CaptainObvious Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 4 hours ago, JesusNut said: Would you be willing to explain how you do a flash coat? I am not quite grasping what you are describing. Hey Tom, I just airbrush a quick pass or two of Mr Color leveling lacquer thinner over the acrylic clear coat. Perhaps "mist coat" better describes it? Lacquer thinner is pretty hot so you have to be careful not to apply a wet layer or it will do nasty things to the layer underneath. Witness the unexpected results between my tomcat's tails even with a mist coat. The next time around, I will make sure I apply a heavier coat of clear. HTH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JesusNut Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 5 minutes ago, CaptainObvious said: Hey Tom, I just airbrush a quick pass or two of Mr Color leveling lacquer thinner over the acrylic clear coat. Perhaps "mist coat" better describes it? Lacquer thinner is pretty hot so you have to be careful not to apply a wet layer or it will do nasty things to the layer underneath. Witness the unexpected results between my tomcat's tails even with a mist coat. The next time around, I will make sure I apply a heavier coat of clear. HTH Thanks. Still lots to learn! I've got a paint mule so gonna do lots of practice on that before I hit the real thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 Hey people! 2 months since the last update?!?! Sheesh. The holiday season has always been a busy time for me but I have been working on the tomcat when I can. Plenty of busy work but not much to show for it, hence the lack of updates. There are A LOT of decals and stencils on this one and that took most of the time. I used Mr Mark Setter under the decals and Mr Mark Softer over them. The box decals behaved nicely. Tamiya X-22 clear coat over the decals, Tamiya Gray panel line wash and Tamiya XF-86 Flat Clear over all of that. The pictures don't show it well but the Tamiya XF-86 is not a dead flat. There is some sheen to it. The amount of stencils on Phoenix missiles drove me crazy. Of course I had to crack a seam when the paintwork is done. I feel like it is close to the finish but I know from experience that the last 10% takes forever. To do list 1. Fix the cracked seam 2. Weathering 3. All the metallics and that includes the exhausts, pitot static instruments etc. 4. Some mirrors / grab handles for the interior of the canopy 5. Final assembly. So another year? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 (edited) Capt. Obvious, Impressive to say the least. Actually, I'm nearly speechless which doesn't happen all that often. Grumman and Republic are deer to me as I grew up right between the two plants on LI. Just didn't know how lucky I was looking up every day to see what aircraft was flying overhead, or biking to their respective fences and seeing what was parked where. You're doing a fantastic job on the build. I never measure progress by time passed, which isn't the same as time spent working on the build. The quality of your overall paint scheme and decaling is simply superb. Can't see a single issue. I've always shied away from using Tamiya decals after my return to modeling 8+ years ago, when I used them on my 1st two builds; they're just to thick, but you really got them to behave perfectly with the Mr. Mark system ( which I have but have yet to use). And the effort and skill needed to prepare, paint, and decal those missiles, especially the Phoenix missiles really has paid off in Spades. I'm going to be ordering the Tamiya Gray pane line wash to go with my Black and Brown bottles after seeing the natural effect you achieved on the white and Gull Gray. I only wish you'd have posted these pictures before I used the more traditional Black on the belly side of my F6F-3. The Gray would have been the exact shading needed, and the black is just to stark. I'm finally planning my 1st Tamiya F-14A build, and just hope that it turns out half as well as yours is coming along. Joel Edited February 6, 2018 by Joel_W Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shake zula the mic rula Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Great work Cap, keep it up. You're making me want to add a 1/48 Tamiya F-14 to the stash. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Everything looks great so far, very well done. Too bad about that cracked seam though. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY!" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
my favs are F`s Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 oh man that`s beauuuuuutiful! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
murad Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 @CaptainObvious is the panel liner tamiya's gray alone? reason i ask is because the one i have is almost a pale/light blue grey - nothing compared to the ones in your pix. the build is looking stunning already btw, lovely. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 14 hours ago, Joel_W said: Capt. Obvious, Impressive to say the least. Actually, I'm nearly speechless which doesn't happen all that often. Grumman and Republic are deer to me as I grew up right between the two plants on LI. Just didn't know how lucky I was looking up every day to see what aircraft was flying overhead, or biking to their respective fences and seeing what was parked where. You're doing a fantastic job on the build. I never measure progress by time passed, which isn't the same as time spent working on the build. The quality of your overall paint scheme and decaling is simply superb. Can't see a single issue. I've always shied away from using Tamiya decals after my return to modeling 8+ years ago, when I used them on my 1st two builds; they're just to thick, but you really got them to behave perfectly with the Mr. Mark system ( which I have but have yet to use). And the effort and skill needed to prepare, paint, and decal those missiles, especially the Phoenix missiles really has paid off in Spades. I'm going to be ordering the Tamiya Gray pane line wash to go with my Black and Brown bottles after seeing the natural effect you achieved on the white and Gull Gray. I only wish you'd have posted these pictures before I used the more traditional Black on the belly side of my F6F-3. The Gray would have been the exact shading needed, and the black is just to stark. I'm finally planning my 1st Tamiya F-14A build, and just hope that it turns out half as well as yours is coming along. Joel Hey Joel, I am familiar with the thick Tamiya decals of which you speak. I don't have a habit of using aftermarket and normally just make do with kit decals. Through a combination of solutions, heat and curses, they usually end up conforming. I do notice that in the newer Tamiya kits, the decals have improved somewhat. Not as nice as some aftermarket ones, but definitely thinner than before. This is also the first time that I am using the Mr. Mark system. I am happy with how they work. Thank you for your lovely reply. It has made my day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 14 hours ago, shake zula the mic rula said: Great work Cap, keep it up. You're making me want to add a 1/48 Tamiya F-14 to the stash. 13 hours ago, A-10 LOADER said: Everything looks great so far, very well done. Too bad about that cracked seam though. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY!" 10 hours ago, my favs are F`s said: oh man that`s beauuuuuutiful! Thanks for the kind compliments guys. I am very happy that you dropped by. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 10 hours ago, murad said: @CaptainObvious is the panel liner tamiya's gray alone? reason i ask is because the one i have is almost a pale/light blue grey - nothing compared to the ones in your pix. the build is looking stunning already btw, lovely. Hi Murad, I know what you mean about the light gray. I was of two minds about it, fearing that there wouldn't be enough of a contrast. Eventually I thought "what's the harm?" and gave it a go. The bottle was well shaken before I took the pic so you can have a better idea of the color. The line did end up darker that I would have guessed from just looking at the bottle. I don't have a good pic of it now, but it contrasts nicely with the black paint as well. Shows up as a light gray line. Thanks for stopping by! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Like I said, after seeing how the Tamiya gray looks, I ordered a bottle. So now I have all three colors. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 It's looking great, Captain Obvious! Very nice with those decals on! I know what you mean about the last 10% taking forever but don't worry about that -- you're getting there! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 43 minutes ago, Joel_W said: Like I said, after seeing how the Tamiya gray looks, I ordered a bottle. So now I have all three colors. Joel Joel, There are four! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) 22 minutes ago, crackerjazz said: It's looking great, Captain Obvious! Very nice with those decals on! I know what you mean about the last 10% taking forever but don't worry about that -- you're getting there! Thanks for the encouragement crackerjazz! I know I'll get there... eventually. haha Edited February 7, 2018 by CaptainObvious Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 2 hours ago, CaptainObvious said: Joel, There are four! Capt. Ovvious I have the dark brown. Is there a significant difference between the two Browns? Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 (edited) 21 hours ago, Joel_W said: Capt. Ovvious I have the dark brown. Is there a significant difference between the two Browns? Joel Hi Joel, Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to compare them in actual use. The colors look plenty different in the bottles though. Edited February 8, 2018 by CaptainObvious Added picture Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skuki Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 21 hours ago, Joel_W said: Capt. Ovvious I have the dark brown. Is there a significant difference between the two Browns? Joel Yes, they are pretty different, for different effects. I don't think that the dark brown is a light brown simply darkened with black. You shoud get both, you'll find it useful for different effects And great, clean work so far. Makes me wanna continue mine... Thanks for the grey wash pic. I avoid it since I thought it was too light Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 1 hour ago, skuki said: Yes, they are pretty different, for different effects. I don't think that the dark brown is a light brown simply darkened with black. You shoud get both, you'll find it useful for different effects And great, clean work so far. Makes me wanna continue mine... Thanks for the grey wash pic. I avoid it since I thought it was too light Skuki Just might do that. joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Never wrong with a Kitty!!! Good job! I like also the Tamiya panel wash;I've also mixed the different bottle to create a darker brownish grey and an intermediate brown: If someone take a look at my Mystere here in the forum,can see the grey on the belly and the medium brown on the upper camo. Hope for a green wash in the future! Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 2 hours ago, kurnass77 said: Never wrong with a Kitty!!! Good job! I like also the Tamiya panel wash;I've also mixed the different bottle to create a darker brownish grey and an intermediate brown: If someone take a look at my Mystere here in the forum,can see the grey on the belly and the medium brown on the upper camo. Hope for a green wash in the future! Gianni Gianni, I just took another look, and yes indeed the bottom recessed panel lines are definitely a different shade, yet both are dark enough so that they look like what they really are; seams between to panels where the sun doesn't shine. Nicely done my friend. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 If I may, Of the thousands of times I loaded Sparrows and Phoenix's during my years in Tomcats, I've never seen one with a grey radome. They were usually off white (a dirty white) or occasionally a very very very light radome tan color. GW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted February 9, 2018 Author Share Posted February 9, 2018 9 hours ago, GW8345 said: If I may, Of the thousands of times I loaded Sparrows and Phoenix's during my years in Tomcats, I've never seen one with a grey radome. They were usually off white (a dirty white) or occasionally a very very very light radome tan color. GW Of course GW! Thank you very much for the information. It was not too late to make corrections and I did so promptly. They still need a flat coat though. I wonder why Tamiya's instruction called out for XF-19 sky gray? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 (edited) I never understood why instructions say to paint the radomes grey, I've never seen a photo (or one in person) that shows them that color. Your missiles look great, just one more small detail you can do, the back end (exhaust plug) of the Sparrows will be the same brown color that you have on the Phoenix exhaust. For Sidewinders, a dark tan (model masters radome tan FS 33613 or dark tan FS 30219 is perfect) would be the color of the exhaust plug on the back for live missiles. Again, great work on your Tomcat, reminds me of the real thing. (I did two deployments with CVW-8 and remember VF-84 had a bird painted up like the one you are doing). GW Edited February 10, 2018 by GW8345 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Capt, Obvious Super correction and attention to details as they become available. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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