Blu-tac camo method
Discussion
Eric Mc said:
Nothing a bit of Mr Surfacer or even Tippex couldn't cure.
A load of work, plus you lose all the sharpness which would make a wash very difficult without re-scribing (major job).Why didn't Airfix just mould the panel lines correctly in the first place? It's "supposed" to be a new mould.
dr_gn said:
Eric Mc said:
Nothing a bit of Mr Surfacer or even Tippex couldn't cure.
A load of work, plus you lose all the sharpness which would make a wash very difficult without re-scribing (major job).Why didn't Airfix just mould the panel lines correctly in the first place? It's "supposed" to be a new mould.
Don't forget that engraved lines are a new thing for Airfix and it is a bit of a learning curve for them. The company is in the process of reinventing itself after 25 years of neglect by the previous owners, Insteead of knocking them we should be applauding the fact that they are back in the market with a vengeance - and doing wonders for reinvigorating the hobby in the UK.
To be honest, on most model aircraft panel lines, of whatever variety, are not that accurate (with some exceptions).
I don't look for perfection in models. I look for variety and value for money.
Different people want different things out of their modelling - especially youngsters who are more concerned about affordability, availability and value for money.
If Airfix revive the hobby in the UK, then I will forgive them most things.
If you look at the prices of the Japanese imports, especially Hasegawa, no matter how good they may be, they will do the total opposite and kill the hobby.
If Airfix revive the hobby in the UK, then I will forgive them most things.
If you look at the prices of the Japanese imports, especially Hasegawa, no matter how good they may be, they will do the total opposite and kill the hobby.
Edited by Eric Mc on Saturday 26th February 12:18
The_Jackal said:
Remember guys, this is one of the cheapest kits. I think the fit and finish and detail they do include for a fiver is hard to beat.
Also, surely after several coats of Klear and flat coat those "trenches" will shallow out a bit.
I'd say your modelling skills would be far better utilised on a better (OK, and maybe slightly more expensive) kit. If you were a novice, or not so skilled, then I'd say perhaps not. Also, surely after several coats of Klear and flat coat those "trenches" will shallow out a bit.
The last think I'm thinking when looking at a completed model is "was it value for money?". I only see the end result.
Just my opinion guys.
Eric Mc said:
Different people want different things out of their modelling - especially youngsters who are more concerned about affordability, availability and value for money.
If Airfix revive the hobby in the UK, then I will forgive them most things.
If you look at the prices of the Japanese imports, especially Hasegawa, no matter how good they may be, they will do the total opposite and kill the hobby.
I have no problem with those sentiments, but once again, why not make things like panel lines as good as the best available? I can't be *that* difficult in 2011. As far as Airfix not being experienced in engraved lines, OK, but why not get them right in pre-production rather than selling what appears to be the first attempt? In the case of the Spitfire I think it's accepted that it's just an old die cast mould that's been pressed into service for a new plastic kit. Doesn't in any way justify all the fanfare and fuss about Airfix releasing a 'new' model IMO.If Airfix revive the hobby in the UK, then I will forgive them most things.
If you look at the prices of the Japanese imports, especially Hasegawa, no matter how good they may be, they will do the total opposite and kill the hobby.
Edited by Eric Mc on Saturday 26th February 12:18
What fuss and fanfare?
It seemed like a relatively muted issue to me.
Panel lines aren't the be all and end all anyway. As ever, the Airfix 1/72 Spitfires are still dimensionally and shape wise, the most accurate Spitfires around - better even than Tamiya's 1/72 effort.
The only "recentish" Spitfire they got wrong was the re-winged Vc, which was based on their quite nice Vb (raised panel lines) but the new wings were too thick.
That was pre the Hornby takeover, of course.
Give them time. In many respects, the current rendition of Airfix is a new manufacturer. As I said earlier, they hadn't really designed any new moulds since the early 1980s - so all this recessed panel line stuff is fairly new to them.
Already, the latest models are showing more restraint so they are getting there.
And, price wise they are MUCH more competitive than the Japanese manufacturers could ever be,
It seemed like a relatively muted issue to me.
Panel lines aren't the be all and end all anyway. As ever, the Airfix 1/72 Spitfires are still dimensionally and shape wise, the most accurate Spitfires around - better even than Tamiya's 1/72 effort.
The only "recentish" Spitfire they got wrong was the re-winged Vc, which was based on their quite nice Vb (raised panel lines) but the new wings were too thick.
That was pre the Hornby takeover, of course.
Give them time. In many respects, the current rendition of Airfix is a new manufacturer. As I said earlier, they hadn't really designed any new moulds since the early 1980s - so all this recessed panel line stuff is fairly new to them.
Already, the latest models are showing more restraint so they are getting there.
And, price wise they are MUCH more competitive than the Japanese manufacturers could ever be,
It would be good to have a discussion of it someplace near here
Basically as I understand it, I used a similar method years ago, you place Blutack on the surface to be sprayed but not pressing it down to the surface
then when you spray with your airbrush there will be a faint overspray that will give a scale sprayed for real look to the paint finish
This is perfectly shown on the Spitfire above, see the feathered edge on the camouflage
If I have this wrong I would be happy to see a proper exposition of the technique
I used to spray over a paper cut out of the cam pattern held up off the model by a few thickish blobs of Blutack
The required feathering can be enhanced or lessened as you learn the techniques
Experts, may we have a demo please
Basically as I understand it, I used a similar method years ago, you place Blutack on the surface to be sprayed but not pressing it down to the surface
then when you spray with your airbrush there will be a faint overspray that will give a scale sprayed for real look to the paint finish
This is perfectly shown on the Spitfire above, see the feathered edge on the camouflage
If I have this wrong I would be happy to see a proper exposition of the technique
I used to spray over a paper cut out of the cam pattern held up off the model by a few thickish blobs of Blutack
The required feathering can be enhanced or lessened as you learn the techniques
Experts, may we have a demo please
perdu said:
It would be good to have a discussion of it someplace near here
Basically as I understand it, I used a similar method years ago, you place Blutack on the surface to be sprayed but not pressing it down to the surface
then when you spray with your airbrush there will be a faint overspray that will give a scale sprayed for real look to the paint finish
This is perfectly shown on the Spitfire above, see the feathered edge on the camouflage
If I have this wrong I would be happy to see a proper exposition of the technique
I used to spray over a paper cut out of the cam pattern held up off the model by a few thickish blobs of Blutack
The required feathering can be enhanced or lessened as you learn the techniques
Experts, may we have a demo please
Perdu,Basically as I understand it, I used a similar method years ago, you place Blutack on the surface to be sprayed but not pressing it down to the surface
then when you spray with your airbrush there will be a faint overspray that will give a scale sprayed for real look to the paint finish
This is perfectly shown on the Spitfire above, see the feathered edge on the camouflage
If I have this wrong I would be happy to see a proper exposition of the technique
I used to spray over a paper cut out of the cam pattern held up off the model by a few thickish blobs of Blutack
The required feathering can be enhanced or lessened as you learn the techniques
Experts, may we have a demo please
The Jackal has posted all you need to know in his first post!
You just roll the Blu Tac into a long sausage, lay it in along the camo boundaries and squish it down until you have a small radius at the edge (radius varies depending on scale). Then just mask the infil area with paper/tissue/tape and spray. Spray normal to the surface and jobs a good un. Nothing more to it than that.
Eric Mc said:
For my Tempest I decided to use Uhu White Tack as I had heard it was less greasy than Blue Tack. It seems to be true and it works in exactly the same way/
Spot on. I used it for the Bf109. Downside is it's not quite as sticky.I opted for a hard masked edge on the Tempest becasue I'm not sure I could work to the tolerences needed for a true-scale feathered edge on a small aircraft at 1:72 scale.
I sometimes wonder should I revert to hard edge as in 1/72 the overspray is very, very tiny. In the end, because I know there IS a soft edge, i use the blue/white-tack method - even if the end result isn't 100% authentic.
I hate seeing models with massive amounts of soft overspary as real aircrsft hardly ever look like that - apart from maybe Luftwaffe mottle.
I hate seeing models with massive amounts of soft overspary as real aircrsft hardly ever look like that - apart from maybe Luftwaffe mottle.
Yes, what I did was spray the brown areas larger than they needed to be. Then I used fresh Blu-Tac and rolled them into nice and evenly thin sausages and laid them just inside the brown areas of paint. You can also just spray the whole plane first in brown.
Then using lots of little bits of Tamiya tape, just filled in the gaps.
BTW the underneath has already been painted and completely masked off.
Then using my airbrush, spray the dark green straight down onto the surface, trying to keep the spray perpendicular to the surface to keep the overspray around the blu-tac regular and not let the paint get under the blu-tac creating sharp edges and paint build up.
I was impressed myself how nice it came out, but remember the more time you take getting the masking right, the better and easier the actual painting will be.
Klear went on yesterday, so hopefully some decalling tonight. This has been good practice for the Tempest build.
Then using lots of little bits of Tamiya tape, just filled in the gaps.
BTW the underneath has already been painted and completely masked off.
Then using my airbrush, spray the dark green straight down onto the surface, trying to keep the spray perpendicular to the surface to keep the overspray around the blu-tac regular and not let the paint get under the blu-tac creating sharp edges and paint build up.
I was impressed myself how nice it came out, but remember the more time you take getting the masking right, the better and easier the actual painting will be.
Klear went on yesterday, so hopefully some decalling tonight. This has been good practice for the Tempest build.
The_Jackal said:
Yes, what I did was spray the brown areas larger than they needed to be. Then I used fresh Blu-Tac and rolled them into nice and evenly thin sausages and laid them just inside the brown areas of paint. You can also just spray the whole plane first in brown.
Then using lots of little bits of Tamiya tape, just filled in the gaps.
BTW the underneath has already been painted and completely masked off.
Then using my airbrush, spray the dark green straight down onto the surface, trying to keep the spray perpendicular to the surface to keep the overspray around the blu-tac regular and not let the paint get under the blu-tac creating sharp edges and paint build up.
I was impressed myself how nice it came out, but remember the more time you take getting the masking right, the better and easier the actual painting will be.
Klear went on yesterday, so hopefully some decalling tonight. This has been good practice for the Tempest build.
Just a bit of an FYI on finishes: I've had no end of trouble getting a Matt Varnish without either leaving a dusty white film on the surface, or being not really Matt. I went to a model show today and saw some great AFV's with a perfect Matt finish. I asked the guy what he used and he said Humbrol spray can, matt clear (he'd been through exactly the same problems). So I bought a can and will be hoping for the best.Then using lots of little bits of Tamiya tape, just filled in the gaps.
BTW the underneath has already been painted and completely masked off.
Then using my airbrush, spray the dark green straight down onto the surface, trying to keep the spray perpendicular to the surface to keep the overspray around the blu-tac regular and not let the paint get under the blu-tac creating sharp edges and paint build up.
I was impressed myself how nice it came out, but remember the more time you take getting the masking right, the better and easier the actual painting will be.
Klear went on yesterday, so hopefully some decalling tonight. This has been good practice for the Tempest build.
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