Tamiya P-51B Mustang 1/48 - Mojo Restoration

Started by Carl Smoot · 41 · 9 months ago
  • Profile Photo
    John vd Biggelaar said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

    Those are great improvements to speed up productivity, Carl @clipper
    Even though the amount of produced builds is not the most important part of modelling, you still want to see some progress and results achieved over the year.
    The plastic containers are a very good idea, will have a look around for something similar.

  • Profile Photo
    Carl Smoot said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

    I agree John (@johnb), productivity to me means having more opportunities to practice and get better. Having several going gives me variety so if I don't feel like sanding putty down on my Super Sabre, maybe I'll mask the Constellation for the next color of painting, or maybe I'll apply CA glue and do a quick repair on ghost seams on the Mustang. Three or four at a time seems to be about right for me although I have only been doing this since last Fall. My A-20 was taking so long to complete that I decided to start on the Constellation shortly after Christmas. And When the A-20 was completed, I knew I wanted to do the Mustang. I have another pair of Gloster Gladiators that need final assembly . They've been painted, but I just don't feel like doing the rigging right now nor messing about trying to get the upper wings lined up.

  • Profile Photo
    George R Blair Jr said 10 months, 2 weeks ago:

    Everyone builds at different rates, Carl (@clipper). I really depends on what else is going on in your life, how much time you have to model, and how much time you want to model. Now that I am completely retired, the number of kits I build has increased significantly. I only build one kit at a time, so keeping kit parts together is limited to one kit at a time. It always seems like modeling is a case of hurry up and wait. You do some work on the model, then wait a day for stuff to dry. I have a model train layout, so I work on the trains while stuff is drying.

  • Profile Photo
    Carl Smoot said 10 months, 1 week ago:

    Black basing and marbling was accomplished yesterday after fixing the ghost seams on the bottom and then touching up the primer. I'm still working on my technique for marbling. This time around the bottom was white and a medium brown. The final base color will be neutral gray. Top side was white marbling. Base color will be Olive Drab. But first I have some other colors to apply first.

  • Profile Photo
    Spiros Pendedekas said 10 months, 1 week ago:

    Looking superb so far, my friend @clipper!

  • Profile Photo
    John vd Biggelaar said 10 months, 1 week ago:

    A very nice marbling pre-shading, Carl @clipper
    Seems like you master this technique very well.
    This will generate a very nice effect later on.

  • Profile Photo
    George R Blair Jr said 10 months, 1 week ago:

    Wow, Carl (@clipper). This marbling will certainly generate a weathered surface. I always have trouble pre-shading, so I am looking forward to seeing how this comes out.

  • Profile Photo
    Carl Smoot said 10 months, 1 week ago:

    Thanks Spiros (@fiveten), John (@johnb) and George (@gblair).

    I've had pretty good results with marbling under the base colors as long as that base color is very thin and I make sure to allow some drying between coats (so as to not completely hide the marbling). I'm learning the power of layers in weathering. The marbling, post shading, oil weathering, and chipping. It really makes a difference.

  • Profile Photo
    Carl Smoot said 10 months ago:

    I've spent most of the weekend (when I wasn't doing other things) painting the Mustang and the moving the Constellation along. I continued to paint using a process I started using on my A-20, namely, painting the secondary colors first, then touching up the black base and marbling after masking off those secondary colors.

    I like this approach for two reasons. First, I can use the black base and marbling under these secondary colors, and secondly, it eliminates and odd shading from painting over the primary colors.

    Painting on the Mustang is nearly completed. I have one spot on the O.D. where the airbrush spit a small amount that I will need to touch up. I was nearly done when that happened. I hate it when that occurs. The neutral grey on the bottom was lightened from the Tamiya XF-53 because it would have been too dark. And the O.D. was a mix of Tamiya Olive Drab, Flat Earth, Flat Green, and a small amount of white.

    .

    I am going to mask off the flaps and wings and paint the interior of the flap with an interior green or chromate green. Not sure if that is correct, but it is only a small exposed area and I hope it will look okay.

  • Profile Photo
    John vd Biggelaar said 10 months ago:

    This paintwork looks really nice, Carl @clipper
    The OD over the marbling came out very good.
    Those accidents seem to occur always at the final stage, luckily this can be fixed quite easily with your skills.

  • Profile Photo
    Spiros Pendedekas said 10 months ago:

    Great progress, my friend @clipper! Mishaps happen to me all the time, so, if nothing happens, I get worried 😄
    Your touch up Idea is nice.

  • Profile Photo
    George R Blair Jr said 10 months ago:

    Paint looks great over the marbling, Carl (@clipper). Painting the secondary colors first prevents problems painting the other colors later. Trying to paint white and red over OD green can be a challenge.

  • Profile Photo
    Carl Smoot said 10 months ago:

    Thanks JOhn (@johnb), Spiros (@fiveten), and George (@gblair). I am happy with the way it turned out so far. However, one thing I don't have a good solution for yet is what to do when this type of mishap occurs and I am using a custom mix of paint.

    Storing the mixed paint colors in a jar has several disadvantages. First, it's difficult to know how much you might need later and can be wasteful of paint if you mix extra and then never use it or it might set for a long time before you need it again. I haven't found a glass mixing jar jet that will keep paint mixed this way fresh enough to use some months later. And additionally, it costs money for these jars. I have started saving empty Tamiya paint jars which alleviates the mixing jar cost, so there is that option. But the main issue is the extra paint used which may go to waste.

    Another issue, is that I normally lighten colors as I paint to get the multi-toned appearance, and it is impractical to store mixed copies of all these various shades. This may not be too big of a deal.

    I am just trying to find a system that is easy and which works every time for mixing custom colors.

    I am inclined to start using AK Real Colors or MRP or Vallejo paint sets, but I really like the way that Tamiya paints work. I just purchased some color test cards that I am going to use to brush and spray custom colors as well as different shades of paint from the manufacturer. The custom mix cards will have the formulas. We'll see how that works out.

  • Profile Photo
    George R Blair Jr said 10 months ago:

    Mixing your own paint colors is always a problem if you ever need to have more of the same color, Carl (@clipper). I don't know how much paint I have wasted trying to match a color that I previously mixed, but I am seldom able to match the previous color. I usually end up repainting all of the original color. Give AK Real Colors a try if you like Tamiya. They are very similar in how they spray, and Real Colors has a tremendous number of colors. I think Real Colors are a little thicker than Tamiya, so they need a little more thinning for the airbrush.

  • Profile Photo
    Spiros Pendedekas said 10 months ago:

    Yes, my friend @clipper, mixing colors and storing the remain is a challenge.