Are going you going to share your Vampire with us? Exotic schemes always have my interest



Jelger

Hi,

I can't share any picture for the moment. This is a build for a magazine, I'm sorry.

After the publication I will be able to share with you guys !

Cheers Pierre.

Pierre! I am looking forward to see your Chilean Vampire!

As has been the case lately, the secondary build is progressing faster than the primary one. Or as an evil friend of mine said "secondary target destroyed first" !

I am urging the single-seater forward quickly since the two-seater will have to wait for the decals anyway. This one I hope to have finished in time for this event, which will take place in about ten days.


This became a real putty monster...


...with quite remarkable amounts needed on the lower surfaces...


After a coat of primer...


...I will do some further sanding before going over it with Tamiya rattlecan silver. Decalling will be done during easter holiday in the south of Sweden!



Magnus

A lot of sanding, but worth the effort. Those gun openings look mean .

Do you know what is inside the bulbs in the tail?

Are you going to use a single silver color for the finish or will you apply some different shades for selected panels?



Jelger

4x20 mm: Always mean !

Bulbs: I am almost sure that they're there for aerodynamic reasons, a not uncommon practice at that time. Same kind of bulb on the tailplane of the Meteor for instance!

Finish: I'll use a rattle can for the main finish and will try to breathe a bit of life in it at the weathering stage! Looking at photos they look rather uniform in colour since there was no bare metal on them, they were painted silver all over!



Magnus

That's nice to see your Vampire almost painted....it looks very nice in deed !

On my T11 I have just placed the instrument panel into the cockpit.

Cheers Pierre.

I've spent Easter doing the last bit of sanding and then sprayed it Tamiya TS-30. Now I'm halfway through the decals as well.





Magnus

Hi Magnus,

great! I like those two little Vampires!
The Tamiya paint you have used, is this from a rattle can? The finish looks nice!

Regards,

Sebastian

Sebastian! Yes, straight out of a rattle can. I use a small trick though: I dunk the can in hot tap water (not from the kettle, that is too hot, don't ask me how I know that ) for a few minutes before spraying. This raises the pressure in the can and also makes the paint "lie down" well on the model. Try on something useless first though!



Magnus

Hi Magnus,

thanks a lot!

Regards,

Sebastian

Shines the shiny demon...well Vampire!

That silver coats looks very nice Magnus and the decals looks great on them. You added a protective coat before applying decals or was the silver coat gloss enough?

How are these decals by the way?



Jelger

Jelger!

Finish is very smooth directly from the can so no need for a gloss coat. Very practical !

Decals are printed by Cartograf and consequently as good as they ever get ! A joy to work with!



Magnus

I might still make it until Saturday !


Brownish red wingtips and stabilizer tips have been painted tonight...





Magnus

Not one of my best, this kit demanded a lot more work and passion than I was prepared to put into it! I'm glad it is finished and I like the paint scheme, I wonder though why the Norwegian national insignia flies backwards!

I've still got at least one more of these kits left in the stash, I wonder if I have to build that one before Airfix releases a state-of-the-art single-seater or if I just can sit back and wait. Maybe if I sacrifice it to the plastic gods?











Added (with a sigh of relief) to the collection!



Magnus

That's a pretty little model, Magnus. It needs to have Maple leaves though

Instead of sacrificing the last Vampire in my stash to the Gods (presumably by burning it, to get the desired acrid smoke...), maybe maple leaves would be a more positive way of getting rid of the little b#####d? Where do I find suitable such? I've never built anything in Canadian markings even if I will need to do a CF-104 for an as yet undisclosed project. One day. In the future...



Magnus

Hi Magnus,

your Vampire is looking great! The finish is superb! How did you highlight the panellines? I like this subtle style!

Regards,

Sebastian

RCAF decals for the Vampire may be had from CanMilAir, while the Starfighter can come from Canuck Models.

Other Canadian decals may be found at Belcher Bits and Leading Edge.

Sebastian! Thanks! Panel line accentuation is a combination of an oil colour wash and pastels, mostly pastels I think since the combination of thin home-scribed panel lines and a smooth glossy finish didn't hold very much of the wash! Pastels were applied using a 000 brush, pretty useless for painting since it holds very little paint but perfect for precision-applying pastels!

Jessica! The story behind the RCAF Vampires explains why I haven't ever heard of them ! I think I'll put the maple leafs on something a bit more typical Canadian instead but thanks for the suggestion !



Magnus

The FB-5s were flown only for a short while but it would mean that you wouldn't have to convert your kit. Strangely Bill hasn't done any sheets for the F-3, which was the RCAF's first jet fighter. They flew for years in the reserve squadrons, and had some striking paint schemes
Most of them were a little more generic. Here's a nice little capsule history of RCAF Vampire operations.

Great job Magnus, a worthy addition to your "Air Force de Fridsell"

I just took a trip down memory lane and looked through your collection thread, there are some great builds and very unusual schemes on display there, and a really good way to summarise your recent build history.

Cheers, D

Magnus,

Great finish on the model!

I like the subtle weathering and emphasis on the panel lines. The overall result is worth the effort.



Jelger

Hi Magnus,

I think your Vampire is very very mice, congratulations !

My vampire (T11) is waiting for the eduard masks, that will be released on may I think....

Cheers Pierre.

Sorry for being impolite but I've suffered through the usual "IPMS Open Hangover" since last weekend. Judging a few classes and spending lots of time with friends and looking at loads of fantastic models.

Jessica! I'm sorry for my ignorance, of course Canada flew the Vampire ! There is even a section on that subject in one of my references. When you wrote about them I just made a quick check at the Wikipedia listing of RCAF aircraft and it isn't included in the former aircraft list...

Damian! Thanks! It even got a silver medal in it's class, not too bad... Maybe the judges need glasses ? Thanks for checking my collection as well!

Jelger! Thanks!

Pierre! Don't wait too long, I might beat you to the finish line ! I'm waiting for a letter from Xtradecal...



Magnus

It has been rather quiet here lately, I'm sorry!

Two-seater has been put on hold temporarily. I knew that I would have to wait for the decals but I discovered something a lot worse last week: what I thought was a mould line in the windscreen that I would have been able to polish away turned out to be a crack... I've written Airfix and they have promised to send me a new one but they are out of both kits and parts for the time being...


Green/grey drop tanks painted and clear parts masked...



Magnus