**** DONE: GB-54 1:48 Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien - Pacific Theatre

[Crimea_River]

Thanks all. I need help!

What colour are the drop tanks? The instructions call out Tamiya AS-18 but that's a rattle can and I'm not going to go searching for one for such a small job. The description is Light Grey (IJA) and looking at on-line references for this brings up a myriad of shades. Anyone know if a good Tamiya XF mix for this colour?

 

[fubar57]

Sorry Andy, can't help. I searched high and low for tank colours for my Frank and had the same issues so I left them off

 

[fubar57]

This is from the Aviation of Japan site, "....whilst the drop tanks were a mix of XF-19 Sky Grey and XF-23 Light Blue."

​

 

[Crimea_River]

Cool thanks. They look a bit darker than other models I looked at but seem to be close to what the AS-18 chip looked like on my screen. Hoping Wayne maybe has a mix suggestion.

 

[Crimea_River]

Dropped into the LHS today to pick up some paint and took this picture of a Tamiya AS-18 rattle can next to my buys. Damned if I'm going to pay 13 bucks to paint a couple of little drop tanks so, at this point, I'm going to try to mix something up with XF-19 and XF-23 as noted in Geo's post above.

BTW, the brown there is XF-64 Red Brown, which is what Tamiya call up for the props and spinner - very different from Hull Red.

Yesterday, I shot a coat of Alclad Gloss Black primer to prep for my NMF.

The wings aren't quite as uniform as I'd like for a perfect aluminum finish but then, I don't think I want to get a perfect, shiny finish as 1) this aircraft as depicted will have been in service for 11 months and 2) the green mottles are going to hide much of the aluminum. At this point, I'm not really sure how to achieve an appropriate faded aluminum finish. I have several Alclad aluminums, including Dull Aluminum which, on first thought, would seem like the right call except that I remember not being too happy with this product as I recall it coming out quite grainy the last time I used it. I'm going to have to test a few samples to see what I end up going with.

Anyway, the gloss coat revealed a scratch on the bottom that I didn't know was there. I did slip with the scalpel when I cut the tape mask on the wheel well but I didn't even think that I touched the model and so it was a good thing that I applied this coat. I'm now going to need to fix that before moving on.

Thanks for looking in. It'll be a busy weekend so it may be a while before I get back. Talk soon.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

All good stuff Andy.

 

[Wurger]

 

[CATCH 22]

Dropped into the LHS today to pick up some paint and took this picture of a Tamiya AS-18 rattle can next to my buys. Damned if I'm going to pay 13 bucks to paint a couple of little drop tanks so, at this point, I'm going to try to mix something up with XF-19 and XF-23 as noted in Geo's post above.

View attachment 674089

Andy, I visited my beloved hobby store today (tomorrow is Fathers' day and I received my "allowance" for modelling from the family) and compared an AS-18 can with different paint jars. I too do not like to buy new paints, if I already have dozens of others and the older ones are almost the same as the new one.
Long story short: AS-18 (or at least the cap of it) is almost the same as XF-83 Medium Sea Grey 2 (RAF), the latter being a tad darker but in the same warm grey tonality. A drop or two of white will make it lighter enough.

All of the above is strictly IMHO.
Cheers!

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Yves. In my view AS-18 has a distinct blue tinge that is not present in the MSG. Anyway I did mix up a small batch of basically 2:XF-23 to 1:XF-19 and shot that. XF-19 is almost identical to XF-83. Pics when I get a chance.

 

[Wayne Little]

Can't give you the 'right' suggestion on those Drop tanks Andy, have seen them modelled in Dark Green, Blue grey, a Grey green like RLM 02, silver and even Yellow, in Black and white pics have seen both light coloured and dark Coloured tanks....
Sure i have seen some actual pics of drop tanks which were light coloured, but I can't recall the shade.....sorry Brother....

 

[Crimea_River]

No problem Wayne thanks. I've read that yellow might have been used over the home islands to spot the tanks on the ground easier but others are skeptical. Also that it depended on the material used and where they were made. In any event mine are now painted close a grayish light blue that should pass muster.

 

[Gnomey]

Lovely work so far Andy!

 

[le_steph40]

Excellent work Andy

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks gents. So here we sit. The Alclad Gloss Black that I applied is taking forever to dry to a hard finish. Handling the model for more than 10 seconds leaves a big ugly finger print and so, while I was able to remove that ugly scratch, I'm literally watching paint dry. I'm concerned that applying the top coat is going to result in a mess and so I've painted the clear fuselage half that comes with the model with the same gloss black and will experiment in the days to come. Thanks for sticking with me one this.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Got my fingers crossed for you.

 

[Wayne Little]

Look forward to the next step Andy.

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks again for your interest guys. Just finished spraying 3 different Alclads on my mule. First pic in full sun and second in shade. The greenish tinge is a reflection from a tree in my yard.

Left to right: Alclad II Aircraft Aluminum - too "chromey", Alclad II Dull Aluminum - very flat and grainy, Alcad II Aluminum - the mama bear, just right. I may use the Dull Aluminum on the fabric surfaces.

 

[Wurger]

 

[rochie]

wow, middle one looks like a light grey on my screen !

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks guys. Karl, yes Alclad II Dull Aluminum is not a paint I'm going to buy any more. The finish is almost like full scale sand-blasted aluminum.

I've painted a coat of the plain Aluminum on the model yesterday but got interrupted so will resume today.