SPA Modeler

Well, a little more progress to report. I painted the main gear support "mounts" and test fit the main gear again. Not only does the new mounts give another place to glue the supports, but it also establishes the angle of the main gear legs. Speaking of those, I don't see an easy way to mask them if I install them at this point. I do think I can finesse them into place from below, after the wings are attached and the plane painted. Anyway, that's my thought right now; that might change by day's end!

I also played around with the two bombs, giving them a mottled effect with an Uschi splatter mask. They'll get some pastel chalk staining just before installing them.

the unpainted support mounts:





After determining where the new mounts should be, I made a very simple depth gauge in order to get all four in the same location:





The bombs at this point:







painted mounts:





And that's all I got for now, folks! Thanks for following along!

Well, I had a brainstorm yesterday. Yes, a rare and painful phenomenon these days! Borrowing another idea from my Tigercat build, I think I'll paint the nacelles before installing the landing gear from above, before assembling the wing halves and before attaching them to the fuselage. That technique worked well on the all-yellow Tigercat, and I hope it'll work on this camoed bird too. I'll attach the gear after the area around the nacelle is painted and then I'll just need to protect them when painting the rest of the wing, up to that point. This just sounds like less stress than fishing the landing gear up from the bottom or installing them first and then masking around them.

I know it's sort of doing things in reverse, but sometimes that's how we go forward!

I'll have more to report on later. I guess I'll break out the Vallejo primer and fire up the Paasche H before too long; let the journey into uncharted waters begin!

Wasn't it Edison that said, "I've never had a failure but thousands of loearning opportunities." Or, something like that?

The closest I come to a brainstorm these days is a light drizzle, mostly foggy.

Yep, sumthin' like that! I've had so many learning opportunities already...

Most of my "brainstorms" are drier than a popcorn fart. But, I'm hoping this one pays off; I believe it will anyway, and that's half the struggle right there!

Thanks for the reply, Lyle!

Vallejo white primer has been sprayed on the nacelle area around the landing gear. After getting the underside finish color on in that area, I'll probably gloss coat it too. Then the LG goes in, the wings get assembled and attached to the fuselage. When I prime the rest of the aircraft, I'll stop the primer close to the already finished area and then blend them together with the finish paint and weathering glosscoat. It's a lot more work this way, but I avoid struggling with the landing gear up into the mounts inside that nacelle. Monogram chose poorly when they engineered this model!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCUwQIn3GrU





Working with the Vallejo acrylic primer for the first time came with a bit of a learning curve. I had to play around with the ratios for Vallejo airbrush thinner, flow improver and the white primer to get it spraying good. And of course, it did start spraying beautifully just as I was finishing up. It looks grainier than it feels but I know I'll lightly sand it before spraying the Vallejo underside color, a light gray. Clean-up seemed harder than enamel for me. I'm sure that will change as I get better acquainted with it.

I also went ahead and primed the two bomb pylons. They have no detail at all, and I had to remind myself-all OOB! No add-ons like sway braces or bits o' wire and scrap! But I am holding to that ethos and resisting all signs of AMS.



I'm glad I've started trying the acrylic paint. Getting the colors I want or need in enamels is becoming increasingly harder. I plan on trying the SOTAR airbrush for the top-side camo colors when I reach that point. I've only used it seriously once, with enamels, and I had a helluva time getting all the dried paint out of the tip. I'm hoping the acrylics fair better. Wish me luck, my modeling friends!

Have you tried or looked into AK Interactive Real Color paint line? I've got a few and love them.

I have two bottles of it but haven't tried it yet. What does it use for thinner?

It will thin with Tamiya Thinner, lacquer thinner, or Gunze Mr Levelling Thinner. I’ve had superb results with the Mr Leveling Thinner.

Carlos, is the Gunze the same product as Mr. Hobby Mr Color Leveling Thinner? I got that and find it really useful.

Yes, Mr Hobby is made by Gunze. That stuff with AK Real Colors is a combination that will give you a superb paint for airbrushing.