James Howard flew with the American Volunteer Group “Flying Tigers” where he was credited with six victories over Japanese aircraft. He subsequently commanded the 356th Fighter Squadron in England. On 11JAN44 his squadron was escorting B-17s over Germany when the formation was intercepted by Luftwaffe fighters. After downing a Me-110, he found himself alone as […]
Arma Hobby North American P-51B of Major James H. Howard in 1/72 Scale
Lest We Forget
Day 97
In retrospect…
Problem with airbrushing
Using a paintbrush with diluted acrylic paint
Deciding to removed the paint
Progressing slowly
Using lots of isopropyl alcohol
Using an old toothbrush for scrubbing
Almost finished
Airbrushing second time around
Finding out I had the wrong color
Not perfect, but I sure hope I have learned a few things.
Next time…?
Removing the masking tape from the windshield and the canopy.
Lest We Forget
Day 96
Last Friday afternoon I had stepped outside my comfort zone again and I felt more confident with using my airbrush.
I should have stopped at the first sight of the color I was spraying.
Vallejo USN Sea blue…
This is what I should have used, Vallejo USN Glossy Sea blue…
The color just wasn’t right and I knew from the start I had the wrong color, but I kept on spraying and spraying…
I checked the bottle and sure enough I had chosen the wrong sea blue. I grabbed a paintbrush and tested Vallejo Glossy Sea Blue.
I decided then to stop testing and sleep on it and let everything dry.
I can’t remember if I had shared this.
https://mikesresearch.com/2020/06/28/grumman-f9f-panther-jet/amp/
Lest We Forget
Day 95
Last Thursday morning I had stepped outside my comfort zone again.
I had bought Tamiya tapes last April at JacHobby, my local hobby shop.
1mm, 2mm and 3mm Tamiya tapes…
Stepping outside my comfort zone I started experimenting with masking canopies.
I realize I still need to experiment more especially with the cockpit windshield curved frames.
At various points during my articling year, I found myself repeatedly hitting my head on my desk. As it turned out, this was common amongst frustrated law students and easily explained those bruised and flattened foreheads. Another common thing law students run into is what I call that ‘ol codger lawyer. That guy (and it […]
Only two things will make you better modeler — Model Airplane Maker
Lest We Forget
Day 94
Late Wednesday afternoon after setting up my workstation and testing my airbrush, I had decided to go all in with the primer.
I had used Vallejo Primer straight from the bottle without adding thinner.
Tests were conclusive…
Excited I went all in again after the F9F Panther.
Lest We Forget
Day 93
Last Wednesday afternoon I had set up my workstation and started stepping out of my comfort zone.
However it didn’t go as I had planned and stumbled a little.
I was experimenting the paint and thinner ratio following the advice I was given by a reader.
Hi Pierre:
Best wishes for your airbrushing tests! I’ve been using Vallejo’s primers for a while and although they are airbrush ready, I always thin them down a bit. Nowadays, I usually use their airbrush urethane thinner (from their premium airbrush color range), but in the past, I got good results thinning them down with just water – a small amount, just enough to make the paint flow better, as it will atomize better.
Cheers
I might have been a bit too liberal with the thinner.
Take a closer look…
Next time I will be measuring more precisely how much thinner I will be adding.
Spoiler?
https://amateurairplanes.wordpress.com/2018/05/27/keep-on-keepin-on/
That was the last post of Amateur airplanes. I have no idea why he had stopped.
My Forgotten Hobby owes a lot to this modeler mostly building in 1/72 scale.
I have read all his articles he posted and I miss what he was building and the problems he was solving.
Lest We Forget
Day 92
There are more important things in life than the problems I have encountered with my forgotten hobby.
However…
Comment
Hi Pierre:
Best wishes for your airbrushing tests! I’ve been using Vallejo’s primers for a while and although they are airbrush ready, I always thin them down a bit. Nowadays, I usually use their airbrush urethane thinner (from their premium airbrush color range), but in the past, I got good results thinning them down with just water – a small amount, just enough to make the paint flow better, as it will atomize better.
Cheers
I had invested lots of money since I had started using my Badger Airbrush bought in the 1980s. Or was it in the late 70s?
I had an old compressor which is still working fine, but I had since added a regulator thinking it would be solving the problem I was having.
I had invested in a spray booth because I couldn’t use my airbrush indoors during winter time which lasts quite a long time where I live.
Then I had bought Vallejo Primer thinking it would solve another problem I was having.
I should have stopped right away when I saw the results, but I didn’t and I proceeded to paint the F9F Panther sea blue anyway with a paintbrush.
I had to remove the paint and start all over again.
I hope I have learned my lesson and start practicing.
Next time…
My Forgotten Hobby V 