1/72 Northrop P-61 Black Widow - Your Favorite Aircraft of All Time GB

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woljags said:
i've done your wire suggestion Terry and used a small circle of card for the headphone pads for the ears,i guess these would be black in colour
Click to expand...
Yep, you're on your way down the dark path of scratch building! There is no return!
Dark grey for scale effect, and brown for ear pads would be how I'd do it.
Every build is a learning experience, the personal rewards are in the hours of enjoyment...
 
disaster i took the final pics of the cockpit and rear radar station before fitting the canopys and the rear glazed section has gone milky for no apparent reason,can anyone help with a replacement rear glazed panel or know where i can get one please,i'm gutted.i'm wondering if its because the plastic is old
 
Sad to hear about your canopy problem and sorry I can't help. As for the rest of it Bob, that minute detail your doing in this scale is unbelievable. Keep up the good work.
 
Bob, try washing and polishing the canopy first. If it looks like it might be clearing, polish it again with 'T-Cut'. If it clears, then a dip in 'Future' will make it sparkle. Without seeing it, it's difficult to determine the cause of the problem.
 
i've removed the transparent rear piece and will spend a few hours tomorrow trying to polish up the surface ,it looks like something has attacked the inner canopy surface and has almost a graining pattern to it, very hard to photograph as it doesn't show very well,i don't understand why this would happen as i'm very careful and has appeared overnight on the part
 
Could it maybe be overspray of a varnish or paint/varnish 'mist' landing on it? If so, wash it in the appropriate thinners, dry it, wash it in luke warm water, dry it, then polish as before.
 
I don't know the toothpaste brands in the "eukay", but find the mildest one, here in the states it's "Crest"; wash and rub in the paste in warm water, let dry slowly in the sunlight, then "Future" it with a couple of coats.
 
the misting on the inside of this part is quite bad but the toothpaste with a cotton bud tip appears to be working although it might take me several hours to correct ,thanks for your help chaps
 
An expensive solution might be to source another kit for the perspex. thats what I did for my Wessex. The Italeri model I had been building cost $30. I found a cheap Polish model of the same aircraft for $7, bought i and transferred all the details that I could acroos to the new "airframe" . It worked out pretty well in the finish.


I cop out method i admit, but sometimes necessary


The photos look fantastic. i know something of the grief these small scale builds can bring
 
Bob, if the toothpaste is doing the job, then the 'T-Cut' will do it even better. Just use it in small doses, and polish off. I also use Toothpaste, which is basically a very mild grinding/polishing paste, but find the 'T-Cut' better for stubborn jobs.
 
Why not use both or more steps in between? Misting of clearparts can be a b*tch to get rid of, so my train of thought is working according to the principle of going from coarse to fine. You could start out with "T-cut" or some kind of car body polishing compound to take care of the rough work, and end up with toothpaste, which of all polishing compounds out there is about the finest you can possibly get.

What I do in similar situations is start out with some very fine (wet) sanding paper (say a few steps of going from say grid 2000 to grid 5000 depending on how serious the damage or irregularity is, and work in a circular movement rather then straight lines in order to prevent groves from showing up) then go to a car body polishing compound, then go to some sort of silver polishing compound, then go to tooth paste, and (if need be) wrap things up with a gold polishing cloth.

I guess the somewhat conical shape of the clearpart can be a bit of a challenge when it comes to polishing, but things like cotton buds, and polishing cloth can be manipulated into just about every shape needed.
 
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Good points Jelmer. I forgot to mention using the 'T-Cut' first, followed by toothpaste, then a soft cloth/cotton wool. A cotton bud can be used for reaching inside the cone, or a piece of cotton wool wrapped around the point of a toothpick. Problem with toothpaste, in confined spaces, is it's a b*gg*er to clean out, even after washing, as it can set and then dry, showing up later. Always wash, wash more, then wash again, after using the toothpaste!
A coat of Future when finished will probably make any small imperfections disappear.
 
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