Weathering the Zero and Final Assembly

I've been struggling to write a good introduction for this post just like most posts. There it was, the introductory sentence.

This post will cover the final weathering and assembly of the Zero as the title previously indicated. The Zero was already heavily weathered for its paint job, so there wasn't a ton to do in the way of post decal weathering. I'm sure there could have been, but I'm not that savvy in those dark arts as of yet. Oils always take forever to dry, not that they have been holding up posts, but it seems the final stages really drag on because of it. Here are the last few major bits of work on the Zero.

I used Mig's Dark Brown wash for the panel lines...maybe, I don't remember now. I didn't want to coat the model as the surface wasn't all that smooth after my primer debacle, so removing it would have been a challenge even after the gloss coats.

I spent quite a bit of effort pushing the decals into the panel lines. I'll be focusing on that again in the future.

The panel lines were cleaned up and I added Winsor Newton Yellow Ochre to simulate fading on certain panels. I saw this method in the FAQ Aircraft book, but it didn't really work out for me. You can't see any of it now, but maybe I'll try this technique again in the future.

More of the Yellow Ochre that didn't pan out. I have the pictures, I might as well use them!

In some reference photos I saw there was some considerable filth in these areas. I thought I would try a dot filter with different oil paints; Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre, and Burnt Sienna. It didn't quite work the way I expected, but it turned out okay in the end.

This is when I realized, "Hmm, maybe too thick?" I just continued to wipe it until it reached an acceptable level.

Brownish-yellowy stuff.

The dry-fitted engine.

The cowl and prop dry fitted. The fit is so tight, I didn't end up gluing these parts. Plus it gives me an opportunity in the future to showcase the engine.

Slowly unmasking the windows.

I'll leave the remainder for the final reveal pictures in the next post.

Here is that oil weathering, it toned down quite a bit as I cleaned it off.

That's all for this week. The next post will be the last for this project. See you then.

The Zero: Painting Bits and Decals

I suppose it's been nearly two months since there has been any update on the progress of the Zero, at least in the form of posts that is. Here are the some of the little bits and decals for the Zero. Compared to some model kits, there really aren't a ton of fiddly bits that need to be glued on at the final assembly stage, which is kind of nice. Here are most of those bits and the decals.

I applied some Maskol to the edges on the back of the propeller before painting the Aircraft Interior Black.

The rear of the prop after removing the Maskol.

Just as a refresher, I primed the wheels with AK Gray primer, and painted the Aluminum color. I know I used a Tamiya acrylic, maybe it wasn't aluminum, but I really don't care for it as it looks too sparkly to me. Anyhow, I gloss coated the wheels with Alclad Aqua Gloss before applying some straight paint thinner around the rims. I then touched un-thinned paint to it so it would flow around the rim. I did that a couple of times to build it up and spread it from the rim. I also lightened the flat black with some white.

From there, I just painted the wheels keeping away from the rim. I think these are the best wheels I've ever painted! They are pretty near flawless, even in real life.

The otherside. Zoom in, I dare you.

The decals were applied with Micro Sol and Micro Set. It didn't seem right to have flawless looking decals on a plane that was so chipped up. When the decals were soft, I poked at them with a toothpick or a knife blade.

Another thing that I saw in the FAQ book by AK was using a watercolor pencil to simulate fading on the decal itself. It worked okay and was a slightly noticeable in real life. However, after the last dull coat it is hardly noticeable. I'll have to experiment more with this in the future.

Decals applied to the prop. I had one of the red stripes lift on me after I applied the Micro Set. The decal was then too soft to maneuver without damage. I just had to accept fate and move on.

The last shot of applied decals.

I believe that is going to be all for this week. Now I just need to motivate myself to write the last two posts. See you next week! Maybe.

Thing Two's 1/72 P-51D Mustang Part 3 - The Final Chapter

Here is the gripping conclusion to Thing Two's snap together Mustang. After having it sit on the TV stand for about a week, we (I) thought it looked a little too clean.

Here is the completed model, like it just rolled off the factory assembly line. A terrible, terrible factory assembly line.

Enough of that. Let's dirty it up!

I pulled out my Tamiya Weathering set and let him have at it with the soot pastel. Here he is adding the exhaust stains.

Adding some smoke streaks to the guns.

We used the silver artist pencil to add chipping. Random chipping in odd places? Whatever.

Completed soot effects.

Uniform silver chipping spots on the prop? Sure.

That's that. Here is a little recap about the kit itself.

Seam lines? Everywhere.
Paint job? Well it was $9.
Kit quality? I guess it looks like a Mustang.
Ease of build for a six year old? Somewhere between really good and great.

Thing Two says: "Thank you for reading my posts. When can I do another model?"

A Spitfire PR.IG Quickie

Just a quick update this week on the PR.IG Spitfire.

Glued the fuselage halves with some Extra Thin.

I added some Mr. Dissolved Putty to the seams before sanding down.

Since I will be adding "patches" via paint, I filled the gun ports so it won't look weird.

Horizontal stabilizers with molded on elevators.

I want this model to have a little more static action, so after about 5-10 minutes going across the seam with an X-Acto knife, it finally separated.

In order to make sure the elevators are at the correct angle, I busted out the gifted protractor. Thanks crazy cat lady!

I wanted the elevators to be at a 30° down angle, so I created a 150° obtuse triangle. I don't think I have used the term obtuse triangle since high school!

I made three.

I cut the triangles out of sheet styrene (plastic). I heated up a few needles with a candle and it pierced right thru like butta.

This will set both elevators at 30°. I haven't quite figured out how to re-attach the elevators yet.

The PR.IG had a bubble canopy with side blisters for the pilot to have greater visibility. This is a vacu-formed canopy and I needed to cut out the middle section. I used a fine tip pen, (a black Gundam pen) to outline where I thought the seams were.

The cut wasn't exactly even in some spots.

I used a medium sanding stick to even out the ends.

That's all there is for now, I really have no more Spitfire progress at the moment, but I imagine it will get stretched out over the next few months like most of my builds. Have a Happy Friday peoples!