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Three Years and a BF-110 G-2

Preparation for Decals

Now the real fun starts. When the final color is dry, all masking, apart from canopy masking, is removed. I then give the model 2 brushed coats of Klear. You can spray it on and this has been discussed to death in the forums. I will outline brushing it on though. Klear (Future in the USA) is an acrylic clear floor polish made by Johnson. It's self-leveling and dries fast. Were after a smooth, very thin layer on which to put the decals.

The brush is a Humbrol No 8 flat hobby brush and is about ½” wide. As you can see I have a film canister fixed to a piece of ceramic with double-sided tape with Klear in it. Dip the brush in the Klear and scrape most of it off on the edge of the film canister. What is on the brush will cover about 2/3 of the wing (one side) of a 1/48 P47 Thunderbolt. Paint it on carefully. Going over edges, projections and details can cause bubbles to form. If they do form, remove them using the brush but try not to linger for to long in one spot-this stuff dries very quickly and when it starts you can end up dragging it. If that happens, a little more Klear on the brush and go over the offending area. Don’t worry but don’t let it pool either. I tend to do the underside first and after about 30 minutes it’s safe to handle. I then do the topside. Don’t forget to do things like undercarriage doors and drop tanks. You can do the second coat within 20 minutes but I tend to leave it for an hour or two. Don't worry if you get what looks like uneven coverage or odd light and dark patches (this has only happen to me once or twice but disappears after the matt coat) as long as the finish is smooth. I normally wait until the following day before decaling but I guess that you don’t have to wait that long. Clean the brush in clean tap water when finished. If you stop applying the Klear for more than 10-15 seconds wash the brush. If you want to carry on applying it squeeze out the excess water, and carry on.

About the Author

About Mal Mayfield (Holdfast)
FROM: ENGLAND - SOUTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

Hi, my name is Mal Mayfield and I have been modelling seriously for about 25 years. My main interest is 1/48 scale second world war. I build all types and all combatants. I have built 1/35 scale "targets" and 1/72 scale modern aircraft, plus a couple of cars. I have also dabbled with figure painting...


Comments

looks great. I've made a note to read about this in detail on my next day off.. I have a G-2 started but i'm in PE hell with it. ( not to good with pe yet) and I have a G-4 set aside for a rainy year or so... :-)
MAR 22, 2003 - 05:57 PM
I finished the G2, and just polished of the G4 nightfighter (RM 1/48).. The G4 nightfighter is a great kit!, Good link
MAR 23, 2003 - 02:51 AM
Mal What an excellent feature :-) Crammed full of detail, loads of useful information to any builder, and clearly written. I'm clearly going to have to read this over and over in order to get some good results out of my foray into plane building. You really should write that book you know.... Roger PS Thanks for the pic
MAR 23, 2003 - 06:58 AM
Hi Mal, Love the feature !! The plane is beautiful, and the detail and other info in the feature made it a treat to read..... :-) :-)
MAR 23, 2003 - 11:22 AM
:-) Thanks for your comments, guys/gals. Roger, no more undersurface views, I nearly dropped it getting that one. Penny, I'm aware that in most books that you might read on modelling, the auther tells you what he did but not what might go wrong. More importantly you never get the lowdown on what to do when things go wrong. I tried to address some of these issues, hopefully encouraging others to have a go. The amount of time, effort, energy and frustration I have expended over the years, trying out those wonderful finishing ideas, finding that there is a vital ingrediant missing and having to work it out for yourself, is nobodies business. With some where like Armorama I feel it's important to pass on skills, so that others get to the stage where they can build and finish models to a decent standard. This helps keep them in the hobby and benefits us all. propboy44256, I've shied away from the G-4, but I'll have to give it a go. I like the mirrorwave scheme. Delbert, I only used PE seat belts :-) When you are ready maybe we can do a night fighter group build. I have a Ju 88G-6 and 2x He219A-7s, as well as the 110G-4. Maybe that could be the next campaign, after the BfB. :-) Tin_Can, How did you figure that it took me 3 years? (probably did) Mal
MAR 24, 2003 - 04:48 AM
Well, it was kinda a guess plus it made a catchy title...lol!
MAR 24, 2003 - 06:52 AM
Hehehehe, sorry Mal, would have hated to have been resonsible for an accident. I still think though that you never get to see the underside, and a lot of time and effort goes into the painting of it. Not like a tank where you would never expect to see it LOL. Thanks for the ones you've shown me anyway. Roger
MAR 25, 2003 - 12:36 PM