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


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14 hours ago, chuck540z3 said:

 

Hi John,

 

I try to do just one wet coat.  Multiple thin coats could orange peel, so like with any clear coat, get the surface nice and wet and then move on.  You can back track here and there where you might not have got enough on the surface to make it shine, but don't spray thin coats from a distance or it could "dust up" and be rough instead of smooth.  As mentioned before, thin it with Tamiya lacquer thinner, 60% X-22/ 40% thinner.  After it has dried for an hour or two, sand down any rough spots with fine sandpaper and re-shoot here and there as required.  Also, use a airbrush with a 0.3mm or larger needle, or the X-22 could clog and since you haven't used it before, try it on a test piece to get the hang of it.  Once you do you will never use Future/Pledge again.  Cleanup with lacquer thinner works better than Windex, probably due to the Tamiya synthetic lacquer thinner in the mix.

 

For big models, I sprayed one coat, sanded it, then sprayed a second coat just to be sure I got everything, like on my last Eagle build:

 

uiydll.jpg

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

Chuck,

 

Thanks to your tutorial over on LSP , I have been using the X22 exclusively. It works as advertised and I appreciate the tips on the wing root area because that is an area I have had to sand down. I have used Mr. Leveling Thinner with it and it worked very well. I also mist a small amount of the leveling thinner over the model immediately after the X22 coat and it seems to make the finish even smoother. One thing I did have happen, is that the "left over" thinned X22 that I saved has acquired a yellow tint. I will need to dump that. I am uncertain if that is due to the thinner being used or if that would happen when using Tamiya Lacquer thinner as well. Have you seen this happen?

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14 hours ago, Mstor said:

 

One trick that I learned with X-22 is that, if you notice some rough areas soon after spraying it, mist it with pure Mr Color Leveling Thinner and it will smooth out nicely. The thinner redissolves the X-22 and allows it to settle into a smooth finish.

 

4 hours ago, Mr Matt Foley said:

 

Chuck,

 

Thanks to your tutorial over on LSP , I have been using the X22 exclusively. It works as advertised and I appreciate the tips on the wing root area because that is an area I have had to sand down. I have used Mr. Leveling Thinner with it and it worked very well. I also mist a small amount of the leveling thinner over the model immediately after the X22 coat and it seems to make the finish even smoother. One thing I did have happen, is that the "left over" thinned X22 that I saved has acquired a yellow tint. I will need to dump that. I am uncertain if that is due to the thinner being used or if that would happen when using Tamiya Lacquer thinner as well. Have you seen this happen?

 

Well there you go, I just learned something from you guys.  This makes perfect sense, because I do the same thing by spraying straight Windex on on Future/Pledge as a "flash coat" to even things out.  I have both Mr. Leveling Thinner and Tamiya Lacquer thinner and I wouldn't be surprised if they are almost the same thing, so I suspect a flash coat of Tamiya lacquer thinner would do the same thing.  I'll give it a try sometime in the future.  Generally speaking, I use only Tamiya lacquer thinner for Tamiya products, because it's more likely to be compatible, including using it as a thinner for Tamiya putty.  It has the identical smell, so I bet it's the same stuff.

 

As for X-22 yellowing, no, I have not experienced that yet, but all my X-22 is relatively new so you never know.  FWIW, I have a jar of X-22 thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinner that's about a year old and it's still clear.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

 

 

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 Hi Chuck . Just saw your latest post about the Gunze thinner .

 Are you shooting with it or Tamiya yellow cap ?   I have acquired a preference for the  Gunze leveling thinner for all thing Japanese  myself.

 

 I do have both on hand.

 

 Cheers, Christian 

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5 hours ago, Chris L said:

 Hi Chuck . Just saw your latest post about the Gunze thinner .

 Are you shooting with it or Tamiya yellow cap ?   I have acquired a preference for the  Gunze leveling thinner for all thing Japanese  myself.

 

 I do have both on hand.

 

 Cheers, Christian 

 

He said he's using the Tamiya Lacquer thinner (yellow cap).

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On 12/1/2018 at 1:42 AM, Mr Matt Foley said:

. One thing I did have happen, is that the "left over" thinned X22 that I saved has acquired a yellow tint. I will need to dump that. I am uncertain if that is due to the thinner being used or if that would happen when using Tamiya Lacquer thinner as well. Have you seen this happen?

 

I've seen that happen Matt. it seems to happen over time once the bottle has been opened and you've added thinner to the bottle. I often just use generic GP thinners to thin the Tamiya X22 and that makes it go quite yellow.

 

I've sprayed the X22 when it's discoloured and it seems to perform just like a new bottle when sprayed. 

Edited by a4s4eva
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December 4/18

 

Like I always say near the end of every build, I'm running out of parts!  That can only mean that the Finish Line is CLOSE!

 

I leave navigation and other lights until the end of the build, because I'm afraid of bumping or painting them by mistake.  Spitfires have 5 of these lights, but the only clear parts that the Tamiya kit supplies are for the top and bottom of the fuselage.  The rear one on the rudder and the wingtips are straight plastic, which has been painted long ago.  I cut off the rear one on the rudder, then painted the face of it silver.

 

CrbEbp.jpg

 

I've wanted to use this gizmo for a long time, which is called "Bondic", which I've had in the stash for about 2 years.  Bondic is a thick, clear, glue-like substance that hardens under ultraviolet light.  Here's what it looks like, with the UV light on the right and the glue applicator on the left, under the black cap.

 

oPchHO.jpg

 

For details on this cool product, they have a good website here:

 

Bondic

 

I placed some Bondic on a piece of cardboard, then using a micro-brush with the brush removed, applied successive layers of the stuff to the rear light, until it built up into the light lens I was trying to create.  After applying the UV light to the Bondic, voila!  A new a very strong light that I don't have to glue.

 

3ee9gL.jpg

 

Using the same method, I applied a small amount to each wingtip light, then painted them red and greenish blue according to references.

 

yzVIa7.jpg

 

YsWJSP.jpg

 

I also used Bondic to create a red ball on the Barracuda canopy release handle, which is used to release the canopy in case of an emergency.  This will be glued to the front of the canopy when the red paint dries.

 

296EFj.jpg

 

Now the sad part:  I can't finish this Spitfire until I get a couple of parts that are still in the mail, like the vinyl stencils for the Serial Number and at least one surprise.  Thanks to the postal strike, there are mountains of mail in storage that may take weeks (months?) before they arrive, so this build is on ice until those parts land in my mail box.  Although I still have some antennae and other tiny parts like the rear view mirror to glue to this Spitfire, I leave you with just two teaser pics of how she turned out.  After attaching the cowlings, which fit better that I thought they would, I sprayed subtle exhaust staining and added other weathering touch-ups here and there, to make this Spitfire look as close to the real deal in WWII that I am able to create.  I have to say, I'm pretty happy with the end result, but I will have extensive close-ups of every angle of this model in due course, so thank you for your patience until that happens!

 

iJAvcj.jpg

 

92bV08.jpg

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

 

Edited by chuck540z3
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Looks just wonderful so far Chuck. Curious as to where your number stencils are coming from as I don't believe there is really much of a backlog when something came for me today that left Hong Kong on November 30th. I think it is more of a factor of where stuff is coming from. Stuff from Eastern Europe like Poland and Ukraine seem to take forever (over 6 weeks) but other things get here just fine.Hope you don't have to wait much longer...

Cheers

Bruce

Edited by RCAFFAN
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Thank you everyone!  Once I receive the parts, it will only take me a day or two to photograph it properly.  I don't want to put out a half-baked post with what I've got now and then edit it later, so it's better to wait.  I'll try to take pics of every angle, mostly close-ups and with the cowlings on and off.  In the meantime I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any.

 

1 hour ago, RCAFFAN said:

Looks just wonderful so far Chuck. Curious as to where your number stencils are coming from as I don't believe there is really much of a backlog when something came for me today that left Hong Kong on November 30th. I think it is more of a factor of where stuff is coming from. Stuff from Eastern Europe like Poland and Ukraine seem to take forever (over 6 weeks) but other things get here just fine.Hope you don't have to wait much longer...

Cheers

Bruce

 

 

Hi Bruce,

 

Great Britain- both parts and a book from the US that I ordered through Amazon on October 14.  The seller of the book is very understanding and if the book doesn't arrive by Dec 16th, I get my money back, even if the book arrives later.  Ya can't argue with that!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

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1 hour ago, chuck540z3 said:

Hi Bruce,

 

Great Britain- both parts and a book from the US that I ordered through Amazon on October 14.  The seller of the book is very understanding and if the book doesn't arrive by Dec 16th, I get my money back, even if the book arrives later.  Ya can't argue with that!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

I'm now thinking that certain workers in Western Canada (Vancouver) are more efficient than certain workers in Eastern Canada but that certainly couldn't be the case eh :whistle:

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Well, it's not looking good Chuck ... mail delivery, that is.  A local news web site is reporting that "There are around six million (undelivered) parcels sitting in trailers across Canada" & mail volume is currently "three times higher than this time last year".  I'm waiting on a order from Shapeways, but I'm not holding my breath.  Fingers crossed. 🙁

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6 minutes ago, JohnS said:

Well, it's not looking good Chuck ... mail delivery, that is.  A local news web site is reporting that "There are around six million (undelivered) parcels sitting in trailers across Canada" & mail volume is currently "three times higher than this time last year".  I'm waiting on a order from Shapeways, but I'm not holding my breath.  Fingers crossed. 🙁

 

Wow. I feel bad for you Canucks. Something like this is going to put a damper on the Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year holidays. Not to mention just standard day to day needs for medical patients, infrastructure, financial systems and other customers. I'm afraid here in the States Trump would do god only knows what to end it..........it would not be pretty.

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Meanwhile,

 

Chuck,  your Spit is another of your masterpieces. I was so impressed with the Maketar masks that I bought the set for the Tamiya P-51D and will give them a try when I finally build it.

 

As always, your techniques and skills do not go unappreciated. I learn so much but watching.

 

Eric

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4 hours ago, Mr Matt Foley said:

Meanwhile,

 

Chuck,  your Spit is another of your masterpieces. I was so impressed with the Maketar masks that I bought the set for the Tamiya P-51D and will give them a try when I finally build it.

 

As always, your techniques and skills do not go unappreciated. I learn so much but watching.

 

Eric

 

I always found marking masks fiddly to use, but worth it in the end as the results are usually much more realistic.

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5 hours ago, JohnS said:

Well, it's not looking good Chuck ... mail delivery, that is.  A local news web site is reporting that "There are around six million (undelivered) parcels sitting in trailers across Canada" & mail volume is currently "three times higher than this time last year".  I'm waiting on a order from Shapeways, but I'm not holding my breath.  Fingers crossed. 🙁

 

5 hours ago, Mr Matt Foley said:

 

I'm afraid here in the States Trump would do god only knows what to end it..........it would not be pretty.

 

Too bad we don't have one of your other former Presidents, Ronald Reagan, who fired 11,345 striking air traffic controllers in 1981 who had ignored an order to go back to work, and banned them from federal service for life. Our Prime Minister coddles everyone, so now the minority completely control the lives of the majority.  I work in the oil and gas industry, so my fellow Canadians can connect the dots of what I'm talking about, without letting this get too political and this thread in trouble.  Enough said.

 

 

5 hours ago, Mr Matt Foley said:

Meanwhile,

 

Chuck,  your Spit is another of your masterpieces. I was so impressed with the Maketar masks that I bought the set for the Tamiya P-51D and will give them a try when I finally build it.

 

As always, your techniques and skills do not go unappreciated. I learn so much but watching.

 

Eric

 

 

Thanks Eric, I try!   I have often been asked why I bother with these detailed WIP threads, because they are so much work- and they are!  I do them for the following reasons:

 

1)  Detailed pics of my build steps make me a better modeler.  I often find flaws in my super close-up pics which I cannot see with a casual glance.  If I do, I can usually fix it, then re-take the pic, with my model better off for the effort.

 

2)  Positive Feedback.  "Attaboys" are appreciated and for those who pretend they don't ever seek them, I'm calling "BUL&S%!T!".  In general, ours is a lonely hobby with the general public and we don't get much in the way of praise from friends and family, because they either don't understand it or they don't care.  Compliments from peers who do model and understand the challenges of the hobby are always welcome.

 

3)  Instructive Feedback.  Many of my builds have followers who know a lot more about the aircraft I'm building than I ever will.  A perfect example of this is Scott Wilson who supplied countless and very valuable pieces of information within my F-4E build, because he worked on the very jet I was building during the time frame in Germany that I was trying to replicate.  He also supplied many, many photographs of F-4E's that he took himself and he held my hand throughout the build.  That F-4E has been criticized in the past for being too dirty and too worn, but I know for a fact that it's fairly accurate, based upon Scott's input.

 

4)  I write for magazines.  My last 5 builds have made it into Fine Scale Modeler magazine and one book (3 front cover), because all of my build steps were photographed and documented, so writing a build article is relatively easy.  All I do is go over the key steps in my build thread and the article writes itself, because I've already done all the heavy lifting earlier.  BTW, my F-15C build will be in two back to back FSM magazines next fall, including front cover.  Some may turn up their nose at FSM, but I don't know of a modeling magazine with as wide of a distribution and there is no finer feeling in modeling than winning at a model contest or seeing your model on the front cover of a magazine at a book or grocery store.  Yes, I'm bragging, but I'm not very good at anything else I try (you should see my golf game  🙄), so it's nice to be better than average at something.

 

5)  I've learned a lot from other modelers, so it's nice to give back.  The really cool thing about this hobby is that I'm always learning something new, like the way I painted and weathered this Spitfire (a first), the painted insignia masks (a first), the wet transfer decals (a first) and using the Bondic pen to create clear Nav. lights (also a first), which all turned out really well.  As I try to instruct others about this stuff, I also learn a lot and sometimes I crash and burn.  For instance, I tried to mix the Bondic with clear red paint before attaching it to the port wingtip, so that I wouldn't have to paint it and it would look more natural.  Well, after hardening it with the UV light, it wouldn't harden very well due to the contamination of the paint.  If it HAD worked, however, I would have made a really good modeling discovery!

 

6)  It's fun!  Not all the time, but many times I'm torn between moving forward with the next build step or creating a new post.  The other part of the "fun" is photography.  My photographs are getting better and better with each build due to practice and trying new tricks, which has helped my general non-modeling photography immensely.

 

7)  I get to discuss non-modeling stuff sometimes.  On occasion, I'll post pics of my vacation or other things not related to the build, which I'm sure some may like while drive others crazy.  I don't do Facebook because I find it confusing and hard to navigate, so once in awhile I need a break from modeling and this forum works for that, as long as I keep it to a minimum.  I find that more interesting than some WIP threads where the originator quotes and responds to every single response, which can go on for many pages before you see another pic of plastic.  And that, gentlemen, is why I don't do the same thing, but "to each their own".  I read every response, I appreciate every response, but unless you have a specific question (which I always try to answer), I don't respond to every post because it will clutter the thread more than I am with other junk already!

 

Now that this build is almost at it's end, I have thought long and hard on what my next subject will be.  I usually do a jet after a prop (CF-18B, P-51D, F-4E, P-38L, F-15C, Spitfire Mk IX), and I've never built one of these, which has always caught my eye.  On my P-38L and this Spitfire, I have laid down a very smooth gloss black finish, only to cover it up with Alclad.  Not this time!  I understand that Kitty Hawk has released a pretty good 1/32 kit much better than the old Hasegawa one in my stash with raised panel lines, but I'm finding decals hard to find.  I have ordered 2 sets of the Furball F-5E "TopGun" decals, but they don't have these exact markings, so I may need to do my first "Whatif".  If you guys know of any good decals or aftermarket stuff for this kit, bring it!  Like all of my builds when I start them, I know next to nothing about the subject or the kit.  See, I'm posting non-Spitfire stuff again!

 

                                                       "A MIG 28!  Nobody's Been This Close Before!"

 

kuXOoN.jpg

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

 

Edited by chuck540z3
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7 hours ago, chuck540z3 said:

4)  I write for magazines.  My last 5 builds have made it into Fine Scale Modeler magazine and one book (3 front cover), because all of my build steps were photographed and documented, so writing a build article is relatively easy.  All I do is go over the key steps in my build thread and the article writes itself, because I've already done all the heavy lifting earlier.  BTW, my F-15C build will be in two back to back FSM magazines next fall, including front cover.  Some may turn up their nose at FSM, but I don't know of a modeling magazine with as wide of a distribution and there is no finer feeling in modeling than winning at a model contest or seeing your model on the front cover of a magazine at a book or grocery store.  Yes, I'm bragging, but I'm not very good at anything else I try (you should see my golf game  🙄), so it's nice to be better than average at something.

 

FSM has its niche in the industry. Before the internet, I found it very useful in my builds, maybe not as much today, but it is a magazine to peruse on occasion. The other thing about FSM is that the publication is incredibly supportive of the hobby in the US. Most will say "go figure" but the rest of American media largely turns a blind eye to the hobby.

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Chuck,

 

Outstanding work.   Kinda run out of words to describe the quality of this build so I'll have to keep it short and sweet.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to post all these pics and provide such detailed descriptions.  Also, thanks for taking time to walk me through the finer points of using X-22.   It's really made a huge difference in my current Corsair build and I'll be using it exclusively in the future (no pun intended).   I wasn't sold on this stuff until I read your detailed post on glosscoats above. 

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