Brushing up

The biggest problem with airbrushes is cleaning them (unless you drop them, of course!). For years I used cocktail sticks, slightly shaved, and ear-buds, plus kitchen tissue. However, a wonderful, and cheap, investment is that of a set of brushes. I ended up with two sets, which actually makes sense, as they’re both slightly different. However, at just around £4 a set, I would recommend buying some (one of my sets came as part of a joblot of bits). The reason they’re so good is that you can just slide and twist them up various passages, to clean out all the gunk that develops (especially after using acrylics). As the most airbrush problems are dirt related, and the brushes make cleaning a doddle, they are a most worthwhile investment.

Speaking of airbrushes, my old Iwata HP-C has developed a fault, and I can’t see the cause. Think it’s time for it to be sent off for servicing. In the meantime I’m using another Japanese airbrush, my Rich (not Richpen) airbrush. It’s as nice as the Iwata, but, a lot lighter. Perfect!

For acrylics of the brush-paint variety, I find that suction feed airbrushes are better. Easier to clean, and when using them, that’s important, as they clog very easily. I’ve tried using external mix airbrushes, but sans success, even though theoretically they should be better for these types of acyrlics.

Another catch-up

Quick round-up of where I am with plastic:
[b]Existing[/b]
Eduard 1/48 Roland Walfisch – no change, part built
Revell 1/24 Ferrari F-50 – no change, nothing done
Revell 1/144 Sukhoi Berkut – little change, part built
Eduard 1/144 Avia CS-92 – lost canopy, in the abandoned bin
Eduard 1/72 Albatross D.V – nowt done
3x Academy/Revell 1/144 Phantom
2x part-built Phantoms
Academy 1/144 Phantom – disposed of
Revell 1/72 Merkava III – some tyres painted, else, same

Eduard 1/72 Fokker E.III – part-painted, no assembly
Revell 1/72 Fokker D.VII – half-built, part painted
Airfix 1/72 Sopwith Camel – nowt done
Hobbyboss 1/72 Eurofighter – half-made
Revell 1/144 B-2 – abandoned, given away
PM 1/72 Fokker
Italeri 1/72 P-51 – started

Airbrushes

One thing about airbrushes is that they must be kept clean! Last night I scrubbed down all of my airbrushes, which took a bit longer than might be thought. However none were working properly, maybe some pulsating, or slightly uneven spray patterns. Whilst usable, I like my equipment to be perfect!

My favourite airbrush is my Iwata HP-C. It was my first airbrush, other than some Aztec basic ones I’d destroyed (the A320). Iwata make excellent airbrushes, and this one is one of their most popular items. The HP-C is not made anymore, but there are better newer versions around. It’s a double action gravity feed, with a medium sized bowl.

There are also Badgers I bought new: a 200GF, a single action gravity feed, with a small sized bowl; a 100GF, a double action gravity feed, with a small sized bowl (in effect the previous airbrush, but double action); and a 150F, a double action suction feed.

All 4 airbrushes were stripped down, checked, and cleaned up. Where the paint was really stuck in, I soaked the item in cellulose thinner (from a car factors shop). However, I made sure that the last cleaner was brake cleaner, also from the same shop, as it leaves a slight oil residue (cellulose thinner strips all oil). The Iwata was soaked entirely in cellulose thinner, which caused the o-rings to expand. This meant I had to wait a while before I could put the air valve back in it’s seat.

Everything worked fine! A real delight to use, with nice movements. However, there is a 5th airbrush, an ancient Badger 200NH, a single action suction feed. I had problems using it, and couldn’t figure out what was wrong, until the internal needle bearing fell out! I tried putting it back in, but, ended up just damaging it. I’ll have to get another one, but, also, arrange for someone to put it in for me. It’s not as easy as it looks! Still, I can wait, having 4 others!

Follow on from September

A round-up since last time! Two months is too long… (pictures to be added soon)
Existing – binned or finished!
Eduard 1/48 Mirage IIIC ‘weekend’
This ended up in the bin. Although it was OK in places, the wing root I was never happy with. However, when the canopy didn’t sit right (due to a cockpit error somewhere, I’m sure), I just gave up, and threw it into the bin. Pleased with the canopy masking (masking is my weakness), so kept it for spares, and removed the weights too! No pictures, I’m afraid

Tamiya 1/72 Seiran (land-based)
I sent it to my Godson, as I botched it. I should have primed it first, but, no, I didn’t, which can be OK, but something went wrong with the painting, and parts ‘orange-peeled’, but, worse possibly, some paint just lifted. Lost my mojo over this kit, and almost gave up modelling…

Dragon 1/144 Railgun ‘Leopold’
Well, just couldn’t be bothered. Made too many silly errors, including putting one part on backwards, and the rails broke. When the rails broke, so did my patience, and it also ended up in the bin.

Hasegawa 1/72 P-40
Forgot to photograph it, but the 3 colour camo went on fine, even the white areas. Whilst it was a bit botched in places, I could have made it OK, but, frankly, it proved I can mask, and paint, to a reasonable standard, so, it was good!

Various 1/144 Phantoms
The F-4B I kept, the rest, binned… 3 more to make, but, the better quality new ones…

New starts
Kopro 1/72 Spitfire IXc Italy 1946 This kit looked great, at least, the scheme was. The kit itself was a bit basic, with raised panel lines, and quite a bit of flash. Still, there was a nice instrument panel, seat, some sidewall detail, a bulkhead, and, in theory, pedals.

However, the interior was undersized, as if it was made for a different scale! Literally, all the parts were slightly too small, meaning a gap between instrument and the topside of the fuselage. Likewise, the bulkhead was a just a bit too small. Still, the instrument penal had the instrument clocks shown, even if it missed out the very obvious compass. So, gap with the instrument panel, and gap at the back with the bulkhead. The pedals though were, frankly, risible, and lost within the flash!

The fuselage went together nicely, which was nice. The underside of the fuselage sections was solid, which is different from many kits. The reason is that the main planes underside came as a single unit, meaning there are, in fact now, 2 floors. The mainplanes assembled OK, although in places the joins were indifferent, as if the underside was larger than the topside.

At this point things still looked good, although the cockpit was upsetting, with rather unprototype gaps! Things were now getting weird, or rather, I was learning that the instructions differed from reality. Apparently one has remove part of the longer cannons. Except, aside from this one instruction, in part 7, nowhere else was this shown cut down, including the line drawings and box art, or, indeed, photos I saw online! In fact, seeing how part 8 gives painting instructions on the cannons, I assume the beer was flowing well in the Czech Republic when part 7 was drawn.

Moving on, one has to cut the wing tip panel, and replace it. I sanded mine back, but, with the aid of filler the new tips fitted. OK, so it’s not Tamiya, but it’s not Tamiya prices, or, indeed, a mainstream subject. Actually, these kits that require more work can be fun, the challenge they pose.

Now dear reader, it all goes awful… The panel gap at the wing roots was poor on the starboard side, but, the larboard side it was truly awful, in both the horizontal and vertical planes. I managed to fill it in, but strewth! The coolers have projections for them to fit in. It would have been nice for the instructions to tell you to add them! Still, they are in the line drawings, so, yep, more beer that day. I then lost the bulges for the wings, and lost the ariel mast. This I replicated, but, sans bulges, the aircraft was, well, hmmm, not quite right! When I saw the intake, and how tiny it was (more 1/100 scale, than 1/72) I lost heart in the project. Even the undercarriage wouldn’t go on properly, and as for the tail wheel. So, another kit bites the dust. Still, nice decals…!

SMER (Heller) 1/72 CS-92
This is the SMER re-boxing of the Heller kit, in it’s basic range (which is cheap, and comes with a bottle of glue!). The kit has raised panel lines, showing it’s age. The Avia CS-92 is the 2-seat training version of the S-92, which is the Me-262 but built post-war by Avia in Czechoslovakia. Some of the details are not right for a CS-92, as the fuselage has outlines for the bombs, which the CS-92 didn’t have (the bombs are in the kit though). However, this can be easily rectified, with a little sanding. The interior is not bad. Not quite modern standards, and, sadly, no decals for the instrument panels, but, quite acceptable. The fit was nice, the canopy nice, and fitted well too. The front undercarriage is a weak point, no pun intended, and I could only make it work by pushing it against the front of the wheelwell, resulting in a noticeably wrong angle. Various ariels festoon the kit; under each engine, under the fuselage, and above it. I managed to snap these all off! However, Í’m not sure that they’re all required, especially the ones underneath. Still, maybe this is a bit academic, as they broke off anyway.

The aircraft is in RLM 02. I used Revell Aqua (an acrylic paint) no.79, sprayed. It went on OK, but, it did clog badly the airbrush. Maybe I needed more flow enhancer, along with the thinner?

However, the decals were awful. Not because they didn’t look good, because they did. The problem is that, as soon as they touch, they set, no time for adjustment. Moreover, they also wrinkled if not handled very well, or folding up, and gluing itself into an usable shape. As such, whilst the national insignia went on OK, the rest failed. In the end I gave up… I also mucked up the canopy slightly, in that, I must have moved it whilst it was setting, meaning it was slightly off. BTW, I used white glue (actually, it was called wood glue), and it worked a treat. This adhesive is slow setting, giving one time to adjust (or muck up!), and it settles in nicely, with no fogging.

Italieri 1/72 ISU-152 (simplified kit)
This is an interesting concept from Italeri, a simplified version of the prototype, with just a few parts to complete. Basically,i it’s the hull in 2 parts, with the tracks/sidewalls/suspension as one parts, so just 4 parts and that’s basically it! Add on the manifold, top of the manifold, cannon, and the fuel tanks. The fuel tanks are sets of two but as 1 part.

So, 10 minutes to assemble! Being a tank (OK, a tank destroyer), it’s going to be a bit rough (and I was just going to give it away), so I just slapped on, with a brush, some Humbrol acrylic, 102 I think, which approximates to Russian green (or at least, it passable!), and 53 for the tracks. I then went to town on the weathering. Many different shades of dust, from light to dark, with some black to represent soot, and a silver pencil. The silver pencil was gently run over the hatches, rivets, etc, to make them stand out, and look worn, with the pencil run harder over corners. The tools had wood painted in, but, after the weathering, it disappeared. The decals went on nicely, and blended in with weathering. It looked nice, and realistic.

In the end, I was happy with the result! Just a pity the simplified construction means that, if you look past the weathering, it looks a bit, toy-like.

Italieri 1/72 ISU-152
Seems nice, especially as the simplified version looks OK. So far, just painted the tracks in metal (loads more to go!).

Matchbox 1/72 Dornier Do-28 Skyservant
When I was a kid I tried building this, and did so so. Coming back in modelling quite a few years ago, I tried building it, but, failed on the painting. Of course, in those days I just brush painted direct with no masking, no thinning, and of course, no idea what even air-brushing was! Anyway, I’ve done a little. The floor and interior were a medium blue-grey, maybe Revell 378 enamel, with the seats in dark blue (Testors). The reason for these colours is that I didn’t know what colours the interior was, so, I made a guess.

Being Matchbox, I expect it to fit nicely, with over-scale details, large panel lines, and simplified. I’ve also worked on one wing, which fitted nicely, although it needed more sanding than expected, still nice though! The flap fitted sans glue, trapped in between the the parts, with excellent fit. The other thing worked on are the engine nacelles. They need some sanding to smooth out the joins, but, it’s a standard enough job. Just sand it down gently. It might need some Mr.Surfacer, but, I’m not sure yet.

Other Existing
Airfix 1/144 MiG-21
I wasn’t expecting this kit to be any cop, but, actually, it’s not bad. It has a seat even! The fit is good, and so far so good! As normal, I’m building it sans armaments, but, this is partially because the large bomb (fuel tank?) on the belly isn’t brilliant, looks slightly weird (although that could be normal). So, far, fuselage done, wings done (just a tad filler needed on the starboard wing), and undercarriage in place – the front has the tyre integral to the arm.

Revell 1/72 Merkava III
Just a little more painting here, nothing much new.

FROG (Trumpeter) 1/32 MiG-15
The rear fuselage/tail wasn’t fitting properly, so, sanded back, cut the join where especially bad, and re-joined. Looks far better now! Some cleaning of the joints, but, needs more work.

Eduard 1/48 Roland C.IIa Walfish ‘weekend edition’
Still trying to get the courage to rig!

Eduard 1/72 Albatross D.V
No change – sprues cut, nothing else

Revell 1/144 Sukhoi Berket
No movement

Revell 1/24 Ferrari F-50
No change – sprues cut, nothing else

Small steps

A few bits of progress, not a bad few days!
1/144 Academy MiG-29
It didn’t quite turn out as well as I hoped, but it is finished. When I masked off for the painting of the fins and nose, I didn’t push the masking tape hard enough into the panel lines, so, the paint in one location travelled down the panel line. Unfortunately, I forgot to record which paint I used… I remembered it was an acrylic, but that’s it! Still, as the instructions had disappeared, it wasn’t totally built correctly. With a few errors, and with the instructions missing, I couldn’t apply all the decals. As such, I just put on a few red stars, and left the rest off (for the spares box).

1/72 Hasegawa P-40N
My other P-40 went to the bin, but this one was a lot better. Actually, I could have saved the old one, but, wasn’t in the mood for a rescue job. The major problem was with the undercarriage doors. Hasegawa would have you cut part way into a bend, with no guidelines in the plastic. The answer was to do it carefully, scoring just mildly, then gradually increasing the depth, until a good break can be made. The first line was done by rocking the blade along the existing line, then carrying on into the raw plastic.

The white has been sprayed a few times. Originally with Tamiya white (acrylic), but I didn’t mix it that well, or something, so, I over-sprayed with Humbrol 34 enamel. Seems OK. Brushing painting the nose, as it didn’t spray well, not sure

1/72 Tamiya Seiran
The fit is so good, it holds together sans glue! Seams sanded down, with a dab of Mr.Surfacer to smooth it out. Ready for more…

1/144 Eduard Avia CS-92
Not a bad fit, except the upper nose for some reason. Still, all good now. Same for the wing roots, but, it’s all been filled and sanded. Ready for the engines, canopy, painting, etc.

1/144 Dragon Railgun ‘Leopold’
Some work here, but, a lot more needed!

1/48 Eduard Mirage IIIC
Partially primed, cockpit ready, sans seat, for which I’m painting some foil strip. All in, looks good! Amazing considering what a challenge it’s been so far…

Phantom and Mirage

Just a few small bits. The Airfix Phantom gave up it’s front undercarriage, to help out an Academy Phantom. It can be said it died well! The Ataki Phantom was sprayed in Revell enamel SM371. It might not be correct, but, I’ve lost the instructions! Also, that meant that the decals might not be in exactly the right place! I must admit to not completely finishing it, as the undercarriage wasn’t painted, and the exhaust was just left in the light grey. Still, it’s something!

With the 1/48 Eduard Mirage IIIC, I added the flaps (is that what they’re called), and sprayed much of the kit in Revell enamel 81 a chocolate colour (I think the number is right). OK, not a normal primer, but, it does the trick!

Autumn round-up

Models come, models go. It’s hard to throw away part-built kits, but, it has to be done! So, the current range of kits being built are:
1/144 Dragon railgun ‘Leopold’
Advancing nicely, with a few bits done. The permanent way & rails also need to be painted. Nice kit so far.
1/144 Academy MiG-29 Fulcrum
Main coat painted. Dark grey painted. Some touching up needed. The black nose area needs painting, and the green camo is needed. Very nice kit so far.
1/144 Airfix MiG-21PF Fishbed-D
Interior painted, seat painted, fuselage joined and drying. The fuselage isn’t exactly lining up, so, maybe some warping, but, it can be fixed. Much nicer than other 1/144 Airfix kits, reasonable plastic.
1/144 Revell SU-47 Berkat
Some interior painted, but needs more work before the interior is ready. Excellent kit so far, even an instrument panel and decals, and side instrument panels.
1/144 Eduard CS-92
Fuselage being cleaned.
1/144 Crown F-4EJ
In painting stage.
1/144 Ataki F-4B
In painting/masking stage.
1/144 Airfix F-4E
In painting stage.
1/144 Academy F-4E
In painting/masking stage, with some attachment needed.
1/144 Revell F-4E
In painting/masking stage, with some attachment needed, broken/missing front undercarriage.
1/144 Revell F-4E
In storage tray.
1/144 Academy F-4E
In storage tray.
1/144 Academy F-4F
Sealed in packet.
1/72 Hasegawa P-40N
Some masking needed, tail painted with first coat.
1/72 Eduard Albatross D.v
Sprues cut to fit in storage tray.
1/72 Revell Merkava III
Wheels partially painted, with some cut off.
1/72 Tamiya Seiran
Interior finished, fuselage being cleaned up.
1/48 Eduard Mirage IIIC
Most of fuselage done, interior is finished, but needs to be installed, and canopy masked. Flaps are needed. Intakes seemed to be awful, but once the final bits are added, it looks OK. Huge gaps at the wing roots.
1/48 Eduard Mirage IIICJ
Only the decals – the C was originally the CJ, so, the decals used for the C cockpit are from the CJ, hence, it’s started.
1/48 Eduard Roland C.IIa Walfisch
Fuselage finished, but, kit dormant as I’m not sure about rigging yet… Nice kit.
1/32 FROG MiG-15bis
Some cockpit done, some engine done. Quite nice!
1/32 Revell Ferrari F-50
Some cutting only.

Not gone, just resting!

It’s been a while since my last post of things carrying on, rather than finishing, so, let’s see where I am!

The 1/144 Minicraft P-51D Mustang has been almost finished for a long time, and remains in this almost stage! The aircraft is in silver, or, Revell 66 rather. The tail, and the propellor tops, are in Revell yellow, whilst the cowling is in olive drab (I can’t remember which one, Humbrol 116 I think). The spinner is in Tamiya white. I should point out that I tend to use the most convenient paint, rather than anything specific, unless I am really going full tilt on a model. Unfortunately I damaged the decals, but, luckily, I had the same decals from an earlier one I guess I destroyed years ago.

The Eduard 1/144 BF-109 has been sprayed in Humbrol 65 enamel, both underside and sides. Likewise the Academy BF-109 was sprayed the same, at the same time. Unfortunately, I forgot that I was holding the model by the tail, so, it wasn’t sprayed! Since then, I’ve also brush painted the tail. I use Humbrol enamel 65 because I have some, because enamel makes a lovely finish, and because it’s similar to RLM 65, which is the correct colour. I’ve also partially masked it, that is, using thin strips, I’ve outlined the areas to be masked, on the sides of the model (the RLM 65 sides extend upwards, to almost the top of the fuselage). Using thin strips allows one to turn the masking easier, to follow a contour, or, as in this case, to bend, as the prototype scheme did. Had a small accident with the propellor, where some paint thinner splashed onto it, and took off some of the paint. Guess it’s back to the paintshop for that!

The other models I had been working on were two Hasegawa P-40′s. These are carrying on nicely, but then, they are Hasegawa kits! Hasegawa kits in 1/72 anyway tend to follow the pattern of a the underside of the mainplanes being one unit, along with some of the fuselage. The problem with this method is that it means that the unit has fit in several planes, perfectly. Many kits result in ‘steps’ at the back (where it joined the back of the fuselage), especially as one tries to make the wingroots perfect. This is not the case with these kits. A quick swipe with a sanding stick sort out some irregularities, and, then, a perfect fit. Really quite remarkable!

If the under-wing unit is a characteristic of the Hawegawa kits of this era, then, the other is moulding in too much, such as antenna, pitit tubes, gun barrels, and even aiming devices. Whilst potentially a good idea, reducing fiddly work load, it’s actually bad for two reasons. Firstly, they easily break off, and secondly, if one if sanding down an item, they can get in the way. This was the case with the P-40, where I found it difficult to get around the gun aimer, to smooth in the join. With another Hasegawa kit, a Shinden ‘George’, I broke off the antenna.

This kit was made for the Finescale Forum’s Mad Weekend Group Build. A Group Build is where modellers on a forum, follow a thread (usually) where they post posts and pictures of their build, that follow a theme, usually with start and finish dates. I found this Hasegawa N1K2-J Shinden ‘George’ for just £3 at my local hobby shop (often called an LHS on forums), because it was sans instructions. Still, a very simple kit, like the P-40′s, so I reckoned I could finish it in a weekend. Well, I might have, if I had worked at it properly, and not used enamel paints!

The first part went well, and it fitted nicely. However, I soon found that Gunze Sangyo acrylic paints do not brush nicely. I was using no.58, interior green, as it seemed to be fairly close to reality. Yet, the paint didn’t go down nicely. In had to sand it down, a couple of times, and thin the paint, thence, a few coats. One nice touch is that the cockpit can be fitted from underneath a completed fuselage. Not much interior, but it does come with a decal instrument panel. I used some light dry brushing of silver to bring out the seat, but I managed to forget to put in seat belts (I realise as I write this!).

The engine went on well. I painted it in black, then, over painted it in silver. I know that’s backwards, but it looks good! One major change I made during the build was to use Slater’s Mek-Pak. It’s weird stuff, which sometimes produces a great bond, and sometimes doesn’t! I apply it using an ear bud (not a used one!), to both parts to be enjoined. Still it flows well, but it dries so quickly! In places, I used some Zap-A-Gap instead, where it had to be an excellent join, or there was a slight gap.

The fuselage around the cockpit wasn’t as good a join as could be expected, but the wing roots were perfect! Yellow strips painted on (Revell yellow again), with a few coats. A slight sanding turns them matt, which is perfect. Next up, the underside, which is either natural metal, or light grey, but I’m going for the latter, for which I plan to use Revell SM371. This time, it’s because it’s close, not because it’s an opened tin (it’s not). Topside will be an Imperial Japanese Navy olive, probably Humbrol 116. Props will be Revell ‘military brown’, which is similar to Humbrol 10, plus flashes of yellow.

The Eduard 1/144 ME-262/C-92 kits (three of) are progressing with the seats/cockpits painted in Xtracylix RLM66, and the seat cushions in Humbrol 186 (because it happened to be available!) which is a decent dark leather. Next up: seat-belts (in 1/144, strewth!). This is for the Finescale Forum ‘ME-262′ Group Build.

Finally, some work on the Eduard Roland, that is, I painted the engine in Metalcote aluminium. Not much!

Next time, some more progress, and some pictures too…!

More endings

The Revell Lancaster is dead! It had been working well, despite needing more work that one would expect. The fuselage required a lot of filler and sanding. Possibly it was worse than a new kit should be, but, not as bad some older kits, so, I went on with it. There were problems with the fitting of the dorsal turret, but, eventually it all went together. At this point, I was finally looking forward to the build, after all the earlier problems. The next stage was to fit the bomb-bay doors. I had already decided to fit them closed, so, as a single unit.

However, the bomb-bay doors didn’t fit. When I say that they don’t fit, I mean in both planes. They were a fraction too long, but also too narrow! I could have coped with being a fraction too long, and, indeed, I sanded them a little, which made them fit. This just highlighted the problem of the bomb-bay doors being too narrow. It wasn’t even evenly narrow. Basically, it just didn’t fit. Quite how a modern kit can not fit, I don’t know. It may be that I didn’t assemble the fuselage well enough, but, that would mean that the fuselage didn’t fit well enough, and, anyway, the error caused would not be enough to explain the lack of fit. Here’s an image of the bomb-bay

So, Lancaster was binned, or, rather, put to one side, either for my Godson to use, or to be used for experimenting with paint (having huge mainplanes). The decal sheet was nice, so, I kept that in my decals spares box! Another model bites the dust…

Two more models that bit the dust were the Heller Fieseler Reichenberg Fi-103 (piloted V-1 flying bomb) and the Bachem Ba-349 Natter. Basically, these were both simple kits, but, were flawed. The Natter was the worse of the two, as the canopy didn’t fit particularly well. Also, the aiming sight broke off! Worse was to follow as the rear tail planes just didn’t want to play ball with each other. This may have been my fault, but, either way, I was soon losing faith and patience. The paint for this was Humbrol enamel 41, which seemed to be most accurate.

The sister model (the aircraft came as a double set) was the Fi-103. This actually went together rather well. However, I mucked up the masking of the canopy. The paint used was the Revell SM378 enamel, for no other reason than I had some lurking around in an old tin, and it was the right sort of colour (maybe). With both aircraft, I tried to use Maskol. However, it’s just not good enough. It spreads badly, and rubberises too quickly. The other problem with the Fi-103 model is that it’s difficult to get into some parts to sand and smooth them. A modelling knife made a reasonable effort, but, ultimately, I was disappointed both my this, and my failure to mask the canopy well enough. Whilst I could have rectified this, I was, frankly, fed, up, so, it was sayonara to the kits! Here is the Fi-103, followed by the Natter

The end of the orange.

So, this past few weeks I’ve done a little bit of modelling, but, also, quite a bit of model disposal.  I’ve also, finally, taken some pictures!  A few people have asked me for them, so, let’s hope they meet muster.

First up, there’s the Tamiya 1/72 Bell X-1.  I read somewhere that this model wasn’t originally Tamiya, but some other Japanese company.  Certainly it’s an interesting kit, of an historic aircraft.  The kit comes with not just a good (if slightly peculiar – but this could be correct) cockpit, but also the interior bits for the fuselage.  This might seem like madness, until you realise that the kit also comes in a clear version. As for my modelling, well, the kit fitted like a dream, and, the main undercarriage supports the body well, keeping it off a surface.  There’s a choice of canopy, but, with a strange triangular plug between canopy and fuselage.  It might be prototype, but, still strange!  At this point things went a little, well, kaka! 

I began painting the canopy, by using two strips of Tamiya tape, then painting the black between them.  This was going fine, indeed, too well, because I then, finding it so easy, I decided to freehand paint the rest of the lines.  Looked easy, was difficult!  A lot of time was spent cleaning up errors, and then, adding in more layers, to the point that ridges of paint built up, which then needed to be sanded down, and then corrected, etc.  Still, eventually it was done.

I left the kit for ages, years even, at this stage, with a few lines needing tidying up, etc.  I then decided, a few weeks back to finally get on, and finish the job.  Normally, I mask each pane, then paint the aircraft, but, this time, as the framing was both intense and a different colour to the fuselage, I decided to mask the canopy completely, including the framing lines.  The triangular plug had the interior painted interior green to match the rest of the cockpit (Gunze Sangyo).

At this point, with the canopy cleaned up, the triangular plug was attached, and then, fell off.  Eventually, with some various applications, I managed to get it fixed, and thence, masked (I covered the canopy in masking take, and ran a knife to remove the excess), fixed the canopy to the fuselage, ready for spraying!

Finding the right shade of orange is not as easy as it sounds.  Some people use Tamiya orange, which isn’t bad, use othr oranges, or even make up their own shades.  However, I think the best orange is  Testors Acyrl Brilliant Orange, an acrylic paint.  I have a mini bottle of it, marked  919936 & FN12, from a set of paints I bought at Wal-Mart (in Texas).  Before painting though I wanted to prime it, so I sprayed it Revell enamel 81, Service Brown.  Personally, I’d call it chocolate brown though!  It looked quite neat in brown, but of course, this was just being used as a primer.  The reason for me using a primer was that I was unsure of how well the Acryl would evenly cover a surface that wasn’t even in colour.  By using a dark enamel, I would have a good surface upon which to paint.  The enamel was thinned with Humbrol enamel thinner, whilst the acrylic paint was thinned with a small dose of Xtracrylix acrylic thinner.  I find this thinner quite effective, even if it is a tad expensive.  Here’s the model, just after spraying.

However, although the paint job seemed fine, I made errors elsewhere. Firstly, one of the decals, which settled down well initially, then wrinkled. I had already noticed that one of the undercarriage legs wasn’t straight (still not sure which one, maybe a mix of both?), but, at least that problem was soon solved when one snapped off! The front nose gear then gave me grief, followed by the other other fuselage undercarriage leg. With a wrinkled decal, broken legs, and a canopy which didn’t fit properly (and some glue marks on the inside, from the triangular plug), I decided I was fed up, and binned the project…