Dakota

[glenwilson]

I enjoyed making the tank kit so have gone for an aircraft for the next one. This is quite a simple kit again but should look good when finished. Really tempted to get an airbrush rather than use spray cans for painting. Have had a few things that could also have used an airbrush on but never having used one didn’t know if it was worth the investment.

 

[RIZLOID]

Many many moons ago I bought this very cheap airbrush to paint body shells of RC model cars.
My own car then was a mk2 cortina so bought a litre of paint + laquer + thinners to touchup some bits on the car, ended up painting the whole car (except roof) with this tiny airbrush. One panel at at time at weekends, it took weeks but boy it looked good. The expensive part was the propellent cans but got round that too as you could plug it to a car wheel valve and use the air from that. No compressor just a 12v electric tyre pump and two spare wheels. I still have it somewhere in the shed now.
Here is a link to that air brush on ebay, different colour but the same brush.

Wolf Air Brush Kit with Case Mini Spray Gun for Artwork Drawings Model Painting 5056109020178 | eBay

The Wolf Air Brush Kit is suitable for air brushing artwork, drawings, model making, etc. // Suction Feed. > Garden Tools. // Cup Capacity: 2 x 22cc. > Air Compressors & Accessories. > Power Tools & Accessories.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[lakaelo]

you sprayed a whole...big car with that?? holy shit

 

[glenwilson]

Mk2 Cortina - my dad had one. Remember going with him to his work and we went back to the Terminal 3 car park at Heathrow afterwards and were going through the tunnel when we realised that it was the wrong car! Same model and colour but wrong floor. Ford keys would open anything those days.

Thanks for that as I cannot find anywhere the sort of volume they can cover. I have had smaller things like the stool I repainted that would probably be OK. Certainly using thinned paints would be a lot cheaper than spray cans. Will definitely have a look at that. There are cheap compressors about so that combination might be worth getting for the price of about three propellent cans.

Update:
After a quick search and YouTubeing that looks like an ideal brush to start with not just for models but also larger items. Can always get a fancier one later on. I will probably go for a compressor but need to research a bit more about those. Thanks again for that suggestion.

 

[lakaelo]

here is the next aircraft kit for you glen

 

[RIZLOID]

Thats going to need a big shelf to put it on

 

[glenwilson]

I think that would need a bigger house with a biiger garden for that!

 

[glenwilson]

It is so good to be back home. After two weeks staying with my Mum it is like being at a relaxation retreat.

The bad news is that she has a date for her hip replacement operation in October which means that we will need to be there as slaves er, help for about 6 weeks.

The good news is that I have been getting severe hip pain for a couple of weeks now so have to see the doc on Tuesday. That will be fun.

After Riz’s airbrush suggestion (thanks again for that) I have been doing more research and that sort of airbrush does seem to be as good as the gravity feed ones. The main difference seems to be the amount of paint they use with with gravity using less and is better for smaller areas. Also looked at comparisons between cheap an expensive gravity airbrushes. Most seemed to say the cheap ones were generally OK if you take the time to prepare them first and lube the working parts.

Also looked at the propellant source. Cans seem to last for about ten minutes and probably have their uses but a compressor seems to be the best option. So for £60 I get a compressor and two airbrushes - one of each type.

Hopefully I should be able to make a start on the kit and get over the trauma lovely time we had at my Mum.

 

[RIZLOID]

Take some time practicing with the a/brush as all paints and thinners are different, paint to thinners ratio. Use a syringe for accurate measuring and use the spare jar for mixing (shake).
Temperature, spraying dist can affect end product. More thinners if it is warm so paint doesnt dry in the air between the brush and the item. Once you get that right and the right amount of flow of air to paint you'll be wanting to spray everything. LOL.
Once you get it all sorted make a mark on the nozzle adjust on the brush so you can go straight there abouts when you put it back together after cleaning (just drop the nozzle into some thinners)
Practice and enjoy

 

[glenwilson]

Thanks for that advice have seen some of those suggestions elsewhere but there a quite a few nuggets in there that I have not seen anywhere. I was going to take my time with it anyway.

I have a few metal boxes that are quite plain but strong that I want to repaint so will be useful practice before starting on the planes body.

I have got a few paints for the kit including some metallic lacquers. Most of the schemes seem to be camouflaged but a few planes I have seen in museums were bare metal and that is what I was going to do and then add some weathering so it doesn’t have an out of the factory look.

 

[lakaelo]

be wanting to spray everything. LOL.

bloody hell. the pics in my head.....

 

[glenwilson]

Started practicing. Doing around those eyes are hard though.

 

[glenwilson]

I am quite excited to get started. And some initial kit stuff.

 

[glenwilson]

Won’t get a chance to try the airbrush today but when I do I might try and video it for fun.

My attempt may be:

1. So perfect it proves I am a natural at airbrushing
2. Not bad for a first attempt
3. I really need a lot more practice at this
4. “Do you think this overspray on my face is noticeable?”
5. “Hello, is that the house insurance company? Er, I would like to make a claim…”

 

[glenwilson]

Some glueing, filling and sanding today. Tried the airbrushes with some water just to make sure everything works and seemed to be fine. Haven’t got any paint that I can waste so I will need to get some to practice with.

 

[RIZLOID]

I hope you are good at masking as the airbrush will paint everything on that plane inc. through the window.
I painted bodyshells on r/c cars which is very straight forward. The bodyshell is clear plastic and you just stick the decals on the inside of the shell and then paint the whole shell inside, no need for laquer as the clear plastic becomes like the laquer if that makes sense. For masking use Frog Tape its the best. A little diagram of direction of spray to avoid the build up of paint against the masking tape when you remove it.

 

[General_Misery]

My friends and I used to build models like these (and so learning a multitude of esp. WWII aircraft names) back in the day, around 5-6 models per year. We never got as far as using a airbrush but we got better and better in the assembly ie using the right amount of glue etc.

It was really fun and many times we got together and did the ”work” together. We also had a tradition each Easter to gather models that were somewhat poorly assembled and stuff them with firecrackers and then eagerly waiting for the blast - and then the fun of examining the shrapnel...

 

[glenwilson]

I have got plenty of making tape. I have some thinner ’proper’ model masking tape for edges and curves and some wider stuff for bigger coverage. Glad you mentioned frog tape as that is on my shopping list. That diagram is great. Will try and put into practice all the lessons learnt. The windows are masked and I have tested it with a spray can (primer) and seems to be OK.

When I was a kid I made a lot of models but most were really shite. There wasn’t the information and sharing of skills that there is now so the same mistakes were made over and over…. Have to admit that I am enjoying making this and hopefully putting into practice all the things I have seen. As it is only my second one in over 45ish years I am sure I will make mistakes but learn a lot.

Previously living near Heathrow there were quite a few shops that catered for the anorak wearing aviation enthusiast. There was one just down the road called VHF Supplies that did books, VHF radios, models plus tons of other stuff. I may have shopped in there once or twice.

GM, thanks for reminding me. As the models I made were of a quality that would only grace a museum of failure some of the aircraft became delivery vehicles for an assortment of gunpowder filled fireworks. Two rockets were required to get a Boeing 707 model airborne. Not sure who’s back garden that ended up in. My Action Man may have had a similar fiery ending.

 

[glenwilson]

Most of the body done apart from some fiddly pointy bits, engines, and under carriage. Joints filled and sanded and just painted it with primer to highlight and more filling and sanding that is required. There are a few bits to redo. The cockpit has cotton wool in to stop paint as I still need to mask off the windscreen before fitting it.

 

[glenwilson]

So after som more filling and sanding I tried out the airbrush. Wasn’t too bad but need to play with pressures. The paint I used is a lacquer and didn’t need to be thinned down. Gloss black is the base for the next coat and not a Special Ops paint scheme.