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1/72 Hasegawa F-14D VF-31 Sunset


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Thank you. I have finally moved onto priming and painting. I recently discovered silly putty and I am loving it. For those of you interested here is a link I found through our club TRIPMS' facebook page (thank you guys!)

Silly putty

I like this because it is much more malleable than blutack. Bends nicely and is great for masking wheel wells and similar areas.

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Similar to the tutorial above, after filling the space with silly putty, I work the putty towards the edges and press it against the well edges using a wooden piece. Clean masking edges is easy to obtain this way.

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Prior to priming, I cleaned the whole model using 409. After this point, I handle the model with latex gloves or a piece of eye glass cleaning cloth:

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Surfacer 1200 thinned with a mix of Mr. Hobby leveling thinner and Tamiya lacquer thinner. This was a fairly thin coat, as I was not looking to get full saturation. After it dried, I went over the surfaces with a cotton cloth to iron out any gritty areas:

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Masking with silly putty:

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Edited by Janissary
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And finally onto painting… I used Gunze H308 (FS 36375) and Gunze H337 (FS 35237). I was thinking to use 36320 as well but decided not to as the contrast between 308 and 337 is already hard to see. Even though Guzne paints are naturally semi gloss, I further add Tamiya clear gloss to the airbrush mix to get even more sheen. This creates a much smoother finish (or so I think) and I get to enjoy the panel lines a little bit more compared to a flat finish.

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Top surface 337. So far the panel lines look ok to me, hopefully the effort will be worth it.

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To my slight displeasure, I have observed Gunze 337 to be significantly different than the FS 35237 I see on TPS schemes. TPS scheme dark grey has a much more bluish hue to it. Gunze is simply a dark grey! HEre is one example:

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Believe it or not, I don't have any acrylic blue paints. I might just use Tamiya clear blue to tint the grey up a liitle during post shading.

I am interested to hear whether you agree with me on Gunze 337. I think it is not a good match to the real thing.

Contrast between 308 and 337. For some reason, 308 did not come out as light as I expected it to. Maybe I will add a little bit of white and repaint 308. It is too dark in my opinion (also see the belly shot above):

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A few other bits and pieces. Gas bags randomly masked off and painted off-color, I hope that to serve as an interesting (albeit inaccurate) base for some post shading. Wheels painted as follows: Tamiya white primer > Tamiya gloss white > masked off with parafilm > Tamiya semi-gloss black > dark grey oil wash.

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Edited by Janissary
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Not satisfied with the results, I took the plunge and bought the Silhouette Portrait cutter...

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Just curious; how did you transfer the shape/size of the canopy/windshield onto the Silhoutte software? Thanks in advance.

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This is a great tip. I like how you ended up with a subtle darker grey demarcation line. :cheers:/>/>

Thank you JackMan.

Just curious; how did you transfer the shape/size of the canopy/windshield onto the Silhoutte software? Thanks in advance.

There are a few mask images online I tapped into. Using one as a backdrop (very low-res pixel image actually), I used the software's bezier tool to create closed vector loops by tracing the lines. Note that the middle section can actually be done trivially; you can just take a head-on picture on the model of the middle section using a camera (not too close to prevent perspective distortion), and then used that image to trace the curves on the software. For sizing, I measured a characteristic length (the length of the middle section) on the model using a pair of compass, and measured that with my micrometer. Then I created a simple straight line of that length on the software and scaled up the whole graphic until the middle section's drawing matched the length of the line.

Some trial cuts were necessary, so I used that feedback to make adjustments also.

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Your really making some great progress. I picked up on your use of Silly Putty over any of the Blue Tacs. I've never been able to get any shade or manufacture's Blue Tac to stick well enough for masking other then on a flat and level surface. From what I remember about Silly Putty, that shouldn't be an issue. Also, I never gave the use of #000 Steel Wool for sanding a 2nd thought. I have a few bags of the stuff I use for furniture refinishing. Looking forward to your next update.

Joel

Edited by Joel_W
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I had missed this build...

Wow! I will follow very closely as I have several more Hasegawa Tomcats in my stash and this one is looking to become a great piece!

One question: how easy is it to remove silly putty from complex cavities as wheel wells?

/Kristian

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Thank you guys.

One question: how easy is it to remove silly putty from complex cavities as wheel wells?

/Kristian

I've found silly putty to behave similar to blutac when it comes to removing it from plastic. If there is residue, a small ball of SP easily picks up the excess. So, it's not messy. However, I don't have experience with SP that has been sitting for too long, so hopefully what I observed with my simple tests will prove valid at the end.

I have since continued with painting. As I described above, I did not like how h337 came out. So I added a little bit of Tamiya clear blue to the base color and repainted the dark gray. Next, I applied a little bit of post-shading to the entire model. Base colors were lightened and darkened using white and XF-63 respectively, thinned more than usual, and applied with a fine airbrush with the diffuser off. Once done, I applied a layer of heavily thinned H307 at the top and H308 at the bottom to blend the colors and subdue the post-shading effect.

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I am now thinking about the next steps in shading. I may pick out a few panel lines here and there with a dark color and for some of those, go over with a lighter color to simulate touch-ups. Well, this assumes I still have the drive to do so :)/>/> Will see, I don't have a concrete plan yet...

Edited by Janissary
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I really like your post shading. I just tried that every effect on a F4B, but I went lighter then the base Light Gull Gray, and I can hardly see the effect. You also went darker, and I'm going to try that today. Looking forward to your next up date.

Joel

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Thank you Joel. Well, my post-shading is actually not very realistic. I'd say it is a little overdone and way too uniform. I'd need to focus on spot-painting to break the monotonic look. Not sure I will, but at least this is what I think about the current look. I like your F-4 build. All these academy builds make me want to get the academy F-4C. It' hard to resist the urge.

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This is a fantastic paint job from a technical point of view but I think it looks a bit too much like a german WWII mottled camo. AS you say, it is too uniformly distributed. In particular the lower surfaces are often much less worn than the upper surfaces. Maybe you could add some black marks where the maintenance people would walk and some corrosion control marks along the panel edges.

Keep up the good work,

Arnaud

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Thank you Joel. Well, my post-shading is actually not very realistic. I'd say it is a little overdone and way too uniform. I'd need to focus on spot-painting to break the monotonic look. Not sure I will, but at least this is what I think about the current look. I like your F-4 build. All these academy builds make me want to get the academy F-4C. It' hard to resist the urge.

I'm planning on buying the Academy F4C later this year, and now I hear that they're releasing a E late this year. Talk about getting max mileage out of a kit, but it sure works for me. And thank you for your so kind words on my F4B build. It's my 1st jet since returning to modeling almost 4 years ago.

Joel

Edited by Joel_W
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  • 1 month later...

Thank you Arnaud, Joel.

I am plowing through. Here are a few updates.

Little parts take the most time masking:

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I used Tamiya liquid surface primer to create the rough texture on the walkways. I should have had four blocks of panels here, made a mistake. Hopefully not too noticeable:

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I use parafilm for most of these kinds of masking:

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Painting the metallic edge of the lower intakes. I used spongy ear plugs to protect the intakes.

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I have found silly putty to be great for masking the larger spray areas once the detail masking is complete. It is very malleable hence works great for around difficult shapes.

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Gun panel painted with a mix of Alclad stainless steel and polished aluminum:

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Various bits and pieces. Lots of inaccuracies introduced: The actual arrestor hook is not striped like this, it is mono-color. Lo-viz scheme I am building does not have the felix on the gas bags, I added for visual interest. Flight recorder pod painted and decaled in probably incorrect colors. Same thing for the Aim-9.

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I applied very light and highly thinned mixes of grey/dark grey/black along some of the panel lines. I hope this breaks the monotonic look of the earlier post-shading. Next, I applied a coat of future, thinned 50:50 with windex.

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Finally onto decaling!!!! FT decals are great as usual. Very thin but robust. There some Hasegawa decals here and there.

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Some of the panel lines painted in lighter colors to simulate touch-ups by the maintenance crew.

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Similar touch-ups (light and dark) at the bottom:

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I feel like it is taking shape, but still quite a bit of work to do. 'Anytime Baby' decal on the glove vane added for interest, it should be on the hi-viz scheme only.

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Now an important decision awaits! Do I wash this model, or shall I leave it as is? Any thoughts? I always tend to apply a wash that is darker than I would normally want and that ruins the model in many cases I think. I can try my best to keep the wash color as light as possible, but clearly it should not be lighter than the current base color. Without a wash, it looks a little lifeless, won't you say so?

Next, painting the exhausts will be a challenge! Masking will certainly test my patience,

I can hear you asking why all the above deliberate inaccuracies? My builds have become much slower in time that I can't crank out 5-6 models a year. I am lucky if I get 3. With such a long investment in each model, combined with so many different models I would like to build in my lifetime, I think I have become comfortable having some fun with my builds. Most of it is for my visual interest. In the past I thought I built models for accuracy, but now I am realizing I am more 'inspired' by the real thing rather than driven to replicate it 100%. Anyhow, please don't chastise me in the future if I ask questions about the real thing, as sometimes I can be very particular about simulating it too :)

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I dont think you should put a wash on. It makes all the panel lines look TOO perfect. Looks better with bits of grime here and there. I would say your tomcat looks pretty bloody good.

Thank you Tom, I am still on the fence about applying a wash, I think I will just let the moment dictate what I do.

ex work

well done sir

Thank you Lyn.

i clicked as soon as I saw "janissary" Love your builds! I hadn't considered silly putty for aircraft models for some reason. First time I have seen ear plugs!!

Hey thank you so much. I will be following your Tomcat build also. I wish I could post updates more frequently but this pesky real life has started to occupy too much time :)

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Hi Janissary,

this is a very impressive built! Really nice paint job.

I also like your serenity concerning minor inaccuracy although your built appears to me extremly accurat. Logically a 100% accurate reproduction is utopian. Somtimes I have problems to accept that fact and I get lost in details or really struggle to finish a project. That's why I really like your sovereign way of thinking. I have to learn from that. And you're output is outstanding!

Best regards Rob

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Thank you Rob. I am glad it looks accurate, but trust me in my mind it has turned into a fantasy build. I've made too many arbitrary decisions along the way. Here are a few updates.

Finally applied a wash. I started with the top color. I think this time I like that the contrast is not too much:

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After 3-4 hours (I could have waited 10-12 hrs and would have been fine) I cleaned up the model. Invariably, there remains shallow panel lines where the wash doesn't settle. I lightly go over those lines (must be careful after this point) with a razor saw and reapply the wash:

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A few snapshots after cleanup. No dull coat yet. The oil wash takes away the sheen a little bit. There are details that I am not too happy about (see fuselage to cockpit joint) but I will move on:

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For lighter gray areas, I lightened the wash color with white and applied accordingly. Arguably, it could have been more subtle:

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And here it is after a mix of Testor's dull coat and semi-gloss coat (1:1), thinned with generic lacquer thinner. I like to have a little sheen remain after the dull coat hence the semi-gloss added to the mix. After 24 hours, I go over the entire surface with an old cotton rag to smooth out any gritty finish. This further buffs up the finish, which I tend to like:

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Edited by Janissary
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Canopy masked with tamiya tape first, then parafilm applied to the middle. I cut the parafilm along the tamiya tape, which is a risky step:

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Wow, didn't realize how horrible the pods and ordnance are before the picture:

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So, still some ways to go, but hopefully I will be done with this by the end of the month.

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  • 1 month later...

A few pictures from recent progress.

Formation lights painted in silver, then clear red/blue.

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I really wanted to do the wing sweep marks. Long time ago, Honza had a great technique and I tried to mimic that:

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Light weathering at the bottom:

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The kit's seats were too simplistic so I tried to add some detail. Tamiya two-part epoxy for the cushion, wine bottle foil for the belts, extra pieces of PE from a 1/48 F-18 for the buckles. I still don't have a good way of making these belts and buckles. If you have any suggestions on how to do this better, I would be interested:

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This is how it's looking. The wing sweep actually involved many more steps than what I depicted above (weathering with Tamiya weathering master, cleaning excess oils with enamel thinner and a short stubby brush etc.). I am not too crazy about the outcome, but hopefully it will be useful experience for my 1/48 build:

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I think the weathering could be stronger, but I will leave it this way:

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Edited by Janissary
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Oil streaks using Tamiya weathering kit and Tamiya's tiny q-tip thingy:

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It seems the build is too clean :( Wish I had the courage to be more aggressive with weathering:

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As I have been looking for similar 72nd scale Tomcat builds, I came across this:

http://morehj.com/archives/3304

That to me looks simply fantastic. I have been impressed by the quality of the panel lines, even around the difficult sections (see the front port side fuselage). Very inspirational.

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