Practice.

[ausf]

Stumbling with the Eduard 109 fit, I see some wing root work in my future. I decided some practice was in order and remembered I picked up a book and a pair of 1/72 Tamiya kits a few years back to have a father/son build with my kid. I ended up slapping one together and even though the kit is really nice, I botched the assembly. So I figured I could putty and slap some paint on this puppy before screwing up the 109 further.

So, here's a Tammy Shiden as it sits. I puttied the wing and stab roots, just need to wait for them to dry and then sand if necessary.

I don't have proper colors on hand, but the good old model app has me pretty close of the JN colors.

Be prepared for more questions. I think I'm going to try Bob's suggestion of painting decal paper for the canopy frame.

Will the decals stick t the bare part or should I dip it in Future?

 

[phantom II]

Stumbling with the Eduard 109 fit, I see some wing root work in my future. I decided some practice was in order and remembered I picked up a book and a pair of 1/72 Tamiya kits a few years back to have a father/son build with my kid. I ended up slapping one together and even though the kit is really nice, I botched the assembly. So I figured I could putty and slap some paint on this puppy before screwing up the 109 further.

So, here's a Tammy Shiden as it sits. I puttied the wing and stab roots, just need to wait for them to dry and then sand if necessary.

I don't have proper colors on hand, but the good old model app has me pretty close of the JN colors.

Be prepared for more questions. I think I'm going to try Bob's suggestion of painting decal paper for the canopy frame.

Will the decals stick t the bare part or should I dip it in Future?

I alway find a coat of Future to be my friend . Cheers, Christian B)

 

[moon puppy]

Will the decals stick t the bare part or should I dip it in Future?

Yes, I've found it works both ways. I also use Alclad Aqua Clear as a decal medium, meaning I'll have a bit of it thinned with water to dip the strip of decal paper in before placing it on the canopy. Think this one would do well with that technique.

 

[Hippy Ed]

MMM Future!! hyeah :drinks

 

[ausf]

Thanks guys.

I dipped the canopy last night and will spray some paper with interior green today. I'm going to try both the Evans Design white paper and the Testors clear to see which works best. The ED paper is cool because you don't need to seal it (after printing) but it's thicker than regular decal paper, which might be a benefit for this method.


MP, I'll have to stick with what's on hand for me, which is the Microscale products.

How do you handle the decals after installation? I'd like to seal them like any other decal, but won't ABing Future mess with the dipped surface (pebbling)?

And how would you knock down the finish of the frame without affecting the clear? I didn't think of that before...usually it's masked, so flat coats, weather isn't an issue.

Warned you guys: questions. :hmmm

 

[moon puppy]

you should be able to spray Future just fine. But again I've dipped the strips of decal in thinned clear coat using it more as an adhesive. that should stop you from having to seal it once done.

Knocking it down? Well if you want a flat coat instead think you'll be breaking out that superfine paint brush. I never knocked it down afterwards.

 

[phantom II]

Thanks guys.

I dipped the canopy last night and will spray some paper with interior green today. I'm going to try both the Evans Design white paper and the Testors clear to see which works best. The ED paper is cool because you don't need to seal it (after printing) but it's thicker than regular decal paper, which might be a benefit for this method.


MP, I'll have to stick with what's on hand for me, which is the Microscale products.

How do you handle the decals after installation? I'd like to seal them like any other decal, but won't ABing Future mess with the dipped surface (pebbling)?

And how would you knock down the finish of the frame without affecting the clear? I didn't think of that before...usually it's masked, so flat coats, weather isn't an issue.

Warned you guys: questions. :hmmm

I usually shoot a coat of Future over the decals to seal it . The future can be thinned with Windex with Amonia ( up to 50% )

To get the flat finish again do a final coat wit Testor's dulcoat or Vallejo Matt Varnish.

Cheers, Christian B)

 

[ausf]

you should be able to spray Future just fine. But again I've dipped the strips of decal in thinned clear coat using it more as an adhesive. that should stop you from having to seal it once done.

Knocking it down? Well if you want a flat coat instead think you'll be breaking out that superfine paint brush. I never knocked it down afterwards.

Gotcha, I misread the Aqua Clear as a decal medium. I thought you meant it was a decal medium.

 

[moon puppy]

you should be able to spray Future just fine. But again I've dipped the strips of decal in thinned clear coat using it more as an adhesive. that should stop you from having to seal it once done.

Knocking it down? Well if you want a flat coat instead think you'll be breaking out that superfine paint brush. I never knocked it down afterwards.

Gotcha, I misread the Aqua Clear as a decal medium. I thought you meant it was a decal medium.

I'm sorry, medium surely not the right word. Alclad Aqua Gloss Clear has been suggested as a replacement for Future but as long as Future is on the store shelf, not sure why we need a replacement. But yeah, either one would be like an adhesive.

 

[ausf]

Okay, a bit pf progress...

I tried the canopy interior using Evans Design paper, spreading India Ink, then overspraying with cockpit green. The black showed through the clear just as I hoped, but unfortunately the thin paper strips would curl when they dried, whether I used the Future method, water or MicroSol. Everything went on well and looked fine, but eventually curled.

I couldn't find my Testors paper, so I had to wait to get some new sheets.

I tried the India Ink on the clear Testors, it crackled when dry, so I ABed with very thin black, then over sprayed with interior green. I went over half of that with Future as a sealer. The cut strips with just paint would degrade with handling, but the Future covered strips held nicely and went down snug with MicroSol.

Here's the interior frame, keep in mind this is 1/72. The white edging around the green is actual just the light reflecting the molded exterior frame:

And the exterior. This is just the black from the first coat, interior strip, nothing on the exterior yet.

I'm planning on priming Testors paper with black when I pre shade the model, then overspraying with the final color at the same time I paint, installing them afterwards. Let me know if that's a good idea or not.

 

[phantom II]

??? What are we trying to do ?

 

[moon puppy]

Interior canopy frames. Wooo...Nice! Not sure what would cause the curling. Let's see what the outside frame will look like. I think the thickness of the canopy is going to mess with the effect though.

 

[ausf]

The Evans paper is very thick compared to the Testors, I bet that's the reason for the curling. I originally bought it because it doesn't need to be sealed after printing, but when I made the insignias for the Russian tanks I couldn't get them to settle into the cast hull texture, so I pulled them off, painted white (only had clear Testor paper then) and went Testors with a Future seal coat.

The Evans paper will be great for posters, etc.

This is just a test for the 109 canopy anyway, like you said, in this scale it's too thick to get the desired effect.

This does give me an idea for heavy chipping on armor hatches and cupolas. Base coat steel, color coat decals cut jaggedly and left with a 'step' over the steel with the other edge blended into the color coat. Could even do a primer coat of red oxide under the color coat on the decal and peel up the edge a bit...

 

[phantom II]

Future . Mask , spray black . Spray green when first color is dry

 

[ausf]

Canopy in place. Hard to get a photo of the interior frame in this size, but I like it and will use this technique again. Using decal paper makes such a crisp clean line, I don't think I could pull it off with masking in this scale at least. The thinness of the line is only limited by how sharp your scissors or blade is.

The dust is from scrapping and cleaning the Microclear residue, it'll be gone before paint and I assume the small scratches will go away with future Future applications (clear before 'cals).
The frame in the top pic is just distortion of the clear part, the bottom pic is more true. I did manage to get some dust on the inside, and I should have painted the bottom of the canopy black. I tinted the Microclear before setting, but smeared it a bit. But that is what this one's about, making mistkes and learning.

If I have some other 1/72 canopies in my stash (I think I do somewhere), I'm going to try to thin one a bit by grinding and polish, just to see how it would work...

 

[moon puppy]

With the exterior frame in place that will really pop. The effect it much more noticeable in the larger scales.

 

[ausf]

Thanks Bob, that's what I'm hoping for.

I'm sure my next step will seem stupid, but this really is a test bed for ideas. I ran the antenna line before paint. I'll wait until you stop laughing to explain...

I don't see a clean way of setting the line post paint. By doing it first, I was able to glue, trim, fill and sand down the area to where I'd like it. Paint shouldn't stick to the EZ line, so the only real issue I see is having to be careful not to break it during painting. But the same thing applies to pitot tubes etc.

Anyway, here's a pic of the line anchored, I cut grooves in the antenna and the tail, glued the line, then back filed the area with medium CA, trimmed the excess line and sanded down all excess, including the line that was proud of the grooves. I'd add the insulators afterwards.

I know I'd make a mess of the paint doing this post.

 

[ausf]

And yes, I pulled the canopy off. I forgot the gun sight...

At least I'll be able to correct the smear of darkened Microclear.

 

[moon puppy]

Looks good. I leave off that stuff till the end because with my fat fingers and dexterity I'll surely pop it off, repair job always look worse.

 

[SA Dave]

Looks good. I leave off that stuff till the end because with my fat fingers and dexterity I'll surely pop it off, repair job always look worse.

Hell I dont even put it on because I will just end up clutching it up