The Ultimate UKAR Modelling Guide Thread

[Ben H]

Thread Index by post number:

1 - Brush or Airbrush?
2 - Airbrush buying advice
3 - Advice on different kit manufacturers
4 - Kit reccomendations
5 - Paints advice
6 - Decaling
7 - Weathering
8 - Pre-Shading
9 - Post-Shading
10 -Weathering Panel Lines
11 -Avoiding 'silvered' Decals
12 - Using 'Johnson's Klear'
13 - How to convert and electric toothbrush into a detail sander
14 - Putting the Finishing Touches to Models

If you find anything else useful, PM me the address and I will stick it in here. I have tried to include the username of the creator of these tips but if I have missed you out let me know for a namecheck!

[Ben H]

1

Brush or Airbrush?

[Ben H]

2

Airbrush Buying advice from Seamus:

For the airbrush, have a look here

http://www.airbrush-pro.co.uk/index.htm ... lang=en-gb

I use the 4th one down. I'm on my second one now (though that's more down to me looking after it poorly) and it behaves pretty well and gives a good finish. The fact its double action means I can have more control, particularly when doing fine lines or freehand camo. Most importantly for me though, its cheap! Plus the website provides spares, such as nozzles and needles, should you need them, which eventually you will.

If you get an AB, you're also going to need to invest in a compressor. Again, there's a few on the website that seem quite cheap though I can't say how good they are.

HTH

Shaun

More

[Ben H]

3

Kit Manufacture advice:

- I haven't bought an Italeri kit for a while now as they are too hit and miss for my liking. The Revell M2000 I'm building at the moment is apparently a re-boxing of the Italeri mould and I've been suffering because of it! The fit is less than ideal.

That said, I believe (though can't be sure) that some of their 48th kits are pretty good compared to other available kits, such as their Tornado IDS and, if you can find one, their Tornado F3 (seemingly as rare as rocking horse droppings )

On the plus side, their kits are fairly cheap, especially when compared to Tamigawa, so even if its not quite up to scratch, you haven't paid an arm and a leg for it (and if it puts up a fight, you at least get your monies worth). As you say, Italeri appeal to a broad range of modeller, so a youngster or someone new to the hobby isn't necessarily going to be too bothered with inaccuracies, raised panel lines etc in some of their kits; they'll simply want to bash the thing together and end up with something that looks somewhere near the intended subject.

At the end of the day, it boils down to what kits are available for the aircraft you want. The Mirage III you mentioned, I'm not sure what alternative kits there are in 1/48, but I don't think there's many (Revell/Monogram perhaps?), so if you really want that model in your collection then Italeri are probably the way forward.

Re my M2000, the only other option os the Heller/Airfix moulding, which is utter toilet in comparison, so I'll settle for the Italeri/Revell boxing anyday of the week

[Ben H]

4

Kit Reccomendations

[Ben H]

5

Paints advice from Takamota:

If you are airbrushing the Tamiya paints go on very nicely with no problems. A bit limited in their range though. Vallejo Model Air are also extremely easy to use through the airbrush and have quite a good range. Extracrylix are just a little bit more challenging to use but have a large range of colours and section them by Nationalities eg. RAF, US, Luftwaffe etc. TAKAMOTA

I use the Gunze paints and have nothing but good things to say about them, as good as or better than Tamiya IMHO. They spray on really well but i'm not too sure about hand painting though.

And Jelly

You can get them [Gunze] from http://www.modeldesignconstruction.com Really good service too, only a day or two.

Hannant's Xtracolour Paints

Enamels or Acrylics?

[Ben H]

6

Decalling advise from Seamus:

- I use microsol, which is a mid strength solution. It softens the decal so that it conforms to the surface detail much better. I started using it around May and would say since then the I haven't had a problem with decals silvering at all, and that's using decals supplied in kits. However, if your decals are silvering that badly on a glossy surface, you might want to try a test decal as the problem may lie within the decals.

I bought my microsol for about £4 from the Hannants shop in London and even after ~10 models I've barely scraped the surface, so it'll last you ages, so well worth a few quid.

HTH

Shaun

And someone else (sorry!!)

I not too sure why your geting silvering on that glossy surface you always have after painting, it must be a particular brand of decal. I would have got yourself some Microsol anyway as this really help the decals to comform to the lumps and bumps of the surface. For your silvered decals you can prick them with a very fine needle and apply some Sol to it, this will allow the liquid to seep under the decal and remove the air bubbles. Once you have applied it the decal may crease up and look absolute cack, don't be tempted to touch it, this is normal and over night the decal will sort itself out and be nice and flat.

I use the Microset to start with and just add a few drops to my decal water, i then apply a small amount to the area before aplllying the decal, i then use a cotton bud and role across the decal to push out any water and air. This is then left a short while before the Sol is applied.

There are a few different brands on the market which vary in strength, with Microsol being one of the stronger, if not stongest, so be careful.

I also use Gunze Mr Mark Softer and Setter, and Daco Products Medium and Strong solutions.

Hope this helps

And someone else (sorry again!!)

Scott, use micro set first. Position the decal and roll away excess with cotton bud or kitchen roll. Then apply the micro sol. Now.....leave it. The first time you use it you'll be a bit alarmed as your decals with start shrivelling up. LEAVE THEM!! don't panic they will settle and shrink back on thier own. You might need to use sol 3 or 4 times to make stubborn ones sit into panel lines sometimes.

More

[Ben H]

7

Weathering advice from Seamus:

Dabbed some black oil paint along some of the panel lines just to enhance some lost preshade. Found a photo of a build on Hyperscale that showed the exhaust stains so went ahead and sprayed them; I used black mixed with a few drops of brown. Only the second time I've tried spraying stains this way, but I'm pretty happy with the results

And some more from the same:

1. Preshade- spray black over each panel line and areas of shadow
2. Paint base camo
3. Post shade- lighten each base colour with a few drops of light grey then spray in the centre of each panel on the upper surfaces (undersurfaces won't suffer from sun bleaching as much)
4. After decalling, Panel wash- Add a few drops of washing up liquid and water to some pastel dust, paint over the panel lines, then wipe off when dry
5. Lightly apply black oil paint over panel lines and white oil paint in the centre of the to accentuate pre/post shades some more.

There seems to have been a few questions lately regarding panel washes, so I thought, seeing as I was applying one on my F-16, I'd do a pictorial guide. Much easier to see what's going on when compared to a written explanation. My method choice is a pastel wash, though different people have different ways of making them- please feel free to add you're own methods here if you so wish

[Ben H]

8

Preshading advise from Seamus:

The black lines are a preshade, the idea of which id to give the paintwork a sort of used and weathered look. The panel line and other areas of shadow are sprayed using my airbrush with matt black As I use a double action AB, I can limit the amount of paint leaving the nozzle- I reduce it as much as I can, so that I can achieve as fine a line as possible with enough paint coming out to build up the lines in one or two passes. Then, the base camo colours are sprayed over the top; I build it up in thin layers until the preshade is barely showing through. It's important to try and keep this as subtle as possible- too little paint over the top and you end up with a nasty patchwork effect. Too much, and the preshade is obliterated completely.

[Ben H]

9

Postshading advise from someone (Once again, so sorry!)

Have post shaded a few US Navy a/c in the past but as they are only 2 shades of Grey (upper and a lighter under) it was pretty easy stuff. One way to ease post shading on a camo bird would be to post shade each shade of Green as you apply it, this way if you muck it up it will be easier to correct. Since you're spraying Greens add a few drops of Light Grey
NOT White into the original colour to achieve a faded look.

[Ben H]

10

Seamus' ultimate panel line walkthrough

[Ben H]

11

Advice about avoiding 'silvered' decals from ScottHDLR:

It also depends on the decals themselves, the kit supplied ones are normally pretty thick and Matt and some of them will silver regardless of gloss coats, setting soluations thats why alot of people will buy aftermarket decals which you will find are better qualitiy, thinner and Glossy and less chance of silvering. It's all trial and error I'm afraid, but you can normally tell by looking at the sheet the likelihood of them silvering.

And some from Seamus:

A glossy surface is essential, but just to add to what Paul has said, a setting solution goes a long way to getting a good 'finish' from your decals. I use mircosol, which is a mid-strength setting solution. I'll apply some to the area where the decal goes on the model, before sliding the decal off the backing paper and into position, before wiping off and applying some more microsol. This is allowed to evaporate before any creases and wrinkles are smoothed out with a damp piece of kitchen roll. If the decals silver, as they did on my recent latest Fury build, I'll cut a small slice with a sharp scalpel into the decal film and flood it with some more microsol until the silvering disappears.

And finally some from Cammophile:

the simplest way to prevent silvering is to apply a gloss varnish before attaching the decals. most people use Johnson's Klear floor varnish
the decals sit better on a coat or two of varnish so the backing film doesn't show. That is the basics.

the type of decal also as some effect, and there are solutions and softeners that sometimes help also.
The cause of silvering is often simply due to the decal being on a matt surface, which obviously doesn't reflect the light, whereas the decal backing does. Also a matt surface is not smooth. the rough surface means that the decal cannot embed itself into the minute pits, so it will start to flake off after a reliatively short time.

[Ben H]

12

Using Johnson's Klear

[Ben H]

13


Converting an electric toothbrush into a detail sander

[Ben H]

14

Putting the Finishing Touches to Models by Seamus:

If you have a look through any of my build threads, you'll see pretty much the same thing. But, in a nutshell, I recommend the following, once the painting is completed

1) Gloss coat- I use Klear, and build it up in a few thin brushed coats so as not to flood any surface detail. The gloss coat is essential in getting a good finish from the decals.

2) Decals- I'd recommend using a setting solution, such as microset/sol. These will soften the decals to conform to surface detail and complex shapes.

3) Gloss coat- One final coat of Klear seals the decals in and protects them from any additional weathering

4) Panel wash- I use a pastel wash to highlight the panel lines

5) Additional weathering- I'll add the final touches to the build by adding various stains usin oil paints and/or spraying a thin black/brown mix (more applicable to exhaust and gun port staining)

6) Final Varnish- Depending on what sort of finish you want, the model needs a final coat of varnish. I tend to spray a light misting of matt varnish, to leave the model with a slight sheen- more realistic IMHO, but everyone has their preferences.

7) Final assembly- I'd recommend leaving the assmebly of any parts that can be easily knocked off, such as the undercarriage, until last.

Hope this all helps and makes sense

[Ben Montgomery]

I did post earlier halfway through your updates, but I thoughtfully removed it. How kind of me!

Great idea to roll them all into one thread - well done on that effort!

[Ben H]

Haha thankyou

[Seamus]

Great idea Ben

Can't help notice I go on a bit though

[dunny]

Good idea Ben, thought it was worth sticking.

[Ben H]

Cheers Paul

[mattlaker]

Great idea Ben

Can't help notice I go on a bit though

Yeh, all we hear is '1:72' this and 'burnt umber' that... Nah it's all sound advice, and i take pride in having taught you everything you know (i didn't, obviously- I know nothing about speed building!!!)

This is a superb thread mate! A brilliant idea to have it pinned! Maybe worth including a 'where you can buy from online without having to wait the length of time it takes me to build a model for it to be delivered (so anywhere other than hannants)' advice thread?!

[Seamus]

Yeh, all we hear is '1:72' this and 'burnt umber' that... .......

As opposed to "man scale" this, and "first update for an age" that

Maybe worth including a without having to wait the length of time it takes me to build a model for it to be delivered (so anywhere other than hannants)' advice thread?!

Good idea, though I don't see a problem with waiting for a few days

[mattlaker]

Yeh, all we hear is '1:72' this and 'burnt umber' that... .......

As opposed to "man scale" this, and "first update for an age" that

Maybe worth including a without having to wait the length of time it takes me to build a model for it to be delivered (so anywhere other than hannants)' advice thread?!

Good idea, though I don't see a problem with waiting for a few days

Speed is not a measure of a man. Real men build 1:48.

[Seamus]

Hmmm, in that case perhaps you're compensating for something

[mattlaker]

Hmmm, in that case perhaps you're compensating for something

Nah if i were i'd build a 1:24 harrier or something...