A newbie's VF-25F

[Cent]

I recently finished my VF-25F, largely thanks to the help I received on this forum. I'm still new to model building, as this was my first model, but I thoroughly enjoyed building this, so I'm looking for some criticism, tips and advice for future kits I may attempt.

Sprue cutting was pretty easy, using a wire cutter, then shaving away with an exacto, and then wet sanding it flush. I airbrushed all of the internals with Tamiya Acrylic Gun Metal and mixed it with a little bit of water, instead of acrylic thinner. For a comparison of colors, you can look at the first picture, where you'll see the center stand-stump that goes underneath the belly of the plane is unpainted. After partial assembly, I placed on the decals, and used Mr.Hobby decal softener to get them to meld entirely. This worked amazingly well for me for the decals along the edge of the wings, as the decals would smoothen along the edge, and even the transparent decal carrier edge smoothened out. This was before I started cutting off the carrier edges completely though >_>

Although the decal solvent worked, even after drying, decals were very easily scratched during the transformation, and I have to be extra careful handling it. I did notice some small dried water marks over top of the decals. These were less noticable after the Dullcote layer I put on top of the externals. I also took a toothpick and dabbed small drops of acrylic flat black paint onto large depressions (like the bolts on the edges of the wings, and the depressions on the back) and then used my fingernail to scratch off the excess after it semi-dried in about 10 minutes. In retrospect, I think it was a better idea to just paint the other screw/bolt locations, rather than decal them.

I didn't paint the visor, as I wasn't sure how to approach the translucent color appearance. If I used the stickers, they would have been a flat, unappealing green, and if I painted it, I was worried it would give me similar results. Am I supposed to thin a green paint or find some sort of color dip for that part?

Thanks again to the people who helped out on the many different threads here!

Edited February 8, 2009 by Cent

[shiroikaze]

It actually looks great. I'm kinda surprised how the gunmetal looks, it actually looks lighter than I thought it would. Why does it look wet though?

As for tinting, you could mix clear paints or colors with Future Floor Wax and dip the clear parts in the solution.

[edwin3060]

Wow great job! Your VF-25F seems to fit together much better than mine. Hip gun placements, etc are all in place!

[Cent]

In some of the pictures, I used the camera flash... and it made the gun metal look far too bright and glossy. The consistency is more easily seen in the battroid expanded feet picture, where flash wasn't used. I did have issues with mixing too much water with the gun metal though, although you can only notice whats left of that on the back of the shoulders. Everything else I recoated with a properly mixed layer, so you can't tell anymore.

Also for the ankles, I tried to make it a slightly different grey, and chose Tamiya Metallic Grey... But the difference is pretty subtle unless up close. If I was trying to make something like that lighter next time, would I do it by mixing it with some white paint? Diluting it seems to not work so well.

As for the part fitting, I assembled and disassembled my kit 3-4 times (before adding decals) taking time to shave down certain areas to make sure they were flush. I think that was mostly what contributed to an overall good fit. Just some time and patience. I was working on this kit on and off for about 2 weeks or so.

[shiroikaze]

I guess mixing flat white should do the trick...

Just curious, why did you use water instead of 91%+ alchohol? Also, did you cut the pegs before assembly or did you just put them together and pry them apart? I'm debating whether or not should I cut the pegs or not...

I just noticed how the panel lines turned out, I'm actually aiming for something like that.

[Cent]

I don't know. I went to my local hobby shop and asked for acrylic thinner, and he told me that water would work just fine... So I didn't end up purchasing it. *shrugs* maybe someone here can enlighten me.

As for pegs... You mean the runners? I cut, shaved and sanded them before assembly. After assembling and disassembling, I shaved a few internals as necessary, but mostly all I did after that was just wet sanding and buffing.

[shiroikaze]

I meant the internal pegs, but hey you answered my question!

Water does work, it's just not the best thing to use I think, I was just curious that's all.

Alcohol works well overall except for glossy colors. The actual thinner just works for everything.

Edited February 8, 2009 by shiroikaze

[505thAirborne]

hey Cent, your VF-25 looks great, I love the work on the engine exhaust ports, looks well detailed!! Nice job!!

I have my VF-25's, just no time to build them yet!!!

[silenthill]

Very. Very. Nice!

I wish i had the ability to build such kits!

just a n00b question, there are die-cast metal parts in the kit?

[Letigre]

I don't know. I went to my local hobby shop and asked for acrylic thinner, and he told me that water would work just fine... So I didn't end up purchasing it. *shrugs* maybe someone here can enlighten me.

You were probably better off going to an art supply store and asking for an acrylic medium.

[Cent]

there are some metal pins in the kit. That is all for metal.