Airfix 1/48 Bristol Blenheim Mk1

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
Nearly there now. That's a lovely blue.
Jim

[BarryW]

I have progressed the painting.

after applying Mid Stone I masked up with Panzer Putty then sprayed Dark Earth.



I need now to post shade to modulate the colour. This could be done by mixing a little white in with the Dark Earth but I
prefer to do this with Light Earth.

[BarryW]

The above is with the preshading. Next I need to blend it to get the more subtle effect I want. I do this with mist coats of a very slightly thinned Dark Earth.


then with masking removed we get this



There will be a need for some touching up but this will wait until after the rest of the painting is done including the markings.

[Tim Marlow]

That Camo has come out well Barry. Excellent stuff!

[adt70hk]

As Tim said, a top-notch paint job!! Very well done Barry.

[Jim R]

Very nicely done. I looked closely at your photos and can't see any touch up needed - you're a perfectionist :smiling:
Jim

[Ancientmariner]

Looking great Barry!

[BarryW]

I masked up then sprayed the engine rings and exhausts pale burnt metal.


when I removed the tape on the top of the port cowl it pulled some filler away. I applied a ‘blob’ of Mr Dissolved Putty and that needs to cure overnight. It might not even need any sanding before I touch it up.

I will get in and finish the engines tomorrow.

in the meantime I masked up to do the markings. Unfortunately this set only provides the roundels so the decals will be needed for codes and serial numbers. I have also decided to go with how the mask instructions suggest using them. as MRP pigment is very fine it should be OK, I am not sure it would work with lesser paints.

This is how they say do it

Masks, first the outer elements and the surrounds for overspray.

Here are the paints I am using. White and yellow always can be problematical with coverage but primers of an appropriate colour help.


First the outer yellow band on the fuselage sides. I spray the whole of the area sand yellow primer.

Then the RAF Marking Yellow in the outer ring area


That’s all I have time for. Hopefully I will get a chance to do more later.

[BarryW]

I popped back in before bed and placed the masking element over the yellow.



Then I sprayed the blue. I need to leave MRP around 30 minutes to play safe before putting a mask over it, but I am off to bed as I don’t want to hang around with a busy day tomorrow. Hopefully I will get a chance to mask then paint the white elements tomorrow and, maybe the red as well.

[Ian M]

Looking very sharp with her clothes on Mr. W

[BarryW]

Thanks Ian

I attached the masking elements over the blue sections and sprayed white on those where it applies



The picture looks to me like there is a blue tinge to it, which was a bit of a shock so went to check the model and l it’s fine, it is just how the phone has rendered it. Phewwww.

[BarryW]

It is so satisfying when you get to remove the masks. I had very little touching up to do, these painted markings look great.



Then it is over to the decals. Airfix, to their credit, provide much better decals than most, far better than Tamiya and ICM, getting the right balance between being thin and yet strong. They went down really well and I suspect that only one application of Microl Sol is needed.

[BarryW]

One of the great things I love about MRP is that it dries to a smooth gloss ready to take decals and washes. Sometimes I will apply a gloss varnish, perhaps over the decals as I did with my last build, but this time I have decided to skip a gloss varnish all together and apply the pin washes direct to the paint. MRP is robust enough to do this provided it has been left at least 30 minutes to cure. In this case I did not manage to get to the bench over the weekend so it has had a lot of time to harden.

I do pin washes rather than a sludge wash, using AK or MIG enamel washes. I apply them using a brush that is long and thin which minimises the excess. If I had more patience I suspect I could get a lot less excess than is shown in this picture.



I remove the excess with a large flat brush that is damp (rather than wet) with white spirit. In doing so I brush in the direction of air flow. Remember some streaking is necessary but be careful not to over do it.



After an initial going over I leave it for half an hour and revisit it. I always find odd places when I need to remove a little more excess. In particular I check trailing edges of wings, fins etc. if you miss something then you have applied the varnish there is not much you can do about it.

Here are the brushes I use.



What is important with enamel washes is to leave enough time for them to fully dry before applying your matt varnish. If you don’t then you can get a white bloom.
Usually I leave it for 24 hours to play safe.

[adt70hk]

Barry

Just had a catch-up. That's coming on very nicely indeed. The markings have turned out very nicely indeed.

And have to agree about Airfix markings, in the few builds I've done since coming back to hobby, they've always worked very well. I'm pretty sure all the ones give used are done by Cartograph (?), which I understand are normally very good.

Keep up the great work.

Andrew

[scottie3158]

Andrew
Looking good the wash has come out great.