Royal Scots Greys - Part Two

I started these boys back in the summer. The Folland Gnat got in the way amongst other things so I was pleased to finally say they are done.

To show them off I made a movement tray/display base from 1.5mm plastic card.

I listed the paint scheme in the initial blog on these so here's the final pictures. Hope you like them.

Comments always welcome.

Airfix Hurricane Mk IIC build - Part One

The model I am using came as part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight set. I was inspired to get stuck in to this due to a recent article in Airfix Model World (AMW) by Alan Price - Issue 21. I also recalled an earlier article in Issue 3 by Len Thomson so both of these are on my bench.

I obtained a detailing etch from Eduard through Squadron.com as well as replacement vacuform cockpits. In addition I am waiting on a bunch of resin detail parts from Valiant Wings publishing. Neat little set that contains a new prop, wheels, exhausts, gun barrels and a few other items.

Once the etch arrived I quickly realized if I was going to get this right I needed some reference pictures so I now have a copy of Hawker Hurricane Walk Around number 14 by Ron Mackay et al.

Getting stuck in the first job was to scribe panel lines in place of the raised detail on the kit. Alan Price describes how to do this in a short piece in AMW 15. This was my first time and I was thankful for his guidance. It is actually straightforward. You need a tool to  scribe with. I got mine at my local Hobby shop, Maplewood Hobby. You then need various edges to guide your tool over the model. I had most success with a small steel rule and a flexible steel template. The picture below attempts to show the results on the lower wing. I guess the main point here is you are not trying to dig a trench. I found three light passes was sufficient to start. Then after lightly sanding the edges of the lines and any remaining raised detail away  I was able to re-scribe the line and finish up with a recessed panel line that should show up well after painting and weathering.

With the panel lines scribed I have turned to the cockpit and the Eduard Etch. This is the third kit I've used etched parts on now - the Vixen being the only one I've actually finished. I just get anxious. All the top modellers make it look so easy but to me it requires major concentration. So here's the parts I've made up so far. The cockpit has been sprayed with Humbrol 78 and I've added parts to the seat, made up the cockpit framework, built the instrument panels and one of the cockpit sides.

Next up is to study my references so I can finish the cockpit.

As always any comments are always appreciated from fellow modellers.

What next?

At the end of my last post I mentioned I had made a start on my Airfix Lancaster. well that didn't last long. Somehow it just seemed to big a task for right now so I started messing around with other projects.

I got well down the path with a Games workshop Mumak. Impressive kit but it needs a lot of filling sanding and re-scribing to make it look anything like ready for display.

I think one very important point to make about htis model is that it is essential in my mind to pin all the pieces to be glued to the main body: ears, tail, tusks, trunk should all be pinned otherwise theywill undoubtedly get knocked off at some point in the future.

Once the joins are gone and the other parts pinned in place though painting is relatively easy.

The model was first base coated in Dark Sea Grey. This was applied with an airbrush. Next came a heavy wash of ink mixed from Black and Devlan Mud. Excess ink was removed with a dry paper towel so that the ink stayed in the folds of the model only.

After that I went with successive dry brushing layers of London Grey (VJ) and Fortress Grey (GW) finishing with a mix of Fortress Grey and Off White (VJ).

Tusks and toe nails were all base coated Bone white (VJ) and then got successive layers of Scorched Brown (GW), Bestial Brown (GW), Snakebite Leather( GW) to represent the cuticle aresa. I final light wash of Gryphonne Sepia (GW) blended it all together.

The Saddle and wood and basket work on the back are in progress - not sure when I'll be done but here's the beast as it stands so far.

While all this was going on I was also finishing off my Scots Greys from the summer. They are all painted now and just need their bases done so more of them later. I also painted more Warhammer for my son, Did a battalion if Union Infantry using the Army Painter method and got started on a Scots War band for my Saga game. Phew.

And if all that wasn't enough I got bored with everything and decided I really need to build my Airfix Hurricane Mk IIc so that's what's next ... and this one I'm going to finish, honest.
As always I would love to hear from fellow modellers. Here comes the Hurricane.

Airfix Folland Gnat build - Final pictures

I cant thank Airfix Customer Service enough for sending me a replacement cockpit. Of course I managed to crack it again but that's another story.

The Promodeller Clay wash arrived too so I got stuck in to using that first. The model has a couple of coats of Tamiya Clear on it. The wash goes on straight from the bottle.

The picture here shows the model with wash applied.

After allowing the wash to dry for 20 minutes+ I rubbed off the excess with a damp paper towel. The clay stayed in the detail giving the model some real depth. It also gave a more weathered look too.

A final coat of Lacquer sealed everything in.

It only remained to paint the cockpit up and give it a dip in Future before fixing it on and finally finishing the model. Here's how it looks. I learnt a lot on this one not least of which is how good Alclad products are.

For anyone remotely interested I decided to make a start on my Airfix Lancaster. I have a massive etch to detail it with so this one will take some time. But that is for another post.

As always feedback, comments are appreciated.

Airfix FollandGnat build - Part Six

Good news. Customer Service at Airfix are sending me a replacement canopy! Thank you Airfix.

So having got over my depression from wrecking the original canopy I forged ahead and completed the painting and decal fixing. There are numerous small decals on the provided sheet some of which almost disappear against the metallic finish but the Red, White and Blues really contrast great with the orange. Micro Set and Micro Sol were used to attach the decals and everything is locked in with Tamiya Clear.

So now I am waiting for the post to deliver the replacement canopy and then I'll finish it off.

I'm going to try one more new product on this model. I have a bottle of ProModeller Dark Wash coming from Flory Models in the UK. These guys have a good support web site for their store with some valuable resources.

Here's how the model looks so far.

Once I have the canopy in hand and have applied the dark wash I'll post some final images. For now its time to consider the next project.

I will spend a few days finsihing off my Scots Greys and some of my sons Warhammer Space Marines. After that I have to figure out do I build another model or hit my figure stash.

Possibilities include:

Airfix Vulcan
Airfix Angel Interceptor
Airfix Chipmunk
Airfix HMS Fearless

Perry Confederate Infantry
Perry Zouaves
Indian War Party - Muskets & Tomahawks
Scots - SAGA

Anyone care to make a suggestion?

Airfix Folland Gnat Build - Part Five

Mixed feelings today as I will explain.

Firstly I was able to use the amazing Alclad II paint system to put a very realistic looking coating on the aircraft. I purchased Aircraft Aluminum which needs a gloss primer before application.

I sprayed on Testors Gloss Black for the primer - two coats. I let this dry for 24 hours and then applied two plus light coats of the Alclad II Aircraft Aluminum paint. This product sprays straight from the bottle. Its lacquer based so you need a cleaner  that will handle lacquers afterwards.

The first picture here shows the aircraft after a single coat of the Alclad and then the finished article. The Alclad gives a beautiful finish. I learnt a few things:

1. The better the gloss primer finish the better the Alclad looks. I noticed in some areas of the aircraft where perhaps my primer was not as well sprayed on/dense the appearance of the metal was not as convincing as where I knew I had a good gloss coat such as the wing surfaces.

2. Spray light coats only in a single pass. I noticed where my passes overlapped (or I was a little more heavy handed) the finish was not as smooth as in other areas.

Having said all that it is an incredible product and definitely one I will use on any model requiring a metallic finish on its parts.

 

When I removed the masking tape the aircraft just popped . The metallic finish contrasts terrifically with the Orange. Check this out.

So then came the big issue. I started to clean up spots I had missed, remove over spray etc. One area I had to clean was the cockpit glazing. I had not protected the inside of the glazing and so some spots of spay had got inside. No problem I thought. Out came the Humbrol Enamel thinners and a piece of tissue paper. One swipe with the thinners and the spots were gone but then all of a sudden the plastic started to get crazy lines in it and it actually split at the front where it is thinnest!!

I've never seen that before. Maybe some of you already knew this but there is yet another lesson learnt ... mask the whole canopy inside and out! Problem now is I have a model 80% finished and no canopy.

Airfix Folland Gnat build - Part Four

With the model surface rubbed down with Micro mesh 1200 I proceeded to apply the masking necessary to apply the orange paint. As always I used Tamiya masking tape and then filled in the large gaps with some 3M masking tape.

With the tape in place I sprayed a primer coat of white.

With the primer dry i then mixed the main color for air brushing. I used the Humbrol Color from the kit instructions; Gloss 209, Fluorescent Fire Orange.

I used Humbrol enamel thinners and mixed it a little more than 2  parts paint to one part thinners.

I did about 5 coats to get the depth of color allowing the paint to dry between sprays and rubbing down with Micro Mesh 1200 after the third coat.

The first picture here shows the model ready to receive the primer. The second was taken after the first coat and the last is the finished article. I have a bit of over spray to deal with but you can see how the successive coats gives a very rich deep color to the orange.

Next up will be the bare metal of the airframe. I am going to use Alclad II products for this so stay tuned it's my first time!