Been A Bad Boy!

I've been a bad boy today!


I had not long arrived at the Letchworth Show, when I saw her across the hall from our stand.


I just don't know what came over me. But she just kept calling out for me to take her away to be cared for, loved, look after her beautiful lines. She was sitting there on the shelf, begging to me, "Buy me, buy me. I know you want to!"


So I did.

Yes, it's the AMT B-52H Startofortress in 1/72nd scale. I didn't want it in any of the smaller scales, they wouldn't look right next to my 1/72nd B-17's and B-24.


But one slight, little problem!


Where do I keep this once it's built? It's BIG!


I must stop buying these big aircraft models.

Letchworth Model Show

If any of you happen to be going to it, look out for me on the Milton Keynes Model Club stand, or walking around the show.

KA-6D Intruder Tanker WIP #4

Well, a little more work has been done to the Intruder. The decals on the fuselage were finished the other night and it received a coat of clear on Thursday night. I've started to weather the panel lines using Promodeller washes, the wing end sections finished but just needing a final clean up. The fuselage has only had a small area done on the top so far, but this will be finished over the next couple of days, hopefully tomorrow whilst at the Letchworth Show.


As soon as the panel lines are finished and the model has had another coat of clear, any final painting to the fuselage will be done before I finish the assembly. I must remember to add the decals to the external tanks and weather them before fitting them to the wings.


So this project is nearly finished after being put on hold for six months.

MiG-31 Foxhound WIP #1

This is a little project that I've been building at work when I've got some time to waste whilst waiting around, as some of my other projects are either too big to take to work or at the stage of build that I cannot take it. It was picked up at the last show I went to as a spur of the moment purchase and it was on a fiver, a bargain I think!

The kit is not too bad, but the instructions are not for this exact kit, I think the tooling must have been changed but not the instructions. It's the first time I've built a kit by ICM, and for the price it's okay. The general details okay, but there are some fitting and aligning issues with some parts. The first one is the cockpit interior parts are different in the kit from the instructions, so I had to work out the right way to assemble and mount it to the fuselage section.

I have needed to do some filing, sanding and filling on quite a few areas on the fuselage where parts don't match up properly. these include the cockpit fuselage section to the rear fuselage section, the main wings to the fuselage and the air intakes.

It surprised me how big this aircraft is when I started to assemble it, it is a little longer then the Intruder I'm working on presently. With all of the filling and sanding that's been done on the model so far, a few of the panel lines will need to be re-scribed prior to painting. Also, as there is really no interior detail, the cockpit canopies will be closed making painting easier.


More updates later.

KA-6D Intruder Tanker WIP #3

Well, some decals got added last night and the plan is to get them finished tonight. So far I have finished the side that was started yesterday and at this present minute, about half way down the other side. So there is just a few more to do on here then a couple to go on underneath the fuselage.


What's left to do after this, is give it a coat of clear to seal the decals then finish any painting on the fuselage, cockpit, canopy and external tanks. Then it'll be onto final assembly and another one finished this year. This one should be ready for Telford.

KA-6D Intruder Tanker WIP #2

As promised, here are some photos I've just taken. The plan for tonight is to get some of the decals done on the model and take some part to work with me tomorrow to paint if I get some time parked up. 


I used the Vallejo white surface primer first then some Humbrol matt white enamel. The grey is Xtracrylix XA1137 Light Gull Grey then give a couple of coats of Xtracrylix gloss clear prior to adding the decals.


The airbrakes were drilled out as in the real world, it didn't look right with the holes filled in with plastic. So, here they are and lets get back to work on it.

What will be next?

I don't know how many of you modellers out there are the same as me. You start a project and then you put it aside for a while to start on another one. Then repeat that again and again. At the end of the year, you've started ten or twelve projects and only finished eight of them. Result four unfinished kits sitting on the shelf, then this increases after another year.


Now this is my problem, I have fourteen kits in various stages of being built and about 150 kits waiting to be started on. I know, I can't resist a bargain on a kit when I see it, or it's that impulse of seeing a kit and the desire to buy it takes over. So here is the list of what needs to be finished.


1996 Chevrolet Blazer 1/25th
1953 Ford Pick Up Custom 1/25th
1953 Chevrolet BelAir Custom 1/25th
Jaguar XJR-8 LM 1/24th
2004 Pontiac GTO (being converted into a Vauxhall Monaro) 1/25th
Supermarine Seafire Mk 1b Revell 1/32nd
F6F-3 Hellcat Eduard 1/48th
A-10 Thunderbolt Revell 1/72nd with BigEd set
F-14A Tomcat Hasegawa 1/48th
Black Buck One Vulcan and Victor in-flight re-fueling 1/72nd
MiG-31 Foxhound ICM 1/72nd
Curtis SB2C Helldiver Airfix 1/72nd
F-86 F-30 Sabre Academy 1/48th
Plus a couple of others


Now the BelAir, Ford pick up, Monaro conversion and Black Buck One are long term projects. But the others are not. So what's next? The Jaguar just needs the body re-painting, the decals are no good for it so it'll be a privately own car. The Blazer needs painting and final assembly. The Sabre is mainly painting and final assembly. The remainder need a fair bit doing to them. So for now it's between the Jaguar, Blazer and Sabre to finish next. 


What shall I do?

KA-6D Intruder Tanker WIP #1

Here is some photos I took of the Intruder earlier in the build. Up to this point, most of the fuselage and cockpit interior is all done, with all of the dials and switches hand painted. I didn't like the seats supplied with the kit, so I got a set of resin GRU-7 seats from True Details to replace these.

How the model stands at the minute, the main construction is now completed. Over the last couple of days, the model has been painted in White and Light Gull Grey. This morning I gave the model a couple of coats of gloss clear ready for adding the decals later tonight hopefully. I'll take a few photos of the Intruder later before I start adding decals it. I hope to have this one finished for the Nationals at Telford in three weeks time.

Weathering Using Salt Technique How To

Here is a little demonstration on how I did the worn paint weathering on the Bradley.

Items required, a fine mist spray bottle filled with water (I use distilled), some salt, either table or cooking and the item for weathering.

 First spray the model or part for weathering with a misting of water once the base colour has been painted and left to dry. I have used an unpainted piece for this demo.

If the water beads together, add a tiny amount of soap to break the surface tension if needed. 

Sprinkle some salt over the areas for weathering. If the grains are too big, then crush the salt up a bit. It all depends on what effect you require in the end.

Leave the parts/model to dry overnight, or if you need to dry it quickly, use a hair drier on a warm setting to speed it up.

Give the model/parts a coat of the final colour ensure an even coverage.

Leave the model/parts to dry thoroughly at lease overnight to prevent you removing soft paint when rubbing the salt away. This was a quick demo I have done here, but when doing it properly, I would have spent more time sprinkling the salt around the model or pieces.


I hope this have been some help to you all.


Mick

M2A2 Bradley WIP #6

I've had a couple of request to show some close ups of the weathering done with the salt on the Bradley. So here are a few photos I have just taken of some areas on the model.

Front corner along the lower areas of the armour panels.

Worn paint around the rear doors and storage boxes.

Chipped and worn paint around the drivers hatch. A few grains of salt still remain on the hull.

I will be posting some photos of how I did this very soon to demonstrate this method of weathering. It can be used in aviation and automotive modelling too.

What's Next?

After some thinking, I've decided to finish off the KA-6D Tanker Intruder I started earlier this year. It's the 1/72nd scale kit from Italeri I picked up at a show, I think last year, possibly at Telford.

Anyhow, the main building work has been done on it and she is ready for paint. Started to primer tonight, but there was some grease/oil on a wing. So this needed to be rubbed down ready for another coat tomorrow or Thursday. Will take some photos later of her and post them next update.

Another one I've been working on, is the MiG-31 Foxhound in 1/72nd scale from ICM. This is an quick project to do whilst at work sitting on loading bays. Other projects are not at the right stage of the build to take with me. Will post photos of this soon too.

M2A2 Bradley WIP #5

Well now, all the building has been done and the model is ready for weathering. One slight problem. Cannot find the decal sheet for it!!!!


So this has put this on hold for a little while whilst I sort some new ones out for it. I might recreate the decals on the computer and print them off, or just copy some other from another kit. Have not decided yet.


Will update soon.

M2A2 Bradley WIP #4

It's all trial and error when you try a new thing out. 

The weathering effect for the worn paint has been, well kind of a success. It was the salt method I was trying out for the first time and it surprised me how much of the salt was square shaped. Next time I will have to grind it up a bit first.

So after cleaning off all of the salt, I decided to fit the wheels and drive sprockets onto the hull ready for the tracks. Because this model was originally a motorised kit, the tracks fit onto the model so there is no slack to allow it to drive. This meant it is tight when fitted and the joint on them was stressed. So before fitting them, I stapled the joint to stop it from separating. This section of track will be hidden from view behind the armour panels anyhow.

The wheels, sprockets and tracks were fitted and then the armour panels were glued into position on the hulls. This was when I decided there had been too much salt used on the armour panels. So I sprayed another coat of the Gulf Armour colour over the upper sections of the panels. This has also created a mottled faded effect by accident too, which is a plus.

I gave the whole hull a light spray over of the same paint to make the colours underneath less prominent in the worn areas. Further weathering later will also help with this.

 All the work left to do now is detailing. The grills need darkened down, lights painted, tools painted then fitted and the gun barrel painted and fitted. The tracks will have a light coat of metallic grey before weathering. The aerials will be made from some steel wire that's been blackened with a Sharpie pen. This model is also going to be my test bed for my first attempt of weathering will oil paints, so we will have to wait and see if I mess it up. But the general weathering will be done using some Iraqi Sand colour paint from Vallejo. Keep watching for more.

Sammy Swindells Sprint Cat Update

Almost there. 


Done the weathering on the car and the base tonight, after some little issue of the paint clogging the airbrush. All that is now left to do is paint the edge and back of the base with some black paint, then she's finished. Might try and get the first coat of that on tonight.

M2A2 Bradley WIP #3

More paint has gone down. 


After the NATO camo was dry, I sprayed some water onto the model and sprinkled some salt in certain areas. Once this was dry, light coats of US Gulf War Armour was airbrushed over the model and left to dry. 


Next I started to brush of the salt granules to reveal the camo colours underneath showing through. Still a bit more to go, only the side armour panels have been partially cleaned so far.


More updates later.

M2A2 Bradley WIP #2

Paint is on her, but this will be changing again soon.


I've given it the NATO camouflage scheme first before the final colour of Gulf Yellow. The model will be set at the of the Gulf War when the paint is a little worn with the NATO scheme showing through in places.


Hopefully, I might get some Gulf Yellow on tomorrow night, but I'll have to wait and see.

New Pages

I am adding some new pages to the blog showing a few photographs of some of my finished models. A page will be designated for each area of modelling, armour, aircraft and automotive. Over the coming weeks, more models will be added to each page.

M2A2 Bradley WIP

Well, this is another project of mine. It's just a quick out of the box one that I away on holiday this summer. 


The kit is a Modelcraft 1/35th scale kit which was originally motorised, but now comes as a normal kit. There is no interior detail with this kit, so I've built all of the main construction up to the point of painting. Some of the smaller parts did not fit into their positions properly, there was also some filling required too on areas where the parts misfitted. On the underside of the turret, a section of armour was missing, so this was replaced with a piece of plasticard.

With the main construction done, the model was given a couple of coats of Vallejo Surface Primer, this was the first time I tried this primer and was pleased with the results. Once this was dry (under a hour), I went over certain areas like the extra armour plates edges, around the gun mantle and various openings with a dirty black colour.

The models final colour will be in Desert Yellow as from the first Gulf War. But first I will go over areas of it with some Olive Green, Black and Red Brown from the NATO scheme. Then go over it with the Desert Yellow which will be worn away in various areas. Well, hopefully I can start to get some painting done tomorrow night. Mind you, I still need to prime up the wheels and sprockets.

Vallejo Primer

Picked this Vallejo Primer up at the Brampton show last weekend. I'm always looking around for a new primer to use. Anyhow, I tried it out for the first time on Friday evening on the M2A2 Bradley I've been building since my holiday and was pleased with the results.

It can be used straight out of the bottle, brushed or airbrushed without diluting. Within the hour, I was painting the shaded areas on the hull and turret after a couple of light coats of primer. This I think is the way forward for me when it comes to priming my models. Only a small amount was used and this was on a 1/35th scale model too.

I got the white primer, but it is also available in black and grey. Yes you're looking at nearly £10 a bottle this size, which is 200ml, but there is a smaller bottle too.