Hasegawa 1/72 Macross VF-1A Max TV Custom - 3

Some minor progress on Max's VF-1A. I moved onto working on the engine nacelles. As I noted in my last post, the kit's engineered in such a way that you have to paint the exhaust outlets before you can assemble the nacelles. I had originally had planned to do it that way, but decided against it because I didn't want there to be the possibility that I would ruin the painted outlets while I was assembling the legs.

After thinking long and hard about it, I decided that I would cut half the cup that the outlets sit in, then assemble the leg. 

The assembled nacelles. Since I'll be displaying the finished model in flight mode, I also glued on the landing bay doors. However, the kit was engineered for gear down display, so the fit of the doors is a major pain in the ass. It's not a clean fit, so I'll be doing some sanding and filling to get everything at least semi-flush.

However, it turns out the that even with the cut out, the outlets are too wide because of the slight riser that sits in the cup. With the nacelles assembled, there's no way to slide the outlets in. I had to shave the sides of the outlets down enough for it slide in, but leave enough material for it to be able to seat into the inside the leg. The right shows the stock piece, and the left the shaved down unit.

You'll also noticed that I abandoned the idea of adding a ridge to the end of the outlets. I simply peeled of the pieces of styrene, cleaned it up, and scribed in new panel lines where the ridge would have been.

That's it for now. My plan this week is to finish cleaning up the nacelles. I've got most of the sub assemblies finished, so hopefully, in the next couple of weeks I can start putting primer on. Until then, happy modelling!!

Tamiya 1/20 Lotus 99T - 4

Managed to make some progress on the Lotus. The last couple of weeks, I'd been working on painting and decalling the monococque. In my last post I had managed to get it primered and start placing the bare metal foil to simulate the rivets. The next step after that was to paint it.

I applied a couple layers of Testors Gloss Black enamel. Because of the tooling process Lotus used to lay up the chassis, the monocoque is finished in a rough carbon fiber. I tried to manipulate the airbrush in such that the paint would create some texture to simulate the effect.

 Once the enamel had dried enought that I could handle it, I took some Tamiya cotton swabs dipped in enamel thinner and began rubbing the gloss black off the raised rivet details. Overall, I was happy with the way it came out. Some parts where the Bare Metal Foil was wrinkled up became exposed, but it's very minor. I'll probably just touch it up during final assembly and inspection.

I had originally planned to use aftermarket decals, but my impatience got the better of me and I went with the decals from my original issue Lotus. However, I had forgotten how thick Tamiya decals are. I spent the next week and a half using Micro-Sol to try and eliminate the decal film, but with little luck.

 Eventually, I decided the Micro-Sol had at least thinned enough of the decal that the clearcoat would eliminate it. I sprayed on three coats of Testors Lusterless (Flat) Cote. It managed to eliminate most of the film edge.  It's noticeable at some angles, but for the most part, I'm please with the result. I'm trying not to let the "perfect be the enemy of the good" as it were.

 Another angle. With the flat clearcoat, you can see how the raised rivet really stand outs. Another benefit of using Bare Metal Foil is that it's raised,  simulating the areas where the carbon fiber was laid over the chassis' bulkheads.

I also added primer/sealer to some other body parts, such as the front and rear wings, and the monococque sides. I'll be wet sanding those in preparation for another coat of  primer/sealer, and hopefully color coats before the end of the month.

Tamiya 1/20 Lotus 99T - 3

Quick update for today. Managed to spray gray primer onto the monococque. The plan is to spray it gloss black, apply the decals, and then clearcoat with flat black.

You can see from this pic that I've started to put Bare-Metal Foil over the rivets. The plan is have the foil covering all the rivets on the tub, spray the black, and then use a Q-Tip dipped in thinner to expose clean away the paint from the raised rivet detail. It's a technique used for raised engine lettering and badging on car bodywork.

Also, I joined the Classic Plastic Model Club, and have to say my motivation has gone through the roof. I had a lot of fun at my first meeting, and I'm really looking forward to taking part in my first show in October.

Hasegawa 1/72 Macross VF-1A Max TV Custom - 2

Like with the Lotus, the heat made getting any painting done really difficult. With the Valkyrie, I manage to prime the exhaust nozzles. I also applied Mr. Surfacer 500 to the areas were deep scratch marks from sanding were visible. I'll sand it down with 800 grit before applying another coat of priming and painting them with Metalizers.

Also found this pic on the internet to illustrate the look I'm going for.

Again, that's it for now. 

Tamiya 1/20 Lotus 99T - 2

Not much of an update for this week. Unfortunately, the current heat wave we're in coupled with humidity hovering between 70 to 75% limited the amount of airbrushing I could do. Since I don't have a paint booth yet, I'm relegated to doing my painting in the garage. On a 94 degree day, I'd be just as comfortable in an oven. 

However, before it got too hot, I did manage to lay down a coat of Primer/Sealer onto the Lotus' main body and front wing. Below, you can see the result after I wet-sanded the body with 800-grit 3M Wet and Dry sandpaper.

Hopefully, the heat will break sometime this week and I'll be able to add primer/sealer to the rest of the bodywork.

Hasegawa 1/72 Macross VF-1A Max TV Custom - 1

I've also started working on the 1/72 scale Macross VF-1A by Hasegawa. I'm a huge sci-fi and anime fan, and Macross is one of my favorite animes. I'll be building this to represent Maximilian Jenius' custom colored white and blue VF-1A. Again, sticking with my "back to basics" theme, this will box stock (mostly, as you will see below).

First step was to assemble as many sub-assemblies as possible before it goes to primer. So I assembled the main fuselage, the engine intakes, and rear stabilators.

An important step is to work on the exhaust nozzles. The way the kit is engineered, I need to paint the nozzles before they can be assembled into the engine nacelles. I decided to add styrene to represent ridges at  the edges of the nozzle. The kit parts have a panel line to represent this, but it's fairly faint. The modified part is on the left, the original kit part on the right

It took me two hours to add the ridges to the nozzles, so I decided to take a break from them and move onto another area of the kit.

 Like a majority of aircraft kits, this kit requires that the cockpit tub and interior be painted before the fuselage halves are glued together. I primed the cockpit and fuselage interior, then covered it with Testor's Model Master Gunship Gray FS36118 enamel. A light wash with Model Master Black acrylic to bring out the details, then drybrush Testor's silver on the corners to show some wear.

The fuselage was glued together. I mocked it up with main fuselage to get a feel for how it will look. 

I filled the seam with a putty made from super glue and talc.

And the sanded result. I love using the super glue/talc putty because it dries quick, dries super hard, and won't shrink over time. When I primer it, I'll go over any voids I missed with Mr. Surfacer 500.

That's it for this week. My plan for the upcoming week is to get the exhaust nozzles painted and the main engine nacelles assembled. As awlays, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Tamiya 1/20 Lotus 99T - 1

Alright, so my first kit in my "Back to Basics" approach will be this 1/20th scale Lotus Tamiya 99T. Believe it or not, that's an original issue Lotus 99T. Even has the original tobacco decals. This will be my one deviation from box stock. The original decals have yellowed pretty significantly, and the blue faded. So I'll be using aftermarket decals for the kit.

Tamiya kits have a well deserved reputation for going together fairly well and have a fair amount of detail. I also like the fact that it's one color, which will help me to focus on developing a consistent painting technique. Plus as an F1 lover, it's a subject that I thoroughly enjoy.

The bodywork is fairly straightforward. I glued the radiator ducting to the main body. 

This is one of those moments where it's ok to add more styrene cement than necessary. As you can see in the pictures below, when you press the pieces together, the excess cement will flow out of the joint. The cement will cause the styrene to "melt", welding the two pieces together, and voila, you've just filled the seam.

While waiting for the glue to dry on the ducts, I went and decided to tackle the rear wing. Since the entire rear wing assembly is one color, I decided it would be best to assemble it, and then paint it as one piece along with everything else. My biggest concern was assembling it in such a way that would allow the entire assembly to be square. Below is the parts breakdown.

The first step was to put a strip of double sided scocth tape onto a 90 degree angle plate. Then attach an end plate to the scotch tape

Then I took the upper elements, and glued it to the endplate, using a smaller machinist square to ensure it sits at 90 degrees to the endplate.

Next, I glued the main element to the endplate, placing the machinist square upright, but still using it to make sure all is squared up. A second square is used to support the main element while the glue dries.

Then glue the other endplate to the assembly. The mounting tabs and slots have a certain amount of play, so I used a machinist square across the top of the assembly to ensure everything is squared up.

A couple of views of the completed rear wing.

By this time, the glue on the radiator outlets had dried, and I sanded it down along with the rest of the body. I sanded it using 3M Fine Sanding sponge in preparation for the first coats of primer. I mocked up the rear wing with the body to give me an idea of how it will look and make sure it will sit correctly when fully assembled.

That's it for now. For next week, I hope to have it in primer and initial wet sanded. As always, any comments or suggestions is appreciated. Thanks!

Back to Basics

Hey folks! It's been a while, huh? Well, I'm going to make a concerted effort to make more regular postings, and to attempt the hardest part of any modelling project, and that's to actually complete a modelling project. And I plan on doing so by taking a back to basics approach. Let me explain.

In the almost ten years since my return to model building, I think I've completed a total of 2 projects. That's not to say I haven't started or worked on a lot of projects. I have, and I think the tens of open boxes and half worked on kits can attest to that. But the biggest hindrances to actually completing anything are self inflicted. One is a form of ADD that is acute to plastic model builders. We always have our eyes and thoughts on the next project. Or the hottest new kit that hits the market. 

The next is what I call letting the good become the enemy of the perfect. The hobby has always had it's rivet counters - people who obsess over the smallest details of any subject, taking apart and analyzing any imperfection in a kit and doing all they can to correct. And that's where I tend to fall. Usually, my downfall tends to be tolerances. I do what I can to correct gaps or imperfections in the way kits fit together, so I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get that last nanometer of perfection and end up going way overboard and ruining all the work I put in. There's an old saying in the hobby "It's always easier to take material off than put more on", and it's one I always had a hard time heeding.

So what do I do to combat this tendency. Well, to focus on building some box stock models and focus on developing a clean building technique with what's available from the manufacturer (for the most part, more on that later). For example, my first project under this philosophy is a Tamiya Lotus 99T that you will see in the following posts, as well as a Hasegawa 1/72 Macross VF-1A . So wish me luck.