The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

Thanks again. Appreciate the cheering from the sidelines.

The spare Roden wing had a giant window in it as it was from the 2 seat trainer. This needed to be rectified to the narrow standard window for a camel.

I did this by laking down some tape, then styrene rod to demark the new window, then I added "modellers' bog" of baking soda and CA glue to fill the space and a layer of tamiya putty for the final surface finish. Came out alright.







I also added some 0.4mm rib tapes on the underside of the lower wing, as the KK kit has NO detail on the wing underside - it's completely flat.

Nicely played!

dollar19 wrote:Nicely played!

Yes very nice progress.

This is a great bit of kit bashing, VV. I'm especially intrigued with your technique for reducing the upper wing window, that's interesting stuff indeed!

Thankee kindly. I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

On with the show: some scratchbuilt undercarriage parts based on the Roden item and some resin cast repro wheels and guns, again thanks to the kit manufacturer that I have a crush on...



I've also sprayed the underside of the aircraft and top wing in linen ("almond" colour spray from the auto parts store) and I decided to build the other bits before I spray in PC10-ish.

On with the show indeed, did you cast those parts yourself, VV?

Yesiree. I use Barnes Pinkysil silicone resin for the mould and procast urethane for the parts. Dead easy and works a treat.
http://www.barnes.com.au/addition-curin ... icone-2209;
http://www.barnes.com.au/polyurethane/p ... resin-1364;

I collect up all the little plastic communion cups (shot glasses?...) every communion Sunday at church to wash out and use as mixing cups for the tiny quantities of resin I cast

That's some excellent work on the fuselage and I applaud your mad detailing skills!

The Great Auk

Thanks, Auk. Certainly not as mad as some, but I like to at least get a semblance of realism.

We,, this was not how I was hoping things would go....



This is the first time I've had this issue with my chosen brand of matte spray coat. It seems to really dislike the Tamiya rattle can paint. The Tamiya seems to be just satin enough to get away with, especially for a slightly war-weary aircraft, so I will over-spray it then leave it without the coat.

I had another paint problem with the Humbrol clear orange colour forming horrible orange peel when I applied it over the woodgrain on the struts. I hate that humbrol paint. I won't be using it again. Somewhat annoying though, because it's the only clear orange that has a mild and more natural brown-ish hue suitable for wood, where every other brand is lurid traffic light orange.

Other than the paint dramas, I am ready to move on and start attaching wings and undercarriage. Then the unparalleled joys of rigging await.....

I swear I think paint manufacturers are colluding to keep us from getting to one line of paint we like and trust in a particular brand. As soon as you get accustomed to its characteristics they have to tinker with the formula and off we go again looking for something new. I used to love Humbrol but I can't stand it now. WEM COLORCOATS is my favorite but is ever more difficult to find in the states.
Sorry rant over.
But I am really liking what you're doing Vic, she's looking grand!

Thanks

My faith in Humbrol is diminishing too. There is something fundamentally wrong with that clear orange. As well as forming orange peels, it often congeals into lumps as it goes on. I threw out the last tin thinking it might have been a one-off but it's doing exactly the same with the new one.

I haven't found another brand that brush paints consistently well (acrylics are a nightmare) and has a good colour range, so until I do I'm stuck with Humbrol.

Aaaargh! I can see that is not what you wanted VV! I have also found that newer Humbrol paints don't seem to be quite as good as their forebears. I use an airbrush and have found that newer Humbrol enamels don't seem to have the covering power of the older ones and I have had difficulties in thinning the newer paints to the consistency that I like - I've had more runs in the paint with the newer stuff than I used to experience before. Tamiya are still my #1 choice for acrylics through the airbrush though.

Same for brush painting - the Humbrols just don't go on like they once did. I never airbrush though, so Tamiya is no good for me - terrible when brushed on!

I've managed to fix the paint job now so it's time to put the guns on and other bits I can't access once the top wing goes on.

Undecided whether to rig this in invisible thread or to try the new similar thickness .003 gauge stainless steel wire I bought recently.

Well, the usual descent into madness that is attachment of top wings didn't eventuate and in the end it was reasonably straightforward. I've tried a wing jig, lego, cardboard jigs but it turns out that a couple of Humbrol tins and some masking tape is the most effective option.



The alignment isn't perfect, but it's good enough for this kit.

I had to scratchbuild new cabane struts as the kit ones were way too short. Here's the state of play now:



My scratchbuilt undercarriage struts went together without a fuss and are nicely aligned. This is unprecedented....

That Camel has given you some grief, but hopefully you're now over the hump!