Given that you got the ship in AND successfully raised the masts, I’d say the score is now Man 2 - Model 1. 👍

Well done Glen!

Sorry to hear of the mishap with the masking. One trick you might try “next time” is to paint a clear coat along the edge of the masking prior to your colour. That will prevent the bleeding/wicking of the colour and any bleed will be the clear coat.

This should be an interesting project Jeff. I’ve grabbed a front row seat.

I’ll be interested to see your take on this model Mark, so I’ll come along for the ride. Plus, someone might have mentioned you have a well-stocked bar in the corner……

Looking good Mark - I hope it's not too long before we see more of this one. I'm sure you'll enjoy the break while you do the Sphinx.

Thanks Paul and Craig.

Craig - after much experimenting I found that the trick with the Stynylrez was to use a 0.5mm needle, with air pressure at 25-30psi and paint flow reduced to a bare minimum. Then, as Kurt and others have suggested, spraying multiple light coats (in the one session). It seems that this combination of the three factors (needle size, air pressure and paint flow) are needed to get a nice smooth application without blocking up the airbrush. It took me a while, but I'm pretty confident with it now and it really does produce a nice even, smooth and durable finish that can actually be sanded if you so desire (unlike some other acrylic primers that shall remain nameless!).

For cleaning the airbrush, although you can use water, IPA and/or acrylic airbrush cleaner, I've found the quickest and most effective is to use some lacquer thinner (generic from the hardware store). Of course, you need to take the appropriate precautions with this, but if you're spraying lacquer paints as I am anyway, then you've already got these precautions in place.

I mangled to catch up with the recordings of both this and Kurt's photography workshop over the last few days. Well done and thank you Kurt and Toni for sharing your knowledge and experience.

Great to hear that your Bluenose is once again underway. Looking good.

Well, the mail system has finally caught up and I at last have some progress to report...

Paint Trials – Completed

 The paint trials turned into something of an ordeal. Much research, watching YouTube videos, and a PM conversation with Kurt Van Dahm while waiting on several deliveries of paint and assorted supplies, including a new airbrush…

I was keen to try using the Stynylrez in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions – that is, by using a minimum of a 0.5mm needle. What better excuse to buy a new airbrush? After some research, I settled on the Procon Boy PS290 from the Mr Hobby range. It has a ‘gun’ style trigger, and I also bought the aftermarket handle that makes it more comfortable to hold. I’ve read (though I can’t verify) that these airbrushes are made in the same factory as the Iwatas, at a significantly lower end cost. I have to say, I’ve been very pleased with it.

Another thing I learned watching YouTube was the value of using plastic spoons as test mules for paint. They have a decent area to show the colour, without being so large as to waste paint, and they have a ready-made handle to hole while painting. The challenge was sourcing them! Not so long ago, these would have been in abundant supply in local supermarkets but not anymore as they have all gone with eco-friendly bamboo etc. I did manage to find some online, quite inexpensively, but the minimum order was 144 (although that was made of three packs of 48 spoons – go figure!).

I used quite a bit of my Zero red paint and was unable to obtain any more – the one Australian importer has been out of stock of a lot of the Zero paints for some time now. I was concerned that I would run out of this colour before finishing the model, so I needed to find an alternative in ready supply. That led me to discovering the SMS range of paints. These are actually an Australian brand, developed by a modeller for modellers. I bought a bottle of their Premium Red, and it looks to be the perfect shade – happy days! I also discovered that MIG/AMMO paints manufacture Alclad paints under licence from Alclad and I was able to obtain some “Polished Brass” under this brand name.

I was very keen to obtain some Stynylrez in the colours of Dull Pink and Pale Mustard (actually a yellow). I was unable to source the Pink individually (out of stock everywhere) but did manage to find it in a mixed dozen small bottles – an expensive way to obtain it, but it also gave me a few other options for down the track as well as extra white, black, and grey. I did manage to find a solo bottle of the Pale Mustard from yet another supplier, so eventually was able to continue the paint trials.

So now the paint trials continued in earnest. This included perfecting my technique for laying down the primer – my thanks to Kurt for his advice via PM exchanges here. I must have used about half of my stash of 144 spoons during these trials, trying to find the right combination of primer and colour coat. The picture below shows some of the final results. The top row is some of the primers. From left to right: Stynylrez Dull Pink, Pale Mustard, Oceanic Blue (I just wanted to see what this one looked like for a future model), and Alclad Gloss Black base. I tried the Stynylrez Gloss Black but didn’t like it as much as the Alclad.

The bottom row are my final colour choices for this model. From left to right SMS Premium Red over Stynylrez Dull Pink, SMS Gun Metal over Alclad Gloss Black, Alclad/Ammo Polished Brass over Alclad Gloss Black, and Alclad Copper over Alclad Gloss Black. All the metal colours have been clear coated with Alclad Aqua Gloss in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. The Red has been given a coat of Alclad Clear Kote Light Sheen (I was after a satin finish for this).

It was the better part of a month’s work – trial, re-order, trial, etc to arrive at this point.

And here are the actual parts for the Mainframe painted in their final livery. The biggest challenge here was masking the mainframe itself to separate the red and brass colours. A little patience and a lot of Tamiya tape and it all went well. Photographing the painted parts was also a challenge and I'm afraid this picture doesn't really do them justice. I've watched Kurt's presentation from his workshop recently and I think I need to do some more experimenting with photography!

Hopefully, the build will progress a little more quickly from here!

Hey Slog,

Nice to see you back at the bench. Hopefully, with the new job we’ll see some more regular updates of your fine build.

Congratulations on completing an outstanding build Ryland. You can be justifiably proud of your achievement. 

Thanks Craig and welcome aboard. Progress is being held up at the moment waiting on delivery of more paints for testing. The COVID lockdowns give us more time for hobbies, but at the same time they slow down the mail system considerably (mainly due to overload from all the people with more time on their hands - sort of a Catch 22 situation really!).

Welcome aboard Gary. The paint trials continue. I’m still waiting on another delivery this week. Hope to have the paints sorted out by this weekend.

Wow! You had me holding my breath for a while there Glen. Glad you were able to recover the situation. Hope it all goes well with the next attempt.

Nicely done Andrew. I’ll bet there were some nervous moments in that little job!

A lucky escape Ryland! Glad to hear no significant damage was done.

Congratulations Alan! Very glad to see that your perseverance has paid off so well.

Glad to be able to help Glen. The finished ship is looking good. Can’t wait to see her go into the bottle.

Thanks Kurt - just registered. 😊

On 8/6/2021 at 3:02 AM, kurtvd19 said:

Space is limited, and advance registration is required

Thanks for confirming the recording Kurt. If space is limited for the live event, won’t registering take up some of those spaces unnecessarily if we only plan to view the recording? An announcement here when the recording is available to members would surely suffice?

Sorry to be a PITA - just looking for the best outcome for all.

Glen,

You might try dabbing some thin CA directly to the end of the thread and carefully rubbing it in. This will give the thread end a solid “needle” like form that may help with threading it through those tiny holes. Once threaded, you can snip off the hardened end.

On 8/6/2021 at 3:02 AM, kurtvd19 said:

NRG members can typically view a recording of the workshop later.

Kurt,

Not sure what you mean when you say "can typically view...."

Will this workshop be recorded? If so, do we need to register first in order to be able to view the recording? And will you post info on how to access the recording after the event? Those of us challenged by substantially different time zones would appreciate the opportunity to see the workshop without having to be up in the middle of the night.....

Don't mean to sound narky, but the info provided above is a little vague.

Thanks Popeye - I do believe I already have some of the cement/glue. 😊

Looking good Glen. Your log prompted me to drop a heavy hint to my wife as I have a birthday coming up in a few months time….😁

Looking god Bill. For boat name graphics, have a look at Callie Graphics (https://callie-graphics.com). I used hers for my Dumas build. She is great to deal with, will design to your specs, send you proofs to approve prior to production, and her service is second to none.