wm cheng

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.

If it gets too close after the clear coat at the end, you could alter the clear coat too - so the darker parts gets a semi-gloss and the lighter parts gets a flat matte - its amazing what the clear coat finish can do to alter the colour beneath them. Take a look at my Yukikaze Mave thread, those greens were done with varying shades of clear-coat finish. The glossier finishes tend to darken (makes the finish look wet) the colour and the flatter matte finishes tend to lighten the colour beneath. Looking good!

That's a pretty tiny hinge for that massive wing section on that VF-27 - hasn't Bandai learnt anything?! Frugly landing gears again!!! Shape looks good, but can't credit Bandai for the design.

Wow!, they look great! I'm definitely in for a few sets, depending on price. Keep us up to date, definitely interested.

Hey anyone thought of the Glaug Officer when they saw that mech? I think the designers sure did. Nicely done!

Sorry to hear about your lacquer run-in - I trust that you read my post to your question on my VF-25 thread. Mixing paints is tricky business. I cheat a lot (because I'm lazy) but I decal over semi-gloss finish only on white models, as you can see most of my Valkyries have been white or very light in colour. Its very hard to see the "silvering" on the edges of decal film against a light colour. However, since you guys are applying decals onto a fairly dark surface, I would DEFINITELY do a very smooth gloss coat on prior to decalling. I always do a gloss ModelMaster Acryl clear-coat on anything that is darker than very light grey. Dark rough surfaces are the worst at showing the decal film - called silvering. I've tried using future as suggested by many modellers, but I find it quite thick and can obscure fine engraved details (not a problem here with Bandai) but when spraying the flat/matte clear-coat on afterwards, one must do so in very light even coats to start off - a heavy wet coat will "reticulate" on the surface of the future. In fact, always spray light even coats, its always better to spray lots of light even coats than one heavy wet one. So definitely do a smooth gloss coat before decalling this dark blue puppy! Additionally, the ModelMaster Acryl clear-coats I use have specific airbrush thinner and a dried paint solvent for them which I highly recommend using instead of experimenting with alternatives. These are the clears I use: http://www.testors.com/category/136694/Clears http://www.testors.com/category/137115/Thinners http://www.testors.com/category/137118/Cleaners

I hear ya loud and clear! I can't even think about doing the rest of the squad... ;-(

Sorry to hear about that Mickyg, I think the automotive gloss coat was too "hot" and may have ate your dullcote a bit. You have to be very careful when mixing paint types. Acrylics are usually water based paints and are the most gentle to the plastic, as such, it merely sits on top and is the most fragile and can be easily scraped off. Isopropo (sp.) alchohol is usually a good thinner/solvent for acrylics. Then comes enamels, these are solvent based and you use emamel solvents to thin or clean them. Lastly are lacquers, these are the most "hot" (meaning they are the most reactive and have a tendency to eat away or slightly melt the surface that they are sprayed on - because they "etch" into the underlying surface, they are the most durable - impossible to get off without sanding, but thats whats great about them, they can be sanded down to feather an edge for seam removal, thats why primers are usually lacquers). There are lacquer thinners/solvents out there, but most will probably eat away at the plastic styrene as well. Automotive lacquers are by far the worst of the bunch by several magnitudes since they have to endure the harsh environment and resist fading in the sun and cracking in the cold - they are made to not be removeable. You have to be very careful when mixing paint types. I never use automotive paints on models - just too harsh. Just try to stick to hobby paints, there are so many different types, there really is no need to go outside for any colour unless its some special effect you're trying to achieve. Once you have an understanding of the reactive qualities of the paint types you can purposely mix them to achieve layers that "seal" each other in and protect each other. I usually use Tamiya Acrylics, they are the most mild and are completely inert, they do not react to the plastic at all. I like them because they don't smell and are easy to clean up - but they are fragile and scrapes off easily. I then usually seal them in with the Model Master Acryl clear-coats. Again, they are acrylics (hence "Acryl") not the lacquer line, but these arcylics are just different enough that the Tamiya solvent or Windex (which I use as a cheap solvent due to the ammonia content) doesn't seem to affect the MM Acryl clear-coats. So I use it as a stop-barrier to seal in steps of painting that I like - so I can experiment with other layers on top and if I don't like it or it doesn't turn out as expected, I just strip it down using the solvent/windex to the last layer of clear-coat with all the previous layers of paint beneath the clear coat intact. The artist oil wash uses again a different solvent (low-odour varsol) so it wipes away easily without affecting the underlying clear-coat. I only use lacquers for priming so I can sand it or Aclad metalizers since there is nothing else like it. So what to do now. See if you can find a solvent for that automotive paint you used, then try it out on a piece of sprue to make sure it won't eat the plastic. If a solvent exists that will remove the automotive paint you used BUT not eat the plastic then you're laughing - chalk it up to a learning experience. Believe you me, I've had all sorts of funny paint mixtures effects in my build experience. Definitely do not add more paint! p.s. Generally always leave a flat/matte clear-coat till the very end, flat finishes are microscopically bumpy, when you clear-coat over it will a gloss coat, it needs to be fairly thick to fill in all the bumps to make something glossy (its the smoothness of the coating that reflects the light) - I usually try for a semi-gloss first since it resist fingerprints, then go glossy for the decals, the flat for the final finish if that's the desired sheen. Always try to use the right solvents for the right paints and try to stick to modelling paints. I tried experimenting in the past with alternatives, it just isn't worth it in the end - think about how many hours of effort you put into the model, you don't want to ruin it trying to save a few bucks. (some stuff doesn't ruin your work till a few months or years down the road!) I'm a firm believer in the right tool for the right job!

I hope for that price that the decals are spot colours instead of the crappy screened stuff that Bandai is shovelling out to us as decals (the VF-25 ones is like we printed it ourselves on a colour copier!) ;-(