<-- **** DONE: 1/48 P-38J Hill's Angels - Twin Engined Aircraft of WWII
- Thread starter JKim
- Start date
Nice Paint!
le_steph40
Chief Master Sergeant
I agree
Robert Porter
Senior Master Sergeant
Very nicely done!
- Thread starter
- #186
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Thanks guys! I think getting the paint on has pushed this build over the hump and I should be able to complete it soon (I hope!). I've put a coat of gloss over the OD/Neutral Grey right off the bat to help prevent paint scratches. I really like the result of using overly-thinned paint mixtures but it can be very susceptible to scratching.
What is the light-colored circle on the inboard side of the engine nacelle? I saw that on Hasegawa Lightning box art that Steph posted and started to think that this is some sort of standard feature?
What is the light-colored circle on the inboard side of the engine nacelle? I saw that on Hasegawa Lightning box art that Steph posted and started to think that this is some sort of standard feature?
Crimea_River
Marshal
Beat me to it Paul. Nice work John. I may be stealing your paint technique for my Beaufighter.
Great work so far John!
- Thread starter
- #190
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Thanks for the explanation on the polished oval on the nacelle. Not sure how I'm going to replicate that... will have to look in my spares box for circular masks or templates that I could possibly use.
Here's the model with a gloss coat. I had to shoot the gloss coat twice. My initial gloss (Alclad Aqua Gloss thinned with iso alcohol and with a dash of Mr Hobby Leveling Thinner) caused the marble preshade to "leak" through the thin OD coat. So I retouched with a bit more OD in affected areas and re-shot the Aqua Gloss, without the Leveling Thinner this time.
Instead of using decals, I masked the tail fin trim.
I've started on the decaling process... will report back soon!
Here's the model with a gloss coat. I had to shoot the gloss coat twice. My initial gloss (Alclad Aqua Gloss thinned with iso alcohol and with a dash of Mr Hobby Leveling Thinner) caused the marble preshade to "leak" through the thin OD coat. So I retouched with a bit more OD in affected areas and re-shot the Aqua Gloss, without the Leveling Thinner this time.
Instead of using decals, I masked the tail fin trim.
I've started on the decaling process... will report back soon!
fubar57
General
Good work John. Paint always looks better than decals
Robert Porter
Senior Master Sergeant
Don't know how well this will work, but I am planning on using aluminum foil if I can find the correct dimensions for 1:48 scale.
fubar57
General
It's been a while but I think Pop Tart foil might be thinner
- Thread starter
- #194
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Aluminum foil for the polished oval? Hmmm... that's an idea. I think I'll just get a spare circular mask from my leftover canopy/wheel mask collection and do it with paint after the final flat coat.
Crimea_River
Marshal
I was going to suggest the same. I have a roll of aluminum tape for such things
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
I used kitchen foil on my Academy P-38. From memory, the shape of the 'mirrors' is lightly etched on the kit's nacelles. Note that they are oval, not circular.
- Thread starter
- #198
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Even routine decal application is a chore on this build. First star-n-bar decal from a spare Superscale decal sheet broke and wouldn't lie down with Microsol or Solvaset. I peeled it off and tried the star-n-bar from the Cutting Edge sheet. This one didn't break but wrinkled after application of Solvaset. It got nudged inadvertently while still wet so there is some user error to blame. I tried to see if I could salvage it by sanding down the wrinkles with Micromesh. Tamiya Tape dabbed on my skin to reduce the tackiness was still too much and some of the decal lifted off as I was trying to mask for repairs.
I used Post-Its to carefully mask the the white and then blue areas and was able to salvage the decal using blue and white paint. Still has some imperfections but I'm going to roll on with it.
And a big DUH on the reflective oval on the engine nacelles. I didn't have my model in front of me when I noticed the Hasegawa box art showing the oval. If I had, I would've seen the big convex ovals that Academy has molded here. Based on the pictures, this is inaccurate and shouldn't be raised.
I don't have the motivation to try and flatten the oval in place since it is in an awkward place. I'd be risking opening puttied seams or breaking something off. I'll try and mask and paint it or use some foil as others have suggested.
I used Post-Its to carefully mask the the white and then blue areas and was able to salvage the decal using blue and white paint. Still has some imperfections but I'm going to roll on with it.
And a big DUH on the reflective oval on the engine nacelles. I didn't have my model in front of me when I noticed the Hasegawa box art showing the oval. If I had, I would've seen the big convex ovals that Academy has molded here. Based on the pictures, this is inaccurate and shouldn't be raised.
I don't have the motivation to try and flatten the oval in place since it is in an awkward place. I'd be risking opening puttied seams or breaking something off. I'll try and mask and paint it or use some foil as others have suggested.
turbo
Staff Sergeant
This project looks like it's testing your patience John, but take a deep breath and carry on - looking good!
Users who are viewing this thread
Similar threads
