Tamiya 1/48 P-38 Lightning

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D

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Andy, remember to seal the wash with varnish once you're happy with the outcome to be able to handle the kit. I've got sweaty hands so it's a must for me.

Cheers,
Richard
Thanks Richard. I'm planning on a flat or satin coat after the wash to aid further weathering. I think I made the mistake on my Beaufighter of trying to use oil paints on top of gloss which I guess is why they came off far too easily.

And thanks Fernando, so far so good.
 

Jakko

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And I painted up the light units for the underside. Clear coloured centres with a silver mounting ring. Tricky! There are some masks included in the kit but cutting them out and placing them accurately would probably have been even harder.
You’ve got a punch-and-die set, if I’m not mistaken? You can use that to make some circles from masking tape, if it has punches about the right size.
 

stillp

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I've not had any luck with punching circles out of masking tape. It seems to work best if I stick the tape to some thin plastic sheet (cut from an ice cream tub or similar) then peel the tape off. The tape on its own just want to stick to the die insted of cutting cleanly.
Pete
 
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Good idea Jakko. I've just checked and the largest punch would just have been big enough for the smallest lights. I'll store that one up for next time thanks, along with Pete's method of sticking it to some thin plastic.
 
D

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Things looked a little hairy at first but I'm happy to say the watercolour wash seemed to work great. Nothing fell off either which is a problem I've had ever since I started using enamel washes.

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After about an hour the excess wiped off really easily. Dry kitchen roll was used mostly, with a few stubborn parts needing a tiny bit of moisture, but the condensation from breathing on it was enough.

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I then added the turbochargers, started layering the staining around them, and gave it a flat coat of Winsor & Newton Galeria.

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Exhaust staining looks a bit pink in the pictures but I'm hoping it will come good with the planned oil work.

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rtfoe

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Looks good Andy. Detail is popping out very nicely. :thumb2:

Cheers,
Richard
 

Jim R

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Hi Andy
That is looking really good. I've seen water colour panel lining on Richard's builds and always liked it. Not far to go now.
Jim
 

Jakko

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I've just checked and the largest punch would just have been big enough for the smallest lights. I'll store that one up for next time thanks, along with Pete's method of sticking it to some thin plastic.
You could also use unused areas of the Tamiya-supplied sheet, as that’s got a backing to it that will prevent the mask sticking to the punch or the die.

Those panel lines look very well :smiling3:
 
D

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Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the comments.

Paul - I really wish that were true mate. You haven't seen the 700 models I've ruined in practice :smiling5: I like to think I'm getting the hang of some things fairly quickly though, but that hairspray chipping is still a black art!
 
D

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Thanks Paul & Steven. As Jim says, not too far off now but must try not to rush.
 

rtfoe

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Hi Andy, I'm glad the watercolor panelling worked for you. You might try it on your Beaufighter.

Hairspray chipping is not as easy as it seems as the top layer paint can either be fragile which creates large globes of peel or tenacious if there is not enough of the hair spray underneath it. Timing is also essential...work at it within 15 minutes of the top layer application or less. I find Tamiya "acrylics" peel easily...even sweat stains will peel it off. To get a bit more control, decanter the hairspray and airbrush it. It should be water based. Use a dropper to wet the area then with a flat rounded head brush gently stroke or stab the areas you want chipped. You can use a tooth pick too. Even the tip of a blade can be a tool to make thin scratches.

I guess practise is the key.

Cheers,
Richard
 
D

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Thanks Richard. I've been getting some great advice from Steve Jones but putting it into practice is another story.

For one I'm putting on too much paint so it tends to chip off in chunks, and also with the inconsistent temperature I'm working in it's hard to get the timings right.

Like you say, I just need to keep practicing :smiling3:
 
D

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I did some work with oilbrushers today, the usual random dots streaked with odourless thinner. One of the colours used was Buff, which stained the surface straight away and was a pain to blend in! A few light streaks around some hatches but nothing too major. I still don't like the silver around the cockpit but hey-ho.

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Then it was time for the landing gear and doors. As expected some of the tiny bits had broken off even though I'd tried to protect them well, but since the fit is so precise they simply wedged back into place and a sliver of TET did the trick.

A few that have built this kit remark on how well the bay doors fit, so I thought I'd show how Tamiya have gone about it. All the doors come as an inner and outer so painting is straightforward, then they are all keyed and marked with their sprue number, so you'd have to work pretty hard to get them muddled up! The large keyed & marked tab slides into a corresponding slot at the side of the bay making for a very secure fit, with a few small stays (the bits that broke off) also connecting.

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And a view of the underside with the drop tanks fitted too. One of the sway bars on the big tank broke off as it was trying to escape from the bench onto the floor, hence the hole in the fuselage :unamused:

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And that's it pretty much done. One thing I will say is that Tamiya provide only just enough weight to balance it out. If I do another I'll probably add a bit extra in the nose cone as there's room, because as it is you can play see-saw with it lol

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D

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Thanks Paul. I'm just editing some pictures for the completed section so more of this coming up soon.
 
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