Airfix Spitfire F Mk.22 - Part I

After prolonged odyssey with Revel's Junkers 88, I was in the mood for something simple and hopefully quick to build. And so, I picked up Airfix's Spitfire F Mk.22 from my stash - not only was it a kit I was already familiar with after building Spitfire I, but also, it's bare-metal finish offered minimal paint-job effort.
The kit itself is an excellent, simple build that pretty much falls together all on it's own. Also, it's panel line engravings are delicate and not as deep as those of its Spitfire I sibling. The only minor issue during the build of airframe consisted of slight inaccuracy in fit between fuselage and the wing roots, but it was easily fixable with little putty and a low grade sanding stick.

Once the airframe was put together and was ready for some paint, I was faced with the only serious issue in this project, if it can be called as such. Since I had set my heart set on metallic finish, a decision had to be taken - Alclad2 or not Alclad2. After all the problems I've experienced with this system on first occasion I used it, I had my doubts. However, I did spent a bit of money on several products from that company and it would be a bit silly not to give it another shot. So, after long deliberations with myself, I convinced myself to give Alclad2 another chance. This time around I would really ensure that the kit would be blemish-free.

The first unpleasant surprise presented itself once I poured the Alclad black filler-primer into the airbrush cup. When I first opened it for last year's Thunderbolt build, there was no problems with its viscosity, it could easily be sprayed directly from the bottle. Not so some nine months after the bottle was opened for the first time - primer's consistency was now almost syrupy and wouldn't be pushed through an airbrush in a million years. Only after thinning it with cellulose thinner was I able to work with it. Even then, the surface, after drying, was extremely porous and  needed some serious sanding and polishing. As for the airbrush cleanup that followed, let me limit myself to saying that it made me immensely grateful for existence of acrylic paints.

After very laborious polishing process, I discovered that in a couple of places (raised edges and details) I managed to rub off the primer. Not willing to put my Badger through another contact of third degree with enamel paints and cellulose thinner, I instead drybrushed the primer over those exposed sections and polished them yet again after that brush-applied coat has dried. I then prayed a little prayer that the distinctly different finish of dry-brushed bits and pieces wouldn't show once metalizer was sprayed over them.

Some 24 hours after all the fuss with the primer, it was time for the main event. Following Alclad2's instructional video on Youtube, at first I sprayed only a light, barely visible on the model, dusting of metalizer. It was a good thing that I did, because as soon as that was done, it was obvious that I could have saved my prayers - these dry-brushed areas stuck out like sore thumb.

It was time for plan B.

Dragon Sherman M4A1(76)W VVSS - Part III

So the thing with these 1/72 armor kits is that when you put together your chassis, hull and turret, you're usually pretty much done with the construction phase. Then it's time for the fun part - the painting.

Since we're dealing dealing WWII Sherman here, there is plenty of paint scheme choices to pick from as long as you pick olive drab of some sort. And so, olive drab it had to be. First however, I put on the standard primer coat followed by black pre-shading. Once that default step was done, I applied couple of thin coats of Lifecolor UA220. For once, I managed to preserve the preshading around the panels and hatches.

Next, I started to experiment. I'm starting to realize that there are no rules set in stone when it comes to painting AFV:s, you can do pretty much whatever you want within reason.

At the same time, it pays off to take a moment and think about the subject matter for a moment. In this case, it's a Sherman during Normandy campaign - so it wasn't in the field for very long and the elements it would have been exposed to would mainly be summer sun and probably some rain. Raised areas would therefore be exposed to sunlight, which means bleaching. To simulate this, I airbrushed a light coat of base paint highlighted slightly with a beige paint on all large raised areas - top of the turret, engine deck, sides of the hull and so on... The result was a bit peculiar - a 'glowing' green tint. Even though it didn't look very natural, I let it be, counting on that it would be subdued by weathering steps that would follow.

It turned out I was correct. Next step - grime wash for green vehicles from AK Interactive dulled down the glowing effect and nicely brought forward all the details of the tank body. Another AK Interactive wash - dirt streaks - was applied next in vertical streaks, blended into the body with white spirits. Maybe I should have been a bit bolder when applying that effect, but I kept reminding myself that this tank has not seen much action yet.

Finally, the final touches - a bit of chipping here and there, drybrush of gun metal to exposed details such as hatch hinges and track edges and finally another try at filtering with oils. Remembering bad experience with white oils and the Tiger, I went for faded green this time around. Miniscule amounts of oil paint were dabbed onto large flat areas of the model and 'massaged' into the paint job. I then left the kit for 48 hours before applying first coat of matte varnish. Once it was try, I applied some brown pigments onto lower parts of the model, but as always, most of that effect was wiped out by final coat of matte varnish.

And so, here we are - another Sherman ready to be added to the collection. Very nice, detailed kit I had tremendous fun building. Highly recommended to all fans of allied tanks.

Dragon Sherman M4A1(76)W VVSS - Part II

Remember that Dragon Sherman I was supposed to work on in time gaps during Junkers project? Well, things didn't work out that well with that plan. But the build is now solidly under way, with all main sub-assemblies complete.

What can be said about this kit? First of all, it's insanely detailed and fiddly. With some effort and attention to details, it looks great, as I hope can be seen in the images below. The build itself is done without major hickups. The only major critique can be directed at the assembly of suspension, where what I assume is some sort of hydraulic shock absorbers need to be inserted into wheel assembles. Not only is this piece completely hidden from sight once the assembly is done, it also makes the fit much more difficult than without it. Annoying and unnecessary.

There is substantial number of photo-etched parts in this box; remember we're talking about 1/72 scale here. I put on some of them, but choose to use plastic components for light guards for the simple reason that my kits serve double duty as game pieces in wargames. Photo-etched parts are too fragile for frequent handling. That's maybe my decision to use photo-etched components for rear stowage rack isn't the best I've ever made. Initially I just wanted to make it and get some experience with photo-etch. But then it turned out so nice... So what the heck, I can always put on the plastic variant if it gets knocked off in the heat of the battle.

At this moment I have to do some last minute cleanup of the turret and then it's time to get out the primer can.

Revell Junkers Ju 88A4 - Part VII

And it's finished. My final verdict about this kit is overall very positive, although as already mentioned, I have a couple of serious reservations regarding some aspects of its design. The nose assembly is overly complicated and made unnecessarily tricky by use of transparent parts that end up being over-painted to 80 percent. Clear parts functioning as joints that are subjected to tension pressure (due to the complexity of nose assembly) is another thing that I'm not very happy about. And finally, that tricky belly copula sub-assembly will probably succeed in driving an angel into righteous fury.

OK, that was the last of my 'whines' regarding this kit, I promise. Yes, it's challenging and no, it's not for complete beginners. It taxed my limited skills to the limit, perhaps beyond them. But that's how you learn and develop. I know, a horrible cliche, bite me... ;.-) In this case, it's 100 percent true, I've learned quite a lot while working with this kit.

Two 'last time I did this' that I need to make a comment about, both of them related with clear parts.

First of all, this is the last time I've used liquid masking fluid for canopies. To each his own and I know of folks who use it like a magic wand, but I never liked the stuff to begin with. In this project it turned out to be yet again a major PITA, horribly difficult to clean up, especially in the corners of masked areas.

Second, a warning - based on my experience in this project, "Glaze 'n' Glue" from Deluxe Materials, intended for gluing of clear parts, is not able to handle even slightest tension on the joints. When dry, the glue turns into clear rubber-like material that stretches if the joint is 'pulled apart'. This was a very unpleasant surprise to me and caused me significant problems while working with nose assembly. Now you've been warned.

Finally, a couple of words about the weathering of this kit. Once the basic paint job was done, I sprayed the kit with Vallejo Acrylic gloss as preparation for the decals. Once decals were in place, another coat sealed them in. Next, Flory's dark brown was applied everywhere. It was then wiped off and I proceeded with final stages of the weathering, consisting of applying random streaks of black and dark brown pigment all over the fuselage and wing surfaces. These subtle color shifts broke up the monotony of greens in a very pleasing and dare I say, realistic manner. Finally, I applied 'default' soot streaks around the exhausts. I must admit that I am not very confident when working with this particular detail and the end result is far from convincing.

The finished kit turned out like this.

Revell Junkers Ju 88A4 - Part VI

One of these less pleasant moments... You are almost done, ready to put on the transparent bits and they don't fit although they did before. Well... actually, I'm pretty sure they didn't really fit at any time. As you perhaps recall, the nose of this kit is split in multiple 'quadruples' that need to be aligned very precisely. As it turns out, it was a task beyond my skills and now this failure came back to haunt me.

Right... so the question was - try to fix the problem on a model that was painted and in an area with multiple transparent parts, prone to scratches and blemishes or leave it and hope nobody would notice? And here we arrive to a very interesting lesson in psychology - nobody, except me and I know that these gaps would nag at me every time I'd look at that kit. Question answered; people are really funny... :)

So, how to perform this 'sensitive operation'? Well, first of all, mask off all areas not involved! Second, be very patient and work with diluted acrylic putty. I'll go through materials I'm using in this project at other time, but let me tell you - Perfect Plastic Putty from Deluxe Materials is really useful! Last, file and polish, very carefully.

Before and after pictures are below. I'm almost there!

Revell Junkers Ju 88A4 - Part V

After putting all the small bits and pieces into place, the kit is ready for its first coal of clear varnish in preparation for decals. It has to be said that the belly copula sub-assembly is something of a miniature nightmare. Seven parts, five of them of clear plastic, two of which need to be almost completely painted in the end - why complicate things like that? And the only fitting comment for the fact that Revell chose to split a tiny machine gun sited in its rear in two minuscule parts is 'ridiculous'.

All right, rant mode off... just remember to dry-fit the belly copula often before you pick up the glue!

Not very keen on having to drill my own position holes
before being able to fit dive breaks in place.

I'm sure it can be done a lot better, but the belly copula sub-assembly
turned out to be beyond my skills.

Waiting for first coat of clear varnish.

Revell Junkers Ju 88A4 - Part IV

Ush, a month since last update... Time surely moves past when one's busy. Luckily, I found an hour here and there for this project and things are moving steadily along. At this moment, I'm pretty much done with the paint job of the fuselage - a pretty standard job with usual challenges in masking department. The airplane is painted in standard Luftwaffe splinter pattern for bombers - Lifecolor UA503 (RLM65) was used for the lower surfaces, while the upper surfaces are painted with UA502 (RLM74) and UA501 (RLM70).