Kinetic MQ-9 Reaper UAV 1/48th

[chriswil42]

Nice work.

[Bigkev]

Hi All,
A little more progress. Have now painted the propellor Polished Aluminium, as well as the interior of the sensor turret. The exhaust protector has been painted Steel, all the metal colours AK Interactive metals. I had painted the clear part gloss Black but after a thought decided to remove the paint using paint stripper, and when ready painted the reverse in Tamiya Clear Blue. I decided to represent the sensors by adding two lenses from the Little Cars range. I used 1.5mm and 2mm ones. These were seated in the turret by first drilling an appropriate hole at the rear of the sensor port recess. Glued in with superglue, the clear panel was glued in place using Hypo-GS watchmakers glue, as it is super clear, does not fog the parts. Having painted the rear face of this part Clear Blue, means I can sand the part when dry and then polish for a mirror like glass surface.
Next job for the airframe is to add the remaining sensor pod/ariels, then mask up the exhaust panel and get the upper surface paint on.
Some pictures follow, thanks for looking:-
Kevin     

[Bigkev]

A little update.
Today I removed the masking from the nose sensor turret. I then sanded back the clear plastic part to ensure it sat flush with the turret sensor recess. I then gently polished the clear part with gradual finer grades of sanding stick, until I reached the polishing stage (White side of the polishing stick). Within a short time a nice clear glass like surface was achieved.
I also added the missing radome's and ariels off the upper surface.
Next job will be painting the upper surfaces. Thanks for looking,
Kevin

[chriswil42]

Very nice Kevin.

[Bob C]

Looking good Kevin.

Bob c

[Bigkev]

Thanks chaps,
Back to it with this one.
Now painted the airframe. The upper surfaces were painted first, using Tamiya Light Ghost Grey from a rattle can. This sprays very nicely if you give lights coats until an even finish is obtained. When fully dry, the uppers were masked off and a couple coats of Intermediate Blue were sprayed on. I mixed my own shade using Tamiya Middle Blue, White, and some Tamiya Clear. My mix was roughly 30% blue, 60% White, 10% Clear thinned appropriately using Mr Hobby Levelling Thinners. Because of the Clear being added to the paint mix, I ended up with a smooth semi gloss finish.
The undercarriage bays were masked and given a blast of Tamiya White.
When I painted the airframe I painted the main undercarriage legs the same under surface colour, only to find an unnoticed seam line running the length of each leg. This was filled and sanded and will need repainting before final assembly.
Some pictures follow:-
Thanks for looking, back soon.
Kevin