This campaign is now closed. Congrats to all who finished and thank you to all who participated! Ribbons have been awarded, so if you didn't get one and think you should have, let me know.

Michael

I'm going to finish this Su-9 Fishpot even if it is late. The third paint job in as many days seems to be unstable. Even after several days drying time, the model felt slightly tacky and the paint still has the aroma of outgassing.

The decals were reluctant to move once slid into the model over a bed of Micro-Set. Once burnished down there was no repositioning possible so some of them are off kilter slightly.

Using Kyrlon clear to match the paint, I shot a test strip and all looked well. Next, I shot the gear doors and the paint wrinkled. Yikes! What next? I set them aside to get well dried and will sand them down tonight & repaint. BTW, I checked the test panel & it too acted the same way. I shouda just waited a bit longer before painting those gear doors . . .

What's next? Some water based washes and final assembly followed by trying to rectify the overspray on the canopy that happened after the Montex masks lifted & I did not notice.

There are a lot of lessons here, too many for one build.

Yeah I know that feeling all to well Paul, I've had more than my fair share of teaching builds LOL. I've also struck lifting issues with Montex masks just recently on my He 177. I'm going to eschew the black masks as they seem to be to stiff for complex curves/angles and eventually peel back even after burnishing them to get them to stick down. I'm going to get a set of paper tape masks to replace them and try to re-mediate the over spray. Fortunately for me the RLM66 is an acrylic and should remove quite easily.

Yes, acrylics would be a blessing in that case. I had two lacquers & an enamel & do not know when the lifting occurred. Too bad as the masks fit well.

A 177 has a LOT of panels to mask. A good mask set would be worth investing in!

More work done on the Fishpot. I painted the wheel well with an Imperial Japanese Navy Kure grey. The only guide I had here was some online photos of derelict/museum examples and this color looked close. I used a water based wash to highlight detail and add a weather streaked look.













Final assembly next!

The last four pics show the results of the Montex masks lifting and allowing the paint to mar the clear areas. I'm not sure what is to be done about this.

Awesome work Paul! The over spray while visible is not too bad, as a suggestion try masking the raised painted parts of the canopy and use a little tooth paste on a cotton bud (uh sorry Q-tip for you Americans) to try and polish out the paint or alternatively Tamiya does make a polishing compound although I would imagine it's not cheap.

Chris, thanks for the idea about using tape & toothpaste. It it did help improve the look & I think further work with other polishes might make it even better. This project is at least as much "lesson" as it is "model."

I finally finished the Fishpot:











These pics have been uploaded to the gallery.

I will probably do the missiles & fuel tanks later to try polishing the plastic in preparation for another go at the natural metal finish. This kit will continue in its role as teacher.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this campaign for the encouragement & suggestions and thanks to our fearless leaders for the extra support.