TommyP Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 Thanks again for the kind words folks... it certainly helps with the motivation! I thought I'd take advantage of the gorgeous weather we're having here in Kent (a balmy 27c on the patio!) and make a start on painting the engines on the C-17. I like to get these smaller areas of the model painted first, as it means it's far easier to mask these smaller sections when it comes to applying the top coats than the other way around. The paint job on the interior of the engines themselves is quite tricky to replicate. When you peer inside the inlet cowl of the real aircraft there is a section of reinforcing visible around the outside of the fan blades - this is protect the airframe in the event of a blade failure and keep any debris contained within the engine. This was recreated with careful masking of the base-coat of filler primer, as the colour is almost identical. The cowl itself is made up of various sections, which meet under strips of grey, so after a quick spray of a medium grey, these were masked off and the whole inlet given a coat of aluminium. The fans themselves were then given a coat of Humbrol's MetalCote and polished to a metallic sheen: Considering the 'blobs' (and that's being generous) that I started with for the engines, I'm chuffed with how they've come out. These sections will now be allowed to harden off for 24hrs before they are masked off for the main paint job. And for those who wanted a 'with something else picture' for a sense of scale, here's the model with an iphone and a set of car keys: Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jacobp51 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Pure awesomeness. What a beast! My hat is off to you, sir. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Tom, Spectacular. Those engines really came out the equal of most injection molded ones, especially once you applied some paint to them. That comparison pic is amazing. I just didn't comprehend the size of the C-17 in 1/72 scale. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Impressive!!! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
taggor Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Tommy your build throughout is so inspiring that I aspire to hopefully one day, have some elements of your skillset. Especially your flawless scribing! That is a skill that I am still intimidated by. Simply fantastic work. It's almost as if you don't make any mistakes at all! ..... and maybe you don't! That is simply amazing mastery! -Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Par429 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Hey- That is a piece of pure awesome! Well done. Such a great looking airplane. Phil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Hornet Fan Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) Tom This absolutely has to be the most amazing modelling work I have ever seen. I bought the Anigrand kit ten years ago and have never been brave enough to even try to fix the huge errors in that kit. I wish I had gotten the Combat Models kit now.... Please keep posting these updates as they are incredibly inspiring to see. Well Done! Jason Edited April 21, 2015 by Jay Hornet Fan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shorty84 Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Wow, your paintjob on the engines is amazing. I'm really lost for words... Markus Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TommyP Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 Thanks for the kind words gents... it's much appreciated! Tommy your build throughout is so inspiring that I aspire to hopefully one day, have some elements of your skillset. Especially your flawless scribing! That is a skill that I am still intimidated by. Simply fantastic work. It's almost as if you don't make any mistakes at all! ..... and maybe you don't! That is simply amazing mastery! -Mark Hi Mark, Scribing normally goes one of two ways for me - either perfectly or the total opposite. This build has been the former and has gone really well - it's a case of not attempting to apply too much pressure on the first pass and allow the depth to build up slowly over multiple passes. This way, if you do make an error it's far easier to correct as the line isn't too deep. Tom This absolutely has to be the most amazing modelling work I have ever seen. I bought the Anigrand kit ten years ago and have never been brave enough to even try to fix the huge errors in that kit. I wish I had gotten the Combat Models kit now.... Please keep posting these updates as they are incredibly inspiring to see. Well Done! Jason Cheers Jason, I've seen a few of the Anigrand kits built up and they never looked right to me, hence I went down the vacform route. Granted, they're not everyone's cup of tea, but I find them much easier to work with than resin and it's far easier to correct shape issues than carving huge chunks of resin! In the meantime, not the most exciting of updates, but after some final surface prep and polishing with micromesh, I've got the C-17 painted. She's also had a liberal coating of gloss-cote in preparation for decals. Please forgive the poor picture quality; the light wasn't great and and they were only taken with my bog-standard camera - when she's decalled up I'll get the proper set-up out: On to finishing off the u/c bays now, which will need a coat of gloss white, and then it'll be decalling time, where hopefully it'll really come to life. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Tommy, Your paint job looks perfect. Smooth and consistent. Same for the Glosscote. The decals should be a breeze to handle and get into the proper position with that surface. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K5054NZ Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Great stuff Tommy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kike Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 (edited) This is just getting better and better! great update tommy!! Edited April 29, 2015 by kike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TommyP Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 Tommy, Your paint job looks perfect. Smooth and consistent. Same for the Glosscote. The decals should be a breeze to handle and get into the proper position with that surface. Joel Thanks Joel - after applying the base coat of grey it received a good polish with MicroMesh pads, and then I built the gloss-cote up with multiple, thin 'dust coats'. That way it dries quickly and you get a near mirror-like sheen - as you say, perfect for decaling. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TommyP Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 It's time for a long-overdue update on this project... I had taken a break from this build due to getting very frustrated with the installation of the landing gear. The Anigrand set I sourced is a vast improvement on the Combat 'detail set', which bares absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to any C-17 landing gear I've seen. However, the Anigrand kit has all of the support structure in place to support the gear, whereas mine did not. Therefore, much head-scratching, swearing and general frustration ensued, before I decided it was time for the model and I to have some time apart before it took an unscheduled first flight. I just simply could not get the gear to sit right, so it went back into the attic for a fortnight. So out it came after some 'time apart', and hey presto, with a little time to mull over the problems of mounting the undercarriage as well as a fresh pair of eyes, I had it installed in a couple of hours. Isn't it amazing how a break can be all that's needed? With the gear installation done, I have now begun the decalling process, working from front to back: Still lots more to do in terms of decals, but all being well another update in the not-too-distant future. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spad Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Simply spectacular! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
taggor Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Your work is simply flawless! -Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
canadadry1 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Holy Dog &^$# Batman....that's beautiful....Can't wait to see the final product... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Tommy, Your landing gear looks like it was made for your build. Simply stellar. I've tried myself to put down a frustrating build and work on something else till the urge and a fresh does of Mojo kicks in, but I just can't do it. I hear it calling my name, and slowly seducing me back to the bench. :bandhead2:/> You decaling really is coming out looking like paint and stenciling. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the aircraft decaled and stenciled. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Major Walt Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I'm going to be sad when this build is done. It's been a joy watching the progress! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
YanPol Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 The hard way indeed. It's been great watching this build, I just want to join everyone else and congratulate you on your flawless work. Juan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Check Six Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Looking awesome! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
striker8241 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Wow! This build is just phantasmagorical! (sorry, that's the only accolade I could find in the dictionary that hasn't been used yet...) Great work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TommyP Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 Thanks once again for the positive feedback gents... much appreciated! Time for another update... It's taken a few sessions, mainly due to the sheer size of the thing, but decaling has now been completed. I've used DrawDecals a few times before and was never disappointed - the same apples here. The decals went on beautifully, and when compared to pictures of the real aircraft, look spot on, too. The black wing-walkway markings were made up using an Xtradecal black strip sheet - pretty time consuming but a far easier task than masking and painting them all! S1030251 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030248 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030259 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The 10th Anniversary tail marking is certainly an eye-catcher: S1030253 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr She'll now need a coat of matt varnish before I commence on the natural metal areas. Until next time, Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Tommy, The completed decaling is just near on perfect. Looking forward to the NMF. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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