CANicoll Posted November 9, 2022 Author Share Posted November 9, 2022 SOMEwhere I have pictures of the masking but who knows where they went off to. So here is the first coat of the 'light' green. I added a few drops of Insignia White (a bit of a faded white) to lessen the color a bit. Tomorrow is the masking for the dark green. Used the Grex with the Vallejo paints as it seems to give me a bit more control. I'm getting to like the Grex more and more. Also spent a bit more time with those blasted seatbelts... They do look pretty good (I opted for the green rather than the usual beige color) to my eye, but not likely to be easily seen once in the cockpit... Oh well, the things we do huh? The buckles are not black, must be the lighting. Lap belts will be started tomorrow along with the next bit of camo painting. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted November 9, 2022 Author Share Posted November 9, 2022 Whew. Keeping the TV off (or at least away from the election coverage) helped enormously with focus on getting some paint sprayed. Put on a gloss coat for some weathering/panel washes and might start some of the decals. There is a bi-color band that goes in front of tail, hence the lack of color there. The German scheme is interesting - a mix of hard-line camo on the wings and top of the fuselage, and free-form mottling on the fuselage sides. Hard to distinguish but there are three colors to the spots on the fuselage - with a 'Dark Green' which turned out to be more of a brown added in. I think I over did the spots, in general. Zero progress on the lap belts so far... And the Benedictine is still intact... 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 Looks really good! Did you do the spots with an airbrush? I might have to send you mine to paint! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 7 minutes ago, Landlubber Mike said: Looks really good! Did you do the spots with an airbrush? I might have to send you mine to paint! Thanks, Mike! I used the Grex Tritium, with the pistol grip trigger and about 14psi of pressure. I find it SOOO much easier to modulate the paint - especially with MRP and thinned Vallejo Model Air. I picked up two needles: .2mm and .3mm. I used my Iwata HP-CS for the priming and pre-shading, but the Grex for the rest. The nice thing is the Grex needle ends are marked so it's easy to see which one you have in your brush (if like me you simply don't remember!) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 Looks good, Chris! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted November 10, 2022 Share Posted November 10, 2022 Colors and application looking great. Makes me want to start a ME-262 soon. Cheers Rob 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted November 11, 2022 Author Share Posted November 11, 2022 So the saga of the $%!@#!!! seatbelts is over. I love the way they look and 'act', especially compared to decal seatbelts but they really are a chore to put together. Here they are just attached to the seat. They looked way too big to me so I put the pilot on the seat to see if they were reasonably close. What do you think? Hard to see, but in general, they could be a bit shorter than I have them, but I think within the realm of adjustability. It would help if HGW would provide some sort of guide on length. And the final placement. I may still make a few adjustments but this is pretty close to where I think they will end up. I was going to finish masking the canopy and get the landing gear together, but this took a while to finish up. Finally! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted November 13, 2022 Author Share Posted November 13, 2022 Making some progress on the finishing - decaling and washes. Here is the first pass. Topside decals and stencils mostly completed. I'm not a big stencil guy, but for some reason am tackling the job on this build. I really don't like the Tamiya decals. They seem to silver on me in the strangest of places, even on a glossy coat. And I seem to break more than a few just gently getting them into position. The crosses we bear... Used MIG Dark Wash for the wing panel lines. I don't think I'm going to do the same on the fuselage. I've looked at as many pictures as I could find on the internet and I just don't see panel lines on the fuselage (and honestly, I can't find a lot to show the wings!). There ARE a few specific lines - such as the lateral line on the side of the jet engines - but not many overall. If anyone has other references, please let me know! The Red/Blue fuselage band is the decal - I just did not have the proper colors on hand and this was the quick and easy way to deal with it. Hopefully more to come later! 9 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted November 14, 2022 Share Posted November 14, 2022 Chris, looking excellent! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted November 14, 2022 Share Posted November 14, 2022 Wow, that looks really fantastic! Nice job! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 Chris Worth all the aggravation and struggle - your Swallow is looking just awesome. I feel your pain with the seatbelt work and in the end, they do look terrific. Everyone looks into the cockpit first when looking at a completed model and those seatbelts are the perfect finishing touch. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belugawhaleman Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 Been watching... And enjoying your build. I'm considering purchasing the same kit... or Tamiya's 1/48 Spitfire , change from my usual armor kits.....would you recommend the kit? How's the fit? Thanks Paul 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted November 21, 2022 Author Share Posted November 21, 2022 So I just have to laugh at myself. Doing some weathering tonight and took a closer look at the marking options in the kit and notice that, somehow (probably the stop-and-go nature of my work on the plane lately) I've combined two different aircraft: The markings of Green 1, with the camo pattern of White 13. Amazing, huh? Oh well!! I'm using the MIG Neutral wash on the bottom, but did the flap outlines with the MIG Dark wash. Here is a close up: The flow was not terrific, probably as I didn't have as strong a gloss coat on the bottom (fewer decals...). Once the wash dries, I take a cotton bud/swab and use the MIG thinner. I turn the thinner bottle upside down, then right side up, and rub the cotton bud around the inside of the lid to just barely pick up a bit of the thinner. Even that little bit works wonders in removing the wash. I tend to move in the direction of the airflow and allow the bud to dirty up the panels, as well as remove the excess wash. If I want a cleaner aircraft, I use a clean bud and repeat the process. But usually I like the result. The bud does get very dirty and then it seems to just smudge the wash, not remove it so I flip ends as needed. Sorry, I thought I had a 'before' picture to compare the results to, but now I can't find it... Also took the opportunity to add the elevators which fit beautifully. I used Gorilla Gel inside the tail opening. Very tight fit. Here she is so far. I have to mask and paint the canopy still, and shoot a flat coat over the aircraft. Hopefully will get a bit more bench time this week. That's all for now! Chris 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Very nice progress with the washes applied. I like the grade of dirtyness, it looks right to my eye. Your idea about adding a lengthening guide for the HGW belts is great, I hope they will read this. I usually build up the longer belts from the middle on, fiddling in the end buckles last and then glue the middle with the possibility to adjust the length a bit, after checking with the pilots seat as reference. Cheers Rob 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted November 21, 2022 Author Share Posted November 21, 2022 Rob, I wish I had thought of that! I have another set for a 1/32 build and will do that - thanks! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Chris Panel lines, rivets and weathering look so good. Playing around with the degree of how much of the Mig PLW is removed and working the Q-tip in the direction of the air flow along with holding back somewhat on the gloss clear worked perfectly. Nothing like part fit of Tamiya kits. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Looks great Chris, very nicely done!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted November 21, 2022 Author Share Posted November 21, 2022 11 hours ago, DocRob said: Very nice progress with the washes applied. I like the grade of dirtyness, it looks right to my eye. Your idea about adding a lengthening guide for the HGW belts is great, I hope they will read this. I usually build up the longer belts from the middle on, fiddling in the end buckles last and then glue the middle with the possibility to adjust the length a bit, after checking with the pilots seat as reference. Cheers Rob Rob, So I sent an email off to Martin at HGW and he responded in less than a day. He appreciated the suggestion and has talked to his internal staff about it. Not sure what will or will not happen, but I was delighted at the quick, and positive response by HGW. Thanks for spurring me on to send them a message! Chris 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted November 21, 2022 Author Share Posted November 21, 2022 Thanks Peter and Mike! The one thing I struggle with on the MIG products is the fumes. I have a spray booth I can vent to the outside, but when I'm just doing panel line washes and such, I have to turn on a small fan in my room. But I do like the products... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Chris Just seems to come with the territory and if a fan removes the fumes and smell, so be it. Always better to be as safe as possible. I'm sure none of the paints, stains, glues and of course resin are any good for us. I think the Mig PLW is enamel based and that should say it all 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted November 22, 2022 Share Posted November 22, 2022 Really looking beautiful, Chris! The underside weathering looks good, and the upper side paintwork looks very nice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted November 22, 2022 Author Share Posted November 22, 2022 Thanks, Gary! I'm not quite where you are but have some plans to try and replicate what you did with your fading. Will try anyway! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted December 1, 2022 Author Share Posted December 1, 2022 Sorry, been a bit busy doing lots of other things, including trying to put up cellular blinds (only 2 of the four ended up actually working, now two more are coming as replacements, ugh), the usual Thanksgiving stuff (cooking, baking) and also a woodworking project. Have had a bit of time at the bench so its a good time for an update. Did a bit of a light spray on the exhaust end of the jet engine using the same Model Master Burnt Iron Non-Buffing Metalizer (that is a mouthful!). I figure those engines were not the cleanest so there were likely exhaust stains around the exit. This is a nice touch - intake covers! The wingtip lights were an adventure amongst themselves. They are TINY and have an annoyingly difficult to remove sprue attachment. There is a divot for the color of the bulb respectively on each side. Working on the antenna wire. Tail-to-canopy is connected (and the excess in the canopy has since been trimmed) and now letting the vertical wire set up before attaching it to the horizontal wire. The piece of tape has two purposes - 1. Make the string easier to see/find and also gives the end some weight which makes it easier to manipulate. Right now it is just folded over the antenna wire. Here is the IP and very out of focus gunsight, as well as the armored glass inside the windscreen. Not too bad for an OOB IP. Plus, this angle hides the edge gauges which are off-center. Win-win!! That's all for now! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 Chris Terrific progress on the Swallow. Nice touches with the air brush work on the exhaust - has just the right look and a great tip on using tape to keep track of the antenna wires, especially at my age, seeing those details is getting harder and harder. IP does look good. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 Looking GOOD! Very nice work. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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