Red Dog Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 just found this one Steve, Great work on a great subject. Love your attention to detail. That's going to be a great Orion !! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 22, 2023 Author Share Posted July 22, 2023 5 hours ago, Red Dog said: just found this one Steve, Great work on a great subject. Love your attention to detail. That's going to be a great Orion !! Hey bud, welcome to the show and, thank you. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 28, 2023 Author Share Posted July 28, 2023 (edited) Since it took three coats of the white to get good coverage I got quite the step at the demarcation line. I did my best to try and spray away from the tape edge but, here we are. Some of the windows have abrasions on them as well as a heavy paint step and that's why everything is unmasked. I did a test of spraying some gloss clear on some extra clear to see what would happen. The gloss gave the clear part more shine and better clarity, similar to what future does for those that use it. I'm trying to build up the windshield panels so they are almost even with the paint edges and make everything more uniform. What I'm going to do now is to put some coats of gloss clear on the fuselage and carefully wet sand the line between the white and the gray, to knock that lip down, especially where the national insignia goes. The next coat of clear should blend everything together and then she'll be ready for decals. At that point she'll have to be put on hold until Caracal releases their EP-3 sheet. I hate to have to stop working on her but, I'll have no choice at that point. I will still have the props to figure out so I'll turn my attention to them at that point. The wings are not glued on yet. Steve Edited July 28, 2023 by A-10 LOADER Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 It looks nice with the paint, the step issues you have is not uncommon. That is why I always lay the white down first. I also use a inital coat of flat white as it covers better and then put a gloss finishing coat over it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 28, 2023 Author Share Posted July 28, 2023 12 hours ago, Trojan Thunder said: It looks nice with the paint, the step issues you have is not uncommon. That is why I always lay the white down first. I also use a inital coat of flat white as it covers better and then put a gloss finishing coat over it. Thanks TT. I usually always work light to dark with my colors but, in this case it was easier masking doing the gray first, especially at the base of the tail. I thought about using my white primer but, figured it would be hard to see the gloss white going down over it. I'll get there, it's just going to take some extra steps. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 (edited) Now that my AC-J is finished it's time to try and pick up where I left off on this one. Hated to put this aside but sadly, lack of decals has me at a stand still. I know I need to gloss coat the fuselage so I can sand down my ridge line between the gray and the white so the decals lay flat. Steve Edited February 7 by A-10 LOADER Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 Picked back up on the EP-3 today and things did not start well. I managed to hit the nose of the fuselage on the bench and the FE and the bulkhead came loose. 😡 Thankfully no antennas were damaged but really bummed those items came out. I did however manage to get the horizontal stabs glued on and next up will be the gloss coat so I can sand the ridge line where the gray and white meet. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 1 hour ago, A-10 LOADER said: Picked back up on the EP-3 today and things did not start well. I managed to hit the nose of the fuselage on the bench and the FE and the bulkhead came loose. 😡 Thankfully no antennas were damaged but really bummed those items came out. I did however manage to get the horizontal stabs glued on and next up will be the gloss coat so I can sand the ridge line where the gray and white meet. Steve Your turn huh Steve? 🤬 Fred. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 8 Author Share Posted February 8 I thought of you immediately Fred. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Da SWO Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 1 hour ago, A-10 LOADER said: Picked back up on the EP-3 today and things did not start well. I managed to hit the nose of the fuselage on the bench and the FE and the bulkhead came loose. 😡 Thankfully no antennas were damaged but really bummed those items came out. I did however manage to get the horizontal stabs glued on and next up will be the gloss coat so I can sand the ridge line where the gray and white meet. Steve Know the feeling. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 Since the bulkhead came out of the fuselage I needed something to "darken up" the cockpit area again. I cut a piece of foam and pushed it as far forward as I could, simple but effective fix. I still wish the flight engineer didn't fall out, he was very noticeable when you looked into the cockpit. We'll just say he's taking a bathroom break. 😁 Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 (edited) On 2/8/2024 at 2:19 PM, A-10 LOADER said: I thought of you immediately Fred. Steve 🤣 Nice save though! Fred. Edited February 9 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 On 2/9/2024 at 4:47 PM, f5guy said: 🤣 Nice save though! Fred. Thanks Fred. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 (edited) I managed to get the gloss coat on and carefully wet sand the ridge line between the white and gray with some 600. Worked out very well. I then gloss coated the entire fuselage, to include all the windows and the wings. Spraying over the glass worked out great and eliminated all the scratched up areas especially on the dome windows from rubbing on the sprues all those years. I really didn't think pics were necessary to include for this update. Sadly, she'll now sit, for a second time, while I wait for decals to see the light of day. 😞 No idea when this build will finally be finished ?? I thank everyone who's been following along up to this point. Steve Edited March 31 by A-10 LOADER Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Da SWO Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 13 hours ago, A-10 LOADER said: I managed to get the gloss coat on and carefully wet sand the ridge line between the white and gray with some 600. Worked out very well. I then gloss coated the entire fuselage, to include all the windows and the wings. Spraying over the glass worked out great and eliminated all the scratched up areas especially on the dome windows from rubbing on the sprues all those years. I really didn't think pics were necessary to include for this update. Sadly, she'll now sit, for a second time, while I wait for decals to see the light of day. 😞 No idea when this build will finally be finished ?? I thank everyone who's been following along up to this point. Steve Can you put the generic decals on while waiting for the Caracal sheet to come out? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 10 hours ago, Da SWO said: Can you put the generic decals on while waiting for the Caracal sheet to come out? The kit decals are no longer usable, as Hasegawa decals get they've yellowed and, I tested one in water and it just broke apart. Plus at this stage, I want to do all the decals at once and move on from there. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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