Something completely different....an airliner.

[Ian M]

Wow it looks even better in the last photo.

Nice one

Ian M

[Guest]

Great work Steve , alclad is hard enough to get right on small and medium size stuff let alone an aircraft that size ,

have a look at the alclad clear coats , I`ve tried the sheen version a couple of times and it seems great no dulling of the colour and you can put a wash over it without any problems .

[stona]

Might look at that Richard. I'd like to seal everything in at the end but would be a bit nervous of the laquer varnish on the old decals.

I may eventually just give it a coat of Klear,if it ends up worth keeping

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Wow thats looking great Steve!

[flyjoe180]

Fantastic!

[Vaughan]

That's a lovely finish Steve.

Vaughan

[yak face]

Fantastic looking paintwork steve. I'm taking note as i want to try alclad again after my first unsuccessful foray . Can i ask what pressure you spray it at? cheers tony

[stona]

Hi Tony, I spray it at 16-18 psi on my regulater dial. That's just slightly lower than I use for most of my painting. It's very "thin" and sprays like water. You need to mist it on,being thin it is easy to apply too heavy a coat.

I've been agonising over a Klear coat and have finally decided that protection wins out over mega gloss. I'm going to apply a coat of Klear. From past experience I know this knocks back the very high shine of these polished finishes a bit but I'm prepared to accept that.

After that it'll be time to see if the ancient decals,already treated with Liquid Decal Film,will hold together. I hope Tony is right about old Monogram decals!

Cheers

Steve

[Dave W]

That's a nice finish Steve.I've got some Alclad to try out when I start modelling again.You say it's best to mist it on in thin coats.How long do you find it needs to dry between coats?.

[stona]

It doesn't take long before you can recoat. You can almost build it up continuously,just be careful not to apply too much too quickly.

Being laquer based it dries fast too,minutes rather than hours,though I always leave it for several hours before masking or anything "rough".

Cheers

Steve

[stona]

Speaking of Klear coats,here is the effect on the Polished Aluminium finish.

It does knock it back slightly though this is difficult to see in a photo. To my eye it actually looks more realistic than the raw polished finish which is a relief.

I've also painted the nose to be a rough match with the Eastern Airlines corporate colours in the decals. I do mean a rough match,mixed up in the paint cup of one of my airbrushes!

Cheers

Steve

[flyjoe180]

Looks good Steve. A slightly duller finish would be operationally normal I would think. The aircraft I fly for work rarely gets polished. It has bare aluminium skins on the wings, horizontal stabs and engine nacelles. The metal has become patchy in places over time and sections have become so dulled that it could have been sprayed with an aluminium colour rather than be bare metal. The worst dulling is around the engine nacelles where extreme heat occurs.

[Vaughan]

Steve it looks great. Do you apply the klear with an airbrush or just use a brush.

Vaughan

[stona]

Joe,I don't think I'm going to attempt to weather this much. My previous experience with Alclad is that it is a lot easier to ruin the finish than improve it!

Thanks Vaughan,I just brush it on with a flat brush. Just take care not to overdo it! I've removed runs from Klear over camouflage paint finishes but wouldn't fancy fixing this.

Whilst waiting for the Klear to dry,I won't decal until tomorrow,I've turned my attention to other bits this aeroplane will need. You know,things like wheels,engines,propellers.

There's even a couple of mechanics,here resplendent in a grey undercoat. My figure painting is seriously crap but I'm going to take a swing at this pair anyway.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

looking like the real thing with that aluminium colour great job so far

mobear