Kinetic 1/48 F/A-18C VFA-151 In-Progress

[ESzczesniak]

I started preshading with Tamiya XF-69 NATO black.  I don't always love pre-shading effects, but this is going to be under a lot of layers of paint and this adds some depth here.  For most of this work at this point, I switch over to the 0.15 mm needle in my H&S Infinity, instead of the 0.4 mm "general purpose". 

 

 

After this, I add a course mottled pattern in the same XF-69 using some photoetch templates.  These are from Uschi Van Der Rostern, but there are a handful available including art supply stores made from heave card board.  This set has 3 sizes of the effect, and I'm using the large one here.

 

 

I use Tamiya paints as much as possible.  I find the availability her int he USA (Mr. Color often needs to come from oversears) combined with the way it sprays when thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner is hard to beat.  And they are nice thin coats, which is very valuable for painting like this happening in several layers.  However, this means I need to mix my own paints for a decent amount.

 

I start with an app called iModelKit.  This has a paint mixing utility that helps match paints well.  The samples in the app include FS numbers, major paint brands, and some others.  They are digital samples and appears they are good for RGB (which is how most monitors work), but not so good for light/dark.  So the hue I got from the app was great, but it was too dark.  Accuracy depends a little on how may different colors you are willing to use and how many "parts".  This can be very tedious if you're counting drops or using drug store eye droppers.

 

So I use this little contraption.  This is a microliter pippette (100 uL - 1,000 uL in this case).  They're used in laboratories to measure volume accurately, but are easily available on amazon.  They have accuracy depending on their advertised volume typical down to about 1 to 5 thousandths of a milliliter, so are accurate and reproducible.  They has disposable tips to switch between colors, etc.

 

 

The mix I got out of this app for FS 36375 is 12 parts XF-19: 9 Parts Tamiya XF-77: 7 parts XF-25: 1 part X-17.  As mentioned already, this was a good hue, but too dark.  So through some trial and error I found 1:1 of this mix and white matched the Model Master FS 36375 used on the intakes well.  Throughout the past I've found Model Master to generally be very high for color accuracy, they just don't spray as well for me.  So I tend to take these as a reference.  I don't care all that much if it matches the real FS chip perfectly as long as its close, since weathering will start the second the bird leaves the paint depot and it'll never look the same again.  These are the Model Master (right) and mixed batch (left) for comparison.

 

 

After all that rambling, this mix is then misted over the preshading.  I leave the preshading pretty blunt at this point, as there's still some more layering. 

 

 

Next up, using fine mottling templates, white is mottled on.  I hold these templates just a little off the surface to soften the edges a bit.  My last run through, I did this "stippling" on some white oils and white spirit thinner based on a modeler's technique I saw on Facebook.  This produced good results, but was rather tedious and oils tend to be thick.  This seems to have the same appearance at this stage and was much more efficient.  I also picked a few panels to fill in as all white.

 

 

The picture of this effect is a bit overexposed, but you get the idea at least.  This is as far as I am to date.  The next step I'll do is go over the panel lines again with Tamiya X-19 smoke, then "mottle in" the rest of the light ghost gray.  That should finish the bottom color, and then will do the same thing for the top. 

[ESzczesniak]

Just a short update today to "finish" the painting sequence.  It's by no means finished, but to give some idea of my plans to complete the first color.

 

As mentioned, I go over the panel lines again, this time with Tamiya X-19 Clear Smoke.  Since I don't want to spend forever building up this effect like I would for a weathering effect, I thin it less.  About 65-70% thinner compared to 80-90%.  I add a couple drops of flat base as well to knock down the gloss.  This is to keep it from showing up as much in the later steps and throwing off appearances just because of different gloss levels.  I focus a bit more on just the big panel lines and let this be a more broad effect.  I like X-19 hear, as the transparent color lets the underlying effects show through well, but highlight the panels some as well.

 

 

This is a close up view that I spent a little more time on exposure to give a fairly decent idea what this all looks like before the final color covering.

 

 

After this, I go back with thinned light ghost gray mix.  This is initially sprayed through a mottling template coarsely.  I don't spend a lot of time with the mottling template, but then start to go back over the airframe to fully fill this in.  I largely go panel-by-panel, but my real intent is to just focus on areas that need more toning down or blending.  I'm having a little it of a hard time getting the exposure and color composition to make the picture look true to life, but this is in the ball park of what it looks like after the first pass.  Compared to the picture, the effect in real life is a bit more muted and the contrast between colors in the finish is softer. 

 

 

I've only been through the rear portion of the jet up to the wings in this picture, and only once.  One very clear thing to keep in mind is that wet paint tends to dull the effect more than the final dry color will.  So I will load up the paint 2-3 times, going over the jet and looking for areas that are too bold and need a bit more over coat still. 

 

The real next step will be finishing the light ghost gray, then getting the top dark ghost gray on.  But still to come in terms of weathering (and general order) is masking/highlighting some select panels in slight lighter and darker shades, corrosion control touch up, panel line wash, and then area specific weathering (fluid leaks, dirt, hand prints, etc) still.

Edited April 9, 2020 by ESzczesniak

[The Underdog]

Excellent tutorial on both the construction and especially painting the model. Obviously,

you've done this before and it'll be interesting following this build process. I'm betting it

will be an amazing looking model when finished.

[Gonzales]

I can only copy The Underdog's comment. Excellent show in every aspect of modeling.

Keep it up.

 

Robert Jan

[Scooby]

Very nice work, I love work that is inspirational!

 

Having worked on Hornets for 8 years, I feel a great attachment when I see these builds.

[ESzczesniak]

Thank you all for the kind and encouraging words!

 

I'd love to say I have some more pictures and progress, but work continues on filling in the light ghost gray.  It makes it sound like a lot of work, but in reality just needs a few goes at it after paint has dried and you have a "fresh" picture in mind.  I think that should be done this afternoon/evening, and then work will start on masking and preparations for the top dark ghost gray.

[ESzczesniak]

Just one picture for tonight.  The light ghost gray is done.  Before what I think will be the final overcoat to address problem areas, I lightly sand the finish down with 3200 grit micromesh.  This is in effort to smooth out the paint for gloss.  Some of the misting steps and shading steps focus more on color and less on smooth "wet" coats, so there can be some mildly rough areas.  I do this now though, as it often may make a few areas a bit more bold.  So doing so now leaves a chance to address any areas this is an issue.  At the end of this session, I pull the foam out of the landing gear wells.  Usually there's a slight rough color demarcation that is easily touched up at this time with a index card held along the inside of the well and subtle airbrush directed from the outside.  I've found this to be a far more efficient means than perfect masking.  So here's how the bottom looks with effectively the "base coat" of color on. 

 

 

Not shown here are all the pylons landing gear doors, tanks, etc that have also been painted.  Luckily, most of these are completely done.  Just the airframe and top of the horizontal stabilizers for the dark ghost gray.

 

Next up will be masking and then the top dark ghost gray.  I'll probably have some lighter updates during this time, but anticipate nearish a weak of work.  Since most of the work is a repeat of this process, there's not a lot of news for a bit here.

Edited April 11, 2020 by ESzczesniak

[ESzczesniak]

I've been making my way through the top dark gull gray.  There's perhaps nothing earth shattering in this updated, but still maybe some small tips and tricks.  First up is masking.  When there are symmetric features that require specific geometry, I like to make a template first with an index card.  This is the case for the dark gull gray "blob" on the sidewalls that need to be sized to fit the NAVY text.  This allows me to make some adjustments without repeated peel-stick.  Once I get all the sizes, landmarks, etc correct, I trace it on to some Tamiya tape, flip it over for the other side, and I'm done.  During this step, I refer to the plan view on the decals and use a set of "dividers" to transfer sizes/distances from the model to the template.

 

 

Masking is otherwise straight forward:

 

 

Then the XF-69 pre-shading and mottling:

 

 

And this brings up my current struggle.  Matching dark ghost gray.  The mix I got out of my app is no good.  It seems the blue color seen in Model Master is hard to fully recreate.  With that said, dark ghost gray varies a lot in different lighting, and sometimes is barely discernible from light ghost gray.  So I searched the internet for some mixes. 

 

 

The top are the Model Master references and the bottom my LGG mix and what I thought was the winner for DGG (for reference XF-66:XF-54:XF-2 1:1:3).  So I sprayed this over the preshading.

 

 

Luckily the precise color doesn't matter much at this time.  So here is the white mottling and X-19 smoke shading:

 

 

And that's mostly where this stands today.  The dark ghost gray is proving to be a little challenging.  I was pretty happy with contrast between the two colors, mirroring many pictures that appears to show only a small difference between the two.  However, if you're doing low-viz markings, you really have to consider these.  On this scheme, the stencilling is a lighter gray, and the tail markings are a darker gray.  If you make the color two dark or light, one or the other will virtually disappear...and this would be heartbreaking this far in to a build.  So I'm currently struggling a little bit here, as it seems this mix was too light.  No harm at this point, as the major coat that matters will be the final top coat.  I'm currently "finishing" a horizontal stabilizer with a new mix (tentatively XF-66:XF-82:XF-2  1:1:2).  This is a bit more blue, and darker.  This decals were on clearance at Two Bobs, so I up a few sheets.  So fortunately, I an actually apply a sample of each color to the stabilizer to make sure they stand out appropriately, and then off to the races. 

[ESzczesniak]

I think this mix may be a winner.  When spray over the pre-shading it ends up lighter than on just an index card.  First, the contrast and appearance between my LGG and DGG mixes:

 

 

I'm very happy with the way they look together.  So next was a check on the markings.  I grabbed a spare NAVY from the sheet (light color), and a corner of the tail marking and the BuNo (should be the same dark color).  I just put these on over the flat paint, as this was just for a color check.

 

 

 

After the test, about 1-2 minutes after the decals had been laid on, I pulled them off with tape to avoid any issues with sticking too well to the stabilizer and messing up the paint.  I think I'm pretty happy with the balance here.  Perhaps it could be slightly lighter, but I think this is working in a fairly narrow margin given the two different grays and I'm happy here.  So over the next day or two, I'll finish the base colors and move on. 

[kurnass77]

Look great mate!

Nice progress!

 

Gianni

[The Underdog]

18 hours ago, ESzczesniak said:

I think this mix may be a winner.  When spray over the pre-shading it ends up lighter than on just an index card.

 

I'm very happy with the way they look together.  So next was a check on the markings.  I grabbed a spare NAVY from the sheet (light color), and a corner of the tail marking and the BuNo (should be the same dark color).  I just put these on over the flat paint, as this was just for a color check.

 

 

After the test, about 1-2 minutes after the decals had been laid on, I pulled them off with tape to avoid any issues with sticking too well to the stabilizer and messing up the paint.  I think I'm pretty happy with the balance here.  Perhaps it could be slightly lighter, but I think this is working in a fairly narrow margin given the two different grays and I'm happy here.  So over the next day or two, I'll finish the base colors and move on.

 

I think you're well on the way, with the two shades of Gray. They look pretty close to

the real-deal, especially with the decals applied for testing. What's really amazing is

how you can see the subtle pre-shading, you did before applying to top-coat. Gonna

make for a more realistic looking model when finished.

[ESzczesniak]

I've made some good progress.  The airframe is getting rather close to done and ready for gloss.  First up, I finished the top dark ghost gray as described on the bottom.  The fact that it was still a bit dark kept stirring in my mind, so I very lightly misted on some of my light ghost gray mix.  It was barely perceptible, but I think did lighten it a bit.

 

 

I've been trying to use a lot of reference, but one I have been leaning on heavily can be found here:

 

https://www.aviationphotocompany.com/p934046062/h80bf81d5#h80bf81d5

 

I linked the photo instead of embedding, because it is proprietary and copyrighted (this takes you to the "sales" page).  But as best I can tell from the markings and the extensive corrosion control seen on a couple airframes in this series, this seems to be VFA-151 right after their 2001 deployment.  And I'm very happy at this time with the grays compared to these photos.

 

Next up, I masked off some random panels.  About 4-5 on LGG areas, and another 4-5 on DGG areas.  These for the most part were kept random, but one fairly common theme on aircraft.  The radome is usually (perhaps always?) a composite instead of the metal skin, and therefore fades and weathers differently.  So they often look just a bit different.

 

 

 

I then sprayed about half the panels a lighter shade, and half a darker shade.  I'm still using my 0.15 mm tip and I have a 1 mL cup on this airbrush.  I usually fill it about half way.  To lighten, I usually add 2 or 3 drops of white.  Black seems to go further and I try for less than one drop (hard to gauge that when it's less).  I test spray on some card stock just to be sure it's a reasonable shade. 

 

And the end result, again with the goal to keep it subtle...

 

 

I then began masking some of the detail areas.  One tip I have here regards masking circular cone shaped areas such as the very tip of the nose.  Straight lines of tape tend to "buckle" on the concave side.  So if you're on the convex side, the tape will stretch a little, but not the case with the nose.  A way to overcome this is to cut thin circular strips.  I have a "Thinnerline" circle cutter that is great!  I've had the circle temples and compass type cutters, but neither has been as smooth and perfect a circle.  Meng has a version of this circle cutter that is $100, but this is the same thing (the original version in fact) and can be found on Amazon for about $30.  It is also loosely calibrated and cuts up to 5 cm (works well for most model applications.  Anyway, once these strips are done, they lay down very nicely over these curves. 

 

 

Another area that had some attention focused on it were the grills on the intake splitter plates.  These are the same LGG on the real aircraft, but the grill plate makes them look darker from most angles.  Eduard includes these as a mesh, but are very fiddly to include, and a wash was an option.  But the engraved detail is very light and I didn't think a wash was going to pick this area up well.  So I masked the grid pattern and then sprayed a darkened light gull gray.  I made sure to use this same LGG, as this should keep the same hue, but just look like a shadow.  So a different gray may not have conveyed this well.

 

 

So a little tour around the airframe with all the detail painting done.  On the nose, the gun plate (Alclad Magnesium), nose sensors (not sure the official name, just above the slime lights) (XF-19:XF-2 1:6), and very tip of the radome (Vallejo gull gray) have been painted.

 

 

On the spine, the blister sensors just aft the canopy (XF-19 straight), and sensor just after the antenna (lightened XF-19) were painted by brush).  These and the nose sensors appear on many airframes to be the same airframe color, but in the reference photos linked above, they appear to be a couple shades of gray and were thusly painted on this bird.

 

 

The rear rings around the burner cans were sprayed.  I prefer Alclad for most metalics due to the fine pigment, but didn't find a great out of the bottle match.  So I sprayed them Alclad dark aluminum first, then lightly misted magnesium to darken it a little.

 

 

And the CMS dispensors were sprayed Alclad burnt iron (also sprayed the AOA sensors and pitot tubes that are on the sprue at this time).  And the intake grid as discussed.

 

 

And the overall airframe...

 

 

As I've started making a habit of, a quick rundown of where this is going from here.  I will be adding at least some, probably most, of the corrosion control touchups now.  I need to figure out the colors a little bit.  They sure don't need to be any special mix, but I want to make sure they're not frighteningly contrasting.  After that the airframe will get a gloss coat.  While this dries for 48-72 hours before decaling, I will work on the detail painting of the landing gear and red edges of the landing gear doors.  I'll then add a gloss coat to these and put them aside while I start decaling.  So the next update will probably be details with the landing gear with decals starting early next weak probably. 

[The Underdog]

ES,

Thanks for the tip on the "Thinnerline" circle cutter. I've been shopping around trying to

find the right one, and have decided this is it.

 

The details you've done on the model lately are spectacular. Painting the certain areas

on the model, and selected panels slightly a different shade of color really highlights it

and completes the package. Liking the results you're getting with the Alclad paints.

[ESzczesniak]

21 minutes ago, The Underdog said:

ES,

Thanks for the tip on the "Thinnerline" circle cutter. I've been shopping around trying to

find the right one, and have decided this is it.

 

The details you've done on the model lately are spectacular. Painting the certain areas

on the model, and selected panels slightly a different shade of color really highlights it

and completes the package. Liking the results you're getting with the Alclad paints.

 

Thank you for the compliments!

 

I may have spoken in error, I think I had to order the cutter from the manufacturer.  Not Amazon.

 

http://www.shadowhobby.com/tlcc-000-thinnerline-circle-cutter.html

 

Either way, I'm sure you'll find its the best way to cut circles in masking tape.  I used to dread having to do it, but not so much now.  I usually lay the tape on a small sheet of glass (from a cheep 5x7 picture frame), as it looses less tack.  But cutting matts work well too. 

[The Underdog]

8 minutes ago, ESzczesniak said:

 

http://www.shadowhobby.com/tlcc-000-thinnerline-circle-cutter.html

 

Either way, I'm sure you'll find its the best way to cut circles in masking tape.  I used to dread having to do it, but not so much now.  I usually lay the tape on a small sheet of glass (from a cheep 5x7 picture frame), as it looses less tack.  But cutting matts work well too. 

 

Thanks for the information and the link to Shadow Hobby. Getting extra blades as well.

Looking forward to the next installment on your progress, with this model.

[ESzczesniak]

Onwards with some progress.  I used a couple of out of the bottle grays that were similarish, but lighter to each ghost gray for corrosion control touch ups.  I kept this fairly restrained on the top, particular since most of the airframes in my reference portfolio seems to show this group of aircraft with mildish corrosion control (except for one airframe).  Certainly other squadrons and times were far more extensive!

 

 

The gray I thought would look good on the light ghost gray was FAR too light, but I oversprayed with some LGG mix, and this worked perfectly to tone this down.  The major areas around the light ghost gray seems to be the avionics access panels around the front of the aircraft. 

 

 

The airframe was then gloss coated.  I used Tamiya X-22 with 60-70% Mr. Color Leveling Thinner.  I do a little prep for spraying gloss coats.  I change the liner paper in the spray booth to get rid of all the dust.  I clean the airbrush well.  And while for some fine work, I forego the spray booth and respirator, a good gloss generates a lot of overspray, so both the respirator and spray booth go on.  I spray a lightish "mist" coat that dries for 2-3 minutes, then one wet coat.  With the Tamiya X-22, I find I get a good one session gloss coat for washes/decals.  I used to use Alclad Aquagloss, but found I needed 2, sometimes 3 sessions to get an equivalent level of gloss.  And this built up to a pretty thick layer of paint.  This is one place I also find a way to hold the airframe so I can spray everything.  Most of the color coats are either top or bottom, leaving you a place to hold that's not being painted.  But not with the gloss, I find it hard to spray half, then later another half.  It's always a little orange peel around the joining area.  So in this case, I used dowel rods in the exhausts, and when not spraying, held this to the table with a clamp to dry.

 

 

This is drying now, so I painted up the landing gear.  Not much to say hear.  I got the metallic colors on the oleas, and a couple steel bands seen on the hornets MLG.  I know some people prefer to do oleos after final flat coat to keep a high sheen, but most of the pictures I see look a little dull and oily.  So I do these know before weathering where it's easier to touch up.  I can always add gloss later. 

 

 

I also painted the red edges of landing gear doors. I used to mask and airbrush these, but found I was doing so much touch up that I might as well brush paint them.  Much more efficient with roughly equivalent results. 

 

 

And everything gloss coated waiting a little bit to dry before decals...

 

[ESzczesniak]

I also started to work a bit more on the pilot.  I am not good at figures, but trying to get better so they don't detract from the final product.  First and foremost, I have realized that no "flesh" paint I have seen every seams even close.  They are too pale and pink.  Guess paint color makers must not go out in the sun very much.  So I stripped off the old Vallejo "flesh" and sprayed Tamiya Buff. 

 

 

 

I can not find a brush or pin small enough to paint 1/48 figure's eyes and mouth.  So I settle for making these too large to start.  A little white with an iris/pupil for the eyes, and a little pink added to the buff for the lips.  Bear in mind with me, each figure I do is getting betterish, but this is all still testing the waters. It looks a little scary right now...

 

 

I think shrink these areas down from the outside with more Tamiya Buff...

 

 

And now I'm going to try the figure painter's "oil shading".  I've added white to highlights.  Tips of the nose and chine, cheek bones, etc.  And some raw sienna to the dark areas. 

 

 

At first I tried blending these with a 10/0 small brush.  This didn't work so well, so I brought out an 0 brush and this worked much better.  The white seemed to over power the raw sienna, so in an almost dry brushing fashion...I brushed most of the brush and then lightly worked in the recesses (instead of high points like dry brushing).

 

This is where he stands currently.  Unfortunately a bit out of focus, but it's starting to be acceptable I think.  Won't win any awards, but since a lot of the tutorials I'm reading for 1/35 figures have advocated for flesh color, dry brush, wash and done...this may not be bad.

 

 

I think from here I might light drybrush for the highlights and the gloss coat the face to protect it.  Then finish painting the flight suite, seat, etc.  So far it might be my best figure face, but that's not saying much!

[speedlimit]

 

Eszczesniak,

 

Very nice progress specially painting. I was just wondering if you are building the C hornet where you have the pair of AN/ALQ-165 antennas on top fuselage. Do you have plans of taking out the pair of AN/ALR-67 under the fuselage near the chaff dispensers? Just an observation.

[ESzczesniak]

9 minutes ago, speedlimit said:

 

Eszczesniak,

 

Very nice progress specially painting. I was just wondering if you are building the C hornet where you have the pair of AN/ALQ-165 antennas on top fuselage. Do you have plans of taking out the pair of AN/ALR-67 under the fuselage near the chaff dispensers? Just an observation.

Thank you for the compliments! It’s sounding as if you could educate me a little right now. 
 

The instructions listed the “blisters” by the CMS dispensers as a defacto installed for all versions. Then the top pair they listed as optional. I found reference photos that these should be installed, but photos of the underside are harder to come by for specific airframes. 
 

I’m no Hornet expert, but if I’m understanding what you’re saying...it would be one of these blisters or the other, not both?

 

Although my one quick google search says one is RWR and one is a jammer. So I would expect both to be installed? 

 

Unfortunately, either way at this point, I don’t think I have the heart to remove the blisters underneath by the dispensers. One down side of all these layers of paint is that it doesn’t patch well. But I would definitely be interested to know what’s supposed to be going on here. 

Edited April 18, 2020 by ESzczesniak

[speedlimit]

A and B legacy hornets have the bottom antennas and none on top while C and D hornets would have the pair on top and shaved the ones on the bottom.

 

 Cheers.

[ESzczesniak]

Thanks for the Information. If I had know at the time, I would have removed them. Unfortunately the kit instructions led me astray. 

[speedlimit]

16 minutes ago, ESzczesniak said:

Thanks for the Information. If I had know at the time, I would have removed them. Unfortunately the kit instructions led me astray. 

ES, 

You can still carefully sand it, prime and paint that area. Also check the jet you are making. Might not have the IFF bird slicer in front.

Edited April 18, 2020 by speedlimit

[ESzczesniak]

46 minutes ago, speedlimit said:

ES, 

You can still carefully sand it, prime and paint that area.

Unfortunately I don’t think I have the heart to do that. Whenever I’ve tried similar things at this stage in the build, I’ve never gotten this to blend well. 
 

Still, I have a couple more Hornets in the pile, so I appreciate knowing this for the future. 

[speedlimit]

3 minutes ago, ESzczesniak said:

Still, I have a couple more Hornets in the pile, so I appreciate knowing this for the future. 

ES,

 

Let me know if you are building any legacy in the future. I might be able to help some research for your build.

 

Eric

[ESzczesniak]

1 minute ago, speedlimit said:

ES,

 

Let me know if you are building any legacy in the future. I might be able to help some research for your build.

 

Eric

 

I appreciate that.  In the known for sure is an Academy 1/32 bird (markings TBD), Blue Angels, and a CF-188 bird.  I suspect the 1/32 would be the biggest factor here.  Perhaps the BA bird, but those are pretty early C's I think, and a lot of pictures around from all angles.