Various Help Needed for relatively new modeller

[Guest]

Thanks for the reference photos, that was a great help.

[Guest]

ahh ok I really do apologise now, im asking to many questions but I want to get this right!

Lets keep it simple and sweet, after washing the sprue and allowing to dry when do I prime?

Can i just prime the entire sprue prior to painting the small cockpit details or do I only prime the plane itself when put together and the cockpit masked?

[stona]

ahh ok I really do apologise now, im asking to many questions

No need....not possible

I can only tell you what I do.

I don't prime most parts on the sprue for two reasons. First the sprue attachment point will nearly always need cleaning up and sanding which will remove the primer. Secondly glueing paint covered plastic parts together doesn't work very well,at the very least you will have to scrape the paint off the areas to be glued.

I try to build a sub assembly (like a cockpit tub) as much as I can before priming it and then painting and picking out the detail. Every model is different,have a good read through the instructions and try to work out how far you can go before painting an assembly. There will always be the odd bit you miss and have to do seperately

Eventually I will mask off wheel wells,clear parts etc and prime the entire model before painting the camo. I attach the "dangly bits" like wheels,antennae,pitot tubes,mass balances etc at the end.

Others will have variations on the theme,there really isn't a right and wrong way of doing it. There are a few build threads by different members which will give you an idea of how they do it.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Don't ever apologise for asking questions, no such thing as a stupid question, if it's not asked you may never learn the answer,

(for example and completely aside from the subject I learned the proper meaning of the phrase 'STAT' in harassed medical drama's yesterday)

You certainly have a cracking plan laid out, Humbrol enamels brush paint excellently, and yes, thin them, this helps the paint flow better, make sure you stir and shake all of them well, especially the matte varnish, make sure you have decent ventilation, the enamels are smelly, (i love them though), I'd recommend some latex or nitrile gloves purely because any on your fingers is a bugger to shift, so they're not essential but handy.

As Steve, (Stona) says, Halford plastic primer=spot on, one tin will last an age, take care to mist it on in light coats, very easy to flood a small plastic model, i'd recommend you wash the model with washing up liquid and warm water, rinse and let dry, (makes sure all release agents are removed and helps paint stick better), assemble the fuselage, wings, etc, (mask the cockpit, damp kitchen roll is perfect for cockpits and wheel wells) and prime that as one piece, the fiddly bits, prime on the sprue.

Practise your brush painting on some scrap plastic, (milk containers are good for this), decant some paint into a tray / clean pie case etc, add a few drops of thinner and stir with a cocktail stick, try a swipe with a brush, you're aiming for a consistency that allows YOU to load the brush and transfer with a clean stroke to the plastic, not so thin it runs and not so thick it drags and tears the paint, this is why theres no magic ratio, (you'll find also that some humbrol enamels are thicker in the pot than others), practise is the key here and when you're happy, attack the model.

Do not expect the first coat to cover the base completely, don't worry if it looks patchy, this is where most new people mess up by trying to put on too much in the first pass of the brush. 2 or 3 thin coats will give a much better finish, humbrol has long drying and curing times so allow at least 24 hours before decalling and varnish and 12 between coats of the same paint, cover the model while drying to prevent dust settling into your fresh paint too.

Hope thats not all too much to take in.

Starting up is pricey but the paints last an age, your brushes, forever if looked after and it gets cheaper the further you go with mainly models and the odd paint or accessory needing bought.

Take pics, post them here, ask any question you need and ENJOY it

[Guest]

Well that was a lot to take in but all extremely helpful, thankyou for all the help that everyone has given me. I know it wont be perfect but I wont know unless I just go for it, I need to pop out tomorrow to pick up the primer and then we are full steam ahead. I guess I will see all of you post priming :-)

[Guest]

And I thought I had asked all possible questions...:noidea:

I am going to apologize again (im not used to being part of a forum which is actually helpful)...

I am not preshading because I dont own an airbrush, and I am not even going down the road of handbrushing shading however I do want to apply a light wash and minor drybrushing to pick out some details. When it comes to the cockpit, I have assembled, then primed and then painted....now do I add a glosscote at this point to the entire cockpit prior to decals and adding the photoetch (I am going to add a coat of gloss to the rest of the model, so surely I do to the cockpit aswell right?). And then at what point would I apply a wash?

My overall plan is assemble-prime-paint-glosscote-decal-mattcote I just need an "insert wash and drybrush here"

I am planning on having an opened canopy hence my enthusiasm to pick out every cockpit detail possible, I understand everyone has different methods, but something in my head says i should only paint the cockpit and then wash it without even applying a glosscote/mattcote.

thanks and (sorry)

[stona]

If you've got decals to apply inside the cockpit then that is best done over a gloss coat. Most washes work best over a gloss coat too. Dry brushing really doesn't want to be done over a gloss coat so you will either have to do it before the gloss,which I would suggest,or at the end once you have applied a matt varnish (not so good).

Here's a plan of attack.

Assemble-prime-paint-drybrush-gloss coat-decal-gloss coat-wash-matt coat.

If you don't have decals in the cockpit then

Assemble-prime-paint-dry brush-gloss coat-wash-matt coat.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Hopefully you will all be pleased to know that the cockpit is near enough put together and primed, just have to paint a few pieces before actually putting the rest of the cockpit together. All went relatively smoothly, had a few issues with the liquid cement, even the smallest amount seemed to leak out the seams and is too awkward to remove, however I have again washed everything prior to priming because I put it together a few times first before sticking.

Another thing, those damn photo etch pieces! now that was difficult for my clumsy hands, not perfect and I noticed my PE control panel doesnt match the decal, by that I mean the dials match but the decal is just slightly smaller meaning that a few of the dials will be off centre from the holes :-(

Now the next thing is to make sure I get all the small details the right colour, I have looked at various reference photos and everything seems to be different, obviously some things are moulded into the model and others are not. After a nice coat of cockpit green I will try and interpret what needs to be what colour.

Photos will be added at some point tomorrow hopefully.

[Guest]

I thought I would just add a big thankyou to everyone who suggested the Halfords plastic primer, that stuff sits really nicely on the model if applied thinly and in my opinion just makes the details look better before even painting!

[Guest]

I need a bit of reference help, the frame in which the engine is mounted is quoted as x-11 which is chrome silver however I have seen many models which have the frame as cockpit green to match the rest of the cockpit framework.

Was there ever a period of time when the colours of the frame changed? I am building willie mcknights hurricane from 242 squadron.

[stona]

Here's the BBMF Hurricane.

The one dragged out and under restoration on Malta is also interior green. That's how I do mine. As usual there is no 100% correct answer.There is another under restoration in Finland on which a lot of the tubing and engine bearers are painted in aluminium.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Well its been a while and I have been working on my model. Priming going well, painting going well and bonding not bad (although fiddily) however glosscote.....disaster, brushstrokes showing through like crazy and no apparent way to remove it....not sure what to do at this point.

[Guest]

Im going to update you all on this build and probably start a new thread soon on my next project, I have taken a few photos logging my hurricane build, so expect to them soon. I have been fortunate enough to get my hands on an airbrush this christmas, and thankfully thats prior to me applying the camo to my build (phew, i was dreading hand brushing the camo), my next build will be a very ambitious diorama of a vehicle so stay tuned, it may not go well but I am prepared to test myself fully. Thanks for all the advice given thus far.