--> **** DONE: 1/48 F6F-5K HELLCAT DRONE - Post-War Warbirds

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Nice start on the orange paint Geo! I'd imagine that you'd be able to find the right adapter somehow... maybe Ebay?
 
Thanks for the ideas guys. John, I got the 10pc adapter set off eBay but nothing would fit. I got a reply from Rustoleum that said "they would be more than happy to send me the adapter free of charge" Now that's customer service. Funny thing, go to their website and there's no mention of Badger or Aztek. In the meantime, I've looked at cutting off the break and reinstalling it and it looks like it might take a bit of work. Sooooooooo....I wrapped some electrical tape around the break sufficiently enough to stop the air from leaking and allowing the compressor to shut down when the tank is full. As I mentioned before, masking for an airbrush is a lot different than masking for a paint brush and this is where I'll spend the next little bit
 
Geo if you want you may pack the hose into a small box and send the package to me. I'll fix that for you and re-send.
 
OK....don't laugh, or laugh, it's up to you but this masking is seriously harder than masking with a paint brush



.....and of course I just notice I didn't finish masking the front of the tail. Family dinner first and then I'll shoot
 
Thanks Andy, red has been attached...



....more lessons learned:
  1. need a better lighting system. I can't tell for sure until it dries but I may have been a little light in a few places.
  2. right now, the hardest places for me to get coverage are the leading/trailing edges
  3. getting close to figuring out how much paint/thinner to use. With the Tamiya orange, I went through about 3/4 of a bottle, most of it waste as I am really unsure how long I can leave it in the airbrush cup, keeping in mind that this is an Aztek.
  4. I don't need to wait as long to put on succeeding coats, by the time I've spray the last area, I can start again at the beginning
  5. Mixtures I used, not really sure. I used the syringe shown below and I think.....think...it was 30 paint/18ish Tamiya thinner/6 drops of Vallejo retarder.
 
Thanks guys....tape is off.



For the most part, happy.........with this side. Some touch-ups required and this is after forcing the tape into the plastic. When I brush painted, I would take a small brush and run the underlying color along the tape to seal the tape before adding the second color. I don't know why I didn't do it here. Happy though that no paint lifted of. The other side faired a little worse.....you're not going to see it.



This happened on a few spots but the last coat covered them up except for this one...it's hard to see but did the paint run a little?



How do you guys correct the touch-ups? I don't care which is the best, I'll try them all and decide for myself. Many thanks
 
Good first try Geo. Hard to tell not seeing it in person but it looks like you might have gone a bit too thin on the paint/thinner ratio. Also. looks like a lot of paint has gone on in one go. Thin coats with sufficient drying time between coats help minimize the risk of runs and bleeding. I also find good lighting essential, especially with reds and yellows as I find it hard to see runs forming.
 
I believe your right Andy. I went to a few sites and the recommendations varied, between 60/40 to 50/50, some not even thinning the Tamiya paint. I finally went to Tamiya's website today and they recommend(using their mixing jars), 2/3 paint to 1/3 thinner and that seemed to be a lot better on the final coat.
 
Good work there Geo, and I agree with Andy.
To 'cure' the runs, if you see them as they happen, use a small paint brush and literally pain them off. If they've been there for a few minutes and / or have started to dry, then use the brush with water, like painting in water colours. If using enamel, then replace the water with thinners. Any rough, or thin areas, can then be covered with a second coat sprayed over lightly.
 
My preference is to leave them alone as I've most often succeeded in making them worse by trying to sculpt the blob while it's wet. I now resist the temptation, let it dry, then sand it down with fine wet sand paper and re-spray the area.
 
Look great Geo! It's going to take some practical experience to refine your SOP when airbrushing but you are well on your way. I do lots of preshading and use a MUCH thinner paint mix than most (I rarely go any thicker than 4:1 thinneraint ratio using Tamiya acrylics) so my steps are a bit different. My runs are usually subtle due to the paint mixture and the following pass will usually take care of it without any further effort. The best way to avoid runs is to keep the brush moving.

Masking can be quite the production when spraying paints but you can usually reduce this as you start to get a feel for the airbrush and how it sprays. The bleed-throughs can be minimized if you carefully burnish the tape edges. It also pays to correct the bleed-throughs completely and carefully because even the little ones will draw focus to them. Because of my pre-shading, I usually have to correct the bleed-throughs and chips with an intermediate layer of black or dark grey to account for the pre-shade.
 
Thanks guys. Sitting in camp now waiting for the first night shift to start so this is on hold for a week but all advice, tips and comments are welcome. Since I took the masking off, I did a bit of sanding before I chickened out and then, using a small flat brush, slowly built up the yellow to cover. The good thing is, most of the runs will be covered by other paint and decals. Once again the internet here is painfully slow. Have a good week gentlemen.
 
Yep, have a good week at camp Geo.
Another method I sometimes use to eliminate runs, mainly on clear coats, but with paint too, is to literally blow it off, or 'spread' it, by using the airbrush with air only - no paint - until it blends into the surroundings.
Once dry, any rough areas can either be rubbed down lightly, or, if 'wrapped around' say, a wing leading or trailing edge, it should be thin enough to cover with the relevant colour.
 
That blue painters tape is not the best to get a clean edge. I'd get some Tamiya tape for the paint line and use the blue tape next to it for protection from over spray. The Tamiya tape is expensive but well worth it and a small roll will last a long time if you only use it at the paint edge using the blue tape for every thing else.
 
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