GB-44 1/48 Mirage IIIC - Military A/C of post-war time

[Airframes]

Got all the small panels that needed painting done, and the model is masked, ready for the primer coat, which I'll spray this evening. The radome will be painted (again !) after the primer has dried.
I was hoping to get the spraying done in daylight, but had to wait for a delivery and didn't want to start spraying only to be disturbed. Not that there's been any daylight today - more like a dull twilight, with rain and wind, so no advantage of better lighting conditions.
The expected delivery was the AK Xtreme Metal paints - which haven't arrived yet. Hope they haven't got lost !

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Dark grey primer on, still drying in the pic.
This will be lightly buffed when fully dry (tomorrow), and then the red flashes around the intakes will be painted,and masked once dry.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

You mean fully dry - HOPEFULLY tomorrow.

 

[Airframes]

Ah, yes, of course - I forgot that bit !

 

[Wayne Little]

Getting down to business....

 

[Airframes]

The AK Xtreme Metal paints have arrived, so once the red flashes and radome have fully dried and been masked, I'll try one or two of the colours on a 'hack' model, before committing to the Mirage, then spray the first colour.
Depending on how they look on the 'hack', I'll probably use Polished Aluminium and Aluminium, with maybe a small area or two in White Aluminium.

I'm pleased to note hat the joints and seams, particularly those that needed filling behind the intakes, don't show at all under the grey primer coat, and keeping my fingers crossed (impossible with my knackered hands ! ) that the metal finish doesn't suddenly reveal them.
Just looking at the shades in the bottles, they do look rather good, although of course the photo doesn't really show the subtle differences in 'gloss' and grain.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Radome and red flashes around the intakes done, brush painted freehand.
These will be masked - the red flashes should be tricky to do - and then the first metal colour will be sprayed. The red flashes will receive a gloss clear coat once the model has been painted overall, and all masks removed.
I'm hoping to start on the metal finish tomorrow, allowing the radome and red areas plenty of time to harden before masking.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

Looks good. Curious to see how the natal coat turns out with that matte grey primer underneath,

 

[Bustedwing]

Looks great so far.

 

[Wayne Little]

Cool Terry.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks chaps.

Andy, so am I !
The AK paint can be sprayed direct to plastic, but I wanted to prime the model to check joints and seams. I would normally use a lighter grey, but light grey on light grey is a b*gger to see when spraying, and I don't see the need for black with this paint range, so dark(ish) grey it is !

 

[Airframes]

Masking done, model lightly buffed, and about to spray the first of the metal colours.
Note that the red intake flashes were deliberately painted slightly over size to allow for 'wiggle room' when masking.

 

[Crimea_River]

...and away we go!

 

[Airframes]

Sprayed the first colour on the upper surfaces, using 'Aluminium', and not particularly happy with the result.

It's turned out patchy, with 'grainy' areas here and there, but smooth elsewhere, and a couple of areas where it's bubbled and crazed !
Now this might be because of the matt primer coat, although this was buffed to a sheen to ensure a smooth, even surface. The 'Xtreme Metal' either didn't like the surface, or has reacted with the enamel primer, although having watched video demos, including one from AK, spraying onto primer or bare plastic should be equally successful, as long as the surface is clean.
Before spraying the model, I did some test spraying on a 'hack' model, both on bare plastic and matt painted, and there wasn't much difference, and certainly no grainy appearance, although bare plastic showed a slightly smoother finish.
Pressures were adjusted during this test, and I found that a slightly higher pressure, around 18 to 20 psi, worked best, and that a slightly heavy application, but not 'flooding' the surface, gave a smoother finish.
It's puzzling that some areas are smooth and quite shiny, whereas other areas are dull and grainy, and look like bad brush painting.
The pics show how things look so far.

Pic 1. How it looks overall. Note the smooth, shinier areas on the masking tape around the nose and intakes.
Pic 2. Grainy area, and bubbled at the wing root.
Pic 3. The worst area - heavily crazed and bubbled, which happened immediately after spraying. Some of this has since settled back slightly, and doesn't look as bad, although far from smooth.
Pic 4. Patchy finish, with some high-shine areas, but 'flat' overall.

I'll let this first coat cure for a few hours, see if it settles down more, and then see if the worst areas can be saved, before trying a further coat.
Next time I use these paints, I think I'll leave out the primer - or go back to my old method !

 

[Crimea_River]

Since these are enamel based and are applied over an enamel primer, I don't see why there would be a reaction. I can only suggest that the "crazing" is a result of too much paint having been applied in one pass. This is easy to do in wing root areas and I have learned to apply very small amounts at LOW pressure in areas that are prone to paint buildup. perhaps the other areas saw a but too much paint in one coat as well but I was not there looking over your shoulder. Sorry I can't be of more help.

AK Interactive Xtreme Metal Colors Paint Review
AK Interactive Xtreme Metal Metallic Paints | Large Scale Planes

 

[Airframes]

I agree there shouldn't be a reaction Andy.
The only thing I can think of that's caused the crazing at the port, trailing edge wing root is pooling, where the paint on the fuselage has collected at the root.
However, the larger area of crazing and bubbling, under the fin (not painted) on the aft starboard side, was done with two, light passes, letting the first one dry, and it immediately bubbled.
I've since watched Florry's evaluation, and even when he 'flooded' the surface, it didn't have any detrimental effect.
The paint certainly goes on better on a smooth, bare plastic surface, but as I intended to mask some areas with tape, I used a primer coat (also to ensure any seams disappeared of course ), which should at least minimise any paint lifting when the tape is removed.
Watching the Florry video reminded me of a masking technique I haven't used for many years, and had forgotten about - use damp paper - so I'll try that route when the time comes.
Meanwhile, I'm about to see what it looks like now, and see if any major corrections are needed.

I'll report back soon ...................