Model Fleet: Endless Flight Deck - The Excruciating Details: KIT 2

Endless Flight Deck - The Excruciating Details: KIT 2

Posted by Matty on February 17, 2008, 0:23:08, in reply to "UPDATE 2/15/08: The Endless Flight Deck (paint job)"
Message modified by board administrator February 17, 2008, 0:31:56

Of the 7 tries I had to plow through before getting the result I really wanted, four were performed on a second flight deck, pilfered from an identical, backup kit. (Not to worry; that kit is slated to get bashed into Soryu.) Still, below I document exactly what was tried on this deck - what didn't work, and exactly why - because, to mangle the quote from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: it is important that these brave experiments shall not have failed in vain.

ATTEMPTS II through IV: Impatience and Stupidity - a Bad Combination

Click on Image to EnlargeThese are the pigment applications for Attempts 2 (top), -3 (center) and -4 (bottom); they are a pretty good shorthand look at both the pigments and underlying bases used for these runs. Note the white bases in the first two were from before I corrected my target wood color from the very light, Hinoki Cypress to the substantially darker and richer-colored, Ancient Pine.

ATTEMPT II
BASE (sprayed; Dried 45 minutes or less):Testors Flat WhiteImpatient - and stupid; the base must be allowed to dry at least overnight.

PIGMENTS (brushed [Sable]; Dried 15 minutes):-ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)
-MIX:
33% ModelMaster SAC Bomber Green (FS34159)
33% ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)
33% ModelMaster Olive Drab (FS34087)
WASH (Mix):14% Testors Gloss Yellow (1214)
14% ModelMaster Afrika Mustard (FS30266)
14% ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)
57% mineral spirits
OUTCOME: Because base insufficiently dried, everything dissolved about 90% completely, blending into a tan mess which can only be described as "mud".

ATTEMPT III
BASE (sprayed; Dried 4 hours):Tamiya Flat White (TS-27)Not quite as dumb as it looks (though this should have been tried on scrap plastic sheet instead); Tamiya white was substituted for the Testors, now used up. Tamiya paints dry far faster and are also not soluble in mineral spirits, so 4-hour drying time was adequate.

PIGMENTS (brushed [Sable]; dried 45 minutes):-ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)
-MIX:
33% ModelMaster SAC Bomber Green (FS34159)
33% ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)
33% ModelMaster Olive Drab (FS34087)
WASH (Mix):14% Testors Gloss Yellow (1214)
14% ModelMaster Afrika Mustard (FS30266)
14% ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)
57% mineral spirits
OUTCOME Because Tamiy base did not merge with pigments, nor absorb mineral spirits, the wash was excessive, dissolving and floating so much of the pigments that all mixed and became muddy.

ATTEMPT IV
BASE (sprayed [pipette]; dried overnight; Mix):33% Testors Gloss Yellow (1214)
33% ModelMaster Camouflage Gray (FS36622)
33% Lacquer ThinnerAgain, just stupid; purely out of habit I thinned with lacquer thinner instead of mineral spirits.

PIGMENTS (brushed [Sable]; dried 50 minutes):-ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)
-MIX:
50% ModelMaster Camouflage Gray (FS36622)
50% ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)Introducing Camouflage Gray created a pigment almost as light as the base - not good.

WASH (Mix):14% Testors Gloss Yellow (1214)
14% ModelMaster Afrika Mustard (FS30266)
14% ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)
57% mineral spirits
OUTCOME: Too-light pigment created muddy appearance. Experimentation with stroking using toothbrush abraded the lacquer-bearing base, causing it to wrinkle and, in some spots, even separate.

ATTEMPT V: Fewer Screwups = Half-Decent Result
UNDER-BASE (sprayed; Dried 1.5 hours):
Tamiya Flat White (TS-27)
BASE (sprayed [pipette]; dried overnight; Mix):43% Testors Gloss Yellow (1214)
14% ModelMaster Dark Tan (FS30219)
43% mineral spirits
PIGMENTS (brushed [Sable], applied light; dried 1 hour):-ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)
-ModelMaster Dark Tan (FS30219)Pigments allowed to dry too long. Also forgot to photograph this step.

WASH (Mix):14% Testors Gloss Yellow (1214)
14% ModelMaster Afrika Mustard (FS30266)
14% ModelMaster Dark Tan (FS30219)
7% ModelMaster Light Earth (FS30140)
64% mineral spirits

Click on Image to EnlargeFinal color nice, but overdried pigments took excessive stroking with brush to redissolve. That, and lack of adhesion to Tamiya base allowed blend to become muddy, necessitating careful rinse w/clean mineral spirits and wipe, before resuming blend - without benefit of dissolving base; to end both darker and muddier than desired. Appearance acceptable, but far less than optimal.

And that's how not to do this paint job! Still, all these lessons are of value, at least to me - and apparently I'm the one who most needs to learn them, too…

Cheers,

-Matty