Not of my usual 'Gentlemen's scale' this 1/48 scale Academy kit is one the two that Tracy won on the tombola at Keighley a couple of years back. Consisting of 8 sprues of grey plastic. 1 clear, an 8 page booklet and decal choice of two airframes. I'd made a start by marking up the instructions as to the colours needed on the parts. Neil has kindly lent me a book he reviewed on the F-86 which is coming in handy.
This should be an interesting change for you. Watching with interest
Definitely a change for you Chris.
Cockpit assembled and painted. The instructions call for a dark grey but photos show it more of a medium colour so I used Vallejo Medium Grey followed by detailing in black and red. I don't usually put pilots with my aircraft but as these are so well detailed I decided to build and paint them. The photo shows them part finished using Humbrol. Tamiya and Vallejo paints. Again I digressed from the instructions as Korean War pilots used a combination of new issue and exisitng WWII gear. Online photos showing how much variation there is.
With the cockpit fitted the fuselage was joined up followed by the wings, tailplanes and a couple of hatches which sat proud and needed sanding down. Gaps were treated to Mr Surfacer 1000 and sanded before a coat of Tamiya Semi Gloss was applied. Another layer of MS 1000 has been applied with PPP in places ready for another coat of Black.
Are you enjoying the larger scale?
Looks cool in black.
It's interesting working in this scale. Parts are detailed and go together well but any flaws are so, so obvious so perseverance is the order of the day.
There's a set of decals which include an overall red one Chris. That would probably be as much of a challenge as getting natural metal right.
Natural metal finishes are always difficult. But with good preparation like you are doing will give you the basis for an excellent result.
Are you using the kit decals? or some aftermarket examples?
I'm using the kit decals Kev. Yet another rendering of 'Mike's Bird' if all goes well. I'm in the process of seeing which of the various paints I have looks best for the metal finish. My Vallejo Metallic Silver a non-starter, it 'spotted up' when trying to apply.
I normally use Alclad II or AK Metallics, but I think that Tamiya AS-12 is also a really good silver. It comes in a mini spray can, and gives a great result straight from the can.
I initially used Vallejo Silver but it didn't look shiny enough so tried their Steel which appears to match the finish of some of the photos I'm referencing from.
That looks about right Chris. Will you be shading some panels in....?
Yes Kev, there's some which are gunmetal and a few which look like a pale aluminium?
Very good, I think that the thinner gauge metal panels were generally lighter and brighter in appearance. So generally the leading/ trailing edges, removable panels and the like. Key is restraint rather than a patchwork quilt effect.
Looking great Chris.
Using photos from the book Neil lent me as reference panels were masked off and painted using Tamiya Matt Aluminium, Vallejo Chrome, Gunmetal and a mix of Gunmetal and Steel. As a coat of Klear will be applied for decalling then the Matt paint will 'gloss up'. Details in the airbrake housings have been picked out using Vallejo Chrome for the piping and Black for the connections etc. Prior to masking and painting the undercarriage was fitted and the only problem I had was the landing light panel infront of the nosewheel which needed trimmimg to fit. I've made a start on painting the nose cone yellow, which requires patience!!
You can see the variation in shades well.
Nice panel shades Chris
Great Chris just watch out for Migs
Nice work Chris.
The trolley used when removing the tail section was painted using Vallejo Steel amd Black followed by Humbrol Yellow and was built up during the recent PlayDay. The kit decals are a mixed bag, the main markings are thick, some have split and grab when being applied, Those and the smaller ones subsequently move when I try to bed them in. The yellow Theatre Identification Bands in particular were difficult to position and need(ed) lots of setting solution to get them to bed in and there are gaps which will need touching up. The decal instructions show where things should go but this doesn't always work out so some leeway has been used.
Looking very Sabre(ish) though.........
Keep at it, it'll turn out okay.
Looks good though Chris.
All the decals now on, that's about 10hrs work. As stated previously some would grab straight away but then move if you breathed on them. A few more broke prior to fitting. More setting solution applied and once dry I'll add a coat of Klear then do the paint touch-ups needed, that way I shouldn't get any more movement when holding the model.
Looking the part now.
Looking Great chris.
Excellent work Chris.
I ordered some Vallejo Deep Yellow for the nose but it isn't quite a match for the Theatre stripes so I'll put that down to wear in combat!! The black stripe on the nose is a decal which followed the course of things and broke in several places so touch ups were required as in a few other places. Then it was time to fit all the parts left off to prevent breakages such as the pitot tube, fuel dump pipe etc. The pilot was added and the canopy afixed with Elmo's Purple in case I want to reposition it at some point. I'm now calling a close to this build, not perfect but more things learnt along the way.
great
Looks great Chris.
A really nice result. Well done.
Thanks for the positive comments.