1/48 Mosquito B Mk IV - Heavy Hitters II GB

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I set the tailwheel repair aside today and concentrated on getting some decals on. I was quite impressed with the decals Revell supplied with the kit. Colours and register were very good and they reacted well to setting solution. The finish, though, is a bit flat so once applied over the glossy surface, it is difficult to distinguish the finish from a potential silvering issue. As it turned out, no silvering occurred.

The port side:

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The no-walk zone markings worried me as there were large expanses of clear decal film that I felt sure would silver. However, these sat down nicely, even around the rivets. The picture below was taken after another coat of gloss was applied.

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Here's the starboard side. This one presented a challenge due to the molded reinforcement strip that the decal had to snuggle around. This area took a bit of attention and a few pokes of a needle with several applications of setting solution to get some bubbles to sit down.

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This was the first time I tried a Tamiya acrylic gloss coat instead of Future. I won't be getting another bottle. Although I found that the Future hardened nicely within 24 hours, I gave the Tamiya stuff 48 and found to my horror that my positioning clamp with a cloth softener left an imprint in the finish.

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Fortunately I was able to sand this area smooth and it looked OK after I applied another gloss coat.

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Still a fair amount of work left but thanks for hanging around to watch.
 
Thanks guys.

My reason for trying the Tamiya Gloss was because I've never been fully satisfied with the finish achieved with sprayed Future. I always want a high gloss mirror finish but can't seem to achieve that, even after several coats. I though that maybe the Tamiya would work better but it turned out to be no better, and then there was the added cure time to boot.

I'm beginning to see why some members prefer brushing on Future and may try this on upcoming projects.
 
Looking really nice Andy. I switch over to lacquer clear dries fast and the oil washes don't seem to bother it I have been happy so far.
 
Thanks Jerry. Problem is that I'd be applying it over an acrylic base. Bad experiences in the past steer me away from using a lacquer based product over acrylic.
 
For a high gloss finish, brushed Future is great. Not exactly sure why the airbrush doesn't give the same finish, might have something to do with the Future "drying" some as it flies through the air.
But your Mossie looks great!
 
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Thanks Paul. I think you're right that the acrylic dries on it's way to the model and that's why one gets the pebbled finish.
 
Future has not been the same since they changed the name (and formula) several years ago. I have a hard time getting a high gloss finish over flat paint even after 4 or 5 coats. More than that and it starts clogging up the panel lines. What I've been doing lately is putting on only a couple of coats to seal the paint underneath from the weathering washes, then applying the decals using Future to wet the model instead of water. It's a little messy bit is not bad if you clean up right away with a Q-tip soaked in Windex and there is no chance of silvering. I've even used this method where the glue had been totally washed off the decal. You can still use setting solutions, just try to keep them on the decal as they may cloud the future. If this happens just remove the clouded Future with Windex. You should run a Windex soaked Q-tip over the decal anyway to clean it up a little, then seal with brushed on Future.
 
Yeah, I've used that on small decals but on the larger ones I use setting solution to get them to snuggle into the panel lines. First and only time I tried it for that, the setting solution and wet future did not like each other. Don't want to do that again.
 
Tamiya is very gentle :D but it works out nicely if everything is clean :) and nothing comes in contact that can detract the surface, don't give up on it just yet :D
 
Well, I'll finish the bottle I have but I have no reason to buy another Tamiya bottle if its no better than the Future. I still have a 75% full bottle of Future that will last me for years.
 
Thanks Dave.

All decals are now on and I've done a bit if a restrained wash over the access covers and ailerons on the upper surface. A bit of touch up paint and then a flat coat tomorrow, after which I'll post some pics.
 

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