<-- **** DONE: 1/48 P-38J Lightning - Twin Engined Aircraft of WWII

[Wurger]

Looking good although the area needs to be cleaned more.. A tip though.. the masking should have been moved closer to the gap. As a result you would have less of the putty to remove..

What tool did you use for applying of the putty?

 

[fubar57]

Agree with Wojtek. I leave just enough room for the gap and remove the putty immediately. Still trying to get the hang of John's(JKim) as it is better

 

[JKim]

I've found that tape isn't necessary when using Milliput for this type of seam work. It's pretty easy to remove all of the excess and leave just the putty in the seam.

 

[Crimea_River]

Not bad for a first try. Masking could have been closer to the seam and less putty used. The areas outside of the seam that have putty on them should be cleaned the same way. Careful not to overdo the nail polish rubbing as it does soften the plastic after a while.

 

[Airframes]

I'm with John regarding 'Milliput'.
I've been using it for probably forty years, and never use other 'modelling' putties, apart from home-made 'porridge' (gloss varnish and talc) for very small gaps.
John uses the 'Milliput 'white', which is really designed for repairs to porcelain, china etc, although, of course, it works just as well on models.
I prefer the standard yellow-grey type, which has a little more latitude when used in very small, thin quantities, where the 'white' might start to flake, especially when used wet. Also, the standard type seems to set quicker, and easier and, being in two colours, it's easier to see if you have the 'mix' right.
Oh, and it's cheaper than the 'white' too !
As it's a two-part epoxy ( 1 stick grey, 1 stick yellow), there's very little waste, as you can 'mix' as little or as much as you need, and a little goes a long way.
As John mentioned, it can be smoothed-out to the point of almost not needing sanding, especially if 'moulded' with a wet finger tip, and can be moulded into shapes, drilled, tapped, carved and sanded. Apart from use as a filler, it has many more uses, and small parts can be made from it, and items such as seat cushions, parachute packs etc etc are easy to make, just use it as you would modelling clay. Even conversions can be tackled, like the entire front end of the 1/32nd scale Spitfire Mk.IX below, made entirely from 'Milliput'.
Filling gaps is easy - just press the putty into the gap, smooth it off with a wet finger, or a wet blade, and wipe off any excess.
It sets rock hard, with none of the 'powdering' or 'flaking' you get from some other types of putty, but it's easy to sand and carve as required.

 

[Wayne Little]

Good attempt for a first up try!

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far!

 

[Robert Porter]

Thanks all! On my subsequent tries I moved the masking tape lots closer and used less putty! I am using an odd kind of dental looking tool, part of a set I bought. I used less putty and smoothed it more the following times, pics to come!

By the way my decals arrived, but er, I think Revell is having issues. This is what they sent me.

 

[Wurger]

IMHO there is a difference between P-38J and the AH-64.

 

[fubar57]

Yikes. Maybe put out a call to other models sites for decals. I'll go through my decals but I may have built this long before I started saving spares

 

[JKim]

Jeez, this is the second attempt from Revell isn't it? Third time's the charm?

 

[Robert Porter]

Honestly I am at least thankful they did not charge me! I appreciate their responsiveness but someone really needs to check their quality control in the fulfillment group! In the meantime they will go into my growing spares collection so if anyone ever needs them let me know, happy to drop them in the mail to a modeller in need!

 

[Robert Porter]

Jeez, this is the second attempt from Revell isn't it? Third time's the charm?

Hope so, filled out request #3 today, at some point I may end up with every set of decals except the P-38!

 

[JKim]

LIke you said, at least they have been responsive! Chances are they can't get it wrong THREE times!

 

[Wurger]

If I were you Rob I would suggest them if they didn't have the decals for P-38 they could send a set for B-17 at least.

 

[Airframes]

Third time lucky, and they'll send the entire kit - but probably a 1/25th scale Chevvy !

 

[Wayne Little]

Truely amazing.....

 

[Robert Porter]

So I made a video of what issues I was having with applying filler. Never done this before so not sure if it will be of help.

 

[Wurger]

Really nicely done.

But a couple of notes here...
Firstly, you have used the incorrect tool from the dental set for applying of the putty. Instead of the one with the ending shaped as a hook with a ball you should have used the paddle type one. A dentist uses the hook with ball for tamping of filling in deep holes of the round shapes with bottoms while you had to fill a quite narrow and long aperture.
Secondly , you haven't had to remove the masking tape so quick. If you stuck them closer to the aperture and left these strips there while using the cleaner and Q-tips for removing of the putty excesses you would have less of plastic messed and less of the putty at all around the gap. Just my opinion.

OH BTW... instead of using the cotton wool for protection of the wheel bays you could use a pieces of sponge that is more elastic and get the bay shape while put it in a such hole. It is enough to cut a piece of the sponge of a little bigger dimensions than the hole and squeeze it while putting into a bay. Then it will return to its shape when you stop squeezing. The cotton wool is too "hairy" and leave fluff stuck easy all around usually . The example can be seen in your video while unsticking the strips of the masking tape.

 

[JKim]

Cool to see your video of this process! I'm not sure I would be using the masking tape approach on an exposed joint like this. Is there a physical gap between the two halves that the putty would be occupying? You should be able to get a nice solid joint using glue only which could be smoothed out with careful sanding. Putty could then be applied (I like liquid putties like Mr Surfacer) in any small gaps. I reserve my Milliput/water technique for certain situations like filling physical gaps in hard to reach areas such right angle joints.