The Little World

I’m in the middle of a scale modelling experiment at present. The basic question I need to solve for myself is:

Acrylic or enamel?

I’ve hedged around the issue for some time now as I gained more experience with the airbrushes and looked at more YouTube videos. I’ve not had too much contact with other modellers but hope to remedy this later this month. But I’ve observed several things so far that disturbed me:

a. Some paint jobs were easy to do but ended up dull.

b. Some decal applications were more successful than others.

c. Some paint jobs were surprisingly delicate.

d. Some paint jobs were surprisingly rough.

Now the experienced spray painters out there will recognise some of the symptoms of not preparing well, sanding down, or wiping off enough. I’ve suspected that and mended my ways. But the business of doing a fine spray job only to end up with a rough dusty mess alerted me to the fact that I may not have it all worked out as well as I should.

I repaired to the computer and the Humbrol YouTube videos and watched them from end to end. Good productions and a comforting English voice leading you through the various steps. It made the enamel system look easy and rewarding.

Then other YouTubes dealing with the Tamiya or Mr Hobby acrylic systems seemed to make an equal point for them. These were not official productions but they were done by equally intelligent British modellers showing exactly what to do and what to expect.

The only thing to do was to experiment. I can’t afford racks of test subjects, but I did have two kits that were destined to have similar paint jobs . One was a toughy to build – the Special Hobby Anson Mk I – and one was easy – the MPM Northrop Nomad. Both are to be RCAF trainers in the characteristic Trainer Yellow with a few black accents. The complexity or fit of the airframe wasn’t going to be the test – the finishing systems were the focus of attention.

You’ll immediately see where bias can creep in. Do I like one aircraft better than the other? Is the difficulty of the physical build going to influence the assessment? Is size a factor…remembering that one aircraft is twin-engine and one is a single?

As well, is there a price differential between the two painting systems, or an operational differential? Do they both clean up the same? What’s the time line with them? Is one better for my shed in the hot Australian sun…and does this change when the cold, wet winter sets in?

The only thing to do was to check the paint racks, get the necessary colours, thinners, and cleaners, and set about testing them. Next column will start the actual story of the experiment. I’ve no idea how it will come out as it is still in progress.