Category: Painting
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The Positive And Negative Mask
If there is one thing that model airplane building brings you to, it is the knowledge of how to do masking. You may do it badly or well, but you will be doing it for nearly every model you work on. I’ve just been taping up the Grumman Duck and it has prompted me to set…
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Bell Iroquois – Part Three – The Local
When my friend Terry paid his bill in model helicopters I was initially going to make a yellow and red RCAF rescue – sauvetage machine of the modern era – the bright colours were the attraction. The Italeri kit is an excellent structure to do this on – it fit together with minimal trimming of…
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The Advantage Of Close Focus
Close focus is a subject that I take particular interest in with my photography columns – since I make scale models, I like to take pictures of them. I have special lenses for this, and lots of sneaky photographer’s tricks to make things look bigger than they really are. But it also applies even before…
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Lavotchkin 5-FN – Part Three – Decalling The White Bird
The paint job on the Lavotchkin was simplicity itself – if you discount the fact that you spend a lot of masking tape doing it. Fortunately the bigger bits can be done with the cheap DIY store stuff instead of the thin hobby shop rolls. They do the details. Now, remember I was nervous about…
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The Five Dollar Model
Earlier in this column’s history I introduced the Glorious $ 5 Plan – the construction of an ICM Polikarpov Chaika in 1:72 scale that only cost me $ 5 to do. It was a one-off opportunity provided by a discard box sale at the annual WASMEX show…and you can be certain that I’m going to hover…
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The Benefit Of Hindsight
We are often told of the benefits of hindsight. I wonder – no-one I know has a picture of their backside on their wall. Mostly it is faces and family groups. In fact, I don’t think I can remember seeing a family group from the rear. So I suspect the old saying is bunk. There is,…
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The Eternal Question…
To spray or brush. Whether ’tis nobler to dilute the paint and shoot it onto the tiny row of parts in a minute and then spend 5 minutes and 10ml of cleaner getting the airbrush clean again, or spend ten minutes brush painting the little suckers…and the next week trying to ignore the brush marks.…
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” The Hot Wash Up “
An expression taken from the military – it is the quick analysis of some exercise or battle that has just taken place. It’s related to the cold wash-up, which is a more detailed discussion of the event undertaken later when more information is to hand…and blame can be laid more accurately. In the Little World…
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Boulton Paul Defiant – Part Three – We Appear To Have A Winner
I am always surprised by the end of a build – it seems to come so suddenly. Of course, this is because I have been beavering away in the background doing sub-assemblies while waiting for paint layers to set, and the final clapping on of these portions is quite a quick thing. One moment it…
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Boulton Paul Defiant – Part Two – The Paper Work
Every kit I get has some form of paper work associated with it. Mainly instructions, painting sheet, and decals. The BP Defiant is a good example of current Airfix practice. The Instructions these days can be quite complex – if the makers are good communicators. This can depend upon whether they are a large firm…
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