Spad Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 I have seen very few model makers prepare the surface of the model in this way before using the aclad, black base perfectly smooth with no imperfections is a must, especially on large models as your own. I will wait patiently for the painting to see the result; I am very interested also washes and general weathering that will apply to the model and how you apply it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alpagueur Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 incredible job Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clioguy Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Sure, but my way is crude and simple. I bet there are lots of better ways to decant paint, but this method is effective. --Get a clean plastic or metal tube of some kind, that is at least 10-15mm in width, maybe 6 inches long and a jar that you want to fill with paint. I use the Tamiya paint jars, because they are wide, allow room for the tube and provide a lot of surface area for the propellant in the paint to escape easily. --In an area that is safe to spill paint, wearing an old shirt, a chemical respirator over your face and rubber gloves, insert the tube into the jar and cover the top of the jar with your free gloved hand. After you shake the paint in the spray can thoroughly, spray the paint into the top of the tube, allowing the paint to shoot down the tube, into the jar. Make sure you don't totally seal the top of the jar with your hand, because gas in the paint needs to escape somewhere. Keep spraying until the jar is maybe 1/2 to 2/3 full of paint. You will notice that jar will become very cold as the propellant in the paint expands, which I vaguely recall from a million years ago when I was in High School, is the basis of refrigeration. Paint will splatter a bit, hence the glove and old shirt, although I have never had a drop of paint hit anything but my hand. --When you are done, clean up the paint on and around the jar, but DO NOT cover it! The propellant is still escaping the paint, so if you do cover the jar tightly, you have just made a small paint bomb that will explode when you open it again. --I let the paint de-gas with no lid for about 5 minutes, then I VERY LOOSELY put the cover on the jar, which will keep dust out and let the gas continue to escape. --Set the jar aside for several hours- at least 3-4- where nobody will bump it and make it spill, including you! --After this de-gasing time, it is safe to stir the paint. If there are still lots of bubbles coming out of the paint, it is still too early to use it. --When the paint has settled down, you will very likely need to thin it, because a lot of the solvents have evaporated as the paint degased. With the Tamiya lacquer I decanted, I used Tamiya lacquer thinner, which also works with Krylon and other rattle can paints. With Krylon paint, I usually need about 20% thinner, but with the Tamiya paint, I needed 40-50% thinner to get it to the right viscosity for spraying. This all might sound complicated, but I decanted some more Tamiya today and it was very simple. It took me 5 minutes to decant the paint and clean up the mess and after 4 hours of degasing and some thinner, I was spraying again. Hope this makes sense, Chuck Thanks Chuck! Sharing your knowledge as always! You are an inspiration! Regarding thinning the paint, can I use regular nitrocellulose thinner? Or does it have to be Tamiya Lacquer thinner? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dragan_mig31 Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Keep up the great work.I really enjoy following your build threads.So far so good.The primer looks awesome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Thanks Chuck! Sharing your knowledge as always! You are an inspiration! Regarding thinning the paint, can I use regular nitrocellulose thinner? Or does it have to be Tamiya Lacquer thinner? I would only use Tamiya lacquer thinner, because it is made for and safe for plastic. Regular lacquer thinners will eat plastic and paint, although I don't really know what nitrocellulose thinner is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Squizzy 78 Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Chuck, With the plane painted in gloss black, we can see how good your modelling is, as any imperfections are highlighted, but it just looks perfect! The repair on the nose of the plane from the glue sink holes are invisible , amazing repair job. It's going to be great to see the metal finish go on this bird, which I assume is going to be different shades of alclad. I was wondering if you had used different metalisers such as model masters, as I'm about to do some, and wanted some advice on what is the best metal paints to use, and if there's any issues with masking over finished metal paint. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Excellent progress so far Chuck, she looks really great. All that hard work appears to have paid off. She's going to look awesome when finished. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Just a quick update guys. Remember THIS?!!! After many, many fixes of the nose area over the course of 2 months, I'm calling this my biggest modeling save ever! Same painting routine I did on the bottom was applied to the top. With the high gloss finish, every wobble and flaw can be seen, but I don't see many now. Also, I am very lucky, because the top of this nose will soon be flat olive enamel, which will show nothing. Whew! Now another "walkaround of the top from a variety of angles..... That is all.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jose Maria Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Just a simply outstanding job on this model. Looking foward to see the it ready, it will be a show stopper for sure. Cheers JM Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Janissary Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 The best gloss black I have ever seen on a model. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 WHOA, that paint looks like glass ! Well done Chuck. What airbrush did you use for this task ? Gonna look sweet when she's all painted that's for sure. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Thanks Guys. Steve, I use an Iwata Custom Micron CM-C Plus airbrush. See post #418 above for details. Cheers, Chuck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin86 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Chuck, try this website for the paints you seek, they have no problem shipping to Canada. https://www.hobbywave.com Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 (edited) As smooth as that black primer coat is, it did collect some dust and other crap, which ALWAYS happens, no matter how careful I am to clean it all off before I paint. Each tiny piece of crap was sanded off, then the area around it spot painted to remove any marks. While the new paint dries thoroughly, I turned my attention to the last major parts of the build, The Props. The kit props are a bit too long, a bit too fat and the general shape is wrong. Thankfully, there is a resin replacement by Grey Matter Figures (GMF), designed by Jerry Rutman. They are very thin, the resin is tough and flexible and they are terrific! Before I show pics, you can buy them here: Grey Matters P-38 Props They come in three parts and thankfully one of the blades is positioned correctly so that you can replicate the correct angle with the other two blades. BTW, the props have the opposite pitch side to side, so check your references! I thought I was losing it for awhile until I did. Here is the main part compared to the kit prop. Note the differences, and the GMF blade is very THIN.... Unfortunately, 3 blades on one set of props was warped, possibly by shipping damage... No real worries, because resin bends easily after being immersed in boiling water, so they can be straightened by hand. To glue the other prop blades to the center spindle, I drilled small holes and added pins. With the pins installed, you can rotate the blade to the correct angle before gluing and they act as reinforcement to the glued join. Glued together and compared to the kit prop. Look how nice and thin those prop blades are..... You may have noticed that I did not remove some seam marks on the spindle. No worries, because they are hidden once the prop is installed behind the prop nose cone. After sanding off any imperfections, I painted them gloss black, which for the most part looked good, but the lacquer paint WILL NOT stick to the blade tips for some reason. Why? I need some help here if you know of a solution. Here is what I've done so far: 1. All resin was washed with soapy water and dried before painting. 2 After failure #1, I wiped Tamiya lacquer thinner along the prop blades to remove any oils. 3. After failure #2, I brushed on acrylic Future to seal the prop blade, sanded it down, then repainted them after they dried for one day. 4. After failure #3 (I'm getting cranky now!), I loaded up the paint and really laid it on thick on the prop tips. They looked good for 30-40 seconds, then the paint retreated from whatever is repelling the paint on the tips. One other observation is that the tips of the props were a little rough out of the package and no doubt had something stuck in there to begin with, like mold release agent, hence the use of soapy water, lacquer thinner and Future. Thankfully the tips will be painted bright yellow anyway, but I'd like to fix this problem before commit to more paint. Any ideas guys? What am I missing? And lastly, I just changed my sig pic to reflect my current build now that I'm getting closer to the finish line. From now on until completion, my focus will be the future and not the past. Just looking at this the pic, this is now getting very exciting, in a geeky modeler sort of way! Also note how the props should look when finished. Thanks for checking in, Chuck Edited December 4, 2015 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Why I'm not surprised of your great work ? The Tamiya black is so shiny,normally I use it directely from the can as base for metals like the current figure I'm painting for a collector,but your look as Futured! About the blade tips,try sanding the resin itself and put some Tamiya grey primer in rattle can,normally worked great for me,but sometimes the resin reject any preparation,I remember a dinosaur model I painted for a museum that simply refused all my effort,with the result that I was forced to put heavy colors layers on it and handling the less is possible it. Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
clioguy Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Excellent work! Regarding the prop blades, I use automotive sandable primer, directly from the can. When it's dry (in a few minutes) it becomes very smooth, a quick sand down with a polishing pad, and never had issues with paint. I did however have issues with resin when I applied paint directly to it, but no issues when primed. Hope it helps and keep up the great work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jester292 Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 I never have much to say other than wow, so I don't comment much. You're way, way beyond my level of modeling in both attention to detail and patience; but I appreciate all your effort and willingness to share (teach!). Your builds are a prolific new look at building. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 (edited) A mini-update and thanks for the tips guys. Next time I deal with resin so thin, I'll try some of your cleaners. Anyway, the props are fixed. As mentioned earlier, every time I tried to paint them, paint would be repelled from the tips and edges of the prop blade due to something still on the resin, despite all my attempts to remove same. As I sprayed on the black lacquer, the tips would cover nicely, then about 30-40 seconds later, the paint would retreat to the sides of several trouble spots. With each successive attempt to paint them after sanding, it occurred to me that if I could get the fast drying lacquer to dry even faster, the paint wouldn't get a chance to pull away from the resin. Using an old trick that is fairly routine for me at most of my painting sessions, I used a small space heater that I have handy beside the paint booth to dry the props. I overloaded each prop blade with sprayed paint, then moved it close to the space heater, which blows a warm but not too hot breeze. Within 15-20 seconds, the lacquer had set, with no dimpling due to paint adhesion issues. Once the paint had dried for a day, I sanded the props once more with 2000# sandpaper and applied another coat. They look really nice and smooth now. With that out of the way, it was now time to paint the nose cones of the props in a bright red. This is generally the color of red I'm looking for, despite variations of lighting and white balance: Since the entire model is already painted gloss black, I painted the nose cones black as well, to make sure they would look the same red as the rest of the model. With a black background, you need a red that is really bright to offset the dark primer coat. Normally I would use Model Master enamels, but I am so impressed with the Tamiya TS line of lacquers, I went with TS-8, "Italian Red". Since the nose cones come in two parts, I decided to use the kit props as painting holders, which worked out really well. Note how much brighter it is in the bottle compared to the nose cones. A close-up, showing all the rivet detail I did many months ago when fitting each nose cone to each engine nacelle, with one specific to the left and one to the right. The nose cones are a bit too big, so they need to be sanded down quite a bit. The fit doesn't look that good, because it is just held together with tape from behind. Unfortunately the Photobucket photo-shrinking has pixelated this pic a bit, because it really is totally smooth with no flaws. Note the pebbling on the kit prop with no sanding. Every part in this kit looks like that unless you do. That's it for now boys. I'll be painted Alclad Aluminum on the model soon. Cheers, Chuck Edited December 6, 2015 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Youngtiger1 Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Wow, look at those cones. I love the Italian red. It will look awesome attach to the finished engines. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caudleryan Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 This just keeps getting better and better! I'm going to be sad when this is finished. At least until the next masterpiece comes along. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted December 8, 2015 Share Posted December 8, 2015 Beautiful, another guy who knows his way around an airbrush. Very nice work Chuck. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 (edited) Quick update boys. I'm painting final colors now! Here's the challenge. After a primer coat of Tamiya Gloss Black lacquer, I want to paint 4 main colors: 1) Alclad Chrome 2) Alclad Aluminum 3) Tamiya Italian Red lacquer 4) Tamiya Olive Drab lacquer The first paint, Alclad Chrome, is a high shine Alclad paint that is alcohol based and does not mask very well without peeling- at least until it has a good coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss. To get all these paint colors on with as little drama as possible, I plan on painting the Chrome color last, so that I don't have to mask it- or at least not right away. First step is to mask off those areas that will wind up in a bit of a duller aluminum color, so I use thin masking tape to demarcate where this paint will go. With thin tape used first, you can more easily lay down a straight or curved line and you can burnish the edges to avoid paint leakage underneath. Here's a tip. I used to cut thin strips of Tamiya tape to accomplish this task until I stumbled upon this great 1 mm tape from Sprue Bros. With this tape, there is no need to cut tape any more and one roll lasts forever. Next, regular masking tape of all widths and sizes. Total coverage of areas that are not to be painted Aluminum is not that critical at this stage, because they will be painted with other colors later. A good example is the top of the nose in front of the windscreen. This will all be Olive Drab sooner or later. The results. All masking tape was removed to allow proper drying. Some of those fuzzy edges are due to the Aluminum getting into some panel lines, but not all. The edges are actually very clean and sharp. Looks like I missed removing some masking tape at the bottom of the side windows.... Underneath, trying to replicate the exact paint pattern as "Marge".... This looks so cool, I was tempted to just leave the colors as is! As with the rest of this model, I am going to try the Tamiya Olive Drab lacquer rather than using the Model Master enamel equivalent, so I decanted a jar on the left. When I was spraying it, I saw a distinctive red pigment coming out of the spray can along with the green. When it settled, it was mostly red. What!? The "Camel Yellow" on the right will be used on the prop tips later. At least it looks yellow to begin with.... At first I thought that I must have somehow contaminated the green paint with red. Did I decant the green with the same tube as the Italian Red? The answer is no, but after checking some RGB color charts, the answer is clear. Olive Drab has lots of red in it. Who knew? Here it is with the bottle shaken a bit. Much better.... If there was ever a good case to make sure you shake up your spray cans before you use them, this is it. If you don't in this case, you might be spraying either red or lime green! Next up. Red (real Italian this time) and Drab Green, along with some contrasting Alclad lacquers here and there. Cheers, Chuck Edited December 11, 2015 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ichitoe Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Simply AMAZING Chuck! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Check Six Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Awesome updates . Beautiful work . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nicholassagan Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Good start!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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