discussion Airfix 1/72 Sea King

[Guest]

Jakko - Yes I've been watching that build, interesting colour for an aircraft.

Too bad I got it too dark, though

there's still the distinct possibility that I've done something badly wrong, but it's knocked my confidence in the product.

Like I said, my experience with primer on plastic kits in recent years haven’t been overly positive. Maybe I’ve been using the wrong type, or maybe I should have degreased the plastic or something, but it didn’t use to be that way.

Most of the primer came off simply by sticking tape over it and peeling it off.

At least that’s the positive side of paint not sticking well: if you want it off, it won’t be difficult

 

[stillp]

At least that’s the positive side of paint not sticking well: if you want it off, it won’t be difficult :smiling3:

:smiling::smiling:

 

[Guest]

Had my little brother round for the evening and showed him this picture of the box

He confirmed that he flew in it regularly and that particular aircraft (XZ 596) was nicknamed the crab as it always flew slightly sideways, a bit like a car with poor wheel alignment! He's going to look through his flying log for 2011 and see if there were any significant rescues that I could make a diorama of.

Rich was honoured for his significant role in the highly publicised MS Riverdance rescue which would have made a great scene, but that was 2008 so the livery was different, and until he checks he's not sure it was the same aircraft. Interesting bit of history none the less :smiling:

 

[Guest]

Canopy on. To say it was comprised of 3 pieces it almost fits :smiling5:

Going to have a go at masking and painting it along with the main body.

Also put together some sub assemblies like the undercarriage pods and the all important winch.

Working out which bits to assemble before painting and which to paint first and stick on later has been a head scratcher, but I guess that will become easier with experience. Pretty sure these pods will need to be done separately as I'll never get around all sides of them and to the airframe behind if I fit them now, especially with their support braces in the way.

There must be a dozen antennas and aerials too, I know I'll just knock them off so will fit those last. I've already broken 2 off but luckily the kit has plenty of spare seats in it and the legs are pretty much the ideal size to substitute!

 

[yak face]

Be careful with anything cellulose andy, as you know its quite strong and although a cellulose primer will really grab the plastic it can be too corrosive and cause a wrinkled effect in the surface which will show up in subsequent paint coats . The main primer i use is Halfords grey acrylic , its a bit of a bugger to use as its an aerosol so overspray in the air is a major factor , best done outside or in a dedicated s##t hole ( ie my shed!) Ive never had any problems with lifting , it gets a real grip and dries to a hard smooth surface that doesnt obliterate detail . Its even a perfect match for US neutral grey so ive used it as a finished colour on US aircraft undersides before. Ive got some stynlrez ( now called ultimate modelling products or UMP) black but i havent tried it yet , but by all accounts it needs a good few days to harden or it can come off when sanded. Cheers tony

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the heads up Tony.

I'll bear the Halfords stuff in mind as I used to use it back when I was painting computer cases and it always worked well for me, but I've taken the plunge and ordered a few Mr Hobby surfacer products to try. There are several spare parts in the kit for different versions so at least I can give them a realistic test. Will probably have to try them out under the carport until I get some extraction sorted in the shed, or maybe take them to work. As long as I remember not to bake them. I don't think the plastic will fair too well at 80C air temperatures!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Andy
I’ve used Mr Hobby Surfacer 1500 diluted with Mr Colur levelling thinners before, makes a good primer that can be sanded and respirated to remove minor surface issues.
Tamiya grey and white spray primer, when decanted for airbrush, also act well when diluted the same way.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Tim, that's good to hear.

 

[colin m]

I don't think the plastic will fair too well at 80C air temperatures!

To speed things up, in the past, I have held a model up to my halogen lights in my room, only to discover, those halogens are a bit hotter than I thought ! I don't do this any more.

 

[yak face]

To speed things up, in the past, I have held a model up to my halogen lights in my room, only to discover, those halogens are a bit hotter than I thought ! I don't do this any more.

You wouldnt catch me doing something as daft as that colin :rolling::rolling: ....remember the mig 21 https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/yaks-mig-21-eduard-1-48-slovakian-air-force.26566/post-343216

 

[Guest]

As long as I remember not to bake them. I don't think the plastic will fair too well at 80C air temperatures!

80° might just be cool enough to work: polystyrene apparently has a Vicat softening point of 90° and a glass transition point of around 100°, so chances are that at 80° it’s still hard. It would be easy to test with some spare parts and/or sprues from the kit. But I think that even if it works for one manufacturer’s kits, you’d want to test again with any other brands you intend to bake.

 

[Guest]

It was a joke Jakko, but yes, given that the air temperature of 80C normally gives a panel surface temp of 60C I think I'd probably be safe. Won't be taking the chance either way

 

[stillp]

80° might just be cool enough to work: polystyrene apparently has a Vicat softening point of 90° and a glass transition point of around 100°, so chances are that at 80° it’s still hard. It would be easy to test with some spare parts and/or sprues from the kit. But I think that even if it works for one manufacturer’s kits, you’d want to test again with any other brands you intend to bake.

I had an Eduard La-7 that went out of shape at much lower temperatures than those Jakko. I think the difference is that the Vicat point and transistion temp are characteristics of a sheet of the material, whereas we are dealing with moulded parts that have a lot of internal stresses.
Pete

 

[Guest]

It was a joke Jakko

I know it was, but I’m the kind of person who will often make a serious reply to a joke and make a joke in reply to a serious point

but yes, given that the air temperature of 80C normally gives a panel surface temp of 60C I think I'd probably be safe. Won't be taking the chance either way

You could always test it with a bit of sprue. Not that you’d need to bake paint onto a static model, of course.

 

[Guest]

Managed to get a bit done today. I work 12 hour day shifts so don't always have the time or inclination to much in an evening, but the flip side is that I work 4 days then have 4 off, so I get plenty of spare time. Hence me dipping my toe into the world of model making, to fill up some of that time, learn some new skills, and escape from the real world for a while.

Anyway, got the main rotors together. Seemed a bit geeky checking the angles but I might as well get things right where I can.

Then got some paint on them. I managed to get a bit of overspray on one of the grey blades whilst painting the solitary yellow one, but a quick touch up will see to that. Painted the rotor head black then tried dry brushing a bit of silver onto it to bring out the details.

Then spent what seemed like hours masking, and got everything primed up. My photography skills need some practice too :smiling5:

Really happy with the way the Mr Finishing Surfacer went on. It's highlighted a few imperfections in my prep work but nothing a bit of light sanding won't sort. If it dries properly overnight I'm hoping to bang the yellow on tomorrow. Judging by how the rotor blade went I'll need around 5 light coats for good even coverage, even over the white base.

 

[Guest]

Coming along nicely.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
All progressing very nicely. Good luck with the yellow. Not the best colour to get nice coverage with.
Jim

 

[Guest]

Thanks chaps.

Jim, I'm not looking forward to the yellow at all, especially since I'm new to wielding an airbrush. If it all goes terribly wrong and looks patchy I have a secret weapon.

I've brought home my mini Iwata LPH80. I'll hook it up to the big compressor and show the Sea King who's boss :smiling2:

 

[Guest]

So, it's yellow.

It actually went pretty well, even though it took a good part of the day. I ended up putting 6 light coats on altogether and followed my usual working practice of giving each coat longer to dry than the previous one. That gave me time to help the wife put some wallpaper up in the kitchen between coats :smiling5: She cut & pasted, I applied & trimmed.

I gave it about 3 hours to dry in the house, in the (occasional) sun in a window sill, then threw on 3 coats of Vallejo gloss varnish. Gave it around an hour then removed the masking before it all set too hard.

There are a few bits that need cleaning up but not too bad I reckon. I have made a boo boo with the canopy frame though. The instructions indicate that most of it is black so I masked accordingly. However looking at a few images of the real thing it seems most of the frames are in fact yellow! Oh well, should have done my research first I guess.

Will give it a few days to harden up before I start to tackle the decals and final assembly, since there is so much paint on it. I'm hoping to paint some of the black areas like around the engine exhausts rather than using decals, but will use them to create a stencil, and may even try my hand at some light weathering. Pictures show they are generally in a very clean condition but almost all show exhaust streaking down the sides, so might give that a shot.

Thanks for looking.
Andy.

 

[Guest]

That’s come out very nicely — you can certainly tell you’re used to spraying things, even if it’s on a bigger scale