Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb *Finished*

For aircraft marked in a completely different scheme.
Runs 1-30 June.
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rob_van_riel
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Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb *Finished*

Post by rob_van_riel »

I had a bit of an experiment scheduled, and I figured I might as well do it here.

Our most esteemed labrat for this little experiment is a Matchbox Tempest:
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The kit was bought second hand, and turned out to be started and incomplete. I could have gotten my money back, but I had an itch to scratch, and despite it's mangled state, this kit ought to do.
The itch in question is finding out if I can build an old Matchbox kit without painting it, but with all the gaps and cracks filled in, and still make it look good, and then, as a second stage build, paint it up properly, without the benefit of being able to work on still separate parts. For this purpose, it is largely irrelevant whether the paintwork is correct for the kit.

The kit is now completely assembled, and has had it's filler and sanding job. I consider the result to be less than satisfactory, because I also smoothed over and sanded out some cases of incorrect fit. This results in vaguely defined areas of filler, which is not the effect I wanted. On a future attempt, I will restrict myself to gap filling during this stage, and leave corrections (and any sinkholes) for the second stage. This will be more difficult, and require more thickery, but I think i will be doable.
I've also apllied the original decals that came with the kit. They too were beyond normal use, as the waxpaper had become fused to the decals, and there was plenty of residue from disintegrating backing paper as well. The options were to ditch them, or to stick them on for effect, so guess what I chose. It should be noted that the decals themselves still perform perfectly.

What remains is a coat of high gloss varnish, scheduled for tomorrow, to restore an overall gloss finish to the plastic. I'll post pictures when that's done, completing the first stage of the build.
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by rob_van_riel »

Stage one is completed; the kit is built straight from the box.

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I like the result; on a kit that hasn't had some paintwork done before I get my paws on it, this should look exactly as an old Matchbox should look.

Well, that accounts for the Wolf, now it's time to raid Mr. Johnson's clothes line. Or, more to the point in this particular case, Sakai-san's. The plan is to use these markings, stolen from a Hobby Boss Zero:
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The Hobby Boss kit was bought for the express purpose of donating it's decals; it was cheaper to buy this kit than to buy a set of aftermarket decals without any plastic :roll:
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Ian
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by Ian »

The aircraft are reasonably similar so this should 'look' quite 'real'.
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by splash »

That’s nice and shiny what varnish did you use?

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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by Zee28 »

This is gonna look great. But the raw plastic looks so glossy, was this what Matchbox kits were like OOB?

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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by Sissel »

That sure is glossy! Looking at the green I'm getting Hercules vibes. Must be the shine and reflections. :roll:
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by rob_van_riel »

The kit in the picture is not bare plastic; after sanding and filling, it looked decidedly grubby, so I hit it with varnish to get an even sheen on it. The varnish used was Dupli-color Deco clear varnish, from a rattlecan, which is most likely information that won't help any of you much. Experience with my Red Arrows Hawk suggests that Tamiya gloss varnish, applied with a hairy stick, is about as shiny though, as seen here:http://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=5444
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by rob_van_riel »

On monday, I took a shot at priming the kit as a preparation for airbrushing on the Japanese scheme. Bad idea. The primer was rather too hot, and the result not even remotely cool :cry:

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The remaining evenings this week were mostly spent getting most of that mess off the kit again. The result wasn't pretty, but at least I managed to 'only' break off the tailwheel in the process.

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Note the fundamental toughness of the Matchbox decals. At the time the picture was taken, the kit had been attacked with acetone and sandpaper, not to mention the potential effects of the primer. The decals just don't seem to care.

The bottom side has just been sprayed light grey. It looks like it might be presentable to all but very close inspection, so there's still hope. From an experimental point of view, it has become clear that when I do this for real, I should not put decals on the unpainted plane. They are thick enough to show as ridges through the subsequent paint job.
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by AndrewR »

Ouch! That was a real mess and no mistake. :omg

It looks like you are managing to restore it though :)
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by Ian »

Crikey, Rob. What a mess! Good job on the recovery, though.
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by Stuart »

Hey at least it's filled in the MB panel lines!
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by rob_van_riel »

Sir T wrote:Hey at least it's filled in the MB panel lines!
Hmpf.. I'd wish. The primer may have been hot, but not particularly thick (there's a reason I use it to bring out detail, not wipe it out :grin: ). The panel lines are still quite prominent.
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by Sissel »

Oh dear, that's a nasty accident. But you seem to have saved it nicely.
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by ShaunW »

Jeez Rob, that primer was so hot it was boiling! Good save though - onwards and hopefully upwards now!
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Re: Rob's Tempest in inappropriate garb

Post by Molly-new »

I have never come accros hot primer before, and having seen the mess it makes I don't want too in the future either. Good recovery job though.
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