Lockdown Build thread

[ArabJazzie]

Hello all,
As mentioned elsewhere, i have not been finishing kits for a number of reasons, but seen as i have some enforced time on my hands, i have decided to jump back in and get some finished off. Have to head in to work every other day for a limited time unless we are called in, and the eldest is doing most of the shopping as she is still working.

So in between bouts of Fortnite with the kids, i have already finished the 2 Spits elsewhere, a Tornado F3 that isnt worth showing, so i have the following Airfix Lightning and JP T4 at the top of the pile!



After those, there is a pile of kits that i have lost interest in over the years that i want to get through, continue the Spitfire project and a couple of other types along the way.
Arabest,
Geoff.

[Unknown74]

Got a small gaggle of kits in my stash, unfortunately II haven’t got. My storage and display arrangements up yet (shelves) I have nowhere to put them yet as I need help to put the shelves up & no one wants to come near me during the current situation.

[FarnboroJohn]

I have a Revell 1:32 Hawk T1 I'm working on for my brother: he has flown with the RAF during trials, including a trip with 100 Squadron in XX194. So that will be the scheme for that one. Next up are a Blenheim IV (Italeri) and a Mosquito based on the Tamiya FB VI, both 1:48.

But while the weather is dry I'm spending lockdown mostly in the garden, so progress is slow at the moment.

[ArabJazzie]

But while the weather is dry I'm spending lockdown mostly in the garden, so progress is slow at the moment.

Living in a flat, i happily miss all that!

Back on to the models, progress has been slow with many bumps along the road. Although Kleared, the screen on the JP seems to have crazed a bit but not too bad. The Lightning though was always gonna be Alclad, but having moved my paints from pillar to post over the last few years, i lost my favoured White Aluminium and resorted to using Magnesium. Too damn dark!

A message was sent to the local Rif-RAF models for some new supplies, although that wasnt followed up(for now ) as i found another drawer with paint in it!



So i should have the Lightning beaten black n blue soon and the JP decaled and finished, but more Fortnite first!
Arabest,
Geoff.

[ianf]

Geoff is that the new tooling JP? they both look good.

[ArabJazzie]

Yes Ian,
Fantastic little kit and will be followed up soon by the T3 kit i have in the stash.
Arabest,
Geoff.

[ArabJazzie]

Hello again,
Spent today(sunday) on call for work so stayed in and got the JP decaled, but not without a few bumps along the way!

So i set up the table, got me bowl of water, broke out the decals and...... Water had been splashed onto a small are that just happened to contain the option i was on the way to creating. Undetered with the serials and codes in the worst affected area, some of the smaller stencils were missed out anyway, along with others my eyes couldnt come with.

So i give you XR649/04 of 79 Sqn RAF Chivenor during 1982.







And to add insult, my tube of Gator Grip got contaminated by an accident by a cap of micro set, so aerials will be added later in the week.

More tales of woe to come on the soon to be finished Lightning.
Arabest,
Geoff.

[Georgeconna]

The JP came out very nice, Have a couple to do myself.

[ArabJazzie]

The JP came out very nice, Have a couple to do myself.

Cheers George,
I have a T3 to do sometime over these strange times, but i have to finish some stalled kits first.

Talking of which.....



The B-17G has been languishing in the cupboard of doom for a while, but it has been out a few times with some attempts at masking windows. Its never gone well until i had a go tonight and managed it mostly first time.

Another one i seem to be having a fight with just now is a Swordfish a mate started and lost interest in. A couple of the wing struts were broken and ive broke another one! That one is back in the cupboard again!
Arabest,
Geoff.

[ArabJazzie]

Hello again everyone,
Having a list of what has stalled over the last few years, i went on the hunt for the remains of some inhabitants of that list of doom. One of them was an experimental hack for Alclad II that was supposed to have contrasting panel work. Now its been found again, its still dressed in Alclad, but no contrasting panels. Here it is dressed in Alclad black base coat with the B-17G wearing Alclad primer.



Having listened to many around here and elsewhere, i am at last using the Alclad primer, and apart from the smell in a crowded flat, its been a good experience. The MIG has since had its Dull Aluminium topcoat and Klear, with the B-17 now fully ready for Black Base.
Arabest,
Geoff.

[ArabJazzie]

Hello again,
Had to go into work a few times this week and training from home has been introduced, along with some work to be done from home. As one who has never really lived to a set routine, i have say i seem to be handling this situation better than some! I also seem to have fell back into the modelling quite well, and seen as i had some that were used to get back into this, i think the re-learning is going ok in places.

I did finish a long time languishing MiG that was to be used as an experiment in Alclad panel tones, but it wasnt a good place to start anyway, so was finished in Alclad Dull Aluminium.


Hope you didnt dwell too long on that one!

In meantime, i looked into the stash to see what new start could be released and decided the Spitfire project could continue in the shape of the Sword Spitfire XIVe.




This has been started and i should manage an update tomorrow.
Arabest,
Geoff.

[ArabJazzie]

Hello again,
I think i am seeing what my future is gonna be like when i retire, but seen as thats another 16 years away at least, i better just get on with what i can.



This is an absolute delight to work with and i may just have to build another one, but that is some time away as there are other Spits to come in that whole project, which this is no 53!

Another side project from the Spitfire project is every fighter the RAF operated from a starting point where the Gladiator entered service. This AZ Model Mohawk IV was added to the stash this week to keep that ticking over.



That project runs from Airfix Gladiator through to the Blenheim IV completed, not got a Whirlwind, Airfix Beaufighter to be built soon, Hobby 2000 Brewster Buffalo bought soon and then the Mohawk IV. Of the 21 fighters i have listed for WWII, i am only missing 5 aircraft from my stash, 3 of which i can source.
Stay safe everyone,
Geoff.

[ArabJazzie]

Hello again everyone,
First off, anyone got a 1/72 Special Hobby Whirlwind in their stash that they might be willing to sell? All of a sudden have an urge to get on with my RAF fighters project.

In meantime, having built the Spitfire prototype right at the start of that project, i always wanted to cover the Hurricane prototype at some point. With Airfix dropping the rag wing Hurricane on the market, Hannants produced a sheet with K5083 as an option, and Aldi and Lidl provided many candidates for the rest of the sheet. So this pile of plastic from the series 2 boxing of the kit was broken out the stash.



Although i had done some work from home, a couple of days later, the Sword Spitfire was ready for primer, and after cleaning out some rubbish from the old sprue box, the Hurricane entered the paint que.



Therefore, i think i should head back a wee bit and revisit a kit i really liked in the shape of this.



Next on that theme is Airfix Beaufighter TFX, AZ Mohawk IV, Airfix Typhoon Ib and Dragon Meteor F1.

Should have the paint on the Spit over the next couple of days, the Hurricane filled and primed and the Gladiator built. The B-17 will reappear next week and a few escapees from the box of embarrassment evaluated!
Stay Safe,
Geoff.

[Fumbles]

Wow you have quiet the list of kits to build. You and a few others that build these 1/72 kits. I admire, I'm having a hard time with 1/48s.

[ArabJazzie]

Wow you have quiet the list of kits to build. You and a few others that build these 1/72 kits. I admire, I'm having a hard time with 1/48s.

Tell you what bud, old age just doesnt come itself! Lots of help along the way though.

Well, as we head into another month of lock down, nothing is staying still at work as i expected. Was kinda knocked out my stride on the kits, but at least i am getting out the house for a few shifts each week. As my "wee laddie" pointed out, i took a week to mask the camo on the Spit, but im not happy with how it turned out.



While painting the Ocean Grey early in the week, i had issues with the airbrush needle sticking overnight. On pulling out said needle, i managed to bend it as it departed the body. It happened again and i managed to put a second bend in the needle and the airbrush stopped working as it should. Only needle/nozzle spare now was a .8mm which has done a surprisingly good job, but everything is screwed down to minimums, so a new airbrush is about to be bought. Well that was until another Mk2 Mondeo turned up in my life to tempt me!
Stay Safe,
Geoff.

[ArabJazzie]

Hello again,
I really wasnt happy with the way the camo turned out on this one so tried brush painting some touch ins, but it didnt work too well. So i made some masks and got it better, then caused an overspray while trying to be too smart for myself. In the end, it turned out better than expected so up next is some Klear and decals by tomorrow.



This is still by using the .8mm needle in the airbrush that i seem to be getting on well with as i was building up the colour rather than previous wet coating. I have however changed over to a smaller needle to see if i can build up with than.
Stay Safe,
Geoff.

[ianf]

Looks much neater Geoff, I could not use a airbrush, way to much fiddling for me! So hats off to you.


Ian
Stay calm and keep on modeling!

[ArabJazzie]

Looks much neater Geoff, I could not use a airbrush, way to much fiddling for me! So hats off to you.


Ian
Stay calm and keep on modeling!

Ian,
I was very reluctant to get one initially, but when i compare my brush painting skill to my airbrush skills, there really is no comparison. The masking can be a pain, but worth it in the end most of the time.

Downsides for a Scotsman is the hit in the pocket for amount of masking tape used and the change from Enamels to Acrylics, although i will probably change over to Lacquers soon!
Stay Safe,
Geoff.

[ianf]

Your lucky your a Scott. My friend Andre who owns Lindy is a Yorkshire man! So think how bad he felt When I masked 4 ft Main wing roundels (the edge only)with masking tape, believe me your considered generous compared to them

[peskypete]

HI , In your thread you mentioned you were looking for a Westland Whirlwind. I have a surplus Classic Airframe 1/48 unmade kit. If you are interested drop me a PM.
Regards

Pete

[ArabJazzie]

HI , In your thread you mentioned you were looking for a Westland Whirlwind. I have a surplus Classic Airframe 1/48 unmade kit. If you are interested drop me a PM.
Regards

Pete

Thanks for the offer Pete, but im looking for the Special Hobby Whirlwind in 1/72.
Stay Safe,
Geoff.

[ArabJazzie]

Hello again,
Having had some issues with my airbrush, i decided to invest in some new equipment, but first, i had a disaster with my Klear and the wings just couldnt settle. Hopefully cleaning the Klear off immediately saved it enough.



Part of the reason may have been the airbrush so these were purchased.



Having seen what Seamus was doing with his chosen paints, i took the plunge and invested in these.



Off the back of that, i am looking down the route of a new gloss coat to try out.

In the meantime, the Spit gained a set of decals, although i messed up the fuselage roundels so a set of Airfix spares helped out. Second blood for the airbrush was some Alclad thrown at the Hurricane Proto.



More soon for a look at how i am getting on with the AK paints.
Stay Safe,
Geoff.

[ArabJazzie]

Hello again everyone,
I have to say this is now a case of the good, the bad and the downright ugly! I did run out of some consumables, but as i would rather spend money on a car, it took a while to get what i needed.

First the good and a foray into different paints with a 1/72 Gladiator painted using some AK Interactive. Quite happy with them in use through the airbrush, and they touch up quite well with a brush. My Klear now being relegated, i had to use another Gloss and started using Halfords Clear Lacquer and seems quite good, but more later!


The bad! The Spitfire XIVe is progressing, but i am really not happy with the paint after the Klear disaster so decided to use it to see what the Alclad Flat Kote is like. Happy with the finish so will keep that for the future and maybe invest in some gloss and satin.


And now the downright ugly! It seems that i should have tried another project to try the Lacquer on an Alclad finish! Although i had a few trials along the way, i was really happy with how the Hurricane Prototype had turned out. As soon as the Lacquer hit the paint, it looked real horrible and like the paint was being lifted. Dont know whether to start again, of just hit it with some Mr Muscle to learn a new trick!

So i shall finish the Spit and Gladiator soon, break the next one out the stash to experiment with the Hataka paint and find my Mr Muscle.
Stay Safe,
Geoff.

[ArabJazzie]

Hello again everyone,
I am calling Spitfire FR.XIVe MV363/N of 11sqn RAF Seletar Singapore as done now, but its far from one of my best.



After construction was complete, it really started putting up a fight through the painting process, especially after clear was added. It is the first time though that i have used a matt varnish, in this case Alclad Aqua Matt that i have had for years, although it still feels tacky now and again.
Stay Safe,
Geoff.

[CJS]

Really enjoying this thread Geoff, you're on a role now