Mal & Magnus: Thank you very much for the quick reply! That was really helpful and I greately appreciate!

Thomas

The markings are looking very fine Magnus, congrats on Santa getting you the means to make your own masks! I sympathise with your view on decals, I feel they are fast becoming an outmoded method at least for markings and insignia. I imagine stencils and such smaller stuff will have to remain in decal form for a while yet....

Paul! It is a bit tedious though but I might be able to speed up the process a bit when getting more used to it!

A bit of fin-work tonight!








I'll have to run a wash along the spine where it meets the fuselage to mask that slightly jagged masking edge...



Magnus

Magnus,
Absolutely impressive. the tail and marking look fantastic.
Joel

True Paul, but I have an idea that would/could even produce those items as masks. The real issue would be that they probably wouldn't be able to be used. So the idea will be restricted to those masks that are too small to cut (this is more because of the low tack nature of the material, rather than the ability of my cutter) but that can still be used. For the real small stuff, stencil data etc, then the way forward is HGW's new decal method or dry transfers. The same can be said for nose art but I can produce some using masks, such as the "Belle" (Memphis Belle).


Yep looking good Magnus.

A possible tip for the small stuff, try making the stroke width a bit wider (towards the center, to keep the width). The problem with doing this is that the centers of the likes of "A", "9", "4" etc will be smaller. But the your cutter won't struggle as much to produce straight and parallel lines. It is also often better to weed items with small centers after they have been transferred as there is very much less chance of the centers being out of place.

Is it possible to adjust the "offset angle" on your machine? Assuming that it uses "drag knifes"?

Sorry Friends! I've tried to spend time modelling instead of posting and I've obviously been successful since it was three weeks since my last post :-) ! I've finished the masking-and-painting process and I'm in the middle of the rather tedious decal process. I've however saved up for a massive photo update, see below!

Mal! I obviously need to study the manual and do some experiments! I think "drag knives" is a good description but they come in kind of a cartridge so there are no adjustments apart from knife pressure and cutting speed available. I do however have my ideas on how to improve the shape of that "A"!

So, this is what I've been busy with since mid-jan!


Forward fuselage roundel and squadron markings masked...


...paint it blue...


...lookin' good...


...maskin' some red dots...


...and then paintin' them...


...lookin' even better and starting on the squadron markings...


On the subject of squadron markings, here comes the checkers...


...and checkers in place...


...loadin' the airbrush with some more red...


...and that's all folks!

Have a nice weekend!



Magnus

Magnus,

I love the Lightning and am enjoying this build.


In 1983 I talked to an USAFE F-15 pilot. In a dogfight the Lightning was powerful and fast, but that was all it had going for it. A few years ago I read an account of an F-16 pilot who flew dissimilar ACM against a Lightning; he beat it soundly close in but then he let his cockiness get the better of him, and he "got killed' by it by letting it use its energy to outfly him in a slashing attack.

That said, it was designed in the 1950s when the concept of performance was very different than it is for 4th Gen fighters. Back then it was assumed that there would be no dogfights. The whole purpose was to get a fighter off the alert pad and up to 40,000 feet and as far downrange as possible, so that it could kill the Badgers, Bears, Beagles and Bison carrying nukes towards the western democracies. The Lightning was an interceptor, not a fighter.

Two cool features of the plane taht 've read is that it was marginally capable of supercruise - reaching Mach 1 without afterburner. Its firecontrol with Redtop or the other IR missile was capable of limited all-aspect firing long before the Lima - AIM-9L - came on with USAF.

Lightning was an awesome system.

Magnus ,
extraordinary masking and painting of Your lightning . This will truly be a real gem!

Oliver

Magnus,
Your masking skills are really outstanding. The final results certainly speak for themselves.

Joel

Incredible project, the paint and masking is outstanding.
Lovely work !

Magnus, your painted markings have emerged beautifully. I cant wait to see this one completed and your progress on the other!

Very nicely done Magnuss, this is looking seriously good I will have to get me a Lightning. I'm building the Airfix 1/48 Gloster Meteor at the moment and now I have a hankering to build more early RAF jets.

I have just read back on a few comments and noticed this:




I do use Oramask 810 for some applications but now only because I have a 50m roll of the stuff. The Ultra Mask, which is also mentioned is far better. I'm assuming that I recommended the Oramask quite some time ago because I wouldn't recommend it now!

I'm very interested in where you get A4 sheets of "Tamiya tape like material" on a backing sheet?

Frederick! A bit like the Swedish Draken: more entertaining than useful in a sharp situation! For the Lightning, I think the lack of compromise when it was designed meant that its adaptability was severely limited later on when the operational requirements changed! But still, even at the end of its operational life, there was nothing that beat it from a standstill to 35 000 ft!

Oliver, Joel, Bernd and Paul! Thanks for your kind words!

Mal! 50 metres !!?? That means that I got away lucky with just having to buy five metres ! I just ordered a roll of Artool Ultra Mask, please feel welcome to come back in a few years and tell me that I once again need to get a roll of some other stuff ! RAF jets: there can never be too many :-) !



Magnus

Mal! I now realize that I didn't answer your question about the Tamiya masking sheets: they do seem to be readily available in the UK, google TAM-87130 and you'll find them! I am not sure where I got mine from but it was probably a Swedish source. Also, please note, I haven't tried them yet so I can't say anything about performance, for the time being I only happen to own them which is a good start !



Magnus

I agree and therefore the Lightning is a must

Thanks for the info on the A4 Washi sheets, I will be buying some to give them a go. It might be the perfect medium for masking the Wespe for my Bf110

Once again more than a month between the updates :-( . Sorry, much to do and I have not been very successful trying to prioritise modelling!


I've been decalling (couldn't get around it altogether) and weathering mostly lately.


Not bad really, I like the scruffy look on this one...


...especially considering that this was it's last flight and it was due to be retired a month later anyway!


This one looks a bit over-scruffy in the photos, I'll take care of that with cotton buds tonight.


Wings need a bit more though!

As you can see, fins and stabilisers were added un-weathered today, I'll take care of them now!



Magnus

Looking superb Magnus and a illuminating build log too. The masking and painting section is very educational. The Lightning always looks good with a bit of colour on it. The deep fuselage is a great canvas for Squadron markings.
Keep up the great work..
tim

Its great to see them together, what a difference a paint scheme makes; the NMF is sleek and graceful (for a lightning ) whilst the camo looks mean and ready to pick a fight !

Great work on the Lightnings Magnus.

I personal favorite of the two is the one with the camo, which is nice beautifully sprayed.

Weathering of the two is great!



Jelger

Tim, Paul and Jelger! Thanks! I like the contrast between them myself.


Nose ring clad with Bare Metal chrome foil, carefully burnished down using a Q-tip and then trimmed along the panel lines. Easier than it sounds! Also, the kit lacked the yellow rim decal around the canopy so this was hand painted using a (reasonably) steady hand and a sharp brush! I've tried it before but carefully painting whatever design desired using Vallejos "foundation white", then over-painting using the required colour works quite well.


I put the groundcrew to work cleaning up the airframe a bit. They were obviously less than successful...


...this one is as dirty as the other one but it looks a lot less harsh on a camouflaged background .


Same trick with the nose ring on this one!


Another thing I got around to do yesterday: painting the dielectric panels on the spines!

Working on the Firestreaks and the Red Tops right now!



Magnus

Not much left now...





Need to finish the missiles and do some final weathering, a few details and some touch-ups!



Magnus

Almost finished!





Finally I got the missiles on! From Barracuda, well worth the money!

Not 100% done yet, I'll leave these for a few days before I come back and finish the last details!



Magnus

Not 100 % but already real beauties! These Lightings look excellent Magnus!

Oliver

Superb and very inspiring, thanks for sharing.