DocRob
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Posts posted by DocRob
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16 hours ago, harv said:
Chalk it up to weathering. BTW, she is beautiful.......harv
16 hours ago, Bomber_County said:Rob, it’s time to walk away, can they be seen from a metre away……..You know it’s there…….gets me toooooo……beautiful model congrats……the camo is well above my pay grade…….I’ve a mark on the front windscreen of my ZM 51…….that’s why I picked up the P38…….
14 hours ago, Peterpools said:Glad you backed off the idea of prying off the canopy which never seems to work without causing issues of it's own. Looking at your closeup photo, the rear canopy blemishes almost appears to be stress marks in the plastic itself and maybe the Revell Contacta Glue released some fumes when drying which reacted with the clear plastic. I'm with Phil, your build is awesome and I would leave things as they are.
14 hours ago, GazzaS said:You know... I bought the Hasegawa Ki-61 a few years ago. Much to my disgust, both wings were warped badly. I went looking online and found I wasn't the only one to have that problem. They're relatively thin, and I couldn't imagine how I'd separate them cleanly and insert something thin enough, yet rigid enough to take care of the warp.
Canopy - wings... you're wondering where I'm going. Mainly what I'm talking about are things that could be managed easier in larger scale. !/48 canopies are much thicker in scale compared to larger scales. There's really no room to work. Even if you did get it separated, you would struggle thinning it, and really struggle trying to get the inner surfaces smooth enough because your fingertips just wont fit. And... being brittle. even if you did put in the effort... it would probably crack just as you thought your were almost there.
10 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:Do you have some maintenance figures which you could place in front of the distorted windows as if they were working on the canopy ? Maybe this could hide some of the distortions.
Otherwise I would leave it as it is or you order a new one from Tamiya and replace it.
Muchas gracias Amigos, for your input and reasoning. I will change my approach
. The KI-61 just made it back from intercepting B-29's at high altitude and there is still some ice from condensation onto the canopy, that easy 
.
Nope, it's not and I'm wondering about myself. I don't display my builds and you are the only bunch, I'm showing what I do, so why do I care? I cant explain it, but I do.
For this build, which was more planned as an easy summer distraction and a camo experiment, I will leave it now as it is, but I'd like to understand what happened, to be prepared for the future. Normally I dip my canopies in Pledge, but didn't do it this time, because the parts were crystal clear and distortion free. It was the first time, I used HGW's Kabuki masks, but nothing ran under the masks and the distortions seem to be no glue residue. I used Revell Contacta Clear for all my canopy works and never had issues. I think, it's very similar to thinned white glue for wood and not very aggressive or fuming.
As I said in the beginning, I will try another approach, it's a summer build, it's a cool plane, juuuuust relax and have fun. What was that all about...?Cheers Rob
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Beautiful and very detailed, the cockpit area looks positively busy.
Cheers Rob
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My frustration is starting to rise, the canopy fogging or smearing isn't solved easily. First I tried to clean with a cotton swab, to no avail, then brushed on some Pledge onto one pane, the one on the left in the pic, nothing. After further inspecting, it almost seems, the distortions are in the clear plastic or inside, for whatever reason. I tried to dismount the main canopy part with the help of a blade, but couldn't get it loose without fearing to destroy it, which enhanced my confidence into Revell Contacta glue, which I hadn't before.
I'm running out of options, is this really the point, where I have to accept the distortions, or to put a putty made tarp on the canopy, brrrrr.
The middle and aft part of the clears is supplied for an open representation of the KI-61, but to install them, you have to change the fuselage mounted railings, which are different for open and closed canopies.Oh, by the way, the distortions are definitely not scratches and they are visible on nearly every pane, on some barely noticeable on others more. Gaz, I would appreciate a pic of the real thing having distortions on the canopy, for whatever reason.
Cheers Rob
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Simply stunning Peter, your Phantom looks like the one on the boxart, super smooth and refined. The panel lining is like it should be with the chosen look, very fine.
Cheers Rob
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3 hours ago, GazzaS said:
...and sometimes... we just try too hard.
Haha, great one Gaz. Would the Japanese have known about HGW's wet transfers, they would have invaded the Czech Republic instead of fighting against China, only to get a bad batch of copycat airbrushes.
Cheers Rob
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9 hours ago, belugawhaleman said:
Well done.A great a looking model of an interesting subject! I remember I
built the Otaki model kit of this aircraft years ago while I was on break from
college. I always thought it was a cool plane.
Thank you, I guess the Otaki build experience was quite different from the Tamiya one. Building was a breeze with absolutely no issues.
5 hours ago, GazzaS said:Looks beautiful, Rob!
Muchas Grazias Gaz
4 hours ago, Peterpools said:Looking so good and somehow, these gremlins have a nasty habit of popping up when we least expect it. I’m thinking that going with Pledge for the canopy fix would be the best path to take, as it can’t damage any of the canopy framing. Not sure about the spot on the underside of the wings - still trying to understand what caused it.
Thank you Peter, I will evaluate the canopy prob today and decide then what to do about it. The spot on the underside was caused by me, while cleaning away a tacky spot with a cotton swab dabbed in a hint of alcohol. It worked without problems on the extra tanks, but here, the aluminum color darkened. Repared with the True Metal wax, it looks like new.
Cheers Rob
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13 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:
This is really an eyecatcher Rob! Beautiful build so far and I learned a lot.
Can you also post some pictures of the landing gear and tyres ? I‘m quite interested how they look like after your special treatment.
Good idea how to rework the canopy! What you can also try is careful cleaning of the glass surface with a cotton swab and Mr. Color thinner (not the Leveling thinner!). This will not react with the plastic. It will stay clear.
Looking forward to seeing her finished!
Dankeschön Kai, I will not clean the canopy with thinners, because I'm afraid, to smear the color while doing so. I have no idea, what caused the slight fogging, maybe it's residues of the HGW Kabuki masks, maybe it's caused by hot paint, in this case Exteme Metals or a combination.
Concerning the wheels, I will post some pics later, which in this case are not very spectacular, as I used the simple kit wheels, but I show the effect on the wheels of my Mig 31 build. The flanks of the tires are sprayed in a bluish black, the contact area with a grey brown black. Then I apply rubble Pigments from MIG. The tire colors I use are from a Life Color set with six different near blacks, which is really handy, because I rarely use pure black in my builds.Cheers Rob
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14 hours ago, GusMac said:
Very nice Rob. Very colourful and a nice different subject.
Muchas gracias Gus, it looks indeed a bit like a parrot, no real camo effect here.
Cheers Rob
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Phew, summer can be cruel, we had a heat wave for a week, which meant, I had to concentrate mainly on other things, like watering the garden and hiding from the sun, but did, poco a poco a bit of detail work on the KI-61.
I painted and slightly weathered the spinner and prop, painted the undercarriage, where the wheels received my typical two tone look of near blacks with different hues and then some rubble pigments. The extra tanks and exhausts were added, which were painted black for their covers, followed by Alclad's jet exhaust and then Uschis steel pigments. All the barrels were applied and got a steel pigment treatment.
On the bottom of the fuselage, I somehow had a big dark spot in the NMF, which looked horrible. I decided against respraying, because I didn't want to mask on all the decals and wet transfers, so I tried carefully to rub on AK's true metal aluminum wax, which fixed the prop very good, the shine is very similar to the sprayed color.After removing the masks, I found some smears on the canopy, very lightly, but annoying. I don't know, what I do about it, maybe first I will try to clean a bit more with cotton swabs and if that doesn't work, I may brush on some Future, which I haven't use to dip the clear parts in, which I normally do.
Here she is, with some little things to do, but closing in.
Cheers Rob
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8 minutes ago, Kaireckstadt said:
What do you think?
I'm not sure Kai, The photo is taken under harsh low light, as the shadows indicate and what I called reflection, represents the form of the ladder perfectly. On the other hand, there should be a reflection on the left spar of the ladder too, which isn't. Maybe the pilots entering had greasy knees and that's what causes a spotty shine
.
Cheers Rob
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5 hours ago, GazzaS said:
This weekend was the big event for Queensland modellers and an especially big event for me. Queensland Model Hobbies Expo. The first competition in which I took part. It also had a swap meet as well as some regular retailers.
Congratulations on your award, well earned and we had the benefit of accompany the build. Nice loot, must be great to browse the merchants on a show, a sensation, I'd really like to share
.
Cheers Rob
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Tamiya LP colors are lacquer based, where x-colors are acrylic. I used the x-colors since years and really like them thinned with Mr. Levelling thinner, mostly with a fifty-fifty mix ratio.
For some car projects, I wanted an even more durable coating, which is promised with the LP-colors and they behaved great. Sprayed heavily thinned with a ratio 2/3 thinner and 1/3 color, they spray ultrasmooth and are very robust. I use Tamiya lacquer thinner or Mr. Levelling thinner for the LP's
The downside is, they are more expensive, because they run trough the airbrush like Alclad, they smell worse than the X-colors and the range of colours is much smaller, specially, when it comes to camo colors.
I discovered them with my Ford GT build and to me, that's where they belong, primarily cars and motorcycles and maybe NMF for planesCheers Rob
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On 8/20/2021 at 5:07 PM, Kaireckstadt said:
I will use Xtracolor flat varnish to achieve a dull surface. On all photos available to me from Israeli Air Force Mirage III with camouflage the color is dull:
I wouldn't use a too matte coat Kai, seeing your last picture, there clearly is a reflection of the yellow ladder to be seen.
Cheers Rob
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Thanks a lot Harv, for uploading the pics and for the virtual tour of the event, an event I had planned to visit, firstly. Bummer with the Rio, I used to stay in the Red Rocks Hotel, when in Vegas, a great place, a little bit off the trotten pathes and you have to see the entrance of the Bowling Alley, pure style.
Cheers Rob
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Great work John, specially with the slightly marbled three tone camo. Have you polished the canopy and turret, as it shines so intense on the pics? An interesting plane for sure, which has the nose of a fighter and the frame of a bomber.
Cheers Rob
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Hi Carl, I hope you had a nice round trip, but good to have you back at the bench. Nice detailing there with the railings and wires.
Cheers Rob
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Welcome to LSM and nice scratch building with the Tiny Hawkeye. Like Gaz here, I specially like the hubs and am a little envy of your lathe
.
Cheers Rob
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Nice spotting Sherlock, as Gaz said, these details add to the appearance of an opened canopy in LS.
Cheers Rob
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Decaling looks great, as the whole bird does with them applied. I was very pleased with how the Tamiya decals performed on the KI-61. They are thick, but they blend in with some Micro Sol and the very small amounts of carrier film is nearly invisible and a coat of gloss might hide it completely.
Good decision on the part stenciling Peter. On a weathered bird you can go all out with the stencils, which are disguised under some tear and grime, but stand out with a lot of unwanted contrast on a clean plane.Cheers Rob
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A bit more weathered, but with a good view of the rivets. Taken in Chino, California.
Cheers Rob
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10 hours ago, JohnB said:
Thank you Peter. It won't be long before this one goes in the "done" column.
With that speed, you are spoiling the good experience John
. Beautiful and smooth paintjob, I have a soft spot for US-Navy three tone camo, it's much more appealing than GSB.
Cheers Rob
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Can't tell about the right angles Gaz, but on pic #2 it looks as the starboard wheel points a little outwards, but that's maybe only my vision. To mee it looks like G in general and I really like the work you spent with the rocket tubes.
Cheers Rob
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12 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:
If you want to see something awesome and colorful: that’s your KI 61 Rob!
This is a real eyecatcher on every exhibition!
Thanks Kai, for the last decals I needed sunglasses
. Makes you wonder about the sense of the camo.
10 hours ago, Peterpools said:Decal look perfect - amazing work.
Thank you Peter, I was surprised, how well the often criticized Tamiya decals perform with Micro Set and Sol. On some of them, there is carrier film, but on the NMF, it's almost unvisible. That's good news, because I'm not sure, if I seal them. I fear, that some hot gloss coat could harm them or the wet transfers.
9 hours ago, GazzaS said:Looks great, Rob! This is my favorite Japanese machine... and I reckon you can tell why. I need to find one in large scale, though.
I think the tail decals look right, and it all makes for a very appealing model.
Thanks Gaz, what makes this one your favorite Japanese plane. Is it the design, which cries Heinkel or the use of the more or less copied 601 engine?
From what I have seen, the Hasegawa KI-61 seems to be a good choice, go for it, it's the first Heinkel in NMF.
Cheers Rob
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Decaling time Hombres
, my all time favorite. Normally a lot of things go wrong on this stage, but the Tamiya decals performed well. They are a bit on the thick side, but they are opaque and nicely cut. Other sources claimed, that the tail markings are too big, which I can't see. If the supplied side drawings are correct, the decals are as well.
Tomorrow I will apply another coat of Micro Sol and then on to some detail painting on the Japanese parrot
.
Cheers Rob
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Summer project Kawasaki KI-61, Tamiya 1/48
in LSM 1/48 Work in Progress
Posted
Thanks Peter, I don't like unsolved mysteries, at least with modelling. It's an error prone hobby and a lot is about fixing the errors. That puts understanding of the situation in focus and mostly, through analyze a problem, you will conclude and find ways to solve the problem. Not in this case, because I can't find the possible source of the problem, but as I have written, so be it.
Honestly, I have to admit, I have a display shelf in my workshop, but the reason for that is not displaying my builds, but storing them more space efficient, than in boxes, where they eat a lot of space and are prone to damage. The shelf gets more and more crammed and sometimes, I give away a kit as a present for friends.
Mostly, after a build is done, I loose interest in the kit, with only some exceptions. The only model, I will display somewhere in the living area will be a wooden sailing ship, when done. For me it's about building, painting weathering and challenge myself with new techniques, materials or processes, after finishing, the air is out.
Does it make sense? To me it does, because I really enjoy the building process as a calming and focusing time and in the end, there are some of my builds, I'm really proud off.
Cheers Rob