Hi everyone,
Just a little update since the cold I have has a strong hold on me and I haven't felt up to much besides warm beverages, naps, and TV.

A long time ago I bought a role of roof flashing from our local hardware megastore. The roll itself is about a foot wide and many meters long. The material is .3mm thick aluminum. Easy to bend and shape, it makes me wish I had more metal working skills.


This original access hatches were wrong in just about every aspect. Since I had virtually erased any sign of them from some nacelles, I thought I'd replace them with something handcrafted.







Thank you for looking!

Gaz

Something of "a tinker" indeed!

Fabulous! I think that as much as the shiny surface of the aircraft will be amazing to gaze upon you will really add interest by having these kind of panels and the stained turbos that you mentioned.
Hope your recovery is swift.

Thanks guys!

Gary, really masterful work. I would love to be able to match your construction skill !

Hi Everyone,
Time for another update.

James,
Thank you for the compliment. I've only been back building models for a couple of years now after a 30-year break. So anything I do here, I've only learned and tried within the last two years. The only things I can say is that if you have a vision, go for it. It's only a model and a lesson to be learned.

Here's my latest efforts:



















I think I'll take a few days break and work on another kit. Maybe it's just today, but I feel a little worn on foiling. Besides, I need to work on my Canvas Falcons II Campaign bird.

Thanks for looking!

Gaz

Gary,
Like you, I'm a 35 year returnee, whose been "back in the saddle" for nearly 7 years, and I'm still learning from the masters of our hobby/craft.

Your foiling records are amazing. The main wing panels really look incredible.

Glad that the Windex solved the fogging problems. Any idea what caused it?

Joel

Hi Joel,
Thank you! The increasing size and the smaller amounts of time required to lay them is just part and parcel of the learning experience, I reckon. And that's really only four models covered in foil over two years. Remember how long my Jug took? LOL

Re: the The fogging: I think the 3M tape adhesive over time adversely affected the coating of Future on the blisters. I'll have to remember to be less of a tightwad and use Tamiya yellow paper tape on transparencies in the future.

Best Wishes,

Gaz

Gary,

Your B-29 is amazing. I look forward to the next installment.

About the different appearance of various panels. I am fascinated by the trailing edge patches of the wings. Can't quite figure out what they look like they do. But generally, the difference in B-29 panel sheen has to do with the character of the aluminum. I posted something about that a year or two ago but for the life of me, I can't recall the details, nor did I discover the forum again.

Fortunately, this modeler explains it better than I can, and has foiled models to look at, too. It was written by a former USN Aviation Metalsmith. His chapter Aluminum 101 is great.
http://www.oldmodelkits.com/blog/plasitc-model-kits-how-tos/foiling-plastic-and-resin-model-kits-for-realism-by-ken-friend/

Frederick,
Thank you for the praise and encouragement. Thanks for the link, too. I read that one a long time ago...well, a couple years, anyway. But I'd forgotten some things, so the refresher is appreciated.

Cheers,

Gaz

Fred,
Thanks for posting the link to that article. It makes the foiling process seems almost like I could do it.

Joel

Wow Gaz, you're gonna need a good pair of sunnies soon! Very shiny!

Remarkable work Gaz. I have often wondered about that very dark aluminum in the fuselage midway between the wing joins. Anyone know why it's that way?

What's the purpose of all the green masking? What's next?

Interesting that so many of us returned to the hobby after many years. It has staying power.

Hi Russell and Brian,
Thank you for stopping by. It's gonna get even more reflective, yet.

I haven't found a single bit of information about that band, Brian. I can only surmise/guess that it is a way to limit reflection without using paint. In my studies during this build I have also noted that the turret domes are also given a matte finish.

The gun captain manned the dorsal dome just before the aft turret. His job would entail coninually scanning the sky looking for fighters. A lot of glare would have come off a shiny wing, I imagine. So that might account for certain surfaces having a less-reflective treatment.

As for the masking...here is what I have to do to emulate that finish.

1. Polish the foil with aluminum polish.
2. Remove excess polish with turpentine. (It settles in the panel lines) If the turpentine hits the plastic it will immediately affect the styrene in a very bad way.
3. Seal the foil with a coat of Future. This will immediately reduce the reflective properties of the foil.
4. Once cured, I will spray on a different clear coat. This will further reduce those reflective properties.
5. Consider if more clear coats are needed to reach the desired finish in addition to the clear coat that the finished model will receive.

Masking over foil will lift the foil. Guaranteed. So I have to work out-of-sequence on this area and work harder not to affect it later.

Cheers,

Gaz

So, basically, you have to do a ton of additional work on this foil to darken and dull it like the real thing.

Pretty daunting!

Gary,
That's some list. Instead of applying future/Pledge then a clear sealer, Alcad makes 3 different clears: Flat, Matt, & Gloss. They go down perfectly, and will easily give you the variation in aluminum shine that you're after. For a neutral sealer I prefer Testor's Metalizer.

Joel

So far I haven't found info on the types of metals or the reason for their reflective qualities, but this is really interesting:

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 20050010183: Structural Vulnerability of the Boeing B-29 Aircraft Wing to Damage by Warhead Fragments

More techno-info: http://migrate.legendsintheirowntime.com/LiTOT/Other/B29_index.html

Frederick,
Thank you for those interesting links! The more I learn about this fantastic aircraft, the more I like it and am impressed by those who designed and built it. In the sub-links, there was at least one useful photo that I might be able to use to make a detail with. Gold!

Here's today's Update:

Only now as I'm typing does the sun come out. I meant to prune some bushes in the yard today, but rain put an end to that. So, I worked on he B-29.






At this time, I've concluded that the rest of the plane is gonna take a lot of work. The entire thing will have to be polished three times and coated only once.

Thanks for looking!

Gaz

Gary,
The polished and sealed wing sections look fantastic. I'm still betting that you beat Brian to the finish line too.
Joel

Joel,
Thank you! Once Brian buttons up, he could pass me easily. I spent today experimenting on how to get poloished surfaces all around the matte area without ruining the matte area.

Acetone, turpentine, and turpenoid are the best solvents for removing excess aluminum polish. Acetone and turpenoid won't harm the matte finish if you don't apply pressure. However, the aluminum polish itself mars the matte Alclad lacquer.

Obvious solution #1: polish the foil before applying it to the model. Tried it, but using aluminum polish drastically thins the foil, causing pinholes that weaken the structure if the foil sheet making it thus far, impossible to shape.

Cleaning up the bench for the night, another 'obvious' solution came to me:

With every piece of foil there is excess to trim away. Usually the polishing is done after removing the excess. All I need to do is increase the size of the excess and polish the new panel while the matte panels are masked by the oversized excess.

It's funny how sometimes a solution comes just as you give up.

Gaz

Hi everyone,
Here I am again with a small amount done for a large amount of time used.

















Now, the only real differences between how the two types of panel were treated are quite small. The first batch of panels was give a few swipes with steel wool before they were put on the plane. another difference on the second set of panels was that they were only polished north to south.

So, it only takes that small amount of different treatment to get great differences. I find that there is still more to learn with this technique.

Thanks for looking,

Gaz

Superb! I'm loving how the effect changes depending on the viewing angle.

Superb is the word.

Hi Gary

Epic - just like I expected. The effect of the polishing is really spectacular.

Looking forward to the next update.

Regards,
Kobus