Plastic Modelers in the IL-2 Community

[voncrapenhauser]

Looks great Matt look forward to seeing finished.

Longest time without building a model was about a year.

1/72 is a bit small for me ,the old eyesight aint what it used to be lol.

 

I find Vallejo acrylic matt finish spray over decals tone them down a treat.

Its strange stuff though ,when sprayed it appears to bead up on the surface and you think you have ruined your model.

But not the case it allways dries perfectly as long as you dont spray to much.

 

Anyone else used this stuff?

[Matt]

Thanks alot, i appreciate it. 1/72 is the smallest i would go myself and the trial run for me was the Tie-Fighter, which i actually starting working on first. It has 12 or so tiny water decals inside  the cockpit (which you can't see in the end) and needs some small paint details on the cockpit and hull as well, so i thought if i could do that, i could also do the other models. Painting the pilot figures is definitely the hardest for me, i even prefer to apply the tiny decals to that.

 

I only use Vallejo primer and colors, but couldn't get the Vallejo varnish to run through my cheap China airbrush (and i don't even want to try to run it through my H&S). But i ordered another cheap airbrush with bigger nozzle, which i also want to use for priming and i'll then test the Vallejo coat.

 

In this case, i just used Tamiya spray coats. I changed some minor details on the cannons, pilot helmet and canopy framing and i think i'll keep it like that. It also looks so much bigger on the photos than it is in real life, so even though i notice some spots in the photos which i would want to change, i can barely make them out when just looking at the model.

 

 

Here it is with the Tie-Fighter, which is still missing wash, some decals and clear coat and i need to correct some spots on the panels and back of  the hull. I didn't want to paint the black panels, so i painted most grey hull parts separately and then missed some spots and i only noticed that when putting the hull together. It's good pratice for the other Ties though. The Tie-Fighter looks huge when compared to all other fighters and it dwarfs the A-Wing. That doesn't become apparent in the photo though.

 

And some cockpit detail with the aforementioned decals, which make the cockpit look very nicely detailed, but can only barely be spotted from outside. Now i'm actually thinking about adding some red light inside the cockpit, but i will only do that in the far future, if at all.

 

And here's  the Snowpeeder in 1/48. Still very WIP, just managed the orange markings, which wasn't easy, because it needed a lot of masking. But i like the result. I'll use some white highlighting on the grey hull and i think the wash and final clear coat will tone down the orange, which appears a bit too vibrant now.

[voncrapenhauser]

Sweet!

 

Yes a super clean Snowspeeder.

Did my 1st MPC/Airfix the same way.

 

I have lots of reference pictures of The original FX Snowspeeders and compared to yours they look terrible.

Well done keep up the great work there.

[Matt]

I added some highlights, painted details and added chipping and i think now it's really getting there. The orange doesn't look that much out of place anymore and i plan to use a slightly brownish wash, that should lower the contrast between the orange and grey a bit. But the orange also appears more saturated in the photo than in reality. The cockpit is a bit challenging, but thanks to your photos, i think i atleast have some idea how it should look like. Most of it will be hidden anyway unfortunately.

 

 

 

[voncrapenhauser]

Looking good for sure.

[STN]

Finally got to the colouring stage. Lot of touching up ahead.

[Feathered_IV]

On ‎7‎/‎23‎/‎2020 at 10:45 PM, THERION said:

Great job, mate! And I suppose you do it in 1/144 scale, don't you?

 

Yeah, I do love that scale!

 

On ‎7‎/‎24‎/‎2020 at 3:04 AM, voncrapenhauser said:

Magister looks great,What colour Feathered? Trainer yellow? or 50/50 with Camo.

 

I'm going for the Dark Green/Dark Earth upper colours with the trainer yellow undersides and halfway up the fuselage.  The plan is to do T9736, which was one of the Magisters hastily converted to a bomber in case Mr Hitler got across the channel. 

 

Great job STN on the Grumman.  The shading looks very nice.  Congratulations too Matt.  I especially like the Snowspeeder.  Very inspiring!  I hear Bandai also do one in 1/144... 

 

 

[Hoots]

Quick question, is there a way to stop the decals from having a "shiny" finish on my Lanc? Looks pants against the matt of the paint. Bear in mind I have paint, water and some brushes...

Edited July 29, 2020 by Hoots

[bzc3lk]

17 minutes ago, Hoots said:

Quick question, is there a way to stop the decals from having a "shiny" finish on my Lanc? Looks pants against the matt of the paint. Bear in mind I have paint, water and some brushes...

 

Apply your decals over a gloss surface. The shiny appearance, especially on the carrier film, is air trapped between the decal film and the painted surface. You can find decal application products in the link below.

 

http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=FINPROD

Edited July 29, 2020 by bzc3lk

[Hoots]

2 minutes ago, bzc3lk said:

 

http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=FINPROD

 

The lockdown birthday present my son bought me is turning into another money grabbing hobby!

[Feathered_IV]

Some fine sandpaper of 1200 grit or less can be good to give a matt finish to the decal’s glossy carrier film.  The other useful method is the French polishers steel wool that you get from hardware stores.  It’s graded for fineness (don’t use kitchen grade stuff) and you can run it over the decals and the thoroughly dry paint to give a uniform finish.  0000 grade is the best one. 

[Hoots]

Awesome! Thanks bz3clk and Feathered

[RAAF492SQNOz_Steve]

On 7/18/2020 at 11:24 AM, tiger_0988 said:

Any RC tankers out there? I just got a Heng Long Leopard 2 today to go with my M1A2 and T-90 also from HL. I have a Challenger on order. I like them, but they do seem to have problem on occasion. I had to fix the front guide wheel on my M1 and the Leopard I got today seems to have a defective main gun. They aren't super pricey, but they aren't cheap either. I've hear HL has upped its game from the stuff they first released, but out out of the 4 I've got 2 have had some issue so we're looking at 50% batting average.

 

The M1A2 was the upgraded version with metal gears and tracks and the Challenger I just ordered is also the metal upgraded version and LCD combat ready. The leopard I just got today came with the LCD attachment.

 

The M1A2 and T-90 didn't come LCD combat ready, but may be up-gradable.

 

In spite of the issues, they do look nice and are loads of fun to drive around. They also freak out the neighborhood cats.

 

On youtube you see some people really go to town and upgrade their tanks. I've seen some Mato steel with rubber padding track for my M1 that go for $142

 

Just picked up a Heng Long Early Tiger Tank, in the last week,  so far have been very impressed by it.  Has been on my to-do list for quite awhile and the Covid 19 lockdown pushed me into picking one up. Pleased to say that it is fully operational and I am already looking at upgrade options or a FPV camera. 

 

I purchased the Pro version with steel tracks and wheels and it certainly has a lot of weight to carry around.

 

The wife and Schnauzer are somewhat less enthusiastic about it all .......... 

[STN]

The Duck is slowly turning into a parrot :)

[Feathered_IV]

Mine is turning into a canary!  

 

 

Slowly getting the colour on.  I was born and raised with Humbrol's Trainer Yellow, and feel like a traitor using a Gunze lacquer on a British aircraft. It does give a nice smooth finish though if you build it up gradually.

[Matt]

I decided to go all out on the chipping on the Snowspeeder. Reason being, that most other Star Wars models i plan to build don't really fit heavy weathering and it's good practice for those few models that do need that (like the Y-Wing and probably Millenium Falcon, if i decide to order one). Looks way overdone up close on the photo, but looks pretty good from 10-20 cm away.

 

I also like the Snowspeeder model so much, that i might make another in near factory new state. Cockpit is also mostly finished, the figures need some touches. Of course that will mostly be hidden by the canopy anyway. Still needs clear coats, decals, washes, pigments and so on.

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by Matt

[STN]

? for crying out loud.... the Maskol ate away the canopy framing....

will be much fun to reproduce it on the nearly finished model.

[voncrapenhauser]

17 hours ago, Matt said:

I decided to go all out on the chipping on the Snowspeeder. Reason being, that most other Star Wars models i plan to build don't really fit heavy weathering and it's good practice for those few models that do need that (like the Y-Wing and probably Millenium Falcon, if i decide to order one). Looks way overdone up close on the photo, but looks pretty good from 10-20 cm away.

 

I also like the Snowspeeder model so much, that i might make another in near factory new state. Cockpit is also mostly finished, the figures need some touches. Of course that will mostly be hidden by the canopy anyway. Still needs clear coats, decals, washes, pigments and so on.

 

 

 

9 hours ago, STN said:

? for crying out loud.... the Maskol ate away the canopy framing....

will be much fun to reproduce it on the nearly finished model.

 

 

Nice one Matt.

I personally think your weathering is spot on, not over done at all...great work.

 

 I have never had much luck with Maskol either STN, It is great for paint but transparencies not so much,.....Strange ? considering that's what it's purpose really.

like you found out it can damage them  especially if left on too long.

 

Prefer masking tape myself.

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by voncrapenhauser

[Matt]

I finally finished the Tie-Fighter. Only did some dry brushing, which turned out pretty well, especially on the black panels, and a dark grey wash to add some contrast to the greyish hull. I figured, that those Tie's would usually fly around in space and not in in the atmosphere, so no chipping and it would get probably blown up very quickly anyway. I think i will use the exact same approach for the Tie-Advanced, the Tie-Interceptor will probably use a darker and more blueish grey. But i'll finished the Snowspeeder, X-Wing and Y-Wing before those Tie's anyway.

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by Matt

[STN]

Finally finished. Definitely not an easy job. The kit is a short run one, but with fine surface details and complete riveting. Unfortunately due to need of massive filling and sanding lot of it goes lost. Some of it I tried to re-do, some was beyond my capabilities. I upgraded the engine with a few details, since the one directly from kit was completely ''naked''. The plastic of the kit is very soft and not really a pleasure to work with. Small parts are not really well made and some need to be modified, or replaced as is usual with short run kits. The biggest downside for me is the vacu- canopy. What however surprised me was the nice and easy upper wing installation. Can not recall when I mastered it so fast.

 

The result is as it is. The cleanliness could have been better. I wanted to have this one off the table and it shows.

Nevertheless it is a nice to look at. What a monster... I love it! ?

 

Grumman J2F-2A ''Duck''
VMS-3
BuNo 1198
Bourne Field
Virgin Islands
1940

1:72 Valom

[Hoots]

10 hours ago, STN said:

Finally finished. Definitely not an easy job. The kit is a short run one, but with fine surface details and complete riveting. Unfortunately due to need of massive filling and sanding lot of it goes lost. Some of it I tried to re-do, some was beyond my capabilities. I upgraded the engine with a few details, since the one directly from kit was completely ''naked''. The plastic of the kit is very soft and not really a pleasure to work with. Small parts are not really well made and some need to be modified, or replaced as is usual with short run kits. The biggest downside for me is the vacu- canopy. What however surprised me was the nice and easy upper wing installation. Can not recall when I mastered it so fast.

 

The result is as it is. The cleanliness could have been better. I wanted to have this one off the table and it shows.

Nevertheless it is a nice to look at. What a monster... I love it! ?

 

Grumman J2F-2A ''Duck''
VMS-3
BuNo 1198
Bourne Field
Virgin Islands
1940

1:72 Valom

 

 

 

Loos amazing to me! Lovely looking result

[dbzero]

On 7/29/2020 at 2:31 AM, RAAF492SQNOz_Steve said:

 

Just picked up a Heng Long Early Tiger Tank, in the last week,  so far have been very impressed by it.  Has been on my to-do list for quite awhile and the Covid 19 lockdown pushed me into picking one up. Pleased to say that it is fully operational and I am already looking at upgrade options or a FPV camera. 

 

I purchased the Pro version with steel tracks and wheels and it certainly has a lot of weight to carry around.

 

The wife and Schnauzer are somewhat less enthusiastic about it all .......... 

How do you like your new Tiger? I just got a Challenger2 Pro version and received my new Ultimate Gearbox for my T-90 and Steel Gearbox for my Leopard 2. Unfortunately my M1A2 looks like it has a main board that needs replacing. I'll see if I can upgrade to the newer 6.0 versions.

 

I'd really like to get some WW2 stuff, but space is an issue.

[Heliopause]

On 8/2/2020 at 10:45 PM, STN said:

Grumman J2F-2A ''Duck''
VMS-3
BuNo 1198
Bourne Field
Virgin Islands
1940

1:72 Valom

 

Interesting plane the Duck! 

 

 

[Feathered_IV]

That looks fantastic STN.  A job well done and the satisfaction of a very good save.  I wonder what you will do next. 

[Hoots]

Hesitate to post after STN's excellent duck but now onto weathering, it's trial and error but I like this bit

Any tips for weathering? Less is more seems to be the main theme...

 

[Feathered_IV]

I reckon you nailed it.

[Hoots]

12 minutes ago, Feathered_IV said:

I reckon you nailed it.

 

Cheers Feathered!

 

[STN]

Anyone who manages to successfully finish a 4 engine bomber deserves a medal. And god knows Revell kits are not that easy.

 

3 hours ago, Feathered_IV said:

That looks fantastic STN.  A job well done and the satisfaction of a very good save.  I wonder what you will do next. 

 

The next subject is already on the table and am cleaning the flash from parts. It is an italian beauty. It took me one year to find my balls and man up to start this one.

[STN]

Well folks, here is the new project. 

[voncrapenhauser]

19 hours ago, Feathered_IV said:

I reckon you nailed it.

Ditto .....Nice!

 

Interesting STN.....Hmmm??, looks like an Italian design possibly a Cant?

Edited August 6, 2020 by voncrapenhauser

[STN]

It is a Savoia Marchetti. Looks like one of the weird things pirates from "Porco Rosso" flew

[Feathered_IV]

You always choose such excellent subjects.  Your collection must really be a sight to see.

[STN]

The collection is stored in airtight plastic containers until I find a place for a proper vitrine.

 

P.S: To be honest I chose this one because it is easier. I have chickened out of a Roden Gotha V. Looked at all the rigging an the parts in the box, took a deep breath and.... no... not yet...

[Feathered_IV]

Nice!  The Gotha is high on my list for scratchbuilding. I’m keen to look into that once the Fe2b is out of the way. 

[Matt]

Got mail from Japan yesterday, Y-Wing and Tie-Advanced. Spent a couple of hours to assemble the Y-Wing (it has around 40 small plastic tubes for the rear fuselage, apart from that it's quick and easy). Ready for painting now. Definately way more detailed than the X-Wing, which is currently on hold (not too impressed with the X-Wing kit, but then it's one of their cheapest kits).

 

 

I ran into some trouble with the Snowspeeder. The enamel thinner used for the final wash reacted with some parts of the model that were not perfectly covered by the clear coat. That caused some stress cracks. Seems to be a common problem with Bandai kits, so i'll be more careful in the future or avoid enamel washes. I'll need some time to fix that.

 

I also decided to buy some Gunze acrylic colors, because i'm a bit fed up with the Vallejo colors clogging so easily. I think the Vallejos dry way too quickly, even when using their retarder. I read that Gunze colors take much longer to dry (which some might consider a disadvantage, but i don't) and they should work better for me.

[voncrapenhauser]

2 hours ago, Matt said:

Got mail from Japan yesterday, Y-Wing and Tie-Advanced. Spent a couple of hours to assemble the Y-Wing (it has around 40 small plastic tubes for the rear fuselage, apart from that it's quick and easy). Ready for painting now. Definately way more detailed than the X-Wing, which is currently on hold (not too impressed with the X-Wing kit, but then it's one of their cheapest kits).

 

 

I ran into some trouble with the Snowspeeder. The enamel thinner used for the final wash reacted with some parts of the model that were not perfectly covered by the clear coat. That caused some stress cracks. Seems to be a common problem with Bandai kits, so i'll be more careful in the future or avoid enamel washes. I'll need some time to fix that.

 

I also decided to buy some Gunze acrylic colors, because i'm a bit fed up with the Vallejo colors clogging so easily. I think the Vallejos dry way too quickly, even when using their retarder. I read that Gunze colors take much longer to dry (which some might consider a disadvantage, but i don't) and they should work better for me.

Wow! Yes I steer well clear of mixing enamel and acrylics,...had my fair share of screw ups too, hope you can save it Matt.

 

I use Florey models washes as they are clay based and need nothing more than a wet finger or tissue to clean up, once dry they just need a matt or satin coat to seal in, just remember to seal any decals first and bobs your uncle. (as easy as pie I mean for any one but the Brits).

 

I love the Y wing design hoping to build a 1/18th scale one to go with The De Agostini X wing I am building(not started that one yet).

Edited August 6, 2020 by voncrapenhauser
Spelling as usual.

[Buglord]

On 7/26/2020 at 9:53 AM, voncrapenhauser said:

 

 

I find Vallejo acrylic matt finish spray over decals tone them down a treat.

Its strange stuff though ,when sprayed it appears to bead up on the surface and you think you have ruined your model.

But not the case it allways dries perfectly as long as you dont spray to much.

 

Anyone else used this stuff?

I use it always m8 but ive had it bead up on me before but that was because i bought an older batch , ive been using vallejo for years , you have to be careful with which batch you get , buy the new formula version or the older stuff gives you beading i find. i mix 80 vallejo 20 tamiya thinner..

Great work everyone , love the duck , been looking at the 1/48 version. Always liked the duck when i first saw it in the film Murphy's war.

[voncrapenhauser]

On 8/6/2020 at 11:11 PM, Buglord said:

I use it always m8 but ive had it bead up on me before but that was because i bought an older batch , ive been using vallejo for years , you have to be careful with which batch you get , buy the new formula version or the older stuff gives you beading i find. i mix 80 vallejo 20 tamiya thinner..

Great work everyone , love the duck , been looking at the 1/48 version. Always liked the duck when i first saw it in the film Murphy's war.

I always use the aerosol canned Vajelo now and it goes a long way IE the cans are always full unlike some products I could mention, I have had no disasters since?

 

It only appears to bead up to me but when it dries its really smooth.

I guess we all use the stuff we have had most success with I suppose.

Edited August 8, 2020 by voncrapenhauser

[Feathered_IV]

Got the top colours on.  Thank goodness no peeling, ridges or bleed through after unmasking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[voncrapenhauser]

Yep! looking sweet Feathered.