wm cheng

So glad to have inspired someone (that's really the purpose of the step-by-step threads, and to vent sometimes;-) I'm afraid it really is a dying art, brick and mortar shops are closing up all over the place and I don't know a single young person into modeling, I guess video games are more immediate. Delayed gratification is a virtue of the old;-) hehe. So did you apply the Tamiya weathing powders to the gloss coat after the smoke post shading? I haven't really used much of the Tamiya weathering stuff, but have one set which I experimented on the Atmospheric Booster Launch Rail, and found out that it only applied well over a flat/matte base.

Jarrod! ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! Thanks for sharing, the painted colours looks so well matched together, congratulations on a wonderful paint job. Its going to be tough doing this one, but inspiration like this encourages me to find time for modeling again.

WOW! THIS IS THE BEST LUCA I'VE EVER SEEN!!! Simply amazing... Thanks so much for sharing, it definitely gave me my model fix for the week ;-) Would love to see a step-by-step thread next time around detailing your paint/weather process.

Wow! How could I of missed this!! Amazing work!!! Fantastic weathering and paint scheme ;-) What a wonderful addition to our forums. I'll be waiting to see what you do next with anticipation. Congratulations on a beautiful build and thanks for sharing with us.

Wow! you accomplished so much. It look great, sorry to hear about the aggravations, buts its all part of the learning process;-) Wish I was around earlier, but its been a crazy month with the holiday season. Yeah, really glossy finishes takes a while to cure, and even then I find that I leave a lot of fingerprints and fabric textures and tape residue impressions on them (been there, done that! - you're not alone!), they are really finicky - luckily there aren't a lot of really glossy military hardware! That's why I usually use a semi-gloss undercoat, I find it usually strikes a balance to hide the decal film on most light surfaces and is more handling friendly. Although I do tent to go glossier if I am decalling over a dark surface such as the grey booster packs. But I could of told ya that it should all smooth out if you spray a flat matte finish over the whole thing in the end. With all that masking, why didn't you just mask and paint the blue panels instead of using those horrible screened decals? You'd get a better match and it would save a lot of heartache (IMHO). Its a no brainer for me, I'd just paint everything to match, however I would just handbrush those little recesses in the fast packs where the nozzles go, there's such a crisp edge between the surface going down and the outside surface that you can always get a straight line. If there's some overpaint, you can wipe it off and do a dry brush of the grey fast pack colour on the surrounding edge to clean up any wiggles. It is also interesting to vary and mask your final finishes so some parts are flat/matte, some semi-gloss and some glossier, it darkens the underlying colour to go glossier and varies the overall tones without having to paint all the different colours individually (see my Yukikaze Mave model - I really liked how it turned out with only one base green coat but the different flat and gloss finishes). Since you mask so much anyways, my recommendation would be to mask the major coloured areas (like those blue panels) - you may have to paint them white first to get a good undercoat, then the blue on top to match. But with the amount of masking you do, it's not a whole lot more! ;-) and the end results are worth it. Lastly, good to see you got your VF-27r! I just got mine last week too!! Can't wait to start on it. (although I can't see where I will find the time in the foreseeable future!) I think I might do a metallic magenta scheme, kind of like my purple gunpod, I would coat the entire plane in the Alclad Silver or Steel (or different shades of metal) then do a clear mageta/rose overcoat over the metal and finish in semi-gloss in the end. Good luck! Can't wait to see you put it all together.

Revised chest piece that includes working airbrake (like 1/48) and the front top intakes that actually are open and go in a certain depth with a little detail around the opening instead of it being just blocked off. Revised/replaceable leg pieces that the outside UN SPACY panel opens up to reveal the engine greebles behind the circular ankle disk (like the 1/48 Hasegawa model) and a spring loaded rectangular plug that hides the hole for the fast packs. Revised/replaceable nose section that has removeable avionics bay hatches (like 1/48 resin) and a revised seam that runs along a latitudinal panel line and not diagonally across the stripe. I'd like flowler flaps on the wings and leading edge slats please. Second the side covers and ladder Please Please water slide DECALS! Nope, I do not want to buy my toys all over again, just add-on kit with decals please! ... and a partridge in a pear tree...

Get the Tamiya rattle cans (spray cans) they go on pretty smooth, all you need is white - the decals do everything else! Try the Acylic or the white primer is actually pretty amazing too, it goes on so smooth and its sandable too. You could get a can of "steel" to do the gunpod and feet.

Wow! aircraft mode looks fantastic... (great design) - but gotta figure out a shade of matte dusty rose that looks military (any precedents anyone?)

LOL! haha... even after all these years, I still go through all the above steps on every model. I only hope to inspire... Please by all means we need more to enter into this dying hobby... its extremely rewarding. However, please don't start with the Hasegawa F-14, its one of the all-time most difficult kits (over-engineered in both 1/48 and 1/72 scales). I bet the parts breakdown will be similar to the 1/72 scale Hasegawa VF-1 - I'd start with that first to practice, they aren't too expensive and are a good deal of fun, plus with all the great decals, you could end up with a pretty decent model with minimal painting - just spray white and decal!

OK, just a few points to remember from an experienced fridge compressor user; -its gets quite hot, especially the compressor head (burn your fingers hot) - so its 5-10mins of spraying for every 20mins to let cool down (its not meant to be on all the time, only short periodic bursts) or it could just overheat -you will always get a slight "puttering" telegraphing through - even if you have a very good and expensive regulator, so the spray isn't perfectly even, but with time you learn to control it (definitely get an internal mix airbrush, the externals will make the problem worst) -the oil inside a fridge compressor isn't properly separated from the airstream, so you can get the occasional mixing of tiny amounts in the airline that makes it through the moisture tap (moisture tap and good regulator are essential) -make sure you get tefelon tape the threads to the couplings to make a good airseal (it was tough finding the right reducers from hardware A/C type threads (compressor end) down to smaller finer airbrushing threads for the hoses) -some compressors don't go up high enough in PSI to make an airbrush work properly - look for ones above 30psi (figuring you would probably mostly airbrush between 12-22psi depending on the paint) / underpowered ones will "putter" more in the airlines I know its a big investment for a real compressor, but I tell ya, its worth it (and will last for years to come). For the amount of grief I went though to keep that old setup running (the my time, effort and sourcing) you would pay for a real proper compressor without the headaches (if you plan on staying with modelling). I don't recommend it (I was poor and young - but had lots of energy...) now ;-) p.s. remember, the "right tool for the right job..."

I feel your airbrushing pains... in my highschool days when I couldn't afford a compressor, I made do with a refrigerator compressor I bought at a salvage yard for $15. I used that for 10yrs! (along with a proper regulator and moisture tap). I had to keep stopping all the time to keep it from overheating. Then I got some spare airtank for filling up tires for a few times before I got tired of running to a gas station to fill it up. Finally bit the bullet and got a real silent airbrush compressor with tank about 10yrs back and I've been spoiled! It was a revelation! Although its through these trials and torture that I learnt most in modelling. The one big lesson out of all this poorboy scrounging around is "...the right tools for the right job" saying really holds true. Nowadays, (well, before I had my daughter...) if I can't afford it, I don't even try - my "older" life is too short to be banging my head against the wall.

I'll have to agree with the Captain... its starting to look a bit rediculous. However the lineart isn't so bad though. We'll just have to wait and see.

So does that mean you're going to come to our rescue?! A whole engine bay out on a truck like the Tamiya F-16 (1/32) would be nice just for starters... (including PE ribs for the interior of the leg once the engine is out of course! ) I hope they put the intake fan a bit farther into the leg to look a bit more realistic.

YES! Finally a 1/48 that I can get excited about. This might actually break me out of my strict 1/72 scale policy... now where to find the room for this. I too only wished that it had more removable access/fuselage panels and a wing with all the slats, fowler flaps and spoilers detailed and separated. This might be my exception. ;-)

Well, it seems like the common element here is the Testor's dullcote (just stay away from that stuff ;-). It could have separated like you said and you were spraying solvent (sounds entirely possible too). But in general, NEVER spray lacquer on top of anything other than lacquer. Lacquer is the hottest type of paint and will react to anything underneath. I would definitely warn against spraying lacquer on top of anything (I would never try it myself and have gone to great lengths to avoid this situation). Spraying lacquer on top of acrylic would not make it any more durable - since the underlying coat is acrylic on bare plastic (the weakest link). If the lacquer were to etch/eat away till it got to the plastic to get a firm hold - it would surely damage the acrylic layer to get to the plastic. If anything, if/when it gets damaged, the lacquer would bond with the acrylic layer and pull that clean off the bare plastic in flakes. If you want a really strong bond, then I would just paint the entire thing in lacquers, right from the bare plastic up to the clear coat, its the only way to get a stable strong layering of paint without weak bonds/links. There are ways to get lacquers on top of acrylics (usually initial light coats to have the atomized lacquer particles to be almost dry before contact with the acrylics - but it takes a lot of practice and experience to get it right, and its often non-repeatable and way too dangerous IMHO). Just plain luck most of the time - something I would steer clear from. But when you lay lacquer on in these thin dry coats, it doesn't react with the underlying surface (that's why it doesn't damages them) - therefore negating the strong bond you want for durability (it would have similar durability characteristics as acrylics then where the paint merely lies on the surface). Its this "damage" to the underlying coat that gives lacquer its strong bond/durable characteristic.

Hey mickyg, Was it you with the dessolving paint on the gun? Sorry, I can't remember since I get so many questions all the time. Lets just say; "Stay away from Testors!" I learnt that most of my problems usually stem from that company and I haven't used them for years. My guess is that the Testors dullcoat was a lacquer (or even enamel) and that reacts "hotly" to the acrylics underneath. I love Tamiya (acrylics are easy to clean up, doesn't smell - only they don't adhere as well to plastics) - but you should stick to acrylic clear coats on acrylic paints. Acrylics will not react to any of the other paints such as Lacquers or enamels. On a scale; "HOT" highly reactive paints (start with these at the bottom - against the plastic and work your way down the list) - Lacquers (first coat against the plastic) - because of their reactive natures, they "etch" into the plastic - very hard to remove, but can be sanded to feather out the paint to be seamless (often primers are lacquers) - never use them for anything transparent as they will make it foggy due to its etched quality. I'm sure the solvent is quite toxic too. Definitely where a respirator mask with a filter for "Organic" solvents (most unhealthy). Aclad metalizers are lacquers and I've never applied them over acrylics. Enamels - doesn't etch/melt the plastic like lacquers, but very durable - must use enamel solvent to remove or sand off. Some can feather out when sanded, but glossy paints tend to form a skin that doesn't feather so nicely. The paint and solvent stinks, so it can't be too good for your lungs. Acrylics (top coat - or only stick to these paints) - least reactive, most inert - unfortunately, it means the paint just lays on top of the plastic. Easy to remove especially with alcohol or windex (I use windex to clean out my airbrushes all the time - cheap and effective, I think the active ingredient is ammonia, only the blue regular windex with Ammonia D works well). The flat paint can scratch off easily unless its sealed in with a clear-coat (I always recommend Model Master Acryl clear coats). Thats why I always use these clear coats to seal in a paint job/layer that I like so subsequent layers doesn't affect the underlying layer. Good luck, Wm

Thanks for the photo links... Eh... its not that different from the 1/72 scale, I guess I was hoping for more. Might skip this one. Now if they did a VF-1 as detailed as the resin offering, that might sway my me! ;-)

I see that you guys can produce decals! Are they spot printed or Alps printed? How about doing decals for our Yamato 1/60 and 1/48 scale toys? I'd love water slide decals for the new Yamato 1/60 VT-1 as your first job!! ;-) Please consider decals also, I'm sure there are many people from the Toys threads interested (as seen from the previous provider of such decals - unfortunately he can no longer provide the service).

Well, the rudder looks like they added a few more scribed lines - but overall, they seem somewhat underwhelming, just the 1/72 scaled up. I hate the way the gunpod attaches to the plane with that stupid looking stick - and it looks like that's still intact from the 1/72 scale offering.

Fantastic work Rabidweezil!! Are those just the supplied stickers or the Hasegawa 1/72 decals? Oh, please won't someone make water slide decals for these.

Hey that looks really great! Cobywan - thats a lotta tubes!! mickyg - that's a good idea too, let us know how it pans out! You could also paint the red underneath in enamels, then do your steps and the windex won't affect the enamelled red.

Thats a good idea... belt strap puncher eh? Hmm wonder where I could get one of those. I was thinking (purely a mental exercise at this point), but how to paint the bottom black, but have the missle bodies white (white tube all the way down to the bottom) and a red tip. I was thinking maybe spray the whole thing gloss white, then do a thin black heavy wash so the black sits/pools at the bottom (hopefully leaving the missle bodies white) then dunking the white tips into a small pan of red paint to get an even red tip at the top.

Did you do each one by hand... one at a time, or did you dunk just the red tips? How did you get the red tips so even all the way around? Thanks - great work by the way!!

How did you paint all those little missles?

Welcome to the board!! What a great first post... I'll be watching with great interest. Very nice details indeed.