chris brown
Senior Airman
Nice work John. I think this build will be another beauty when she's done.
**** DONE: 1/48 Spitfire IXc - Defense of Britain/Atlantic.
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- Thread starter
- #122
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Thank you for all of the positive comments! I am fast approaching the painting stage but I will have to do some prep work before the camo gets sprayed on.
The wing tip was repaired.
The kit de-icer got lost. I am constantly pinging small parts from my Tamiya tweezers into space. So I made a de-icer from wire and glued it into place. The bomb racks were also glue in.
I decided to glue in the radiators prior to painting.
Some PE details get glued next to the radiator housings.
The canopy opening is masked and the upper cowling is held in place with Silly Putty. She is almost ready for pre-shading.
A good time to add the Hispano cannons.
Let the painting begin! First I am going to establish an initial metal finish layer for chipping effects. This will be constrained to the fuselage sides near the cockpit and down to the wing roots. Tamiya Black is used as base for the Alclad Aluminum.
Since I have black in the airbrush, I go ahead and preshade the panel lines on the bottom.
Alclad Aluminum is sprayed on the black and then that coat is covered with hairspray.
The rest of the pre-shading can now occur. First, the panel lines.
The next step is a technique that I developed a few builds ago as a way to establish some depth to the color scheme. It's a variation of what one modeler calls "black basing". Using a very diluted mix of black sprayed at low pressure, I "scribble" thin black lines everywhere. Yes, it looks very messy and crazy busy but the beautiful thing about pre-shading is the modeler-controlled ability to scale the effect as far back as zero.
At this point, I discovered a glue seam that had not been fully corrected so I took a pause to fix it.
The repaired area is pre-shaded and now we are ready to spray camo colors next!
The wing tip was repaired.
The kit de-icer got lost. I am constantly pinging small parts from my Tamiya tweezers into space. So I made a de-icer from wire and glued it into place. The bomb racks were also glue in.
I decided to glue in the radiators prior to painting.
Some PE details get glued next to the radiator housings.
The canopy opening is masked and the upper cowling is held in place with Silly Putty. She is almost ready for pre-shading.
A good time to add the Hispano cannons.
Let the painting begin! First I am going to establish an initial metal finish layer for chipping effects. This will be constrained to the fuselage sides near the cockpit and down to the wing roots. Tamiya Black is used as base for the Alclad Aluminum.
Since I have black in the airbrush, I go ahead and preshade the panel lines on the bottom.
Alclad Aluminum is sprayed on the black and then that coat is covered with hairspray.
The rest of the pre-shading can now occur. First, the panel lines.
The next step is a technique that I developed a few builds ago as a way to establish some depth to the color scheme. It's a variation of what one modeler calls "black basing". Using a very diluted mix of black sprayed at low pressure, I "scribble" thin black lines everywhere. Yes, it looks very messy and crazy busy but the beautiful thing about pre-shading is the modeler-controlled ability to scale the effect as far back as zero.
At this point, I discovered a glue seam that had not been fully corrected so I took a pause to fix it.
The repaired area is pre-shaded and now we are ready to spray camo colors next!
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Good stuff, and an interesting technique. As I use enamels, I tend to do post-shading, and the 'scribble technique' you use is similar to what I do with a brush, using the relevant camouflage colour, which I call 'damp brushing'. Similar effect, different application.
- Thread starter
- #126
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Terry... are you strictly a brush painter or do you also use an airbrush?
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
I use an airbrush for most overall finishes, although often use a paint brush too. But the majority of smaller stuff, and internal detail, is done with a paint brush.
- Thread starter
- #128
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Got it Terry! I know that there are some modelers that only paint by brush and since you mentioned enamels, I thought that you might be one of those. I purposefully avoided the term, "hairy stick enthusiast". 
Vic Balshaw
Major General
A great eye for detail John and some fantastic stuff going on here particularly that mottled under spray process. Interesting stuff.
Crimea_River
Marshal
John, you mentioned a tight fit for the wing to fuselage seam. What's the dihedral look like? It's hard to tell from the angles you shot but it seems a bit flat.
Here's a drawing:
Here's a drawing:
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #131
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
I haven't checked the dihedral against any drawings but it looks good to my eye. The wing/fuselage is a wedge-type fit so you have to spread out the wings a little to get things to fit but it snaps into place very positively. The way the pieces fit, I can't imagine the dihedral being too far off but I'll compare it to the drawing you attached to verify.
I've managed to paint the bottom with Hataka's Medium Sea Grey. Towards the end of the spray session, I noticed the paint coming off a little roughly so I dumped the paint, put in a fresh mix and finished the bottom off.
After masking off the bottom surfaces, I started applying Ocean Grey to the upper wing. I had to cut this short since the paint started behaving badly again. It's splattering and shooting very roughly, compared to previously. Different thinner/paint ratios, changing up the air pressure in the brush, using Tamiya Lacquer Thinner instead of the usual 90% iso alcohol, a complete tear-down and cleaning of my airbrush... none of it has changed the results. Ever since that Medium Sea Grey started shooting funny on the bottom surface, ALL of my Hataka paints are not shooting smoothly... can't figure it out but I'm not going to proceed until I do. So strange... can it be weather related? We had an increase in humidity and some rain today.
I've managed to paint the bottom with Hataka's Medium Sea Grey. Towards the end of the spray session, I noticed the paint coming off a little roughly so I dumped the paint, put in a fresh mix and finished the bottom off.
After masking off the bottom surfaces, I started applying Ocean Grey to the upper wing. I had to cut this short since the paint started behaving badly again. It's splattering and shooting very roughly, compared to previously. Different thinner/paint ratios, changing up the air pressure in the brush, using Tamiya Lacquer Thinner instead of the usual 90% iso alcohol, a complete tear-down and cleaning of my airbrush... none of it has changed the results. Ever since that Medium Sea Grey started shooting funny on the bottom surface, ALL of my Hataka paints are not shooting smoothly... can't figure it out but I'm not going to proceed until I do. So strange... can it be weather related? We had an increase in humidity and some rain today.
parsifal
Colonel
man that is going to look good....
- Thread starter
- #133
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Went out to the workshop for the last time tonight to check the dihedral. Based on the drawing that Andy provided, the dihedral looks spot on. Eduard even managed to capture some subtle touches like the gull-wing washout along the trailing edge of the wing root and the distinctive mid-wing kink.
I couldn't leave without trying the Hataka paint one more time. I'm still getting some inconsistent results. Some batches will spit and spatter, while others will spray on nicely for a while. The splatter is pretty dry by the time it hits the surface so it's easily flicked off with a toothpick.
Slowly, I got more of the upper surface covered with Ocean Grey. It's going to take some time to get the camo finished at this rate!
I couldn't leave without trying the Hataka paint one more time. I'm still getting some inconsistent results. Some batches will spit and spatter, while others will spray on nicely for a while. The splatter is pretty dry by the time it hits the surface so it's easily flicked off with a toothpick.
Slowly, I got more of the upper surface covered with Ocean Grey. It's going to take some time to get the camo finished at this rate!
Really nice, despite the paint trouble !
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
The problem could well be humidity John.
For the first time ever, in almost forty years of using an airbrush, and over 50 years of painting models, I had a problem with moisture yesterday when spraying the Dark Green enamel on my Spit. Not only was there water in the in-line moisture trap, but also on the paint surface, the latter from the atmosphere, not the 'brush.
It was extremely damp here yesterday, and the air itself actually felt damp, so I'm assuming that was the cause of my problem.
The model is looking very good indeed. The Ocean Grey looks a tiny tad light, but then you only have one coat, and it could also be the lighting in the photo.
For the first time ever, in almost forty years of using an airbrush, and over 50 years of painting models, I had a problem with moisture yesterday when spraying the Dark Green enamel on my Spit. Not only was there water in the in-line moisture trap, but also on the paint surface, the latter from the atmosphere, not the 'brush.
It was extremely damp here yesterday, and the air itself actually felt damp, so I'm assuming that was the cause of my problem.
The model is looking very good indeed. The Ocean Grey looks a tiny tad light, but then you only have one coat, and it could also be the lighting in the photo.
Like it!
chris brown
Senior Airman
Ive read several reviews online about the Hataka paints and people seem to have mixed results with them. They are true acrylics so lacquer thinner should not be used with them. Your airbrush might need a thorough cleaning if you did spray the paint thinned with LT through it. For thinning them, tap water works, alcohol is said to work with it, and most of the acrylic thinners from companies like Vallejo or Humbrol's acylic thinner are said to work the best. Ive read tip dry is a problem with them, so you will have to stop and clean the tip of your airbrush often. Acrylic retarders or flow aids will probably help (I think that is why the dedicated acrylic thinners work the best, since many of them have retarders mixed in them). Ive also read that the amount of thinner you need can very from color to color. Some work well at 50/50, others only need about 20% thinner and others colors work best straight from the bottle with no thinner at all. I hope this helps. Your model is looking great so far.
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Good info Chris.
- Thread starter
- #140
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Thanks for the comments, especially the Hataka insights Chris! I bought the Hataka paint set on the basis of the positive review on AeroScale and the fact that my LHS had the RAF D-Day set for sale when I was looking for RAF colors. Since Aeroscale reported good results using iso alcohol (my favored thinner), I thought I was good to go. Since then, I've read some user comments on various modeling message boards and it does look like a mixed bag of experiences. The tip-dry issue is definitely prevalent among many users it seems and that is definitely one of negatives that I am experiencing.
The thing that puzzles me is the sudden-ness of the bad behavior. The paint gave me no trouble spraying the interior components all this time prior to last night and the majority of the bottom camo. The paint started spitting towards the end of bottom color and I have not been able to get any of the Hataka shades to spray right since then.
I read one user reporting better results with tip-dry issues by mixing the paint/thinner outside of the cup so I will give that a try. When I have more time, I'll look into an alternative, preferably acrylic-specific thinner with some retarder in it.
The thing that puzzles me is the sudden-ness of the bad behavior. The paint gave me no trouble spraying the interior components all this time prior to last night and the majority of the bottom camo. The paint started spitting towards the end of bottom color and I have not been able to get any of the Hataka shades to spray right since then.
I read one user reporting better results with tip-dry issues by mixing the paint/thinner outside of the cup so I will give that a try. When I have more time, I'll look into an alternative, preferably acrylic-specific thinner with some retarder in it.
