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World War II
Discuss WWII and the era directly before and after the war from 1935-1949.
Hosted by Rowan Baylis
Airfix 1/48 scale Hawker Hurricane Mk
Heatnzl
#435
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Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 01:17 AM UTC

Quoted Text

To me close enough is good enough. Especially because I weather all my models to some degree.

Joel


Joel, that is it! 'Post-' and 'pre-' shading is an example of manipulating the appearance of a colour. Weathering is perfect for high-lighting and accentuating.

I use a cheap little set of artist acrylics to practise mixing. It is a surprise to find how tints and hues change with just a small change to a mix. A dark yellowish green, with just a little red will change from RAF to Luftwaffe immediately. Try it and you might surprise yourself with how simple it is. Even after fifty plus years of modelling I can still enjoy experimenting.

Colour is largely subjective, so, if you can't please everyone you've got to please yourself.

Cheers

Karl.



Joel_W
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Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 01:59 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

To me close enough is good enough. Especially because I weather all my models to some degree.

Joel


Joel, that is it! 'Post-' and 'pre-' shading is an example of manipulating the appearance of a colour. Weathering is perfect for high-lighting and accentuating.

I use a cheap little set of artist acrylics to practise mixing. It is a surprise to find how tints and hues change with just a small change to a mix. A dark yellowish green, with just a little red will change from RAF to Luftwaffe immediately. Try it and you might surprise yourself with how simple it is. Even after fifty plus years of modelling I can still enjoy experimenting.

Colour is largely subjective, so, if you can't please everyone you've got to please yourself.

Cheers

Karl.



Karl,
Today I finished the recessed panel lines using Tamiya Dark Brown for the regular lines, and any flying surfaces that are part of the wings, I used Black. Now this being an operational aircraft, I over sprayed the entire aircraft with a earth wash of 20 parts Yellow cap to 1 part Mig Ammo paint. Really made a big difference on the bottom, and the topside now blends in nicely. Will be doing a little post shading, then a few coats of Dullcoat. Yeah, I know, old school. But it still is the best Matt coat I've tried to date

Joel


magnusf
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Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 02:03 AM UTC
Joel! Coming along nicely! Those decals really seems to have behaved, a bit like the Eduard decals I used for one of my Spits.



Magnus
Heatnzl
#435
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Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 02:21 AM UTC
Nothing wrong with "old school," Joel. Being comfortable with your tools is important, what with all sorts of "innovative" products on the market.
I'm an old dog, but I can still learn new tricks. Slowly. A reason I subscribe to this site is to keep aware of new ideas and use old knowledge to adapt them to my needs.

By the way, when I draw a straight line I use a ruler... Sensible I think.

Karl.
Merlin
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#017
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Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 02:54 AM UTC
Hi again

I had fun today trying out a batch of test samples of Tru-Color's RAF paints, including Dark Earth and Dark Green. There were three variations of each, and it was amazing how the most subtle changes had quite a dramatic impact, both in immediate impression and later comparison against reference paint chips.

I'm really impressed by how Martin at Tru-Color has sent out test shots of paint for assessment - it's the first instance I know of on this scale, and I guess it simply wouldn't have been practical in the pre-Internet era to reach out to such a wide group of modellers for their opinions.

I'll let the test swatches dry overnight before drawing any firm conclusions and sending the results back to Martin but, purely in terms of quality, I must say I found Tru-Color paints are very good indeed - they spray like a dream, with excellent colour-density and dry quickly. I'm very much "old school" and I prefer lacquer-based paints over pure acrylics (I count GS and Tamiya among lacquer-based, because that's how I thin them) and, based on this first test, I'd rate Tru-Color among the best I've used.

All the best

Rowan
Joel_W
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Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 02:57 AM UTC
Mangus,
thanks so much for stopping by and checking out the Hurricane to date. I'm pretty sure that Rowan said they're Cartograf decals. In any event, they laid down like I used masks. '

Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 02:58 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Nothing wrong with "old school," Joel. Being comfortable with your tools is important, what with all sorts of "innovative" products on the market.
I'm an old dog, but I can still learn new tricks. Slowly. A reason I subscribe to this site is to keep aware of new ideas and use old knowledge to adapt them to my needs.

By the way, when I draw a straight line I use a ruler... Sensible I think.

Karl.


Karl,
My old ways are like some of my flannel shirts. worn, but soft and so comfortable. I really don't like venturing that far out of my comfort zone these days.

Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 03:04 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi again

I had fun today trying out a batch of test samples of Tru-Color's RAF paints, including Dark Earth and Dark Green. There were three variations of each, and it was amazing how the most subtle changes had quite a dramatic impact, both in immediate impression and later comparison against reference paint chips.

I'm really impressed by how Martin at Tru-Color has sent out test shots of paint for assessment - it's the first instance I know of on this scale, and I guess it simply wouldn't have been practical in the pre-Internet era to reach out to such a wide group of modellers for their opinions.

I'll let the test swatches dry overnight before drawing any firm conclusions and sending the results back to Martin but, purely in terms of quality, I must say I found Tru-Color paints are very good indeed - they spray like a dream, with excellent colour-density and dry quickly. I'm very much "old school" and I prefer lacquer-based paints over pure acrylics (I count GS and Tamiya among lacquer-based, because that's how I thin them) and, based on this first test, I'd rate Tru-Color among the best I've used.

All the best

Rowan


Rowan,
That's interesting to know about colors being offered in various modulations. Mig does that with some colors like olive Drab. I have all 4 bottles, and I've yet to try them.

Have to admit that Tru-Color has even made an impression on me, and I'm going to give them a try. They just might move Mig off my go to paint shelf. And made in the USA is important to me as in stocks always seem better, and out of stocks are quickly refilled.

I'm more of a lacquer kind of guy myself, and never really liked any of the pure acrylic paints that thin with distilled water. But the Mig Ammo paints act more like a lacquer base paint as I thin them with Tamiya Yellow cap, and will try them with Gunze 4000 self leveling Thinner as I finally broke down and bought the big bottle for $19

Been kind of stuck inside and struggling to get around since I must have pulled something in my back snow blowing and shoveling this past snow storm.

Joel
Merlin
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Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 01:43 PM UTC

Quoted Text

That's interesting to know about colors being offered in various modulations.


Hi again Joel

Sorry - I didn't explain myself very well. These are test mixes that I'm using. Once Tru-Color compile all the feedback they get from myself and others, I expect they will settle on single matches for the colours.

All the best

Rowan
Joel_W
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Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2018 - 08:45 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

That's interesting to know about colors being offered in various modulations.


Hi again Joel

Sorry - I didn't explain myself very well. These are test mixes that I'm using. Once Tru-Color compile all the feedback they get from myself and others, I expect they will settle on single matches for the colours.

All the best

Rowan



Rowan,
Gotcha ya. But exactly how do all you Beta testers know exactly what the color should look like in the 1st place? Are they specifying a primer and color, or no primer on raw plastic?

Joel
Merlin
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2018 - 02:09 AM UTC
Hi Joel

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm preparing my spray tests on white card and comparing them against colour chips (also on white card). That's just to judge the colours against a reference in as controlled a way as I can manage and excluding other factors.

From these first tests, the paints have excellent opacity with a single coat but, more out of interest than anything else, I plan to also do a mock-up camouflage pattern with the colours I've been sent to see how well they lay over each other. Going back to our Mk.I Eyeball, I just like to get a gut feeling about how colours work together - but that mustn't influence my objective tests on the colours in isolation.

All the best

Rowan
Joel_W
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2018 - 02:18 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Joel

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm preparing my spray tests on white card and comparing them against colour chips (also on white card). That's just to judge the colours against a reference in as controlled a way as I can manage and excluding other factors.

From these first tests, the paints have excellent opacity with a single coat but, more out of interest than anything else, I plan to also do a mock-up camouflage pattern with the colours I've been sent to see how well they lay over each other. Going back to our Mk.I Eyeball, I just like to get a gut feeling about how colours work together - but that mustn't influence my objective tests on the colours in isolation.

All the best

Rowan


Rowan,
Sure sounds like you've got it under control. Do they supply the color chips? As I've said in the past, I'm more concerned with being in the ballpark then dead on, as I weather every build to some degree, and I do black base, both of which changes the tonal qualities of the color coats to some degree.

I'm more interested in how the paint thins, cleans up, shoots, and the range of colors available in my areas of interest.

Like I said, with you doing the testing, I'm confident that your results will be dead on.

Joel
Merlin
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2018 - 02:28 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Do they supply the color chips?


Hi Joel

No - if Tru-Color supplied the colour chips, they could save the postage and do the matches themselves (they've already been through that process to narrow things down ahead of sending out test mixes). As I understand it, the whole point of the process is reaching out to as many people as possible like me who have independent references so that Tru-Color can hopefully reach a consensus on best matches against a range of samples. I'd love to know how my feedback tallies with others', but I probably will never find out.

All the best

Rowan
Merlin
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2018 - 02:40 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I'm more interested in how the paint thins, cleans up, shoots, and the range of colors available in my areas of interest.

Joel


Hi again Joel

In terms of the range of aviation colours available - all I can say is it's growing. There should Luftwaffe colours coming on stream before long - and, obviously, RAF WW2 colours are in the testing stage.

As for using the stuff - I love it for airbrushing! The samples have worked like a charm. They are pre-thinned (and Tru-Color got it just right), but I don't know if the final product will be. I must admit I haven't tried brush-painting - but then my job's been colour-matching, not reviewing.

All the best

Rowan
Joel_W
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2018 - 07:12 AM UTC
Finally finished applying the stencils, gave the Hurricane a day to let everything dry, then I gave it another coat of Tamiya X-22 and a final wet coat really thinned out.

Gave that a day to dry, then I applied Tamiya panel line wash to all the recessed panel lines. Topside was done with Dark Brown, and the underside with Dark Gray. Gave that a hour to set, and I really didn't like the Dark Gray as you couldn't really see it. I'll reserve that for various shades of white. So I applied Tamiya Black and it looks better but was a little to dark. Next time I'll mix the two and come up with a really dark gray.

Next up was a filter mixed 8 parts Yellow Cap to 1 part paint of Tamiya XF-57 Buff to simulate Dust and dried Earth. It also had the effect of helping to tone down the Dark Brown and Dark Green.

And finally I airbrushed on a few coats of Testors Dullcoat.

I removed all the masking tape on the windscreen, leading edge lights, and wing tip lights. And dry fitted the canopy to get a sense of how the cockpit looks.

Took some quick pictures but forgot to give it a wipe down with a tack cloth as dust this time of the year is a constant issue.











Thanks to all for stopping by. Any and all comments are more then welcome.

Joel
Heatnzl
#435
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2018 - 11:46 AM UTC
Hi Joel.
Are you happy with it? Looks good to me and I think you might have to point out anything you don't like. And, as it is still unfinished, I look forward to how it will finally present itself.

Cheers

Karl.
Joel_W
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Posted: Friday, March 16, 2018 - 06:55 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Joel.
Are you happy with it? Looks good to me and I think you might have to point out anything you don't like. And, as it is still unfinished, I look forward to how it will finally present itself.

Cheers

Karl.


Karl,

Thanks my friend for stopping by and checking out my progress.

I'm pretty happy with how the Hurricane looks to this point. Not so happy with the dark brown recessed wash on the dark top colors. Should have gone with the Black: lessen learned.

And I think that the final tone of the topside colors are pretty close, so I'm happy with how that turned out.

Looking forward to finishing up over this week. I do have one more small update on the exhausts that I just plain forgot to include yesterday.

Joel
Merlin
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Posted: Saturday, March 17, 2018 - 01:56 AM UTC
Hi Joel

That's looking mighty fine. I must admit I have a soft spot for the Hurricane - even more so than the Spitfire (sorry Mal! ).

As regards the colour of the wash (which certainly doesn't look odd in the photos), I'd never use straight black under normal circumstances - it's too harsh and artificial. I always knock it back to a "dirt" colour (for want of a better description) and vary that depending on the base colour.

All the best

Rowan
Joel_W
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Posted: Saturday, March 17, 2018 - 02:17 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Joel

That's looking mighty fine. I must admit I have a soft spot for the Hurricane - even more so than the Spitfire (sorry Mal! ).

As regards the colour of the wash (which certainly doesn't look odd in the photos), I'd never use straight black under normal circumstances - it's too harsh and artificial. I always knock it back to a "dirt" colour (for want of a better description) and vary that depending on the base colour.

All the best

Rowan


Rowan,
Glad that it's starting to meet your idea of what a BOB Hurricane MkI should look like. the colors seems to get better after the earth tone filter.

As for the panel line wash your so right. I've never really liked how the black looks but I kept right on using it. Now with the 3 of 4 Tamiya colors, I can mix and match. Going to still use the black for flying surfaces separations.

I did find several more builds online and I'm amazed at the latitude of shades of Dark Brown and Earth has shown up.

Getting close to the finish line now as I got the gear on. Talk about a complex set of parts to construct each main gear strut assembly. But it does all eventually fit.

Joel
RussellE
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Posted: Sunday, March 18, 2018 - 04:40 PM UTC
Looks great Joel!
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, March 18, 2018 - 08:19 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Looks great Joel!


Russell,

thanks so much for checking out my Hurricane. it's much appreciated.

All that left to do as of today is the antenna wires. And that's one thing that's been bothering me. I still stretch sprue as I've always done for both 1/48 scale and previously for 1/72 scale. But I'm not so sure that the fine threads I end up with are correct in appearance for 1/48 scale.

Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Monday, March 19, 2018 - 03:12 AM UTC
It's been less then a week since my last update, but the Airfix Hawker Hurricane Mk1 build has crossed the finish line in what is for me record breaking time of just 2 months and a few days. Of course, I've also finally retired at the ripe old age of 70, so I've been able to model just about every day during these winter months.

As I said at the start of this build, this is my 1st Airfix kit since I 1st came back to modeling in the mid 1970s, when my brother found a strange new type of hobby shop in Syosset New York, dedicated to just plastic modeling: The Squadron shop.

I've read kit reviews, followed builds, and watched videos on the new Airfix kits, and everyone raves about them. Well, I've joined that group for sure. Airfix in my book is the equal to just about all the major manufactures, while also offering incredible pricing. And while I still avoid Tamiya decals like the plaque, Airfix's decals were simply superb.

Overall, the build was fun, relaxing, without any surprises or issues if one follows the instructions. My only nagging issue is one that I caused, has nothing to do with Airfix, and that's the Antenna wires. I've always made them with stretched spure, pulled as thin as I can make them. While that method is perfect for my days in 1/72 scale, I've been wondering if they're just to thin for 1/48 scale. So I made these wires somewhat thicker, but now I'm not sure if they're too thick. I haven't painted them as yet as I can't make up my mind one way or the other. So please, let me know what all of you think.

Thanks to all that have been along for the journey from day one and have stayed the course. As always thanks so much for your support and suggestions, as they all mean a great deal to me. Below is the final set of pictures taken right after the Hurricane Mk1 crossed the line.

Joel



































rochaped
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Posted: Monday, March 19, 2018 - 03:42 AM UTC
Joel,
It looks very good from here.
From what I read (and I mean read without too much depht) from your build thread, you were not very satisfied with the shades the paint gave (am I right?), but it sure looks spot on, especially the underside Sky.
But what catches my eyes are details, and your Hurricane has plenty of good details throughout. Good model as usual Joel

Cheers,
Pedro
Willard79
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Posted: Monday, March 19, 2018 - 03:43 AM UTC
Hi Joel, a nice build.
I would have to agree the wires detract from the final build a bit. Probably thinner and tighter, and the wire parallel to the antenna should be closer to the base. I, after battling with fine fishing line which, after it's tightened, keeps exerting pressure on the connection points, have moved on to E Z line which I was able to source from wingnut wings. It works very well and remains taut without too much force at the ends.
The Airfix Hurricane is a very nice kit that I'd definitely do again at some point. Thanks for sharing.

regards.
Willard79
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Posted: Monday, March 19, 2018 - 03:47 AM UTC
Oh yea, one slap on the wrist for Airfix, is not including a rear view mirror in the kit. Edit maybe that's too harsh, reference photos aren't consistent with a mirror, still would've been nice to have.
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