Hey, All,
I wanted to close this thread out with a post mortem or lessons learned on this build. I felt this would be of value for the new folks and a way for me to get these stuck into my head.
Pros
Tamiya kits are excellent. The overall fit was amazing on this kit. I had only a few places where I needed to sweat any filling and sanding. The wing to fuse joint was great with a touch of filling at the leading edge/wing/fuse joint. Fuse seam needed just a touch of sanding. Only down side I found was the decals, they are awfully thick. I did use a set of SuperScale decals for the final finish with the Tamiya stencils where needed.
Testor's Model Master enamels are very nice. I took some time before I painted the kit to practice the mix/air pressure for the airbrush combo. I arrived at about a 30% thinning and around 10-12 psi for the final paint job.
Future is great for sealing and laying down a smooth surface the decals.
MicroSol still rocks even on the thicker Tamiya decals, just needed 2-3 applications to get the kit decals the sit down nicely.
Tamiya putty and Cutex fingernail polish remover make for a GREAT way to fill those areas without having to rescribe any surface detail.
Tamiya masking tape ROCKS. I used 6mm and 18mm for most of the kit. This in conjunction with kitchen plastic wrap makes masking so much easier.
Brake fluid does a GREAT job of removing paint without damaging the plastic. Lord knows I used a bunch to recover from my major stumble.
Windex really does remove Future nicely.
My Passche air brushs still rock. I am finally getting a feel for the gravity fed Talon.
Cons
Tamiya Flat base is just that, a flat base designed to be added to paints/finishes. Not really a con as much as me not reading the instructions or understanding what I was using.
Summary
This was my 1st serious build since returning to the hobby this last year. Overall, I am pleased with the results (pics reposted below). I have built a couple of less expensive kits to dry run myself and relearn some of the more subtle aspects of construction and build techniques. So, what did I learn with this build?
1) Read the directions. Study them before you cut the first piece from the tree. Pay attention to any decal placement instructions buried in the assembly steps. For this kit, the propeller decals were called out in the propeller assembly steps.
2) Dry fit EVERYTHING. A few moments spent here will save you time and mistakes. For this kit, the underside of the cockpit floor was interfering with the wing assembly to the fuse. A quick pass with a moto-tool grinder solved this problem.
3) Let your paint cure at least 24 hours. I know, this can be a trying to those of us that are patience challenged, but it will save you huge problems with subsequent coats.
4) Read up on mixing enamels and acrylics. The guys here were a HUGE help with this challenge for me. If you are not sure, ask. Someone here will answer your question fairly quickly.
5) Future really does make a difference with the clear parts. I did dip my canopy glass in Future for the 2nd finish pass. What a difference this step made. Just be sure cover the parts under something as the Future dries. I used a clear plastic cocktail cup for this.
6) The make up area at my local Wal Mart has some neat things for finishing and these are far cheaper than hobby "branded" supplies.
7) Know your airrbush. Practice with it before you try on your model. Believe me, you will save your sanity shooting over some styrene sheet 1st.
8) The folks here are amazing. AMAZING. They are patient and so very thoughtful in their responses. Yes, they can get a little crazy, but, hey, we all sniff glue for fun. What do you expect?
That is it for now. I will roll back to the post with some pictures I will take tonight.
Dale