Hasegawa 1/48 Kawanishi N1K1-Ja Shiden

Great work so far John!

Alclad Aluminum over the black.



I masked and painted panels different shades of Alclad to give the bottom some variation.


Using a circle cutter, I masked and painted the bottom wing hinomarus. There was a little bit of red overspray that needed to be cleaned up afterwards.



A little bit of post-shading on the bottom using various shades of brown.


After spraying some hairspray on the upper surfaces, I put down the first layer of preshading.

I really like the way this one is coming together. I am so interested in how you get such varied and subtle finishes with your painting.

Thanks for taking the time and effort to show what you do so clearly.

Dan

Looking good John.

Thanks for the comments! The painting of the Shiden continues with the marble pattern preshading. I'll use a paper mask, slightly elevated with Blu-tack to provide the edge between the green upper and NMF bottom.


After the paper masks are placed, the preshading is completed.



I used Tamiya XF-70 IJN Dark Green for the upper color.


There was some minor overspray clean-up that I had to do on the green/NMF boundaries.


Flat finishes, especially over NMF are very prone to scratches. Normally, I'd seal it with a light clear coat to help protect it but since I want to perform some chipping via the hairspray layer between the NMF and green, I couldn't apply the clear coat just yet. I carefully masked various panels and cloth covered control surfaces and painted them with a slightly lightened shades of IJN Green.


A close-up of the wing showing some of the tonal variations that I have created.


Chipping will be next!

Brilliant work.

Good stuff John.

Thanks for the positive comments! Greatly appreciated! Now that the topside green has been established, I should now do the chipping before more layers of paint are added. The hairspray layer that was sprayed onto the Alclad Aluminum is vulnerable to water. By brushing a wet paint brush over the area, the foundation for the green will be compromised and will begin to disintegrate, revealing the metal finish underneath. I've found this technique to be highly variable and after a few minutes of wet brushing, I wasn't satisfied with the results. I think I would've accepted the results if I were doing a highly worn Japanese bird but that is not the effect I was going for.


I let it sit for a day before making the decision to repair the green and do my chipping using another technique. I gave the chipped areas a coat of light grey and did my normal pre-shading routine.


The IJN is put on over the preshading. It's finished off with a bit of postshading using a slightly darker green. Another downside to the hairspray method is the physical disruption of the surface paint layer. You can't quite make it out but there are imperfections in the paint finish where the chips were. I tried to smooth this out using fine sandpaper and micromesh but I ended up making it worse... I couldn't eliminate the edges of the paint layers. I'll have to disguise these imperfections with chipping later on.



I decided to add the white-bordered fuselage hinomarus at this point. Japanese insignias are simply circles so masking them is pretty easy if you have a circle cutter. I used a micrometer to get dimensions off of the kit decals and cut two sets of two circular masks.


The larger diameter mask outline is applied first. I put on an irregular coat of white to serve as a base for red.



The red is a mixture of Tamiya Red and Brown.


After the red has been given sufficient time to dry, the smaller diameter circle mask is placed within the bigger circular outline. This is the trickiest part of the deal... lining up the circle to ensure that the outline is uniform. I drew crosshair lines on the masks to help me line this up correctly but they were of limited use since the curling yellow tape was difficult to control.


The hinomarus are finished off by spraying the white border. At this point, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that I have reasonably concentric circles.


The moment of truth as the masks are removed... hmmm, not bad! A little bleeding has occurred but this side seems to have been a success. It's a good idea to save the masks after painting to be use for paint touch-up.

Wonderful...

The used masks were salvaged to help clean up the bleed through.


The port side is a little off-center but I think it is acceptable.


The upper wing hinomarus are masked off and painted.



The model was given a clear coat (Alclad Aqua Gloss thinned with iso alcohol with a touch of Mr Color Leveling Thinner). There was a small reaction between the clear coat and the hairspray layer which revealed some metal paint. I had to give those spots another hit of IJN Green and clear.


After the clear had dried, I gave the model a pastel wash of dark brown.


I wiped off the wash using a moistened paper towel, leaving highlights in the recessed areas.


The effect on the topsides is much more subtle due to the dark IJN Green. The yellow on the leading edges of the wings were painted at this stage.


A closer look at the hardly noticeable panel wash on the green surfaces. The wash shows up better in the red areas.


A closer peek at the undersides after the wash.

Good work John

Looks great so far John!

agree with da boys

The red walkway stripe is painted on the wing.


After the few decals have been applied, the model is given a flat coat.



A look at the tail codes. The Hasegawa decals went on very nicely.


Started to tack on the assorted bits including the landing gear. It's a tight fit for landing gear/wing connection as well as the gear/wheel connection and I didn't use glue. Exhaust stains were added at this stage.


The drop tank is also attached without glue.


Some chipping with the colored pencil.



The masks on the tail and wing lights have been removed.


The landing gear covers are on and the bird can now stand on its own legs.


Almost done now. Contemplating one last weathering touch using salt but haven't decided yet. All I have to do now is attach the engine cowling assembly, gun barrels, antennae and remove the canopy masks.

Fantastique