of progress. The F-101A really looks great. At this point I think it's safe to say that you proved the nick pickers wrong, and that the kit can be built into a excellent OOB model.

Joel

[jgrease]

Thanks Joel, it's a very buildable kit, and I think it looks good. Should be done in the next couple of days.

[Peterpools]

John

Wonderful work on the Voodoo ... and a build so well done.

Peter

[ThudDriver]

Can you post some pics of the nose refueling doors that you mod'd closed. I'm curious as to how well that went.. Going to try that with mine when the time comes.

Cool looking witchcraft.

Regards

Frank

[jgrease]

Frank- learn from my mistakes- glue each refueling probe door to its' respective fuselage side. This gives you better alignment and less putty work later. I made the mistake of attaching them after the forward fuselage was assembled, and I had to use a bunch of putty. Thanks for the feedback everyone! After my last post, the tanks went on and most of the details went in. I just have to paint and install the replacement canopy from Kagnew.

John

[chek]

That's looking fantastic now, JG.

I wasn't at all convinced that KH had produced a good kit from early reports, but now you've got it sitting on its wheels it looks great.

I'll have to get one to sit between a Demon and a Phantom. You've really made it capture the right look.

I hope some aftermarket solutions appear to correct niggly things such as the fuselage vents and intake splitter plates.

As for the flaps and actuators, it's probably safe to assume that they're the same as on a 'B' version as below: but note that the flap leading

edges travel backwards on the forward rails - or maybe trapeze arms is more accurate - as the ram extends.

Having said that, I haven't yet found any photos of single-seaters with flaps down without a pilot aboard.

(the whole walkaround and a couple more flap interior photos can be found at: http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/howard_mason/f-101b_59-0400/ )

Edited July 29, 2014 by chek

[Darren Roberts]

This is looking fantastic. Nicely done!

[jgrease]

Thanks for the flap photos Chek- the D&S book pics aren't clear, so that answers that issue for me. And thanks for the kind words guys!

John

[jgrease]

Alright folks, I'm calling this one done! I learned a lot while working on this kit, but I have to say this was one of the most enjoyable builds I've done in quite some time. I feel that this build is an example of my level of skill at this point. Here's the pics:

Starboard side. I'm happy with the exhausts- they were a learning curve, but if I do another one, I know what to do next time. The sink marks are still present on the speed brake, but I wanted to finish, and I'm not planning on entering any contests with it.

Close up of the cockpit area. I'm happy with the seat, and everything fit well, including the clear part for the windscreen.

Rear view. Sorry for the quality of my pics, but I use my ipad for pics and photobucket. The color difference between the lower exhaust area and the upper tail is subtle, and I'm happy with the results.

[jgrease]

To continue, here's the port side:

Again, things could have been done better in a lot of places, but this was a project I wanted to push through. I'm glad I did the two-tone with the ADC Grey fuselage panels. It makes up for the monotone steel finish.

Rear port side. I'm satisfied with it. Again, I learned a lot about building up the exhausts as I went along. The instructions are lacking in my opinion.

Final shot. Thanks again for all of the comments, suggestions and opinions. You all made this hobby fun for me again. I'll be posting a list of suggestions to finish up this thread. Thanks for looking!

John

[scorvi]

Looks good. Those decals I sent you worked out nicley!.

I am finishing up the Monogram F-101B kit and will be writing up the article this week. I will try to get 1-2 shots of two voodoos fory ou!

Steve,

[jgrease]

Here's my list of suggested changes to the instructions as provided:

-Remove the locating tabs from the bottom of the cockpit tub (B9) and the top of the forward gear bay (E37). Don't try to attach the cockpit to the gear bay. Build each separately. Sand down the top of the gear bay and the bottom of the cockpit tub to give a little wiggle room for later. Trim the lower locating tabs from B2 and B13 for the cockpit. When you're ready, assemble the two halves of the forward fuselage, insert the cockpit from below. After that is in place, install the gear bay and move on.

-Speaking of the forward gear bay, don't install the gear until you're done painting the plane. It can still be installed later. Do install the door actuators (E49 and E50) when you assemble the bay so that you can line them up properly. You can brush paint them after you paint the bay.

-if you're not displaying the refueling probe open, glue each of the refueling bay doors (A10 and A11) to their respective fuselage sides (B2 and B13) before assembling the fuselage. You'll have less puttying later.

-Unless you're displaying the radar open, glue A12 and A13 together and attach the nose to that assembly before connecting it to the body. This way you can do your sanding and filling a little easier. Don't forget to add weight inside of the A12/13 assembly.

-When assembling the mid-fuselage sections, don't add the B10/B8/B5 assembly to the plane until you attach the tail assembly to the mid fuselage. Add the lower exhaust assembly last.

- When you're building the wings, add E7 and E8 to their respective wings before painting. Install the ailerons on both wings before painting as well. Also, leave off E35 and E36 until after you paint and when you're installing the gear. Those pieces came off on me a few times, and never fit onto the gear legs correctly after that.

-E16 should actually be a clear part. If you're adventurous you can smash mold one with clear plastic sheet.

That's all I can think of if anyone has more suggestions, please feel free to add them! Thanks again.

John

Edited August 3, 2014 by jgrease

[Joel_W]

John,

Congratulations on completing your F-101A Voodoo. Personally, I think it turned out quite well. Your decision to go with the two tone scheme was an excellent choice, as it looks great. You certainly dispelled all the rumors of it being a poor kit that can't be built into a fine display model.

Your build blog was certainly enjoyable to follow, and detailed enough that we could follow right along as you tackled phase of the build.

Joel

[jgrease]

Steve- Thanks again for the decals! I was quite inspired just looking at the sheet. Hopefully we can get some two seaters soon.

Joel- Thank you for the push to keep me going while watching your A-6 build.

I'm working on a project for someone, and when I finish that, my next build is the KH MiG-25. That should be entertaining!

John

[Joel_W]

Steve- Thanks again for the decals! I was quite inspired just looking at the sheet. Hopefully we can get some two seaters soon.

Joel- Thank you for the push to keep me going while watching your A-6 build.

I'm working on a project for someone, and when I finish that, my next build is the KH MiG-25. That should be entertaining!

John

John,

I'll be following that build for sure.

Joel