Category: Projects

Where various build projects are documented and posted.

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1:48 Aircraft Projects

RF-4E Phantom II: Painting

After several months on the bench, it came time to apply paint to the model. As with the majority of the models I build, I utilized the black basing technique to apply pre-shading to the model.

After the initial coat of Mr. Finishing surfacer black 1500, I used a generic light grey to serve as the initial marble coat. I wanted to make sure that my marble work was sufficiently light enough as if the base layers turned out too dark, the final paint coats would also appear too dark and require too much paint to bring the colour back into the final finish.

I then got to work adding some variation to the pre-shading, opting to scatter some different colours on select panels. In the end this effect was not as apparent as I had hoped but It’s still fun to play around with new approaches to techniques. The next step would be to begin blending everything together in two blend coats. The first was a thinned down coat of Mr. Color JASDF “Light Blue Impulse” which tinted the pre shading to be more in line with the final colours.

After this was done, I then tried a new technique that I have been wanting to for some time now, the layered ink patina technique. This is done by utilizing liquidex acrylic inks to achieve even further surface variation. This technique was popularized by Modeller Kris Sieber (@Luftraum72) who has a great guide on how to utilize this approach available on his website.

With the many pre-shading layers done, It was time to apply the final camouflage coats to the model and see if all the prior work was worth it. To do this I utilized two main shades, the first was SMS Midnight blue, the second being the aforementioned Light Blue Impulse from Mr. Color. I applied the light blue shade first, taking care not to overlap with the darker areas so not to overpower the pre-shading. I was fairly happy with how this turned out and I think that my approach here captured the duality of this distinctive scheme, in that it is incredibly vivid and striking yet also faded and worn at the same time.

With this initial camouflage coat down, I then turned my attention to other areas that needed to be addressed. This included adding color discoloration to selected panels, painting the markings as well as the radome and anti-glare shield. Also of note was one of the scheme decals, a triangular graphic present on the tail of this aircraft. I opted to apply this decal at this time because from reference photos I could tell that it was very faded and barely noticeable on the real aircraft. To recreate this effect, I chose to paint over the applied decal prior to sealing my work in a gloss varnish

Categories
1:35 Armor Projects

M1A2 Abrams SEP V2: Completed Model

At long last, the completed M1A2 project! Super happy to finally get this on off the bench. After work was compelled on the model, I built up a quick and easy base to show off the completed build. I wanted to do something different here, so I chose to pose the model in a hull down position.

This model had been on my bench for some time, and it’s nice to finally see it finished, Enjoy the completed photos!

Categories
1:48 Aircraft Projects

RF-4E Phantom II: Major contstruction

With the two fuselage halves joined work on the Phantom progressed to a new stage. Next up was the painting of the metallic surfaces and the exhausts. I chose to start work in this area because I knew that I wanted to polish the plastic surface in preparation for paint, leaving this step later on in the painting process would have made this difficult.

  • The plastic was buffed prior to paint application

With the bare plastic giving off a nice shine, I then hit the area with a coat of GX2 Ueno Black, my go to option for gloss black.

With this step complete, I then got to work on the actual metallic shades, selecting a mix of Mr. Color Super Metallics and Tamiya Lacquers. After playing around with the shades I had available, I was feeling pretty confident in the result I had achieved.

After the exhaust work was completed, I was able to move on to preparing the fuselage for paint. This consisted of attaching the wings and completing work around the canopy. This also included attaching the intakes which required a significant amount of sanding and putty work to ensure that they followed the contours of the main fuselage. This also meant completing work on the cockpit area, namely the sunshield and rear bulkheads To add detail in this area, I opted to apply some aftermarket rivet decals.

Categories
1:35 Armor Projects

M1A2 Abrams SEP V2: Weathering

With the Abrams sealed with a satin coat, I was now able to move on to the weathering process. I again with a fairly basic, dark brown pinwash, taking care not to overload the model and tint the completed paintwork. I intentionally chose restraint in this step, as I felt that my paint modulation work during the painting phase was the primary weathering effect I wanted to be noticed. After the wash was completed, I then got to work with an enamel paint streaking effect.

This technique has become one of my favourites as a precursor to more substantial earth and mud effects seen on armoured vehicles, I find this effect perfectly recreates the slow buildup of dirt and dust that is seen in many armoured vehicles. To achieve this effect, I airbrushed XF-10 “Flat Brown” and XF-52 “Flat Earth” thinned 3/7 paint to thinner. Onto the lower areas of the model where dirt and dust was most likely to streak down to and collect. Shortly after the dust layer is airbrushed onto the model, enamel thinner is lightly brushed over top before vertical brushstrokes are applied, creating the effect that dirt and dust has been washed away from rain and the streaks are all that are left.

With this approach it is important to only spray thin layers of paint because if too much is applied, it will be difficult to control when attempting to apply the downward brushstrokes. After completing this first step of the enviromental weathering, I could then move on to more substantive mud and dirt effects. To achieve this, I followed the same procedure as seen in my Tiger I project last year. I chose three shades of pigments (a highlight, middle, and shadow tone) along with three complimentary shades of enamel mud effects. Knowing that this vehicle would be based in a cold, damp environment I chose colours that were somewhat darker in an attempt to recreate the correct mud I wanted to depict. The following pigments were chosen: ABTP060 “Trench earth” P414 ‘Track Brown” and ABTP235 “Cargo dust”.

For the application of the pigments, my approach was as follows. I first added clumps of pigment straight from the jar onto areas where I wanted significant mud buildup to occur. After I was satisfied with the initial placement, I then added drops of pigment fixer onto the pigments which wetted them and fixed them in place. This approach can be varied to get a wide range of results. If applying a limited amount of fixer, the pigments will retain their clumpy shape. If more fixer is applied, they will begin to liquify and appear far wetter.

While the pigments are still wet, I then stipple on complimentary colours of enamel mud effects from AK. After this first round of stippling is done, apply vertical brushstrokes to make it appear that the mud has been flung onto the vehicle and slowly drooped down the vehicle. I find that this approach does a great job in ensuring that the mud effects have the proper volume and shape.

Categories
1:48 Aircraft Projects

RF-4E Phantom II: Nose gear and photo bay

With the completion of the cockpit, next up was the nose gear bay. Like the cockpit, the gear bay was really lacking detail and not up to a modern standard. There was also the fact that there were several prominent sink marks that were unfixable without removing the molded detail. As such, I broke the chisel out and completely removed it all. I can’t lie, this was fairly nerve wracking as I wasn’t sure if I could pull off scratchbuilding something as complex as a gear bay. After a trip to my LHS, I was well armed with small pieces of styrene and got to work replacing the detail that I had hacked away.

I started with replacing the substantial bracing structures with styrene replacements along with a brass tube to depict an actuator arm. After getting these initial pieces into place I was pretty confident that the end result would look acceptable and was pretty happy with these initial results. I was however, confronted with another problem that needed to be solved; the main gear strut. With the way I wanted to attach the brass actuator arm, it would require being fed through the main gear strut. The problem? The arm would then block the strut from being put in place later on in the build. I wanted to keep the strut off the built until later on in the painting and weathering phase as it being glued in place would interfere with the masking and painting of the gear bay. To solve this problem, I opted to cut the strut after gluing the lower section in place. I was sure to add a metal rod to help with the alignment down the line.

Next up was the camera bay. With this being a RF-4E variant, I wanted to do the extra work and open up the camera bay so that all the cameras would be visible. This required some additional scratchbuilding as the kit does not allow the bay to be opened out of the box. I started by adding some structural bracing to the interior of the bay along with the various computers that are stored in the nose. I also did some work to the cameras themselves and hollowed out the lenses to depict a more concave shape that you would see in an actual camera lens.

With the bay being posed open I really wanted the camera equipment to be well detailed. To make sure they were, I utilized lots of placard decals to make them look the part. I was particularly happy with how the lenses turned out as I used circular decals to depict different components of the lens. I also added some clear green and clear blue as it was clear from reference photos that the lenses had colour coatings when they hit the light right. With the completion of the camera bay it was time to seal up the fuselage!