Silk thread is less prone to fuzzies.

Hi guys

There is a good idea lurking somewhere inside the ‘thread-for-handles’ technique, but I couldn't make it work this time. I decided to keep the paint and experiment with the alternative method another time. The problem for me was tiny bits of lose cotton attracting glue and making the handles bumpy. Yes, the fuzzies got me. Mad or what? Next time I'll try hunting for something synthetic as you suggest. The ladies at the local store are already used to me buying tights (to filter paint) and make-up q-tips (for all sorts of stuff including airbrush cleaning). No doubt they'll think a little needlework would be my obvious hobby.

With a coat of matt varnish applied to protect the paint, I put the ejector seat in a little zip lock bag and returned to assembling the cockpit. I had Michael’s words of warning ringing in my ears, and did many a test fit before letting the Tamiya extra thin dribble in.

Italeri give you precious little to make sure the fit is right, so I tried as best I could to get everything lined up. The cockpit tub also forms the front part of the forward landing gear bay, and of course it needs to fit neatly into the fuselage. Basically the modeller is left to judge the alignment of all these parts. Maybe in the future some kind of autonomous kit building robot will be able to do this. Until that day the chances of getting it all right seemed very slim to me.

I decided my approach will be to aim for the best fit I could between the tub and the fuselage. If I have to resort to a lot of sanding and filling I’d rather have all that - and the attendant problems with finish - underneath where it won’t be seen. I got close, but it’s not perfect. My plan now is to build her up and get the cockpit in place before I paint the interior. Its reachable once in place and that will give me the freedom I need with glue, filler etc without fear of ruining a painted interior.

The tub itself goes together well and only needed a little Mr Surfacer 500 to fill some small gaps. I brushed it on and then used Mr Colour Levelling Thinner to remove the excess. Mr Surfacer 500 is thin enough to be brushed on the outside of the parts. The modellers favourite piece of physics - capillary action - then sucks it into the gap and makes a neat join. This technique was especially handy when I wanted to avoid dabbing filler all over the nice internal details.

Here’s the story in pictures. No beer required tonight, but the little corner shop is still open. I might just make it..







The gap between tub and fuselage is bigger on the left. Its quite a chasm at the moment.



It appears to be caused by the internal bulkhead rubbing against the side of the fuselage. I'll play a bit more to check the fit, and if it is the bulkhead, reach for the sanders and take some plastic away.



Next up, My Life with Sanding Sticks.

Steve,
Thanks for the tip on Mr. Surfacer. I have a bottle of 1000' but rarely use it. What kind of metallic paint are you using in that last frame?

Gary

Hi Gary

Its a pleasure. The Mr Surfacer range really is a great filler for hard to get at places. It won't fill big gaps of course, but for seam lines etc, its cool.

The colour I used on the landing gear bay is Vallejo Metal Color Duraluminium. I used it on the F104 you can see in some earlier shots too. It works a treat.

Happy modelling.

Steve

Hi Steve,
Thanks. I really like the look of it.

Gary

Having decided to fit the cockpit tub before finishing the painting, I set about building the internal parts needed to close the fuselage halves. That means building the air intakes and engine. The parts are marred by the now familiar mix of light flash and careless moulding. Here's an example of a part that isn't moulded with much finesse. And this is after some clean up.



Nevertheless once time is spent cleaning them up the parts can be made to look good. Most of these parts will be hidden deep inside the airframe, so I wasn't worried about the odd minor flaw or ejector pin mark. One part that wont be hidden is the jet exhaust. The Italeri offering is fairly basic and lacking in some internal detail. I’ve seen other modellers improve this area, as well as the rear of the engine, and I decided to follow suit.

Here’s what the real thing looks like





And here’s Italeri’s version.



Clearly the designer needed a little espresso break, and popped out without bothering about all those fiddly bits. I’ll be scratch building some of the internal details, just as far as the corrugations inside the engine. That will happen later. In the meantime there’s now a collection of nice smooth plastic parts ready for some systematic painting and assembly.

Got an itch? The answer is to scratch it of course. A little simple scratch building can go a long way to enhancing the appeal of a model. Here’s my approach to the jet exhaust and interior.

Step one was to take a good look at the references and other modellers’ work. Step two was make an assembly and painting plan. My basic plan is to treat the nozzle and jet interior as separate little models. This will make the most visible part - the nozzle - easy to handle, paint and weather, and allow some access to the long jet pipe.

With that plan in mind I made what appear to be hinges at the side of each exhaust lip (apologies to folks who know what to call these parts - please correct me).

I started with rectangles of plastic card, then cut the triangular edges and rounded them with a Tamiya sanding sponge. On test fitting they were obviously too long. A few seconds later the scalpel had done its work and they were just right. Then they were simply glued into place using the best invention since sliced bread - Tamiya extra thin cement.







Next up, the inside rear of the jet pipe was improved. Again it was a simple technique. I cut two strips of plastic card, each wide enough to bridge the gap between the corrugated section and end of the tail pipe - one for each side. They were glued in place, and an area of overlap left beyond the edge of each half. The reason I do this is because it is much easier to cut and sand the edges down to a flush fit once they are in place. I usually make scratch built parts a little big because you can always take material away, but it’s impossible to add material it if you go too small. I used the existing part as a guide for sanding down the edges. Once the card and part are flush the job is done. The scratch built parts will need some filling and sanding to make the join seamless prior to painting. Ensuring good access to this area is another reason for wanting to leave the nozzle off until the last minute.





There’s a dark coloured flange that overlaps both of my assemblies and I’m having a little think about the best way get it in place. Cue 1960’s musical interlude. “Well, nothing I do don’t seem to work…”…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_sf8XFkmUg

OK. I admit. I’m still not sure. I’ll move on and come back to it.

By the way, the postman brought me these little lovelies today - Raphael Sepia Deco brushes. They work a treat for me. They form a fine point, hold their shape, and the long bristles stay charged with paint. The are also very hardy, and not expensive. I recommend trying them out.

Steve,
One can never have enough good brushes. Especially when one has the tendency to ruin them like I do.
Joel

Hey Joel

Yes, its true. These guys do seem to do the trick. I have one that's been used for all sorts and is still in good shape. My only 'trick' is to try and minimize the different kinds of materials I expose each brush to, but I'm not super diligent about it and I'm not even sure if it makes a differences. Oh, and on one or two I cut off the very tip to give me a wider paint flow when I want it.

All the best

S

Hope I'm not overstepping but I found this video of Mirages playing to Ultravox's Reap the Wild Wind:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf8PNsOn6w8

Anyone know the story of the two-seater with the rear canopy missing in the video?

Hi JP

Not overstepping the mark at all. That is a thing of stirring beauty to watch. Thanks very much for posting it. I don't know the story but 'Les Chevaliers du Ciel' is a much remade series about fictitious French aviators Tanguy at Laverdure. Maybe these are clips from the film made in 2005?

Check this out

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Fighters

Thanks again for posting this. I've watched it about ten times already. Number 11 coming up...

And this one too. I want to marry a Mirage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuvmqsNsvYs

Didn't we all marry mirages? Nice videos fellas! Good thing the wife doesn't read this forum.

BTW, if you're curious, I've started another journey in foil.
Jumbo, King of the Show

Best Wishes,

Gary

Hey Gary

My Mirage went into a tail spin. Luckily I managed to eject!

I'm going to check out your new journey now. I excited to see what you come up with. You do have a great technique with the foil.

Happy modelling.

S

Tailspin? That doesn't sound good. Trouble with the engines?

Good luck!

Gary

It was a case of eject or crash, so I pulled the handle. After a few moments of fear a wonderful sense of freedom swept over me and I drifted safely down. There's something to be said for separation!

How often do you peer into the rear end of your favourite model jet? Not often I suspect. But, in case my eye or the eyes of some other viewer do take a glimpse into the Mirage’s tail pipe I decided to do some basic painting. I suspect very little of this will show. Even so it’s a case of better safe than sorry.

I base coated everything in Tamiya X-1 gloss black, let that set for a day and then gave selected parts a light coat of AK Extreme Metal, Burnt Metal. I masked each edge of the corrugated interior to create some sense of the sections.





My plan was to grade the colour from the bronze Burnt Metal to a dull aluminium. I laid down the burnt metal first and everything was fine. Then I tried mixing two of the AK Extreme Metal paints, and yuk! The cup of my airbrush was suddenly full of a thick sticky paint. I had to strip it all down and clean it thoroughly with AK Extreme cleaner.

There’s nothing on the AK packaging that says the paints can’t be mixed, but I learnt the hard way that at least two - Burnt Metal and Dark Aluminium - really don't like each other. I know because I tried it twice, thinking that maybe my airbrush was polluted first time around. It wasn't.





“Dear Mr Vallejo,

Thank you for your range of paint and weathering products. It seems that not only do they offer some wonderful colours and effects, but also new ways to turn liquids into solids, especially in the delicate parts of an airbrush. Perhaps this is a benefit your advertising should make known to more of your clients. I offer this knowledge free of charge and expect no payment or thanks.

Yours sincerely

I.M. Clogged”

Dear Mr. I.M. Clogged,
Thank you very much for saving the rest of us from making that mistake even with other metalizers.

I do like your approach to slowly going from brunt metal to aluminum, but like you said, so much of it simply won't be seen.

Joel

Dear I.M. Clogged,
That's the weirdest thing I ever heard of. Truthfully, I spent a short time with and RF-4 Squadron while I was U.S. Marine. That's the recon version of the venerable phantom. The Squadron was VMFP-3.
As a modeller, I was keen to see what the aft end of a jet engine looked like for future reference. Everything was either sooty black, or that slightly golden brownish, grey tinted aged aluminum look. I have to admit that I was disapointed in how blah the vanes looked. I'm even more disappointed that the color of the non-sooty bits is so hard for me to describe accurately.

As Freud's favorite modeller once said: Sometimes black is just black.

Best wishes,

Gary

Hi Joel and Gary

That weird chemical reaction was the last thing I expected. Maybe I invented a new kind of metallizer filler or something?

Gary thanks for the eye witness account. I'm going to pay more attention to the exhaust area so I'll try and capture some of that elusive burnt metal and soot feel. My reference pic looks like this....



Do you think this has been cleaned up? Either way I'm going to try and blend a little pursuit of realism with some artistic licence in the hope that I'll end up with something convincing.

I'll be away on business for a few days so watch this space for news later.

I.M. Clo... er, I mean Steve.

If travel broadens the mind then mine must be well and truly LSD style expanded. My work took me on a little unexpected tour of northern Europe, thanks to delays, snow, and a pilot taking on seven tons of extra fuel just to be on the safe side. That meant he couldn't carry all the passengers. Don’t they build planes to carry a full fuel load and a full complement of passengers? As a little extra gift I also got a dose of flu. Aircraft models - love ‘em. Air travel - hate it.

Back in the world of plastic I’ve undercoated the air intakes as prep for some metallic finish. I also assembled the engine. I knew I had to mask off the interior so I could spray the end a lighter colour. I scratched my (expanded) head for a bit and then decided to apply masking tape before I joined the two halves and make some tabs so I could reach in and pull it out.





With the two halves joined I started filling the inevitable seam with Mr Surfacer 500. There’s one coat applied in the picture and it will need more. The whole area looks messy right now but with sanding and painting complete it should look good.



Finally the little strips of photo etch were added to the edge of the engine nozzle. So, its ready to paint now.



It nice to go travelling but it’s so much nicer to come home to a model, and a glass of Mr Red, grape based alcoholic beverage.

Cheers!

Steve,
Remind me not to travel with you

The NMF to the inside of the engine really looks quite nice. Will it remain that shiny, or will you dull it down with some sooty colored washes?

Joel

Welcome back, Steve! Good to see you back at the bench.

Gaz

Hi Joel and Gary

I seem to have bad luck with airlines. Last year Air Canada lost my luggage for five days. Now I'm back in the land of everything-runs-like-clockwork (well mostly), and yes back at the bench. Healthy, rested and ready to rock.

Joel, I'm going to concentrate the weathering on the area from the masking tape upwards. Its really hard to see anything more inside. If there's an opportunity to use the black and burnt metal effect on another kit I might experiment more and take it further. You're right it would be too bold and glossy left as it is. On the Mirage, the shadows are doing all the weathering work for me.

Hi Gary. Thanks for the welcome back. It feels good to be operational again.

Have a great day guys.

Steve