GazzaS

It's not that I don't believe some things should shine at scale. I'm just saying that it's nearly impossible to do without it looking toy-ish or pathetically faked. It's like those dioramas you see where someone tried to make cotton fiber look like smoke but still shows the cotton fibers in photos: You know what it is supposed to be. I know what it is supposed to be. But one hairy squiggle in the photo adds a truth that my brain cannot disagree with. If they had taken their photos from greater distance the lie could almost be believed. But because they wanted to show off some detail, they also showed the only thing that could ruin the illusion. My brain can believe in a matte finish that doesn't reflect the numerous facets of a stress-skinned aircraft. But my brain cannot believe in a shiny aircraft where not one piece of visual evidence can attest to the stress-skinned construction of the thing. Trust me... if I could figure out a way to add that stress-skinned-look without ruining the model... I sure as hell would.

Shiny vs. matte. the endless conundrum. I tried to impart partial shine on an all-black model and can't really say i was successful. But an all-over shine looks worse, because a plastic model lacks all of the facets that are on a real aircraft. That fact has me firmly committed to the all-matte philosophy

I'll see if I can find it here in Aus Jeff. Thank you!

Experiment in HVAC tape. Note: I'm not saying all HVAC tapes are the same. I'm only mentioning what's happened in my case and not vilifying any brand of tape. Also, I live in Australia, where there are a lot fewer brands than I imagine are available in the US. The first tape I bought wasn't actually made of aluminum. Much to my disgust it was of some rubberized mylar stuff completely useless to me. That was 20 bucks wasted. This roll I ordered by mail and is actually aluminum and also cost 20 bucks. But then there was shipping and handling. Another ten bucks. First thing I attempted was the wheel bulge from a 109G10 in 1/48 scale. While I was attempting to burnish down the foil, I had to apply more and more pressure. Before too long, I realized that I had broken the part underneath. Though I admit that I did my best to thin the part way down to get a more realistic look it needed. Next was this large part on the upper wing. Try as I might, I was not able to get the desired result. Red/Yellow Arrow: The thickness of the aluminum doesn't make for easy trimming. Green/blue Arrows: The glue is too thick for my purposes. No amount of burnishing could remove all of these artifacts from the surface. I could move them around. But not eliminate. I even experimented with trying to thin the rubbery glue with iso... but no thinning effect occurred. And everything else I have will dissolve the plastic. Any other chemicals I might try? Black/Purple Arrows: There is a thickness that may be a bit more than I would like in comparison with my usual method. Finally I decided to see what will happen to surface details. Again, thickness was the problem. And I think I have to put all of the blame on the glue. Just too thick to do anything with. More wasted money... now, wtf do I do with all of this shiny tape?

haha... yes, never build while drunk. Rigging?

x

Very impressive painting, John.

Let me know if you find some that can stand up to lacquer thinner. I bought some, but after a few seconds of lacquer thinner, they start to melt.

Thank you, fellas. Hubert... it's an old kit, and I didn't research it very much. So, it may very well have issues. I bought it at a time when I was looking for cheap kits to foil, and I got it for 8 bucks... Australian bucks. This was shortly after my return to the hobby... after a 35 year hiatus.

Thank you for your kind and thoughtful replies. I drank two large glasses of orange juice and ate some some chocolate which fuelled some fever activity through the night. I spent 12 hours in bed... minus piss calls and nasal spray. I never spend 12 hours in bed... usually 6-7. I think I got it out of my chest. But it's still in my head. And I'm out of sick days. So no pay for today. ...and I still don't have Covid.

Things in many places in the US have gone to hell. A US Marine made deterrent boards to warn would-be trouble makers.

My wife went to the hospital for a female procedure.... and now she has covid. After just getting over two time-lost illnesses, I really don;t need a third. But here I am coughing my lungs out and sweating like a racehorse at the end of the race. I doubt I'll be able to work tomorrow. My ribs are already aching from the coughing. Still negative on covid...

Maru, I've appreciated your support over the years. I'm glad you are here, and really pissed off that they have banned you.

That IP really looks special, Chris.

I thought I would take this little fella out for a photo shoot.

Thanks for the tip, Hubert. I’ll see if I can find some. But unlike Reynolds Wrap in the US, nobody here in Australia is trying to sell high quality aluminium foil. And the stuff from China has names attesting to qualities it just doesn’t have. l have some aluminium for roof flashing…. But it is far too thick for this job.

More foil. Only four panels.... It took over 2 and ahalf hours... and I had to cheat the leading edge panels. So ashamed.

Looks pretty awesome, Ern.

You know what they say... "So many models, so little time".

Looks great after that second round of shading.

Looking good... so long since I saw this on TV.

That pit looks great! I imagine the IP will be very difficult to see no matter how pretty you make it.

Yeah... that looks great... but how do you cut it that fine?