Re: A6M3-3A Zero Fighter, Maj. Saburo Shindo
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 3:22 pm
Hell yes. That is beautiful work, Ken! Absolutely outstanding!
Page 18 of 39
Re: A6M3-3A Zero Fighter, Maj. Saburo Shindo
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 3:26 pm
Thank you Bruce! And Flat Aluminum will be sprayed on the cowling and flaps tomorrow!
Re: A6M3-3A Zero Fighter, Maj. Saburo Shindo
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 4:28 pm
Engine looks great! The wiring adds a nice touch. And yup... painting after the wires seemed to work out just fine!
Re: A6M3-3A Zero Fighter, Maj. Saburo Shindo
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 4:29 pm
KennyX wrote:Cheers lads! I got the Nakajima Sakae 21 painted!
I’m going to give it a day for the enamel to dry before I clear coat it and then get after it with the oil paints. I’m happy with it so far.
- Kari
Re: A6M3-3A Zero Fighter, Maj. Saburo Shindo
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 4:41 pm
That radial looks very nice, great detail.
Re: A6M3-3A Zero Fighter, Maj. Saburo Shindo
Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 5:58 pm
Bravo, Kenny! I’m loving it!
Re: A6M3-3A Zero Fighter, Maj. Saburo Shindo
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 7:02 am
Thanks Clint and thank you Mr. Black Sheep!
I’m a bit behind in terms of the schedule I’d made up for this thing earlier in the week but that’s okay. I’m going to get the Flat Aluminum on the cowling and flaps, and start painting the exhaust today I’m thinking.
I’m a bit behind in terms of the schedule I’d made up for this thing earlier in the week but that’s okay. I’m going to get the Flat Aluminum on the cowling and flaps, and start painting the exhaust today I’m thinking.
Re: A6M3-3A Zero Fighter, Maj. Saburo Shindo
Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:51 pm
Painting has commenced. I have changed-up the manner in which I’m proceeding, and have deliberately slowed down the process which I’ll be documenting here.
First thing’s first- I primed the cowling in black Mr. Surfacer 1500, and then sprayed the Tamiya Flat Aluminum on it. Have a look:
You’ll recall that I have complained about this particular aluminum being “too black” when sprayed over black. That certainly isn’t the case here. What the hell, man? I used a new jar of paint. That’s the only difference. I noticed that paint from this jar looked better during tests and experiments than the paint in the last jar of Tamiya Flat Aluminum I was using ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Next came the exhaust. Callout for those was “Metallic Gray.” I don’t have Metallic Gray. Who cares. I sprayed them with Flat Aluminum and then thinned some German gray 1:10 paint to thinner and oversprayed the pipes. After that, I thinned some Hull Red with that same ratio and sprayed on a layer of oxidation. Bougainville is basically the same operating environment as Munda. Plenty of salt, plenty of heat, plenty of moisture. So plenty of oxidation. Here is it:
Im not worried about that little seam. It won’t be visible.
The callout for the cowl and flaps in a “Semi-Gloss Black.” I don’t have that. I prefer to mix my own anyway. I’ve encountered the term “Mitsubishi Blue Black” floating around during my research. That’s of interest to me. I used Tamiya Gloss Black: 2 + German Gray: 1 + Sea Blue: 1 and thinned it 1:3 thinner to paint. It looks nice sprayed over Flat Aluminum.
Okay, so the plan for the cowling is as follows:
1. BE PATIENT and let this paintwork cure overnight.
2. Seal with Mr. Hobby Super Clear tomorrow
3. BE PATIENT and let the clear coat cure overnight
4. Hairspray, then black, then chipping after work the following day
Once that’s done, I’ll do the gunsight and install that, along with masking and installing the windscreen and canopy. After that the rest of the aurframe will be painted in the same manner: black primer, Flat Aluminum, Super Clear, hairspray, and then the green and gray green.
First thing’s first- I primed the cowling in black Mr. Surfacer 1500, and then sprayed the Tamiya Flat Aluminum on it. Have a look:
You’ll recall that I have complained about this particular aluminum being “too black” when sprayed over black. That certainly isn’t the case here. What the hell, man? I used a new jar of paint. That’s the only difference. I noticed that paint from this jar looked better during tests and experiments than the paint in the last jar of Tamiya Flat Aluminum I was using ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Next came the exhaust. Callout for those was “Metallic Gray.” I don’t have Metallic Gray. Who cares. I sprayed them with Flat Aluminum and then thinned some German gray 1:10 paint to thinner and oversprayed the pipes. After that, I thinned some Hull Red with that same ratio and sprayed on a layer of oxidation. Bougainville is basically the same operating environment as Munda. Plenty of salt, plenty of heat, plenty of moisture. So plenty of oxidation. Here is it:
Im not worried about that little seam. It won’t be visible.
The callout for the cowl and flaps in a “Semi-Gloss Black.” I don’t have that. I prefer to mix my own anyway. I’ve encountered the term “Mitsubishi Blue Black” floating around during my research. That’s of interest to me. I used Tamiya Gloss Black: 2 + German Gray: 1 + Sea Blue: 1 and thinned it 1:3 thinner to paint. It looks nice sprayed over Flat Aluminum.
Okay, so the plan for the cowling is as follows:
1. BE PATIENT and let this paintwork cure overnight.
2. Seal with Mr. Hobby Super Clear tomorrow
3. BE PATIENT and let the clear coat cure overnight
4. Hairspray, then black, then chipping after work the following day
Once that’s done, I’ll do the gunsight and install that, along with masking and installing the windscreen and canopy. After that the rest of the aurframe will be painted in the same manner: black primer, Flat Aluminum, Super Clear, hairspray, and then the green and gray green.
Re: A6M3-3A Zero Fighter, Maj. Saburo Shindo
Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:07 pm
One of the most sincere pleasures of reading every post you make is your level of transparency with your descriptions and your feelings toward your methodology. Let me tell you—thank you sincerely for both. It takes real stones to detail a work flow. Sometimes I just wanna drop the hefty level of description I generate because I am too tired or just too lazy or kinda crosswise with the whole method of posting online. But I truly know how much your work flow descriptions mean to me. Everything. It’s positive actuations of techniques mixed with an artist’s point of view. You bring the gold, Ken. Thanks ever so much.
Yea I know what you mean — I chuckled when I read that note about “not seeing the seam” and I agree with you for your approach. I am always gonna make a mental note of the seam because for me I feel a need to eradicate seams—especially ones in areas where I will paint and blend a color coat. I guess I get this from my Dad—he would fabricate parts and these were just so pretty in their own right that I would paint them really well. Again, I hope I have never focused on a seam as you are building—but I probably did and I ask you to forgive me. I totally get it.
Yea I know what you mean — I chuckled when I read that note about “not seeing the seam” and I agree with you for your approach. I am always gonna make a mental note of the seam because for me I feel a need to eradicate seams—especially ones in areas where I will paint and blend a color coat. I guess I get this from my Dad—he would fabricate parts and these were just so pretty in their own right that I would paint them really well. Again, I hope I have never focused on a seam as you are building—but I probably did and I ask you to forgive me. I totally get it.
Re: A6M3-3A Zero Fighter, Maj. Saburo Shindo
Posted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:22 pm
Sounds like you have a solid plan in place for the next steps. Not finishing an unseen seam is the way to go in my book too. But maybe I'd do something about thinning out those exhaust openings. 