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1/32 Tam.Spitfire "Kicked Up A Notch" Dec 20/18 DONE!!


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November 8/18

 

Thanks again Guys.

 

I've started to paint the insignias and so far, so good, with my fingers crossed.  I will show the painting procedure later when I'm done, but while each color dries, I thought I would finish off the landing gear.  As mentioned earlier, I added the long steel rod that goes to the upper vent screw and after painting, I scratch made the brake lines with electrical wire, replacing the kit plastic parts which are crude and not very convincing.  The Barracuda resin wheels were painted dull aluminum (personal choice over grey) and the tires with flat black, lightened a bit to replicate fading and wear.  The oleo was painted with gloss black followed by Alclad Chrome, rather than use bare metal foil, which is a bit too bright for this weathered warbird.  The white decal strips in the kit used on the tires and wheels to detect slippage, were replaced with red decal strips instead, because I found that color to be more commonly used.  I then applied a light wash, followed by Tamiya semi-gloss clear lacquer which, despite it's label, is much duller than you'd think and looks more realistic than Tamiya dull coat for this particular purpose.  Finally, I applied Tamiya "Oil Stain" pastels to the tires, which give them a bit of a dusty look.  FYI, the metallic heads along the sides of the gear leg should have a bit of a gap between the leg and the gear door cover, because they are trying to replicate an assembly with large heads and a thin bolt, which you can barely see in real life.  As a result, I didn't bother creating new ones

 

Now the pics- and please excuse the finger marks and dust bits which rub off....

 

Z3vi0z.jpg

 

PRaDPC.jpg

 

LNulgV.jpg

 

Modifying the rear wheel/tire the way I did earlier made the painting easier and the axle more realistic as well.

 

X9oFW4.jpg

 

f1Bwmh.jpg

 

That is all until the insignias and code letters are completed, which will likely be another week due to successive drying times.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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Thanks guys!

 

Something I should have mentioned is that while I used Tamiya clear semi-gloss on the landing gear, I used Tamiya flat on the tires and wheels.  In many pics I have of the wheels, the aluminum (or grey paint) is very dull and a bit rough.

 

As Steve confirmed, Tamiya clear semi-gloss lacquer (TS-79) should be called “semi-flat” instead and for many applications, it looks better than the flat version (TS-80).

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

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40 minutes ago, chuck540z3 said:

Thanks guys!

 

Something I should have mentioned is that while I used Tamiya clear semi-gloss on the landing gear, I used Tamiya flat on the tires and wheels.  In many pics I have of the wheels, the aluminum (or grey paint) is very dull and a bit rough.

 

As Steve confirmed, Tamiya clear semi-gloss lacquer (TS-79) should be called “semi-flat” instead and for many applications, it looks better than the flat version (TS-80).

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

 

Chuck are you decanting that lacquer?

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5 minutes ago, Mr Matt Foley said:

 

Chuck are you decanting that lacquer?

 

 

Yes sir.  For those who haven’t decanted paint from a spray can, the procedure is really simple:

 

Find a clean tube at least 3/8” wide.  In a well ventilated location using a respirator,  spray the paint through the tube into a paint jar, using your other hand with a rubber glove to hold the jar steady.  Allow plenty of room for the gasses to escape and fill the jar to about half way.  While there is often some overspray, it’s usually minimal and as the pressure drops from the can to the atmosphere, the paint will become quite cold.  Cover the paint jar but don’t tighten the lid and set it aside, because the paint needs to degas for about 24 hours before you use it.  At this stage the paint is quite volatile, so don’t shake it!

 

After 1 day, add more thinner to your liking, because the paint will be too thick to spray without it.  For Tamiya lacquers, I use their synthetic lacquer thinner in a 60/40 ratio of paint to thinner and it sprays beautifully.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

 

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3 hours ago, chuck540z3 said:

 

 

Yes sir.  For those who haven’t decanted paint from a spray can, the procedure is really simple:

 

Find a clean tube at least 3/8” wide.  In a well ventilated location using a respirator,  spray the paint through the tube into a paint jar, using your other hand with a rubber glove to hold the jar steady.  Allow plenty of room for the gasses to escape and fill the jar to about half way.  While there is often some overspray, it’s usually minimal and as the pressure drops from the can to the atmosphere, the paint will become quite cold.  Cover the paint jar but don’t tighten the lid and set it aside, because the paint needs to degas for about 24 hours before you use it.  At this stage the paint is quite volatile, so don’t shake it!

 

After 1 day, add more thinner to your liking, because the paint will be too thick to spray without it.  For Tamiya lacquers, I use their synthetic lacquer thinner in a 60/40 ratio of paint to thinner and it sprays beautifully.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

 

 

If I may add something to this post.

Here's what I do and, Chuck is correct, this is so simple to do. Go to the craft store and get some small glass bottles. I take the spray nozzle off of the can I want to decant. Here's the important step, DO NOT SHAKE THE CAN PRIOR TO DECANTING IT !!  You only want the paint, not the aerosol. I use a Testor's pipette because it fits the opening of the spray nozzle, when cut properly. The Tamiya nozzles have a small blue piece in them, get a pair of flat billed pliers and grab onto that blue part that sticks out past the nozzle, it should pop out with a good pull. Next, cut the bulb end off the pipette and cut small pieces off the tapered end until it fits tightly into the area that the blue part came out of. Now get a scrap rag and insert the tube into your glass jar. Cover the opening as much as you can with the rag and spray the paint into your glass jar. Keep spraying until the spray can is empty. The glass jar will get cold and frosty until the paint warms back up to room temperature. The paint will bubble for a while and like Chuck said, DO NOT SCREW THE GLASS JAR LID ON TIGHT OR SHAKE IT !! Time varies on how long it takes to stop bubbling but, generally 12 to 24 hours is sufficient. Remove the tube from the nozzle and clean everything up with lacquer thinner, as soon as your done decanting and, you can reuse this again and again.

One more important part, make sure the lid to your glass jar does not have a plastic coated seal in it. Your decanted paint will attack the seal and it will end up in your paint. I remove the seal from the lid and use Aluminum foil squares to seal it up. Whenever I use the paint before I put the lid back on I also use a fresh square of foil and, label the jar.

 

Steve

 

IMG_6210_zps4padrje3.jpg

 

IMG_6209_zpswf6gurbs.jpg

 

IMG_6211_zpstogtshxp.jpg

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Another way...

I use a pipette also, but found that, cut just right, it will fit snugly over the part sticking out of the Tamiya spray nozzle. Then I have some of that plastic wrap that is tacky, called Press'n Seal cling wrap from Glad, and I wrap some over the opening of a glass paint bottle and the cut a slit in it about 1/2 to 2/3" long. Insert the end of the pipette into the slit and start spraying. When I have enough paint in the bottle I remove the pipette leaving the plastic wrap on it. The slit allows the gases to escape so I just let it sit for a few hours until it has outgassed completely. Clean up the pipette with lacquer thinner and you're all done. The nice thing about the Press'n Seal wrap is that it doesn't seem to react to the paint. Don't know if it would work with regular plastic wrap.

Ack, didn't mean to hijack the thread.

Edited by Mstor
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Thanks guys for your input and way better instructions than I gave.  If I can add one more thing, the core tube of “dog poop bags”, which is plastic and about 3/8” most of the time and is clean, works as well.   Spray away, then throw the tube in the garbage.

 

Having said all that, my dumbed down version works really well and takes about 45 seconds and I lose maybe 5% of the paint to overspray.  Also, I have one reservation with Steve’s method to not shake the can.  A lot of these paints have multiple colours in them that separate after decanting.  I want them mixed before I try to extract them, so I always shake the can vigorously.  Here’s a pic of decanted Tamiya olive green (left) I used on my P-38L that doesn’t look green at all (maybe red?) except on the bottom.    Initially I thought I got a bad batch of paint, but it turned out bang on for color after shaking.  Surprising to me at the time, but it convinced me that you need to shake and mix the colours.

 

Paintmask8.jpg

 

Sorry Steve.  You really should shake the can for some colours!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
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4 hours ago, A-10 LOADER said:

 

If I may add something to this post.

Here's what I do and, Chuck is correct, this is so simple to do. Go to the craft store and get some small glass bottles. I take the spray nozzle off of the can I want to decant. Here's the important step, DO NOT SHAKE THE CAN PRIOR TO DECANTING IT !!  You only want the paint, not the aerosol. I use a Testor's pipette because it fits the opening of the spray nozzle, when cut properly. The Tamiya nozzles have a small blue piece in them, get a pair of flat billed pliers and grab onto that blue part that sticks out past the nozzle, it should pop out with a good pull. Next, cut the bulb end off the pipette and cut small pieces off the tapered end until it fits tightly into the area that the blue part came out of. Now get a scrap rag and insert the tube into your glass jar. Cover the opening as much as you can with the rag and spray the paint into your glass jar. Keep spraying until the spray can is empty. The glass jar will get cold and frosty until the paint warms back up to room temperature. The paint will bubble for a while and like Chuck said, DO NOT SCREW THE GLASS JAR LID ON TIGHT OR SHAKE IT !! Time varies on how long it takes to stop bubbling but, generally 12 to 24 hours is sufficient. Remove the tube from the nozzle and clean everything up with lacquer thinner, as soon as your done decanting and, you can reuse this again and again.

One more important part, make sure the lid to your glass jar does not have a plastic coated seal in it. Your decanted paint will attack the seal and it will end up in your paint. I remove the seal from the lid and use Aluminum foil squares to seal it up. Whenever I use the paint before I put the lid back on I also use a fresh square of foil and, label the jar.

 

Steve

 

IMG_6210_zps4padrje3.jpg

 

IMG_6209_zpswf6gurbs.jpg

 

IMG_6211_zpstogtshxp.jpg

 

I buy those pippettes in a box of 1,000 for under $15.00. Don’t buy the Testors packages.

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45 minutes ago, Scooby said:

 

I buy those pippettes in a box of 1,000 for under $15.00. Don’t buy the Testors packages.

 

Where Gary, where?  Inquiring minds need to save money!  I love theTestors pipettes but not the price.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

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1 hour ago, chuck540z3 said:

 

Where Gary, where?  Inquiring minds need to save money!  I love theTestors pipettes but not the price.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

Lots on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_1?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A318125011%2Ck%3Apipettes+3ml&keywords=pipettes+3ml&ie=UTF8&qid=1541906774&rnid=2941120011

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5 hours ago, Scooby said:

 

I buy those pippettes in a box of 1,000 for under $15.00. Don’t buy the Testors packages.

 

Ok Gary you need to hook a buddy up 😁. Maybe bring a few to the meeting next week and I can pass you some cash. Can I have 5 or 6 please?

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Hey Chuck that is some sweet work on the landing gear. I can for sure use some of those tips on my 1/48th version. Also, thanks so much for the tips on the spray cans. I have started using the Tamiya AS series for my natural metal schemes but will look at some of the TS line especially the clears.

 

Also, I see there are two of the red tire slip marks on the tires. Is that normal for Spitfires or is that an RAF thing. Most times you see 1. Nice detail though.

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9 hours ago, skyhawk174 said:

Hey Chuck that is some sweet work on the landing gear. I can for sure use some of those tips on my 1/48th version. Also, thanks so much for the tips on the spray cans. I have started using the Tamiya AS series for my natural metal schemes but will look at some of the TS line especially the clears.

 

Also, I see there are two of the red tire slip marks on the tires. Is that normal for Spitfires or is that an RAF thing. Most times you see 1. Nice detail though.

 

Hi Chris,

 

If you decant the TS clears, make sure you thin them with Tamiya lacquer thinner (yellow cap) as well, in a 60/40 clear to thinner ratio.  

 

As for the tire slip tape, from what I can tell from wartime pics, there are no hardfast rules.  Sometimes there’s 2 bits of tape and it’s white (like kit instructions), sometimes red, sometimes 1 tape and I have some pics of tires with no tape at all.  I’m not home right now, but in a few days I’ll post a pic or two of the above for reference.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

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Chuck. since you are in Canada

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07F25SLLV/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

also I bought some of these for mixing Mr color

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000IFBFXI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

Edited by dylan
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