SPA Modeler

WOWEE! I remember! Is everything 1/32 scale, right? You build amazingly pristine aircraft! Incredibly done! Which kit is the Mustang? Lovely — just lovely! Is that Z-M’s P-51????

The P 51K is ZM, the F 6D is Tamiya as is the Wooden Wonder. All are 1/32. Thanks for the compliment.

Outstanding. How did you get the multi-hued appearance on the Mustang? I need to learn that as I have an RB-50 and a B-57 Hustler to build and I want to make them look multi-hued metal.

I basically just used a couple of different aluminum paints I had and used them to paint a few of the panels. The panels on top of the wing are separate panels for gun access so I didn't have to mask them. I don't have an air brush so every thing not rattle can painted is brushed. I've started using Mission Models paints and they brush better than anything I've used before. Absolutely no brush marks.

Cool. Good to know!

Okay, here is my latest progress on what I've been working on this week. Once again, I'll start with my aircraft....


Working on these is tough. I just had to choose models that need white and bare metal to work on!

Here is the fuselage of the Boeing 737. I shot a couple layers of white on this and once again, it failed to lay down like it should:



Believe me, it may look good in the pic, but there are a ton of small blemishes and issues all over this. When I tried to sand it and smooth it out, it got all dirty and blemished even more!

The wings turned out much better though when I shot some Tamiya Gloss Aluminum on them:



Now if I can keep them that way until the model is finished I'll be thrilled. I'm not confident though, given my usual history with models like this *cough*C-118!*cough*

In that same vein, I also shot the white on the Jetstream fuselage as well. Once again, major issues all over:



Once again, the wings turned out quite well:



While those were drying, I took time to prepare more aircraft for primer and paint by masking off the canopies for all of them. First up is the two WWII aircraft; the P-40 and P-51:



Next I did my Swedish J-32 Lanssen:



Finally, I masked off the canopies on my two F-14 Tomcats:



Later I even added the canopy to the A-10 and masked it off:



Next came the primer on all of them...

P-40:



P-51B:



J-32 Lanssen:



F-14A Tomcat:



F-14B Tomcat:



Later on when I tried to improve the white on the Boeing and the Jetstream, I shot some white on the bottom of the F-14A:



After that, I was done with aircraft.... fixed wing ones at least....

On my helicopter, I completed the cockpit and went to add the decals to the instrument panels as specified in the instruction sheet. Unfortunately, nobody told the instruction sheet writers that there are no decals for instrument panels on the decal sheet. So, I did a quick dry-brush with white:



After that, I closed everything up inside the fuselage and added a few other bits and bobs:





Next up will be the challenge of assembling the canopy for this. I already dipped the parts in Future, so I should be able to get this done fairly soon.



That's all I got done on my aircraft for now. Now let's check in on my armor....


After getting the T-80U from a friend, I took it home and got started on it the next day. First up was the turret:



The brass gun barrel is only dry-fit. That will go in later. That was as far as I got on that so far. Since I had started it though, I also decided it was time to start my T-90 with the cast turret (I'd already completed the welded turret version some time ago) Again, I started with the turret:



I then added the few pieces to the upper hull:



You just gotta love the detail on these magnificent Modelcollect kits:



I later added the wheels to the lower hull. Since the lower hull is metal, I had to use Gator Grip Glue which holds them nicely:



Again, I just had to get the 'glamour' shot:



After that, I shot some Krylon Plastic Primer on the lower hull and the turret:





I kinda jumped the gun here as I still need to do side skirts and other bits and bobs. Oh well, I'll get them done.

After that I tried to work on the Ludwig Areo bus again. I had sanded it and re-primed it with Mr. Surface 1000 to see what else needed to be done:





I still saw quite a bit wrong and so I re-filled some areas and re-sanded everything. Then I shot the Krylon Plastic Primer on it again since I had run out of the Mr. Surfacer spray. Much better I think:





Now to smooth this out and shoot some real color on this.

Okay, that completes this update for now. I hope to have more done soon. Stay tuned, more to come.


Thanks all for looking in, comments are welcome.

How in the world do you keep track of all the parts when you are building so many aircraft at the same time? I have trouble with losing parts doing one at a time. I lost the canopy for my Tamiya 1/48 F-14 and from my Meng F 35A and had to order new parts.

wjkunert wrote:How in the world do you keep track of all the parts when you are building so many aircraft at the same time? I have trouble with losing parts doing one at a time. I lost the canopy for my Tamiya 1/48 F-14 and from my Meng F 35A and had to order new parts.

Yeah, I've lost parts too, many times. Two cases in point: My F/A-18 Hornet and my F-15E Strike Eagle. Fortunately, thanks to Fermis, I was able to replace the missing parts on the Hornet; and I managed to find the missing exhaust cone of the Eagle..... in a different box!

The way I keep track of everything, is that I keep all the sprues and parts in their respective boxes as I work on the models. Then when I can go no further, I replace the instruction sheet and any sprues outside the box back inside; close it up and put it aside. The next plane (or other model) then has it's box pulled down, opened up and worked on until I can go no further. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Duke Maddog wrote:The way I keep track of everything, is that I keep all the sprues and parts in their respective boxes as I work on the models. Then when I can go no further, I replace the instruction sheet and any sprues outside the box back inside; close it up and put it aside. The next plane (or other model) then has it's box pulled down, opened up and worked on until I can go no further. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Quite useful! Still, you have to be mindful while you are working on multiple projects... where do you put work in progress, though? I was thinking about buying reclosable plastic bins and if a kit is a work in progress than it graduates to its own bin... but the bin itself has to be large enough to fit the kit's original box as well, which I think is not a size problem, but I will have to measure all of the boxes I have to be sure!

Question: is the Krylon Plastic Primer smoother than Mr Surfacer 1000? The 1200 that I am using is smooth—I feel the whole "Mr" line up are custom colors mixed to automotive formulas, but I am not sure why I feel that way. Ever since I started with cans lo many moons ago I always keep spray cans inverted with bottom at the top. There is no issue with storing cans upside down and the paint simply sprays better. You notice this right away.

I really really LOOOVE the WWII aircraft—the P40 and P51. These old kits... wow... in the right hands, they SHINE brightly!

Bruce, I have a side "workbench" where I stack models in progress. I too have some plastic bins, but not enough to keep everything I have in progress. I also tend to use those bins for transporting completed models to contests and shows.

As long as the model box is closable, I can do well enough keeping everything in the box. If the model gets assembled too far to fit back in the box, then I have a shelf above my workbench where they sit while all the extra parts are back in the box with the instruction sheet. End-opening boxes are the worst. If I have one of those, I'll find a box similar in size from another model that was completed and use that for the parts of the kit from the end-opening box. After awhile, when I finish enough models, I can toss most of the boxes to make room.

The Krylon plastic primer does indeed seem smoother than the Mr. Surfacer 1000. I'm not sure of the 1200 since I have never used that grade. It is also white, so a lot shows up when you lay it down. I also noticed that in spraying it, it tends to act like a gloss when going down, not just look gloss; then dries flat. I'm not sure my explanation is all that clear. I do like how large the Krylon can is compared to the Mr. Line; I can shoot a lot more models before running out. Costs less too.

I'll have to try storing my spray bombs upside down from now on. Every little bit helps. Thanks for that tip.

Thanks also for the compliments on the two pursuit planes. Hopefully I can get them done fairly soon.