Airfix 1/48 P-51D Mustang

Well I tried! I rubbed down the affected areas but where I got down to bare plastic then resprayed the model these areas stood out like a sore thumb so fuck it, the nuclear option was deployed;

The model is back to bare plastic, unfortunately there was a lot of interior green paint leaking out. I'm hoping it was just from the wheel wells as I can respray that area but if the cockpit paint is affected then it is totally fucked. Some cockpit parts need touching up and the seat belts have come loose so we'll see when the model has dried out if the project is worth pursuing.

E-75 tank destroyer

I actually primed this last year using matt black from the new AK Real paint but it got pushed to the back of the queue due to losing interest, however after the nightmare with the Airfix P-51 finish I decided to get this one on the bench again just to prove to myself that I can actually spray stuff without it going wrong.
The base coat was again from the AK range using RC061 Dunkelgelb Ausgabe 44 and pretty much straight after spraying that the camo was applied freehand using a Badger 100 and Mr Hobby H405 Olivegrun lightened with Tamiya XF-3 Yellow;

So far so good! The next step is to apply a coat of gloss varnish to get it ready for any decals I might apply and the start of the weathering process.
I also need to spray the exhausts in various shades of brown and orange, coat them with hairspray decanted from the tin and when dry spray them in the basecoat. After this they will be chipped using a hard brush and warm water.
I like the AK Real paints but a couple of things I've learned is not to spray them OVER Tamiya paint thinned with their own thinner or IPA (I found that out with the Mustang), also when thinning the paint do it in a jar rather than the paint cup on the airbrush as I found it difficult to get the paint flowing

Airfix 1/48 P-51D Mustang. I give in!

I sprayed the model with Vallejo Metal Colour Aluminium and as this stuff is quite thin it can go straight through an airbrush, however the needle tip started clogging fairly quickly so I added a few drops of acrylic retarder to slow the drying time down a bit.
I have to say the finish is really nice and smooth, unfortunately a few days ago some model boxes fell over and caught the Mustang and although I inspected the model before spraying tonight the Vallejo paint showed up a few dings and added with all the other defects in the base coat I've had enough and this model will not progress any further.
Anyway this how it turned out;

As has been pointed out to me and in articles I've read the base coat HAS to be flawless otherwise the aluminium paint will show every defect so I think I've reached my limit painting-wise and will stick to camouflaged subjects in future.
Also USAAF aircraft continue to be my achilles heel as this is number 5 that I've fucked up...weird....

Airfix 1/48 P-51D Mustang

Mainly to stop myself falling asleep in the evenings and the fact this model is bugging me I decided to give it another go. Even though the upper engine cowl had been rubbed down numerous times I could still see where the paints had reacted so using neat IPA (Iso Propyl Alcohol) I cleaned all the paint off down to bare plastic, this area was again rubbed down;

After clean up the entire model was resprayed with Tamiya X-1 gloss black;

The model will be left to cure before applying a coat of rattle can silver, probably Tamiya TS-17 aluminium silver or whatever I have in stock rather than mess about with Alclad, just so I can get the bloody thing finished.
Anyway at the moment I have a shiny black Mustang, if things go wrong again it will either become a test piece or a landfill item depending on my mood.

Heller 1/72 Mirage IV

The model has been rescribed, all fuselage joints filled, sanded, polished, rescribed again to get rid of dust and swarf and liquid glue run around the lines to neaten them up;

Looking at the wings I noticed one side was higher than the other so using hot water I tried to gently bend it into shape, unfortunately this happened;

In all my years of modelling this has NEVER happened to me. Obviously the wing is totally ruined so with this and the recent balls up with the Airfix Mustang I'm taking a break from the hobby for a while as nothing is going right modelling wise so time to do something else. All projects have been put back in the loft and the bench has been tidied;

Be back soon!

Airfix 1/48 P-51D Mustang

After spraying the model with Tamiya X-1 gloss black and letting it cure for a couple of days I masked off the anti glare panel on the nose and sprayed it with AK026 Olive Drab;

The paint went on well but then I noticed it was 'crazing' all over the area;

I can understand getting a reaction if I had used a laquer thinner in the olive drab paint but it was Tamiya X-20 which is basically IPA (Iso Propyl Alcohol) so I can only assume that Tamiya paint doesn't like AK paint.
The reason I sprayed the model with Tamiya gloss black in the first place was to use it as a basecoat for Alclad however I may just spray it with paint from a rattle can (such as Tamiya TS-17) as I'm getting fed up with the arseing about required as Alclad doesn't like masking tape apparently, of course what I'll have to watch now is for any reaction with the black basecoat over the entire model when spraying the aluminium....stupid fucking hobby....
This one will be parked now as it's very close to being sent to landfill and joining the other USAAF subjects I have residing there.

Heller 1/72 Mirage IV

The model features raised panel lines so I decided to start rescribing them using blue electrical tape as a guide for curved surfaces and a straight edge for flat surfaces;

After rescribing the lines excess dust and debris was removed then liquid glue was washed over them to clean out the remaining swarf. I'm undecided as to whether to replace the rivet detail as in 1/72 scale it would be quite tiny.
The lower wing features a recess for the AN22 nuke supplied in the kit but I will be using the CT52 reconnaissance pod so I decided to fill this recess using .30 thou styrene strip and lots of Revell filler;

All very nice and it looks quite good, so much so I rescribed the panel lines across the styrene insert.
It was at this point I wondered how the recon pod would look fitted to the model when I came across a fairly obvious problem;

....there needs to be a recess for the recon pod. F**K SAAAAAAAAKE!!! What a complete idiot!! Soooooooo guess what is being removed very soon? At least if anybody reading this blog is due to make a Mirage IV with a recon pod they won't make the same mistake. also
that will teach me to actually check the fit of parts first although in my defence I thought the pod was mounted on a pylon like the ASMP missile....duh.....