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Gewehr 43 posted:Yeah, that's my only consistent beef with Tamiya is their decals are thick af. Partner with Cartograf already, Tamiya! Ironically I believe they often do use cartograf for some of their car kits, but I've never seen that extend to aircraft or anything else.
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Feb 22, 2023 20:03
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Arquinsiel posted:Nah it'll happen with any manufacturer, but the higher quality ones are more likely to have consistent mould release application and it's way less likely that you'll get a box where someone went nuts and soaked the mould before using it. You'll get away with not bothering until one day a kit just won't accept paint no matter what you try and you'll think back to all those people who talk about washing every sprue and have a moment of deep understanding. I've had one kit where the paint decided to literally crawl back from some bits of the plastic and even washing it with soap and water didn't help the paint adhere correctly until after I put multiple layers on. Of course it was from crapkit brand MisterCraft.
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Feb 22, 2023 21:03
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Lavinia Spenlow posted:I've had one kit where the paint decided to literally crawl back from some bits of the plastic and even washing it with soap and water didn't help the paint adhere correctly until after I put multiple layers on. Of course it was from crapkit brand MisterCraft.
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Feb 22, 2023 22:35
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MrUnderbridge posted:If you check on ebay, there are a couple of United Airlines livery decal sets for the DC-8. Will keep an eye out for 1:72 decals there, otherwise I'll probably go with Bucnasti posted:If all the lettering is over white you can print your own waterslide decals on a laser or ink jet printer. for the small details. Thanks! nomad2020 fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Feb 22, 2023 |
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Feb 22, 2023 23:08
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stealie72 posted:Going to order my next 2 kits in the next week so they're waiting for me when I finish my current project (and because shipping feels "cheaper" when it's spread across more than one thing). I know nothing about the A-1. I haven't bought a Comet, but iirc it's the latest Tamiya tank and they're certainly not getting worse. Basically every Japanese tank modeller I follow got one and seems to love it. I have the Spit, haven't built it, but the parts are lovely and the scuttlebutt is it's one of those kits where you shake the box a few times and it comes out assembled. The Corsair's a little on the older side, but it's a pleasant build and you can add as much detail as you could possibly want, either by hand or from the million aftermarket parts kit that have been made for it. The one thing that may be slightly offputting is that out of the box, it can only be built with the flaps down. Whether or not that matters to you is entirely personal taste. I didn't realize quite how old it was when I built mine last year.
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Feb 23, 2023 04:37
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stealie72 posted:Going to order my next 2 kits in the next week so they're waiting for me when I finish my current project (and because shipping feels "cheaper" when it's spread across more than one thing). I built the Skyraider and had no problems outside of normal seam filling and whatnot.
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Feb 23, 2023 09:20
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Lavinia Spenlow posted:I've had one kit where the paint decided to literally crawl back from some bits of the plastic and even washing it with soap and water didn't help the paint adhere correctly until after I put multiple layers on. Of course it was from crapkit brand MisterCraft. I've had that happen, and have come to suspect it's a multi factor issue--some combination of paint, plastic type, and atmospheric conditions. It's absolutely maddening.
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Feb 23, 2023 15:35
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What's the consensus on siphon feed airbrushes like the ones Paasche makes? I have a few gravity feeds and they are great but siphon feeds are much easier to clean and change colors. I used to do only car models and getting the best finish possible is important so I wouldn't use a siphon feed on those models but I'm planning on transitioning to military models mainly things like tanks so I was thinking a siphon feed would be perfectly adequate. I don't see them used much by the various YouTubers so do they suck?
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Feb 23, 2023 19:32
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They're okay if you have to paint a lot in one go, but they're awful for regular painting. You have to put a decent amount of paint in the cup before the siphon will even work, so if you just need a few drops to spray a small piece, it doesn't really work.
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Feb 23, 2023 21:10
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A regular gravity-feed airbrush cup will easily hold enough paint to do an entire 1/35th tank in one go and then some - I just checked my 105, and I can get four ml in there before it would even touch the cup cap, let alone the rim of the cup. That's a smidge under a quarter of the standard dropper bottle's capacity.
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Feb 23, 2023 22:42
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The siphon fed ones start at an entire tank and work up from there. I always felt like I was wasting paint.
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Feb 24, 2023 00:15
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Speaking of tanks, my fist complete model as an adult. I think my weathering is a bit clumsy, and the tracks need some dirt, but im pretty happy with it. Oh, and I need to work on my tiny painting for the figure.      stealie72 fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Feb 24, 2023 |
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Feb 24, 2023 01:58
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An extremely respectable first effort! Bravo! A few thoughts - Don't forget to weather the inside of the tracks. Dirt and dust gets on the inside of them too. I once read a comment from Shep Paine that said "a tank moves through the ground rather than over it" so remember that dirt and mud will get pretty much everywhere. To fight the silvering on the serial number decals, make sure you apply decals over a gloss coat and, if possible, use something like microsol/microset to help them adhere. Scraping the mold seams on things like the .50 cal and jerry cans with the back of your hobby blade will make them much smoother. Figure painting is an art unto itself. Again, as a first effort, it's really not bad at all! If/when you get serious about figure painting, there are a lot of good tutorials on youtube. But until then a basic wash flowed into the cracks and crevices of the uniform will help it pop a little more. Anyhoo, I would be extremely happy with that as a first effort and I really look forward to where you go with the hobby. Keep posting!
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Feb 24, 2023 02:20
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Looks good! Did you prime the uniform before applying the green? I can sort of see a light colour coming through the green.
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Feb 24, 2023 02:23
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Gewehr 43 posted:An extremely respectable first effort! Bravo! And I definitely need to get mocroset/sol for the decals. Oh, and deal with the mold lines on stuff. Already doing a better job of that on the Chieftan. I did wash the figure but I was struggling to not remove it all since a lot of he detail wasn't deep, so the folds are definitely not popping like want them to. FrozenVent posted:Did you prime the uniform before applying the green? I can sort of see a light colour coming through the green. So combine that with me only marginally knowing what I'm doing, and I probably should have given him another coat, but I was high on the discovery of how much more realistic non-monolithic color looks. Edit: the level of realism i was happy with here involves his armored division insignia being a red triangle decal from the BF-109 I gave up on. Edit 2: Thank you both for the feedback. Where are my manners. stealie72 fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Feb 24, 2023 |
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Feb 24, 2023 02:48
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Great job for a first model! I am very much in the same spot of returning to the hobby after a long time. What is the difference between using Microsol/set vs the one bottle Tamiya Markfit?
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Feb 24, 2023 03:27
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stealie72 posted:Speaking of tanks, my fist complete model as an adult. Definitely more exciting than my first tank. In addition to everyone else's comments: When you're doing your road wheels and inside track, remember the wheel faces and where they touch the track will be relatively clean, although the wheels up to the rim can be absolutely covered in garbage. Rubber wheels will be a little dusty, while metal ones will be polished to clean metal. Same for the drive sprocket. Rubbing with graphite or a soft pencil is a great way to get that color, though you might want to do it after you varnish, since it'll mess with the sheen and texture. You can do the vision ports in black with some gloss varnish to simulate a lens, but I like to do mine in a sky blue with white highlights, just to play at glassiness. The easiest way to do antennae is to heat up one of the sprue frames in your kit and stretch it while it's soft. You can make as long a whip antenna as you'll ever need for literally no extra money. The beauty of it is that every kit is a learning experience, and you can do as little or as much as you like to futz with it as you go. therunningman posted:Great job for a first model! I am very much in the same spot of returning to the hobby after a long time. Microsol is ostensibly to help you prep the site for the decal by wiping out debris and increasing placement time, while Mark Fit, Mark Softer, and Microset are all to soften the decal to make it conform to your surface. You can always just use some clean water to do the Microsol part of things if you like the Tamiya or other products better.
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Feb 24, 2023 05:35
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grassy gnoll posted:You can do the vision ports in black with some gloss varnish to simulate a lens, but I like to do mine in a sky blue with white highlights, just to play at glassiness. grassy gnoll posted:The beauty of it is that every kit is a learning experience, and you can do as little or as much as you like to futz with it as you go. It was making me think about how much knowledge is just sitting out there for free vs when I was making models in the late 80s. Back then, most of the knowledge I had was things I picked up along the way from spending hours at the library looking at Jane's and Time-Life tier books on WWII, watching Wings on the discovery channel every time I could find it, and talking with my dad and the grey beard at the model shop about how to make models like the ones in the display case. I think I spent most of a week's paper route money on a "how to build military models" book that taught me what a half hour of youtube would do now. But now? Holy crap. I've watched several hours on different weathering and painting techniques, watched a build video of the model so I could see it go together (not that I really needed that because the instructions were great), and found a bunch of pictures of various M41s in use and on display. Just sitting out there for me to find.
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Feb 24, 2023 13:50
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grassy gnoll posted:The easiest way to do antennae is to heat up one of the sprue frames in your kit and stretch it while it's soft. You can make as long a whip antenna as you'll ever need for literally no extra money.
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Feb 24, 2023 14:40
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Wrapping? You know someone who uses coated strings then? Edit: or is the spiraled wire on the outside of the three thickest strings not a desirable look for antennas? Turbinosamente fucked around with this message at 15:07 on Feb 24, 2023 |
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Feb 24, 2023 15:00
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Look at the antenna on the kit. You get a nice easy metal replacement for that at the end that goes into the machine head, but after that it's time to start carefully unwrapping the winding.
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Feb 24, 2023 16:27
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Straight wire it is then. Though now I'm waxing nostalgic for a now closed local hobby shop that used to carry piano wire which would eliminate the unwinding step and probably be more cost effective. Anybody else's local shop carry it next to the brass and copper sheets/wire/tubing?
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Feb 24, 2023 16:48
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grassy gnoll posted:Microsol is ostensibly to help you prep the site for the decal by wiping out debris and increasing placement time, while Mark Fit, Mark Softer, and Microset are all to soften the decal to make it conform to your surface. You can always just use some clean water to do the Microsol part of things if you like the Tamiya or other products better. Just a wee correction: Microset (the blue one) is for placing the decal onto the model and ensuring air bubbles don't get trapped under it, and Microsol (the red one) is the one that softens the decal once it's in place. I used to mix them up all the time. I like to use Gunze/Mr Hobby's Mr Mark Setter & Softer these days, as their Setter product (the milky white one) has an adhesive in it that Microset doesn't and I find it helps to stick down decals that I've accidentally dissolved the glue off of. Mr Mark Softer is quite a bit more potent than Microsol (you really don't wanna touch a decal after applying it or it'll stretch/rip) and can stain clear coats/paint if left to pool for too long, but the pair in combination are great for Japanese-style thick decals (Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fujimi etc). Watch out though because Gunze recently launched Mr Mark Setter / Softer Neo which as far as I can tell are designed for European style decals and don't work as well, I'm guessing they are probably also reformulated to comply with hazardous chemical regulations too. I had to order the Real Stuff from China off eBay as Gunze's European distributors only import the Neo versions now.
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Feb 24, 2023 17:04
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Turbinosamente posted:Straight wire it is then. Though now I'm waxing nostalgic for a now closed local hobby shop that used to carry piano wire which would eliminate the unwinding step and probably be more cost effective. Anybody else's local shop carry it next to the brass and copper sheets/wire/tubing?
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Feb 24, 2023 19:02
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tidal wave emulator posted:Just a wee correction: Microset (the blue one) is for placing the decal onto the model and ensuring air bubbles don't get trapped under it, and Microsol (the red one) is the one that softens the decal once it's in place. I used to mix them up all the time. What TWE said. It's been a couple years since I used the Micro products, but the good news is there's a "use me first" label on the proper bottle so you can't gently caress it up. Microsol and set are perfectly cromulent products, but I've switched to the Tamiya stuff for two reasons. One, I build a fair number of Tamiya kits and their hot solvent is really hot, so it does a good job of melting down their enormous decals. And two, I'm clumsy and it's super easy to knock over the open Micro bottles, while the Tamiya solution comes in a fat glass bottle that's really hard to tip.
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Feb 24, 2023 19:23
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Happy with how the weathering went on the upper hull, particularly with the engine deck. I found some techniques worked rather well so went back and touched up the exhaust shrouds a bit. The tools are all painted, although in retrospect I may have to go back and dirty them up, as they're looking like they're brand new out the factory when the rest of the tank has been out and about for some time.  With the exception of decals and the tow ropes that sit on the top deck, the upper hull is complete. The latter is currently being worked on at the present, and the former I'll decide upon when the rest of the tank is finished. With that in mind, the tow ropes on the side are the only parts surviving from the very original tank, and subsequently look like utter poo poo up close. I've done what I can with weathering and rust, but I may end up replacing this in the near future.  I've also painted up and attached the hub caps for the sprockets. Unfortunately theres about a 1mm gap between the cap and the rest of the sprocket because thats as far as I can get them inserted. Just as well I suppose as I think if I was able to get them all the way in I would never be able to remove them again should I need to. Theres plenty of artistic licence with the rest of the tank so whats one more?
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Feb 25, 2023 01:45
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Nice looking Tiger. The tools are a challenge to get looking right that's for sure. I managed to screw up the machine gun on the T-62 so I thought I'd cover up my sins with further crimes in the form of a tarp. I looked at some Youtubers and make my own attempt using tissue paper and diluted Mod Podge. The first one ripped after pulling out after soaking, the second one ripped while draping over the machine gun. The third one was successful but ended up permanently glued on. Painted it in place and I think it looks okay'ish. I also pinged the antenna base across the room while trying to reattach it. I lathed a new one from a piece of spree in my hand drill. 
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Feb 25, 2023 20:17
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Arquinsiel posted:The easier way to do it is guitar wire. Just strip back the wrapping down to the point where it's just the spring part, and use the core for the antenna itself. If you are or know someone who plays guitar get them to keep their broken strings for you and it's free too. Scale modeller/guitar player here. You can buy single guitar strings for very cheap, and you can go for very thin ones like .008 or even .007 (might be a bit harder to find) that will do the job perfectly. Cores from some thicker strings might be actually too thick to be used as antennas (just won't look right). You can get different thickness strings (again, should be around $2 for a single string) and experiment with what works the best.
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Feb 26, 2023 13:03
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"Glazing" for figures. I keep seeing this method talked about in this thread and thought I'd give it a try. I did a "zenithal prime" in black and white. Turned out ok. I'm using acrylic paints from ammo and ask thinned with Vallejo acrylic medium. My understanding is that you are meant to layer thin layers of very thin paint and the underlying "zenithal" shading will show through. My problem is that the first 5 or so layers goes on very uneven. It gets smoother and better as more layers go on, but the "shading" is then gone and it just looks like solid color. Not sure where it's going wrong, or if my understanding of the technique is wrong.
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Feb 26, 2023 18:35
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Been working a bit more on my gun-deck kit. Tackling some of the ropework that works the gun-ports. A bit difficult, as the modern instruction book and the classic plans disagree on how the rope and tackle is set up for the overhead pulley system. The parts included more closely match the instruction book, but the arrangement is barely documented in the instructions, with just a passing photo to work out the layout. I made sort of a compromise between the plans and the instructions. Probably something that looks decent, but wouldn't be functional in real life. Oh well. The serving/seizing on the lines was particularly maddening. Hard to imagine someone doing it for 100 times the line on a full ship kit.      
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Feb 27, 2023 02:22
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As a seaman, may I just say, fuuuuuck trying to whip a rope that small. That being said that’s beautiful.
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Feb 27, 2023 02:32
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Following on from stealie72's "first tank" post, I too just finished my first scale model, the M4A3 Sherman:     I learned a lot, and I'm pretty excited to move on to a new kit. Not entirely sure what the tiny white particles are in some of those photos. I'll need to go over it with a soft brush, I think.
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Feb 27, 2023 03:08
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Maybe wave a giger counter near the model if they're not visible in-person.
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Feb 27, 2023 03:11
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There's probably too much rust on that turret, but I don't care, that patina is divine.
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Feb 27, 2023 03:22
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Neddy Seagoon posted:Maybe wave a giger counter near the model if they're not visible in-person. Ahaha they're visible. I think it's just some dander. Jonny Nox posted:There's probably too much rust on that turret, but I don't care, that patina is divine. Thank you! I think I got a bit carried away. I still like it a lot though.
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Feb 27, 2023 03:30
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:Been working a bit more on my gun-deck kit. Tackling some of the ropework that works the gun-ports. A bit difficult, as the modern instruction book and the classic plans disagree on how the rope and tackle is set up for the overhead pulley system. The parts included more closely match the instruction book, but the arrangement is barely documented in the instructions, with just a passing photo to work out the layout. I made sort of a compromise between the plans and the instructions. Probably something that looks decent, but wouldn't be functional in real life. Oh well. Very nice. I found seizing to be very zen once you get the routine down, but I am sure it's not for everybody. I did use thread rather than a rope since even the smallest rope just looked terribly out of scale at 1:48. What scale is your gun-deck kit? I made a little tutorial post on how I did seizing in my old build log, which you can find here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3944859&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=2#post509808482
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Feb 27, 2023 03:36
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neurotech posted:I still like it a lot though.
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Feb 27, 2023 04:32
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The Locator posted:Very nice. I found seizing to be very zen once you get the routine down, but I am sure it's not for everybody. I did use thread rather than a rope since even the smallest rope just looked terribly out of scale at 1:48. What scale is your gun-deck kit? It's a 1:23 kit by Panart. I replaced the kit rope with great stuff from Ropes of Scale. The seizing was just black thread like you used. I used a similar tech to you as well. Once I had the stropping around the deadeyes, and sealed with a dot of CA, I'd hold it taught with a QuadHands unit, and then seize the thread around the line. Part of the issue too was the continual errors in the instructions. One step of the instructions lays out where all the deadeyes go, and then 10 steps later I find there are more deadeyes needed that weren't spelled out beforehand. So then I'm trying to drill more holes, mount them, seize lines to them in super tight confines. Every step I'm basically going back and forth between the instructions and the plans, trying to figure out where they agree and disagree, and referring back to my text file where I put my translations for the italian on the plans.
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Feb 27, 2023 04:38
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:It's a 1:23 kit by Panart. I replaced the kit rope with great stuff from Ropes of Scale. The seizing was just black thread like you used. I used a similar tech to you as well. Once I had the stropping around the deadeyes, and sealed with a dot of CA, I'd hold it taught with a QuadHands unit, and then seize the thread around the line. Seems like Ropes of Scale is the new source since Syren stopped making rope and focused only on blocks. Their stuff looks really good. I was lucky to have a secondary written guide that I mostly followed for the pre-rigging portion of the AVS so I didn't get caught out TOO much by discrepancies, but when it came to the rigging that dude just phoned it in so I pretty much just used pictures from books on rigging fore-and-aft vessels from that period anytime I couldn't figure out something from the plans. Those old Euro kits like you are making had really terrible plans from everything that I've seen, and the translation to English in the instructions was terrible to non-existent. Thank god that new companies like Vanguard are revolutionizing this hobby, it might actually survive! Edit: Looks like Syren is back to selling rope, just FYI. The Locator fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Feb 27, 2023 |
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Feb 27, 2023 04:45
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Jonny Nox posted:There's probably too much rust on that turret, but I don't care, that patina is divine. Maybe it is surplus that was used in Korea?
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Feb 27, 2023 07:56
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