Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[derex3592]

That's one awesome Tomcat! Great job!

[MechTech]

The Tomcat came out great!

I wonder if that Esci Harrier is the MPC Harrier? Looks like it. A friend and I built those like 35 years ago! We loved the rocket pods and 1000 pounder bombs. They had Falklands War artwork on them (not long after the war too).-MT

[Skull Leader]

Thanks guys!

[UN_MARINE]

Got some color on the Ex-S, for now it's the 1st set of assemblies with the 2-tone color pattern.

It's turning out to be a lot more work than the "hella bunch of work" it started out as.

I figure painting it's gonna last until about a month.

[derex3592]

Sunny and 70 today! Yup! We're at the paint bench down here in Tejas! Hopefully last primering of Mr. Monster before some paint later today or this week and direct sunlight spoon color test of orange and dark green for King Crabulon

[derex3592]

aaaaand....now we have a green Monster! However....with the announcement of the Bandai Hi Metal 1:100ish scale Monster coming out...honestly I'm starting to wonder if this model will have been worth my time and effort!

[007-vf1]

aaaaand....now we have a green Monster! However....with the announcement of the Bandai Hi Metal 1:100ish scale Monster coming out...honestly I'm starting to wonder if this model will have been worth my time and effort!

Answer; It always, always is...

A warrior takes a whole month training day in, day out to execute a kill in mere seconds..

[pfunk]

I've got that kit in my to be built pile...as much putty and sanding as I'm having to do with my Monster, I'm not looking forward to the Spartan! Your's is looking good though!

Thanks, I think I wore out a file on that kit. I have an old monster that I need to build too. I may just do a wave destroid kit in the meantime so I don't lose my mind.

[big F]

Sunny and 70 today! Yup! We're at the paint bench down here in Tejas!

LOL where I am it's sunny and there is a 7 in the temp but no 0's

[reno]

So far, su-51 in a flanker scheme,

Greetings, from Mexico

[vsim]

Nice, I like that scheme on that!

[Dobber]

Always love seeing 51's. Great work!

Chris

[PetarB]

Reno that had come up very nicely. That undercoat panel lining looks nice and restrained.

[GU-11]

@Reno: I love flanker paint schemes on "lanky" Valks like the SV-51 and YF-19. And that paint job on your -51 is gorgeously done too. Looking forward to seeing the final results!

[Kylwell]

So far, su-51 in a flanker scheme,

Greetings, from Mexico

Nice!

[derex3592]

Big guns are done...making some good progress with this guy over the holiday break

[electric indigo]

Will you go for a weathered or factory fresh look?

-

First paint on the Harrier today:

[derex3592]

Nice! I heard/saw my first harrier back in the day at an air show with my dad. It was hovering and is still pretty much the loudest thing I've ever heard! Ohh we're going weathered on the Monster me thinks.

[derex3592]

Good progress today in Monsterland!! All painting done! Future applied and I printed up some extra water slide decals for the arms...whatta you guys think...smaller or larger UN SPACY???

[coronadlux]

If you do a heavy weathering, I say larger decals. But if it's subtle then the smaller one is good enough.

[Dobber]

Fantastic builds guys!! I really need to finish my Yamato. It's at the 95% finished mark....just need to get off of my lazy but and finish it! LOL!

Chris

[derex3592]

Soooo.....decaling was going great today....then I learned that apparently Future and Micro-Sol don't play nicely together ...WTF??? ..... any ideas about how to fix this cloudy nightmare?

[wm cheng]

Oh no! Future and Micro-SOL do go great together, that's been my combination for years. Your green layer looks rather dull/matte, did you coat it with Future to make it really glossy and shiny to provide a smooth base for the decal first? You have to have a super shiny smooth glossy base for the decals to sit on first. The Future which gives this glossy base needs to setup and dry first. Then you apply the decal and lightly dab the edges with Micro-SOL and let the capillary action draw the Micro-SOL underneath the decal - by this time it should be in place as you never move a decal once its gotten Micro-SOL on it, its a solvent and its natural for it to wrinkle up the decal a bit before it dries and lays flat. When it isn't crazy curved surfaces I would only use Micro-SET instead of Micro-SOL as its much milder and won't "melt" the decal.

The silvering underneath the decal looks like it was applied over a matte/flat finish basecoat and there's nothing you can do afterwards that I know of that makes it go away (short of removing the decal and starting over).

I wish I had better news to give you.

[derex3592]

Oddly, yes. I completely coated the entire model with many coats of Future and let it dry 24 hrs before trying decals. Weird. Well...I've been doing some reading on other modeling forums and have a couple of things to try. I should have just not used Micro-Sol at all. All the surfaces are smooth on this kit, I was just going to put some on the gun decals as they are round. Bad call I guess. The rest of the decals going on the kit look great, including my homemade UN SPACY's.

Thanks for the info Chang!

Edited November 29, 2014 by derex3592

[CoreyD]

That's very strange. I actually just used Micro-Sol with a future coated model the other day and had zero adverse effects.

[big F]

I also have used them both together but had a similar experience with an old kit, I put it down to the age of the decal sheet.

I've just looked at my monster kit from 1984 which is waiting a major refitt the decals have done the same although back in 1984 I had no idea what I was doing and didn't even paint it green first, but I can remember them looking better, may be an age thing after all.

Edited November 30, 2014 by big F

[derex3592]

Well, this morning I tried about 50 pinpricks with a new #11 Xacto blade and then brush painted on future while rolling a Tamiya mini pointy Qtip over the decal between coats of future. I'm gonna go with....not absolute perfection...but a heck of a lot better than it was!!! I'm going to go with my problem was not waiting long enough for the future to set up. Apparently the going consensus around the scale modeling forums is 48 hrs. Several people have had clouding issues with Micro-Sol as I did. Oh well, onwards! Couple of additional pics included.

[Dobber]

Cool! Glad it worked out! That is always a good feeling when something gets fixed.

Chris

[wm cheng]

Wow! That looks great, wonderful save! I didn't think it was savable... so how did you restore it? Is the key getting the future underneath the decal?

[David Hingtgen]

I'm going to go with my problem was not waiting long enough for the future to set up. Apparently the going consensus around the scale modeling forums is 48 hrs.

Yup, when I saw your previous post about 24hrs drying, that's the first thing that came to mind. Future doesn't dry in a day. It takes DAYS to truly cure.

[derex3592]

Wow! That looks great, wonderful save! I didn't think it was savable... so how did you restore it? Is the key getting the future underneath the decal?

That's exactly right. Simply poke microscopic holes in it with a new blade tip and brush paint over it with a few heavy coats of Future. Little "press and roll" over the decal with a Qtip might help things along. And yes, looking back, I airbrushed my Future on, so I don't think I got enough on the gun barrels. however...today I learned brushing it on by hand I kinda like waaay better. Thicker coat goes on with a brush and for me the application is more controllable on larger flat areas and especially round parts!

Edited December 1, 2014 by derex3592

[coronadlux]

Great save. I was never good at decals. But now, I think I'm gonna try the future route.

[UN_MARINE]

Nice recovery on the decals!

I was at the decal stage too, got paranoid & stuck to the Mr. Mark Setter/Softer like there was no tomorrow (and melted a couple decals out of shape).

I can see the light at the end of this "forever project".

[Phyrox]

Speaking of decals, I have a question on that front:

My latest Frankentank project turned out way to bright and "contrasty," so I gave the whole thing some oil paint treatment.

It's black oil paint, comes in a tube, paint in on a spot and then rub/smear it for a dirtying effect (it takes hours to even seem tacky, so perfect for such applications).

I've only used this stuff before on roadwheels or engine decks, so I've never had to worry about effect on decals...

But here, I've oiled the beastie up, let it dry, gloss-coated it, and tonight I'll put on some decals. To maintain some consistency I'll want to treat the decals with the same finish, but I fear that even gentle rubbing prior to a dullcoat will tear or move the decal.

So, what do you do? Dullcoat, oil paint rub, then more dullcoat? Or is there a trick one of you more experienced can let me in on?

I swear, I love to build and modify models, but I'm an idiot when it comes to painting. This little guy for example was an impressive conversion, build-wise. But once I start painting it gets instantly downgraded to amateur hour. I need a partner who just paints for me.

[Chas]

I would use another clear coat after the decals, not a dull coat, then oils over that, to blend the decls in with what came before them. then when you are happy with the way things look go with the dull coat flatten everything out.

The reason I would clear coat after the decals and before treating them with the oils is because the dull coat creates a rough finish and applying oils over this will, I suspect, highlight that rough surface and look 'wrong'. Test out both methods with some spare materials first and see which one works best for you.