- The Airfix Tribute Forum -

Paula & Dan · Last edited by Paula & Dan on Fri 08 Feb 2008 09:44 am; edited 1 time in total

Progress of dancho's build will be reported here,

Paula
_________________
Airbusians.

dancho · Posted: Fri 14 Dec 2007 10:40 am Post subject:

I'll be building the CH-46 Seaknight in a three-color wraparound scheme from the USMC. I will be building the Airfix kit OOB with absolutely no regard for the exact version in the kit versus the one I'm building!

Hobby Boss released a kit with this scheme-- so for guidance in painting I downloaded the instruction sheet for it from http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10056020t2/60/2 and I'm going to try to piece the markings together from my sizable decal stash.

This is a REALLY cool looking paint job for my favorite chopper.

I'll be referring to this scheme as "green tea parfait" (until some marines kick my a**!)

Ratch · Posted: Fri 14 Dec 2007 19:17 pm Post subject:

Looking forward to see that one

_________________
and was Jerusalem, builded here
The new No. 2
Airfix Club 500287
IPMS 10983

dancho · Posted: Thu 17 Jan 2008 14:05 pm Post subject:

It looks like this:

dancho · Posted: Sat 19 Jan 2008 16:07 pm Post subject:

It's COLD here. About -15 F (or -26 C). So it's a bit too cool in the basement for modeling... but I have managed to do a little, and what I did demonstrates my "no common sense" approach.

This kit has a number of problems. All of them can be solved with the proper attitude (a lack of concern!).

Here's a biggie. My "style" involves using little filler and making the parts fit-- if possible. In this case, it was BARELY possible.

The kit part, trimmed up a bit.

You can see the little tabs that keep the part from springing out beyond the sides of the fuselage. It's my habit to remove all "location tabs" so I did.

This turned out to be somewhat less than smart. Without the tabs the kit part just did not fit. (Sorry, no photo of this sorry state).

My solution: FLAME!

(He's gone INSANE!!!)

No, I just used a lighter to heat the plastic and then bent it into shape.

Kids. Do not try this at home.

Here's the part fitting like it should, more or less.

Stay tuned for more weirdness... when it warms up a bit!! I can't keep using that lighter to defrost my glasses!

feanor · Posted: Sat 19 Jan 2008 19:47 pm Post subject:

Ayup Dancho...

Don't you dare sand those rivets off!

Even if it DOES keep you warm...!
_________________
Airfix Member 022... Jolly Boy.

Remember: 'The Dude Abides'...

'It's GOOD to be the King !'

dancho · Posted: Fri 25 Jan 2008 16:30 pm Post subject:

BRRRRRRRR!

Sorry about the lack of progress. Still too cold to do anything on this for the time being. This is the longest cold spell we've had in years. They call it an "old fashioned" Minnesota winter. If the outdoor temp could just raise into the teens (F) the basement becomes habitable again.

dancho · Posted: Mon 28 Jan 2008 01:27 am Post subject:

A little warmer today. So I got a little bit done.

The kit has an instrument panel that is printed on the instruction sheet. So I cut it out and pasted it on! The challenge is finding an appropriate adhesive. So I used (what else?) Future. One coat to attach the paper to the plastic and one coat to seal it.

The windows were a source of frustration. I couldn't interpret instructions--but with the help of the internet, I found images of the Swedish machine and glued them in. My method is to shove 'em in, then flood the edges with a brush full of Microscale Liquid Cement (non toxic) and it seems to work just fine.

The flight deck looks okay. The seats had to be filled since this kit was converted to a "no glue" snap-kit. Anyway, I've spent WAY more time on this "flight deck" than I do on a typical cockpit!

Stay tuned!

Paula & Dan · Posted: Mon 28 Jan 2008 11:39 am Post subject:

Looking good so far. I thought it was cold here, but I guess you'd find our -2 deg C balmy!

Paula
_________________
Airbusians.

dancho · Posted: Mon 28 Jan 2008 20:14 pm Post subject:

SPLAT!

I have glued the various large bits togther, trapping some smaller bits within. The super glue is both filler and adhesive and my best friend.

The resulting assembly will be attacked with some kind of sanding material or something. I'm not motivated enough to remove all the rivets so I'll just knock the tops off to ensure that I don't put my eye out.

dancho · Posted: Thu 31 Jan 2008 17:37 pm Post subject:

Here is my other best friend.

This has been my objective from the beginning, to blend the clear part into the fuselage with white glue. No sanding--in fact sanding is impossible. You just use a little water on a tissue or your finger to smooth it down. If it looks bad, you can remove it and start over. Very cool stuff.

I put the stuff on the fuselage, then CAREFULLY place the clear part to avoid smearing. I use a lot because this stuff shrinks about 80%.

I doubt that I have the bulge-y window in the right place, but the "dome" windows are wrong for the Marine Corps chopper I'm building anyway, so what's a little more wrong??

SEMPER FI!

dancho · Posted: Thu 31 Jan 2008 17:46 pm Post subject:

Some notes about fit.

Just about everything had to be trimmed, filed, sanded and shaped to get some kind of reasonable fit. Since I do this anyway it's not freaking me out, but if you tried to slap this together without a lot of test-fitting you would rue it.

Rue. That's a cool word.

The instructions have no words and don't even give the names of the colors. This is not what we have come to expect from one of the oldest and greatest names in scale modeling. It's really quite deplorable that I have to know that the interior is dark gull gray. A newbie isn't going to know this, and in the good old USA you can't get Humbrol paint. I can get Testors and Testor products, Tamiya and sometimes Gunze. That's because I live in a place with some of the best hobby shops in the country (no kidding--I've been around and I know) St Paul, Minnesota. (If you visit here--for some unknown reason since there is nothing to visit here but the Mall--you HAVE to visit the local hobby shops, Hub Hobby and the shockingly unoriginal "Scale Model Supplies" which may ACTUALLY be the world's largest full time indoor hobby shop.)

Anyway, I CANNOT get the Humbrol or Revell or Xtracolor brands here unless I mail order them. The lack of color names in the Airfix kit would discourage me from ever buying another one if I weren't an old timer with forty years of kit-bashing behind me who doesn't read instructions anyway.

Food for thought.

Ratch · Posted: Thu 31 Jan 2008 19:32 pm Post subject:

dancho · Posted: Thu 31 Jan 2008 22:11 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the link.

More progress...

This is going to be the gray color for the USMC chopper. I mixed it up for some other project and I don't remember what that was...

Inspired by Ron's amazing work I decided to use decal strips for the canopy frame.

I just painted the gray paint on a sheet of clear decal. One coat. No fuss. Cut the strips with a good pair of scissors.

Here we are at the start. One by one...

A bit further along. It looks awful at this stage but it will all settle down with some Microsol and a coat of Future.

This next part involves something I can't really discuss in honor of my Irish ancestors-but a Leprechaun was involved. I seldom see them since I took the pledge many years ago...

Another angle.

The uncovered area will be black (correction: GREEN) and it will be painted with a brush.

I found a great reference photo on the web.

Ratch · Posted: Thu 31 Jan 2008 22:18 pm Post subject:

Just like the real thing

_________________
and was Jerusalem, builded here
The new No. 2
Airfix Club 500287
IPMS 10983

dancho · Posted: Fri 01 Feb 2008 12:54 pm Post subject:

Making haste slowly...

dancho · Posted: Fri 01 Feb 2008 16:16 pm Post subject:

At last...

IT'S CAMO TIME!!!!!!!

This is what I call "the fun part."

dancho · Posted: Fri 01 Feb 2008 16:45 pm Post subject:

Notes about painting.

I've discovered why the old kits had such large rivets-- they had to stand up to a nice thick coat of paint! I usually do two coats of each color. It's important to have a selection of high quality red sable brushes and use a paint that is good for brushing. Humbrol enamel is justly famous for brushing, but I can't get it where I live (as noted above) and I want to use acrylic. Fortunately, Testors Modelmaster Acryl (or Polyscale, also from Testors and apparently the same paint IMHO) is excellent for brushing. It may seem a bit thin, but it works wonderfully. Unfortunately, many of the colors look "wrong" to me so I end up having to mix them-- a big drawback IMHO.

I don't do any special surface prep before painting. In some cases (like this helicopter) I get really lazy. In this case I am invoking the "six foot rule." If it looks okay from six feet away--it's good enough! On this kit, most of the parts fit reasonably well after surgery. The biggest issue was the "snap kit" locating tabs that were cut off (which turned out to be a mistake for the canopy). The "snap fit" modifications and the lack of color names on the instructions were disappointments...

Anyway, brush painting involves a certain amount of skill that is gained over time. I learned from my mistakes. Just don't worry about getting it perfect the first time. Do two or more coats. Touch up and touch up.

The photos above reveal to me that I still have touch up work to do on the demarcation lines between the colors. Those lines have to "flow" in such a way that the viewer is not reminded that this is a little model. The demarcations have to be "in scale" or it looks like it was painted by hand. Getting the lines to be nice even curves without jarring "jumps or jags" is a matter of doing a "rough" version where the goal is to make is as good as possible on the first try--but not be overly concerned. Then, taking a very small brush, filling it full of paint, and taking a deep breath-- drawing a flowing line on the surface, even if it is only a half inch long. "Smoothing out" the demarcation lines is big part of successful camoflage paint job for me.
_________________
“Build what YOU want, the way YOU want to, and above all, have fun.”
- Al Superczynski (1947 - 2007)

Ratch · Posted: Fri 01 Feb 2008 17:21 pm Post subject:

Nice work

_________________
and was Jerusalem, builded here
The new No. 2
Airfix Club 500287
IPMS 10983

dancho · Posted: Fri 01 Feb 2008 19:27 pm Post subject:

Thanks!

Here is the decal sheet that started this whole project. This sheet is about twenty-five years old. If it were human, it would have two kids and a divorce by now!

Anyway, when I saw a photo of this helicopter, I immediately remembered that had some national insignia like that somewhere in my stash.

Because they are so old, I gave them a coat of Microscale Liquid Decal Film. This stuff can save just about any decal, but use an old or cheap brush-- when it dries and it dried fast, it's very difficult to remove. Also, don't let it get on the edges of the paper. It "seals" the paper so that it will take about ten times as long to absorb the water when you finally decide to use the decal. This can lead an impatient person (nobody I know) to think that the decal isn't going to come off the paper at all.

Here they are with a coat of the "liquid film."

For the first time EVER I am trying to make some decals using my laser printer. (I was inspired, yet again, by some of the experts on this forum.) My efforts aren't too good--but good enough by the "six foot rule." Future efforts will be better (I hope!).

These also get a coat of the liquid decal film.

Stay tuned. I need to give the paint a chance to dry before I try to Future it. 24 hours should be enough. Then the Future needs to dry. So the application of the decals should be some time in distant future.

On the other hand, I've never done it that way before...