F4U-1A Corsair Tamiya 1/32

[GazzaS]

Those lights look very nice, Rob!  Re:  the Tamiya drawing on variants...   Thanks...   I feel informed though underwhelmed.  Most of the stuff they did could have been handled by a few Rüstzatse sets.  No new engines...

[DocRob]

3 hours ago, GazzaS said:

Those lights look very nice, Rob!  Re:  the Tamiya drawing on variants...   Thanks...   I feel informed though underwhelmed.  Most of the stuff they did could have been handled by a few Rüstzatse sets.  No new engines...

Thanks Gary, there are two new sprues and some clear parts (obviously) added to the Birdcage kit, mostly addressing internal parts for the cockpit, the canopy, the tail wheel section and some smaller stuff.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

15 hours ago, KevinM said:

I saw something interesting last night Rob up to you but some props almost looking grey on this video if you don't use it no bigee butit's a really good Naval archive just came out.

Thank you Kevin, that is interesting material. I wouldn't use pure black for a prop in general. I rarely ever black in modeling. The propeller will be sprayed NATO black.

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

11 hours ago, GazzaS said:

Those lights look very nice, Rob!  Re:  the Tamiya drawing on variants...   Thanks...   I feel informed though underwhelmed.  Most of the stuff they did could have been handled by a few Rüstzatse sets.  No new engines...

If you want a new different engine in a Corsair, look for the F2G Corsair. It also had a bubble top canopy and cut down rear fuselage. I wish someone did that version in 1/32.

Carl

[BlrwestSiR]

Rob, I like the approach you're taking with the multiple layers of paint to get that worn look. I did the same thing on my birdcage Corsair. 

Carl

[DocRob]

20 minutes ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Rob, I like the approach you're taking with the multiple layers of paint to get that worn look. I did the same thing on my birdcage Corsair. 

Thanks Carl, your finish looks great, let's see, how mine turns out.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

The next step after letting the hairspray thoroughly dry on the aluminum coat was to apply the primer color, interior yellow-green and let dry again.

Then it was chipping time. I dampened the area with water, applied with a flat brush and let it soak for some minutes. After that, I used the same flat brush and abrased the interior green, emphasizing panels and areas of heavier wear. In some areas, I used wetted sandpaper as an addition. This may look like a bit overdone, but there will be pre shading on top, followed by the surface color, which will largely reduce the effect, as it only shows in later to chip areas.
After drying, I will save the primer chipping with a gloss coat and proceed with pre shading.

One question remains, were the middle flaps made by aluminum or cloth coated?

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Nice work on the preliminary wing wearing - surely going to be a well worn bird.

 

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Nice work on the preliminary wing wearing - surely going to be a well worn bird.

Thanks Peter, but the effect of wear will not show that stark under the tri tone camo, but it will be a weathered bird.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Got ya. Following and taking notes

 

 

[DocRob]

Pre shading time or how do I let my plane look silly . I have used a multiple color pre shading approach on different builds and always liked the effect. Black shading looks mostly too stark to me and using blue and brown in this case compliments the camo colors. To let the effect work, it's absolutely essential, to work in very translucent layers onto the pre shading until you reach the desired effect. I hope, I can achieve this, never used AK's Real Colors before on wings and a fuselage.

Panel lines got airbrushed in blue for harsh contrasts.

Followed by red brown for other panels and structural lines and some panel accentuation.

At last some red brown splatter, applied with a splatter mask, to break the monotony in the larger panels.

Funky, isn't it ?

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Can't wait to see how the pre-shading effects the cammo colors. Nothing as satisfying as trailblazing a new technique and seeing how perfect it comes out.

  

 

[KevinM]

4 hours ago, DocRob said:

Funky, isn't it ?

Awaiting the results!

[DocRob]

11 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Can't wait to see how the pre-shading effects the cammo colors. Nothing as satisfying as trailblazing a new technique and seeing how perfect it comes out.

 

9 hours ago, KevinM said:

Awaiting the results!

I'm expectant too and it will not be easy to have the pre shading showing through equally with a tri tone camo free handed or with Panzer putty for soft transitions, which need some overspray in the meeting areas. This technique, I used on monochrome or hard edged paintjobs, where it is easier to perform.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Please go slow and try to take as many pics as possible so we can follow the entire process.

 

[DocRob]

First colors are on, at least preliminary. First I sprayed Insignia White heavily thinned in very translucent layers until i got something like a 3/4 coverage. I decided to airbrush the camo free handed, therefore, I wanted the borders between colors not entirely finished, as the color may be too dense there to let the pre shading shine through equally.

After masking off the inner wing sections it was time for Intermediate Blue, which I sprayed a tin little bit closer to the desired density, specially, where it borders the white. I don't want to perform too many corrections in this area later.

The AK Real Colors spray exceptionably well, with good coverage and a nice flow in the airbrush, when thinned with Mr. Leveling Thinner. The white was sputtering tiny drops on some occasions and I don't understand why. The mixing ratio was the same like with the blue. Of course, I started and stopped spraying off the model, but I have two or three tiny dots, which will be addressed later.
Interestingly, the Intermedite Blue looks greyer in the jar, than sprayed, where it has the right blueish tint to my eye. 

Here you can clearly see the effect of the multi colored pre shading, especially on the wing ends.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

The third color is applied. Again, no issues with AK's Sea Blue. It sprays perfectly and I was able to build up the color out of many translucent layers until it had the desired effect. Interestingly the sea blue dried relatively glossy, compared with the other two colors, but that's no issue for me, as I will flat coat my work in the end.
The sea blue rendered sometimes very bluish, sometimes very brownish on my pictures, so I chose one, which looks halfway correct to my eye.

While building the Corsair, I considered leaving the outer wings and tail wings unmounted until after the painting stage. It would have made painting a lot easier and I would recommend it to everyone building a tri color Corsair.

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

The paint looks great there Rob. The pre-shading definitely provides a nice accent and helps break things up. 

AK Real Colors do thin and spray nicely. 

Carl

[Peterpools]

Rob

Looking fantastic and thank you for taking the in-progress pics and narratives - of course, taking loads of notes.

I started using AK Real Colors on the Whirlwind build disaster and was very impressed at well they shoot. I have to say, they are every as bit in the class of MRP paints and a lot easier to find.

 

  

[KevinM]

She is looking good Rob and still more abuse to come.

[GazzaS]

Rob,

    The results so far look promising.  I was really impressed with your chipping and mosaic like pre-shading.  The colours look fine, though greater detail shows once matte coated.

[DocRob]

11 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

The paint looks great there Rob. The pre-shading definitely provides a nice accent and helps break things up. 

AK Real Colors do thin and spray nicely. 

 

10 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Looking fantastic and thank you for taking the in-progress pics and narratives - of course, taking loads of notes.

I started using AK Real Colors on the Whirlwind build disaster and was very impressed at well they shoot. I have to say, they are every as bit in the class of MRP paints and a lot easier to find.

Thank you Carl and Peter. The Real Colors are indeed great to work with. They supported my translucent layering approach with their properties. They spray so thin, that until now, I haven't lost riveting detail, even in the multi coated wing root areas.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

8 hours ago, KevinM said:

She is looking good Rob and still more abuse to come.

 

8 hours ago, GazzaS said:

The results so far look promising.  I was really impressed with your chipping and mosaic like pre-shading.  The colours look fine, though greater detail shows once matte coated.

Thank you Kevin and Gary, I consider the upper sea blue done, but have to rework the insignia white as planned and maybe a bit of touch up on the intermediate blue. I was indeed a bit astonished about the relatively glossy finish of the sea blue and found it very difficult to photograph. A matte coat will improve this, but until then, there's a lot left to be done, walkway markings, chipping and the stars and bars at last, maybe the stencils as well.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

I reworked all the camo colors, until I liked the effect and color rendition, starting with the intermediate blue, then white and then sea blue. I enhanced some panel contrasts, using some drops of white in the mix. Plane 883 has a distinctive streak on the front side area of the fuselage, which I slightly painted on. I also modulated the sea blue, to let it look a bit sun bleached on the top areas. This is all preliminary and will be enhanced in the weathering stage. 

The first walkway markings where masked and airbrushed, using Nato black.

The propeller was also sprayed with Nato black, after receiving a dose of hairspray over an aluminum base coat, which will allow some chipping, later.

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

Looks great Rob. Makes me want to drag my Corsair off the bench.