Wissam's Christmas Modelling Marathon

[Wissam24]

It's been a while since I did any kind of modelling. Two years, to be precise, and that was the first time since my Warhammer days of many years before. Even back then, I only painted one model and still have a Su-7 unpainted. This Christmas for some reason I still haven't figured out I decided to go nuts on models and make loads - and then I went and got quite a few as Christmas presents too, so I'm kinda scared now. Still don't know how I'm going to paint them, since I've got 3 1:48s and a very ;large 1:72 that really deserve to be airbrushed. but airburshes are expensive, and even if I did decide to bite the bullet and get one it's only going to lead to buying more models, and I've got too many expensive hobbies already...

But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. To make in the Christmas break I've got a 1:100 Il-28 Beagle, a 1:72 Italeri Spitfire IX, 1:72 Hobby Boss Su-47 Berkut, and all in 1:48 Trumpeter Su-9, Su-9U and Su-11, to go with the Su-7 I made two years ago. On the latter three Sukhois I'm going to put on, for no real reason, modern Soviet weapons for fun.



As a hangover from my Warhammer days I never tend to paint anything in traditional scheme. Either I go full fictional or aim for something really obscure and niche. Don't ask me why but the rest of the staff will be able to back up my weird predilections for obscure aircraft liveries. At least one, probably two of the Su-9/11s will be painted (lol, lofty dreams) in fictional, alternate history schemes based on what would have happened if the Spanish Rebulic had won the Civil War and gone on to join the Warsaw Pact. Think the lovely scheme I-16. The Berkut could well be in RAF camo colours.

Anyway, I started the Spitfire tonight!

[Wissam24]

Today I finished the Spitfire. Lovely little kit. NOt sure what I'm going to paint it as, perhaps a Thai scheme? I've put it with a Yak-23 I got off Dan L for size comparison. Also for size comparison is the Su-47, not even at full length, in the same scale.

[Wissam24]

I made the Il-28 over Christmas Eve. It's a nice little kit, doesn't take very long to make but needed some filling in in places (although I don't think I did that that well. It'll have to see how that turns out).



I got a bit of dosh for Christmas, so I bit the bullet and got an airbrush Lots of learning to do on that front. If anyone has any tips for first time use please share!

[Wissam24]

These are my three babies of this marathon. I love these obscure, classic Soviet designs, they're just wonderful.

The first one I did was the Su-9U Maiden and I have to say I enjoyed making it;. My own bumblingness made it harder than it needed to be at times and I ended up having to run some paperclip through one fo the main gear struts to get it solid but otherwise a really super kit, very tight and well designed. As you can see I added some R-60s and R-27ERs in lieu of the K-5s, and gosh aren't those missiles huge!

[Wissam24]

a weird difference between the Su-9/11 and the Zvezda Su-7 is the 7 had discrete airbrakes you glued on, on the Fishpots they're just marked on the fuselage

[skyskooter]

At first sight I thought that Yak-23 was a Douglas Skystreak. Remarkable similarity.

[Fumbles]

Wow! going full bore on the stash! Good to see and great to hear that you bought an airbrush. Once you get used to it, you'll never go back.

[FarnboroJohn]

Good to see and great to hear that you bought an airbrush. Once you get used to it, you'll never go back.

Got to agree with that. I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to see the light!

[Wissam24]

Well, funny story about the airbrush. I ordered it on Christmas day, only to realise on the 27th that it was 1 stop away from being delivered to work...so I cancelled it, got the refund, but I guess I took the last of the brushes on stock as now, well, it's not. So the painting will have to wait a little longer. It was a relatively cheap starter brush anyway, I'm not ready yet to go in on a £90+ model.

I managed to put the Su-11 together yesterday. I was reticent about giving it R-77s, especially as it only has two stations, but I thought why not, I've got them. More different than I thought it would be to the Su-9 kit. I really do love this design of aircraft, the long big tube with tiny wings, I can't wait to make the 3rd. It'll be the Berkut next though, as I'm waiting on a piece to come into the shop for the Su-9. Might give the Su-9 an all R-73 loadout.

[Wissam24]

Well, it's been a few days so I missed the Christmas deadline. I finished the Berkut in a couple of sittings. For 1:72 it is indeed enormous. Put next to the Spitfire and Flora in the same scale the difference is hilarious, but put next to the Fishpots in 1:48 it's insane! I briefly considered putting the wings on the "right" way round! It was a fun kit to make actually, I enjoyed it. Fairly simple but nice enough.

I began the Su-9 last night too. Don't know why but I seem to have had more trouble putting it together than the other Fishpots of the same make, which are nearly identical kits. The fuselage didn't quite sit flush etc.

I also have to confess, the Su-7 isn't Zvezda but Kovozávody Prostějov

My airbrush arrived at the weekend and I've got paints arriving today. First to be tested will be the Spitfire in Swedish PR colours. The Yak-23 will be next in Aeronavale F-8 grey

[Skyflash]

These look beast mate - that Berkut is an absolute monster!

[Wissam24]

Tried my first hand at airbrushing last night! Wasn't quite what I expected, got through the paint quite quickly? But the finish is lovely, it was easy enough, don't think I've got the best airbrush in the world and may upgrade at the end of the month. Need to touch up a few areas as well.

[Wissam24]

I finished the final Su-9, minus 3 missiles to be built. What lovely looking machines, eh? Can't wait to get these painted! The Su-7 has always been intended for fictional Yugoslavian colours. Any suggestions for the remaining Su-9?

When I was down at Hannants I found some Su-17 countermeasures rails which I added to the Su-11 for laughs.

[Wissam24]

A very quick update. Well gosh i had forgotten how long the painting side of things takes! It's not nearly finished yet so please don't think it's an attempt at a final product by any stretch but I'm not wholly satisfying with the weathering so far, in as much as making the panels pop doesn't look quite so reat across a couple of techniques I've tried. As I said though, this is very much the practice model to get my fine motor skills back up to scratch!

My one annoyance so far has been the MIG colour yellow. It's so bastard thick no matter how much I thin it! Slightly mitigated by applying it over a white base first but still (I do remember yellows being pigs anyway). Any tips for how to prevent brushed paints from staying glossy and "tacky" inappearance?

[LN Strike Eagle]

The painting is the most fun part. Are you hand painting the markings?

You might find weathering easier if you apply a gloss varnish beforehand - that way the washes will wipe off easier and won’t soak into the painted surface.

You might also benefit from painting smaller assemblies before you finish - stuff like the cockpit, landing gear and propellor etc.

[Wissam24]

I am hand painting, yes, I've never been one for decals. I'll try the gloss varnish tip

[Wissam24]

Well gosh, been a while since my last post hasn't it? The good news is - the Spitfire is finished! The model was certainly nothing if not a learning and relearning curve, especially around the airbrushing. The roundels and such are a bit skew-whiff but I'm not that bothered given they're freehand and I'm not that hot on transfers. I had some airbrush hiccups (almost literally) when doing the exhaust trails so they're a little heavy handed. But overall - I'm happy with this as a first attempt. Leading edge and paint wear weathering needs some work for sure. There are a few mistakes and bits I don't like, such as painting the ink to look like trails, and sloppyness/fogging on the clear plastic. On that note, any suggestions for the best glue to use for clear plastic? I've had PVA, thick super glue and even gloss coat suggested.




And here is a sneak preview of the next thing. Probably coming along much quicker than the Spitfire did.

[Seamus]

For canopies I mostly use PVA these days although Superglue (CA) also works. To prevent fogging you'll need to give the canopy a dip in a protective clear coat. I use Johnson's Klear, an acrylic floor polish- I believe it's out of production now but I understand there are alternatives that work in the same way. It also works as a gloss coat prior to decals. Speaking of which, what are your issues regarding decals? Fair play for attacking the roundels free hand, but unless you use masks you'll have a job getting them as sharp as the decals...

For exhaust staining, I heavily thin the paint and adjust the pressure and nozzle accordingly to get as fine and spatter free a spray as possible before committing to the model.

[Wissam24]

Overdue update time! I finished the Yak, and I'm pretty proud of it. Maybe there was more I could've added to it? But I'm pleased with the end result for both of these first two models.




The next two up were the Il-28, destined for a Cuban camo scheme, and the Su-47 in a late-Cold War RAF scheme. Well gosh isn't masking for camouflage just a long and complicated process! Sadly I managed to mess up on both - too tick on the Beagle and too sloppy on the Berkut and the later needs retouching.





Regarding pre-weathering coats and such, any suggestions? I'm going over some videos on youtube to try and find the best methods but if anyone had any recommendations for particular brands or materials I'd be very grateful.

[Wissam24]

What do I have against decals? Nothing really, I just never used them when i was doing Warhammer so became accustomed to freehanding details. It'll never look as good but I'll enjoy it more.

[Wissam24]

A long overdue update! I finished the Il-28, apologies for the less than wonderful photos. At some point I might do proper shoot with them.
This was my first try at panel line washing. Definitely something that needs practice for sure, but I see the value in the technique. It's 1/100 as opposed to the 1/72 Spit and Flora, but these are the models I have finished so far.



Next up is the Berkut! HOnestly, from start to finish I have made a total hash of this - sprayed the paint on too thick, overspray everywhere, pooling all over the place. I ended up going with soft edged camo just to avoid having to remask the lines everywhere to get it exact. The roundels and fin flash red were so thickly applied that they actually looked like stickers, I'm embarrassed by it. What a nightmare! It's schemed loosely on 41sqn Jags. As I type I've glossed it, just waiting to apply panel lines tomorrow after it's dry.

It's worth saying at this point that so far I've been paying virtually no attention to the undersides of the models, but that'll change going forward most likely. Every model has been a valuable learning experience for getting onto my Sukhoi baes.






And I got these in the post last week to keep me going on the building front!

[Wissam24]

Finished! I think I managed to recover the model relatively well to be honest. Can't understate how enormous the plane and therefore model is in 1/72!






Next up - 1/48 Su-7 in fictional Yugoslavian markings (not that fictional, it'll be the MiG-21 livery). Metal finish on this one, followed a good looking technique but messed it up a bit - lesson learnt is to apply more gloss primer (really get it shiny!). Hope to find a tutorial for getting it nice and grimy looking as well.

[Wissam24]

I tell you what, one thing I don't like is the gloss varnish. I'd much prefer to keep them matte, but that makes the panel lining much harder of course.

[Wissam24]

Another lesson learnt! There is a very marked contrast between gunmetal and aluminium colours

[LN Strike Eagle]

I tell you what, one thing I don't like is the gloss varnish. I'd much prefer to keep them matte, but that makes the panel lining much harder of course.

You can put a matte coat over the top when you’re done with weathering and decals.