Hi Steffen

I hardly dare ask after all the fun you've had with this one... but, does the canopy actually fit over the ejector seat? It looks like it could be very tight...

All the best

Rowan

Will this help

Cheers

Hi Raj

actually it does not. I want this closed .... Buit thanks for trying to help

all the best

Steffen

O.k. two pix today, one before the primer and one after the first layer of paint.





Sadly the color layer shows that the front fuselage around the cockpit still has a dent where the fuselage halfs meet, but I do no longer care. I hope several layers of Klear will even that out .. if not, so be it.

I sprayed the Gunze paint yesterday and airbrushed a barrier layer of Xtracrylix flat this morning before I'll hit it with Klear It was a bottle of the new type cap Gunze, which I have read reacts with Future --> cracking. There was always the danger but in most cases some more hours of drying time were helpful...

In case you wonder. I will mask and spray the white parts later. I thought back and forth and IMO it isbetter to mask the dark areas this time. Even if there is more to cover, masking the white would have been more complicated due to the more complex shapes and small parts ...

all the best

Steffen.

Short update ...

Xtracrylix cracked too

I feel your pain there Steffen, my Lightning had an unfortunate attack of paint troubles.
Andy

Grrr. I'll just stick with brush painting enamels. This hi tech alchemy is too much for me
and when even experts get it wrong it just fills me with dread everytime I start the compressor.

Paint consistency, thinners, retarders and paint system compatibility, orange peel, cracked finishes its enough
to make your head spin.

Please persevere though Steffen it is just a big ugly hawk of an aeroplane it just must be on your shelf.

Good Luck, or at least better luck.

Slan agat
JP

Thanks Andy and John-Paul!

Well, Gunze changed the formula for their acrylic range. It was always problematic to apply Future(Klear) over Gunze but I never had biiig problems. Well now it was like Death Valley after a rain.

I used the stripping to cope with the cockpit area again using Tamiya Light Curing putty and I already reshot the Dark grey. I will let it dry until tomorrow. Then I'll try Revell Clear Flat (enamel) as a barrier .. we'll see....

all the best

Steffen

So before I ruin the model completely by applying the Revell flat here is a photo after stripping and repainting the model ....



all the best

Steffen

that's the spirit! Your tenacity is a lesson to us all. Keep her lit.

Hi Steffen

I've never had any problems at all with Klear over Gunze. How long do you normally let them dry before re-coating? The only time I ever had the "Death Valley" effect was in the early days of Tamiya's acrylic paints and that definitely was because I was rushing them along too fast.

All the best

Rowan

Looking good, Steffen.

This one is really fighting you all the way. Good to see you are not giving out and taking this to the finish line.

Looking forward to see more.

Many thanks JP, Rowan and Jesper!

@Rowan not every colour in the Gunze range was equally bad (or good) As I wrote I never had this global cracking when using acrylics only. I normally shoot another color after an hour or two (which was never problematic) but I let it dry over night this time, because I knew it was the new formula stuff and had read baaad things about it. Also I wanted to use a different acrylic type as a barrier (Xtracrylix). I did have problems with Klear once I used it over enamel (and there might have been a problem of drying time).

I used to like Gunze very much, but I guess I'll have to drop it. As this new stuff just does not fit my way of working. Especially as I used Klear as decal medium.

@Jesper: We'll see if this one really gets finished. The flat coat is still sticky, which is not normal. But I will let it dry until tomorrow (at least) befor doing anything.

all the best

Steffen

Hi again

It's a real shame if they have messed with the formula of Gunze acrylics, because the few pots I still have are among my favourite paints for airbrushing - the only problem here was that not that many places stocked them, so they never really caught on like other brands.

All the best

Rowan

Hi all

@Rowan: well, rules and regulations.... be it Environmental stuff or modelling paint being seen as toy and thus must be drinkable .. I do not know, but I am pretty sure GSI did not change the formula just for fun .. .

and before someone asks: yes it is the acrylic range and I did not buy the enamel stuff ....

After a Klear coat this morning I started decalling the crate on the afternoon. I do not like flat decals very much because you can hardly hide these, but I gotta use what I have so here it is. As often I started with the large decals to motivate me and I will add all the small stuff in the comming days...



all the best

Steffen

I am progressing, slowly, but I do ...

The Airfix decals are terrible. We'll see how it looks after a few further layers of paint .. luckily no silvering yet, I am using Klear as decal setting medium again. Red (over white) is misprinted, so I have a lot to touch up later ....



all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen

After all the trouble you've had with this build, it'd almost seem wrong if the decals were any good!

Keep going - you're almost finished!

All the best

Rowan

Sure Rowan .. BTW is your Late finished?

Today I made a mistake .. well, finally an own fault ... not sure how to cope with that .. most probably I will just leave it as it is.

all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen

No - the Laté 298 has been on the naughty-step in disgrace! Actually, it's been waiting to be a guinea pig for the Tensocrom pigments that arrived the other day, but another sample is due any day now that is likely to delay it even further... But I haven't been totally idle - I know it's definitely not your cup of tea, but I've been tinkering along with my Flitzer.

I must admit, I'm still looking at your model and wondering if the ejector seat is too high and will interfere with the canopy... I hope not.

All the best

Rowan

Hi Rowan

Well, yes and no. The Seat sits very good but the canopy is very thick. If it would have fit flush I would have placed it in position (I prefer that for painting, no matter if the canopy shall be posed open or closed). As I wanted it to be open, this is no problem in this case. Also the masking with mucho different stuff (Tape did not work like I wanted it to) adds several mm above the seat ... I think it will look o.k. ---- there are other things that will ruin the look.

all the best

Steffen

Hi again

Well, you shouldn't spell them out, because they're probably points that only you'll pick up on. I'm sure it's true for every modeller that there ever was, or will be - but there a bound to be things in a build that didn't work as we'd like and glare at us whenever we look at the model.

I'll never be happy with the Laté, but I will finish it (if only to prove to myself that I can) and move on to (hopefully!) more successful and happier builds.

All the best

Rowan

another small update.

the decals are killing me. I only get on a few per day. Still need to add a few to the top wings and a whole bunch to the underside. that I attached the tank and missile today won't help me on that task, but I wanted to see some progress and just had to dot it to keep at least some spirit.



all the best

Steffen

steter Tropfen höhlt den Stein ....

It may seem like watching grass growing but still there is a little progress. here is another picture. Now adding some clear parts plus antennas and it will be done .. hopefully. I still do not like this Xtracrylix glossy flat, but it fits o.k. on this aircraft.



comments not really welcome

all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen

Neat. The "glossy flat" actually seems to give a really nice in-scale sheen...

All the best

Rowan

Hi Steffen




I agree, the sheen looks very realistic. I like how the fuselage reflects on the wings.

The base will look awsome too!

Jean-Luc