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DocRob

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  1. DocRob
    Thanks Carl, me too. I want the best possible preparation for the decals, as there are many from huge artwork to tiny stencils. The decals are the key to the Phantom. Cheers Rob Muchas gracias Peter, I will definitely seal te decals before applying the panel liner. Flory washes (I don't know UMP) are water based, but they contain pigments, which can cause slight abrasion, which I don't want onto the Phantom's decals. After polishing the first coat of gloss, I found the panel lines to be pretty much intact, I hope for the best. Cheers Rob
  2. DocRob
    Thanks for your confidence in my abilities, John Meanwhile, I couldn't let off the Phantom and sanded and polished the bird to high shine gloss, first with wet sanding paper of 6000 and 8000 grid, followed by the Tamiya polishing compounds from coarse to finish. I really like the glossy appearance now and guess it will be perfect for the soon to follow decaling job. Cheers Rob
  3. DocRob
    Thanks for explaining your workflow Peter. Normally mine is more or less the same, albeit, I prefer to seal the decals before I apply washes or panel liners. In this case I'm not so sure, because of the fine panel lines and multiple clear coats before the panel liner. I will evaluate later, when the gloss is properly dried. With our reappearing sand storm, working on a model with shiny surfaces is not the best idea. On this plane, which is nearly completely covered with decals, I will prepare the decaling stage as best as I can, the gloss coat will be polished next. Concerning the AK Extreme Metal gun metal and the Tamiya kabuki residues, I really have no idea how that happened. The directly neighboring area of stainless steel is not affected at all, strange... With the storm outside, today is a surfing day. The east coast is relatively free of strong winds and the waves are bueno, so no sandblasting of the Phantom today. Cheers Rob
  4. DocRob
    Thank you John, I hope, I can keep it that way. The whole plane will be plastered with decals, sometimes in multiple layers. Cheers Rob
  5. DocRob
    After polishing the wings, I gloss coated the whole plane with GX-100 from Mr. Hobby as (There is a question to you) a) base for black panel lining on the grey fuselage and underside and then apply the decals after another gloss coat. b) decals first and then gloss coat and panel liner. I'm not sure about, because, I don't like to loose the panel lines with more gloss coat layers above the decals. On the other hand the result will look better, when the decals settle into the panel lines and then get hit with panel liner. Cheers Rob Glossy bird
  6. DocRob
    Phew, de-masking showed only a few places with the need for correction. Before I tore the kabuki off, I masked the cannon fairing under the nose and sprayed it flat black, where the rest of the black surfaces will be left glossy. The two parallelograms on the wings had some faults, but that was corrected after taking the pics. The external tanks were sprayed with Tamiya's sparkling silver from the LP range. I have to try to replicate the glitter blue metallic tone of the decals as good as possible. The sparkling silver has a slightly grainy appearance and might work as the desired glitter effect under some transparent blue, let's see... One oddity, I found was, that the Tamiya kabuki tape left glue residues onto the gunmetal sprayed parts, but not on to the steel colored areas directly besides. The Kabuki was only applied 24 hours before. Most of the residues could be cleaned with alcohol, but it had to be swabbed very carefully, as the alcohol affects the bordering Tamiya LP gloss black. Cheers rob
  7. DocRob
    Tough one, as far as colors for airbrushing metallic, there has been a huge development in the last years with Alclad and AK's Extreme metal colors to name as the finest. These colors are not usable with paint brushes though. For me that means, I tray to use the airbrush as much as possible. For brush painting I have no clear recommendation. I found some of the Tamiya X colors were relatively good, but others are not. Grain and equal application are the decisive topics with these. One of their silvers, I can't exactly remember, is decent (I think chrome silver, which is silver but not chrome) and another, possibly aluminum is terrible and the worst was bronze. For figure painting and detail painting by brush, I often use these sets by Scale 75, which cover evenly and relatively well. Another product which comes in handy at times are the AK metallic waxes, which are best applied by brush, piece of cloth or cotton swab. They cover well, but are hard to get with an even shine over larger surfaces, but the metallic appearance is better than most brushable paints. Cheers Rob
  8. DocRob
    If that's your most expensive footwear, poor dog . Cheers Rob
  9. DocRob
    Thanks Peter, Let's wait for the de-masking tomorrow, I hope I haven't made any mistakes. Cheers Rob
  10. DocRob
    Finally, there is rain after the sandstorms of the last days, so time to set up the airbrush and hit the Phantom with some pure black, but first there was an extended masking session due. I have to confess, I'm a masking coward and tend to mask as much as possible. Specially with the desired gloss black finish, which I normally spray with a bit more of distance to the model and use heavily thinned color, I can't be cautious enough. I used Tamiya's lacquer gloss black, thinned with Mr. Leveling thinner, which sprays so fine and smooth, that I regret not to have gloss coated the grey fuselage and underside of the Phantom before masking, as there is no need for any gloss coat on the wings prior to decaling. Now it's drying time and this is how it looks (even smoother in reality ) Cheers Rob
  11. DocRob
    Thank you Peter, same with Kits World, where the pull rings curl up, when contacted with CA. To apply them correctly is nearly impossible then. I may try a very fast curing CA next time. I went back to the kit plastic with the rings. These looked not too shabby either. My limited experiences with 3D decals are, they work great, when applied to flat surfaces, but are difficult to handle, when the 3D decal is protruding, with only small contact areas. Cheers Rob
  12. DocRob
    The pilots workplace looks great and tidy with the newly painted IP. You've got to love these Hasegawa IP's which are better molded and therefore easier to paint than most. Cheers Rob
  13. DocRob
    Thanks Phil, fingers crossed about the masking. I have some extra days for checking . I hope my masking will be ok, as I really want to continue with the build and reach the decaling stage. Cheers Rob
  14. DocRob
    Oh, that's Peter catch phrase not mine, but I guess, he wouldn't mind . Cheers Rob
  15. DocRob
    Thank you Gaz, I was surprised too, when I remember it correctly the ZM TA-152 had two seats included, one with and one without belts and they were nicely molded. I decided to leave it at my fantasy seat belt arrangement. Under the closed canopy it will not be so obvious and in natura the pit looks better than on my pics. Yesterday, I masked everything for the black fuselage parts and wings. Never used that much masking material on one plane before. Unfortunately, there will be no progress the next days, as we have a sandstorm going until Tuesday , so no airbrushing, except maybe some anti slip surfaces for IDF tanks, without the need to add grain . Wasn't there a Merkava IV in my stash... Cheers Rob
  16. DocRob
    Great work on the details. Soldering can be a pain, but the parts are properly bonded afterwards. One downside is, the brass gets softer with the heat annealing the material, which can cause problems. For the rack, it seems to be the optimal solution though. With the added small parts, the Stug looks better and better with maybe the only exception of the mantlet tarp, which looks a bit lifeless, If I'm allowed to criticize. Lead foil from a wine bottle is great for replicating tarps, if they are large enough. Cheers Rob
  17. DocRob
    Today I finished the cockpit, adding the visor and the ejection seats and after some touch ups, I will close the canopy soon. Afterwards, I felt like masking the canopy for the final time, which proved very concentration intensive, as I had to fit the masks very exactly for an hopefully equally wide sealing. The masks again fit like a glove, well made New Ware. Cheers Rob
  18. DocRob
    Thank you Kai, the recovery was nothing compared with what you have thrown up to yourself lately . As always it's good to learn new stuff and in this case unwillingly, I learnt a lot about canopy recoveries this time. I like the metal as well and I'm constantly trying to improve my metal application techniques. Actually, it was the part of the build, I was really looking forward to. Cheers Rob
  19. DocRob
    As I only wanted the seat detailing, I opted for KitWorld this time and wanted to use the kit decals for the pit. When I build the Tamiya Tomcat, I will try the Quinta set. I found the KitWorld 3D decals to difficult to use in 'free space', like the pull circles for the top of the seats, because they curl up, when contacted with CA. Your thoughts about ZM are exactly like mine, Peter. Way over the top in parts and missing out big time, like with the seat belts. But I see a big improvement plastic wise compared to my ZM TA-152 build. The non clear plastic is absolutely fantastic and that's good news. Cheers Rob
  20. DocRob
    Saw this an hour ago and liked it, I may be tempted. Cheers Rob
  21. DocRob
    Great idea, forming the metal sheet after the plastic. When I saw the pics, I, like you immediately searched for a way, to replicate the hinges, which look too coarse. One way would be to put some mud on, but I would have tried to shave the parts off te plastic, before forming the sheet over. How rigid is your used foil? Do you have to be very careful while handling the model? I have a nice collection of lead wine caps, which is a great material to replicate details and cloth, and maybe smaller fender parts like yours. At least, it's an excuse for opening wine bottles in the evening . Cheers Rob
  22. DocRob
    Must be a nightmare, to get everything aligned on the cabins, Rich. Again, a great example of your scratchbuilding abilities. Cheers Rob
  23. DocRob
    Like Gaz said, great build and even better figure painting skills. Cheers Rob
  24. DocRob
    I went through some troubles on the way to finish the cockpit and have to rant a bit. I bought some Kits-World 3D decals for the seatbelts and other bits and found that there is no manual whatsoever supplied. I tried to assign the Kits-World decals according to different Eduard manuals and failed. What is this company thinking. What might work on a Fokker Dr.1, is a no go on the delicate multi part belt system, like the Phantom's. I assembled one with a fantasy layout and decide later after touch ups, if I can get away with it under the closed canopy. The other option is to loot my -B Phantom's resin seats, but I guess, it's a different type. As I want to go on with the build, buying new seats is no option, as they take minimum two weeks to arrive here. Another rant is directed to Zoukei Moura. There is no seatbelt option in the kit, no decals, no PE, no molded on belts. Okay by me, but they could have provided a harness layout in their other ways over precisely manual. Enough ranted, I will look for solutions now. Cheers Rob
  25. DocRob
    That Tornado pit looks really lifelike. The extra details and the believable positions of the crew render a perfect busy workplace. Cheers Rob
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