F4U-1A Corsair by DocRob - FINISHED - Tamiya - 1/32

[yvesvidal]

It seems that the traditional decals are becoming history .....

 

Yves

[Egilman]

2 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

It seems that the traditional decals are becoming history .....

 

Yves

Chuckle, I don't see the decal printers going out of business any time soon.... Not everyone has the skills to paint insignias and technical stenciling on everything....

 

Sometimes it is just easier to decal as opposed to painting... Few can tell the difference when done properly...

[Canute]

Works great in Rob's scale of 1/32. What happens in the smaller ones? I suppose there are 1/48 stencils for the national markings, but the neat fine print markings, like to fueling and weapons racks are impossibly tiny.. I salute the fine work done on this model. 👍

[CDW]

8 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

It seems that the traditional decals are becoming history .....

 

Yves

Gotta be a hard-core modeler to go the painted insignias/stencil placards route. I watch a lot of modeling videos and I can count on one hand the ones I've seen that do markings this way. Maybe if the cost goes down a bit, more modelers may try it. The stencils sell for $35 plus postage here in the USA. I think it's a good deal when you think of the level of realism it adds, but not too many will do it.

[DocRob]

17 hours ago, Egilman said:

Very nice sequence, I remember creating these masks when friskit film became widely available, it's an involved process and takes a bit of patience, but when done right, beats all decals hands down...

Thank you Egilman and you are absolutely right, working with masks is a challenging, time consuming process, but very rewarding in the end.
I started airbrushing in the 80's, but on paper or foil, cutting all my masks for myself from frisket film. By this time, the only 'plastic thingies, I sprayed were motorcycle helmets.
There was a challenge between airbrushers, being able to cut masks from frisket film on a blown up balloon, without destroying it. I never made it .

 

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

16 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

It seems that the traditional decals are becoming history .....

 

13 hours ago, Egilman said:

Chuckle, I don't see the decal printers going out of business any time soon.... Not everyone has the skills to paint insignias and technical stenciling on everything....

 

Sometimes it is just easier to decal as opposed to painting... Few can tell the difference when done properly...

 

8 hours ago, Canute said:

Works great in Rob's scale of 1/32. What happens in the smaller ones? I suppose there are 1/48 stencils for the national markings, but the neat fine print markings, like to fueling and weapons racks are impossibly tiny.. I salute the fine work done on this model. 👍

 

6 hours ago, CDW said:

Gotta be a hard-core modeler to go the painted insignias/stencil placards route. I watch a lot of modeling videos and I can count on one hand the ones I've seen that do markings this way. Maybe if the cost goes down a bit, more modelers may try it. The stencils sell for $35 plus postage here in the USA. I think it's a good deal when you think of the level of realism it adds, but not too many will do it.

I agree with Egilman, decals will maintain the mainstay, when it comes to insignia and stencils. To my knowledge 1ManArmy is the only producer of stencil masks and they cover about 30 different planes only in 32 scale. 
There are HGW' transfers, which also look very convincing, without the typical decal issues. I used them on many different occasions and found them difficult to apply on a constant base. Some didn't adhere well and flaked off partly, ...
High quality decals do look good on a model, when applied correctly and there seem to be developments too, which make them appear more natural. I haven't tested Eduards newer decals, where they claim, you can remove the carrier film after application. If this works, it's the way to go.

Masking isn't for everyone. The casual modeler will be overwhelmed with the needed effort and discipline. It's so easy to make errors during the process. Guess how I know, having to make corrections on the stars and bars, due to not having followed the process entirely. I hate corrections and try to prepare everything in order to commit none. Errors to me are a show stopper, as the hinder my smooth work flow.

Thanks to you all for your interest in this important topic. Decaling or whatever technique to apply markings and stencils is one of the last steps in building a model and it's heart breaking to fail that late. 

 

Cheers Rob

[ChrisLBren]

This looks fantastic - I can't believe what some of you guys can do with plastic models.  Awe inspiring !!!!

[Landlubber Mike]

I've used masking sets for insignias from Montex on my F3F builds.  Was fairly easy, just have to make sure that you don't get bleeding under the mask.  I also came across these guys a few weeks ago when researching masks and decals for my upcoming Avenger builds:

 

https://kitmasx.com/

 

For what it's worth, some insignia are fairly easy to replicate via mask.  I saw a Plasmo video (I think on a Buffalo build) where he used the kit decals as a template for the US star mask.  Just put masking tape over the decal and traced out the star.  Rest of the insignia was fairly easy in that it only involved circles for the outer edge of the insignia and for the red circle in the middle of the star.

[DocRob]

20 hours ago, ChrisLBren said:

This looks fantastic - I can't believe what some of you guys can do with plastic models.  Awe inspiring !!!!

Thank you Chris, it's not that hard to do. The kit builds up easily with a certain bit of discipline. The painting is mostly a question of dedication and thoroughly planning of the process. For me it helps to have a kind of detailed picture in my head, about what I want to achieve. Then I plan the sequences, first the building in subassemblies, like engine and cockpit and last, the exterior paintjob. According to my visualized finish thing, I develop my plan, how to get there in detail. There it helps, to have some experience with the processes, to be sure, that technically, nothing goes wrong.

I'm relatively astonished, how small the advancement is, between my two Corsair builds. The first one, a Birdcage, I built more than 10years ago and it was not much worse than this one and I used about the same techniques. The Birdcage was my first airplane build after reentering the hobby and I wanted to go all out to test myself.

I assume, that except from the experience, which makes things easier, it's all about, what you are prepared to throw into a build and what your goals are with it.

 

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

14 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

I've used masking sets for insignias from Montex on my F3F builds.  Was fairly easy, just have to make sure that you don't get bleeding under the mask.  I also came across these guys a few weeks ago when researching masks and decals for my upcoming Avenger builds:

 

https://kitmasx.com/

 

For what it's worth, some insignia are fairly easy to replicate via mask.  I saw a Plasmo video (I think on a Buffalo build) where he used the kit decals as a template for the US star mask.  Just put masking tape over the decal and traced out the star.  Rest of the insignia was fairly easy in that it only involved circles for the outer edge of the insignia and for the red circle in the middle of the star.

 

I cut masks myself from different materials often but couldn't find it so easy Mike. Only cutting edges sharply with no 'overcut' is no gimmie. I used different brands of masks like Eduard, HGW, Maketar and now 1ManArmy. I used Montex masks only once and didn't like them too much. Vinyl to me is subpar material for proper masking. It stretches and even worse, it shrinks. 
For me that means, if there are quality masks available, I will use them. As I said with decals, It's normally very late in a build, when it comes ti insignia and stencils. Not a good time to fail, with all the work that went into the project.

 

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Yesterday, I finished to apply all the stencils on the wings, that were covered by other masks before. 

 

 

...and while having the Nato black in the airbrush, I added the stencils on the wheel covers.

 

 

... and then I realised, my god, I had completely forgotten to apply the 883's to the side of the fuselage. No big deal, except for covering the whole plane again, with different materials, in case of some white color bubbling somewhere unwanted. 
I also made the corrections to the stars and bars, while being on it. I think, the airbrushing phase is done so far, except for clear coats.

 

 

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Do you remember the hairspray? I covered the chipped primer with a coat of clear and applied hairspray onto it, before I airbrushed the wing color, walkways, insignia and stencils.
Now was the exiting moment to see, if it still works after so many layers of paint. I dampened the areas with water and a drop of soap and let it soak for half an hour. The paint was a bit more resistant, than the primer chipping, but it worked. Using different tools, like toothpicks, a stiff brushes and some tweezers, I got what I wanted.
Now the whole plane was covered with a clear coat as preparation for further weathering.

 

 

 

Cheers Rob

[Egilman]

Very well done, light to moderate chipping...

 

Looks real...

Edited December 12, 2022 by Egilman

[Canute]

Nicely done. Looks like a lot of the jets I flew, back in the day. Well worn.

[Landlubber Mike]

Nice Rob!!

[DocRob]

16 hours ago, Egilman said:

Very well done, light to moderate chipping...

 

Looks real...

 

16 hours ago, Canute said:

Nicely done. Looks like a lot of the jets I flew, back in the day. Well worn.

 

11 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Nice Rob!!

Thank you Gentlemen, right now, the chipping looks a bit harsh too my eye, but that's on purpose, because washes, filters and further weathering will tune it down a bit. The benefit in using masks for the walkways, insignia and stencils is, you can chip through them with the hairspray beneath. I always liked chipping best, when simulating the real thing, like tear and abrasion, instead of painting something on. I will have to do so in some spots of the fuselage, only to match the wing chipping.

 

Cheers Rob

[Old Collingwood]

Superb   work   like  its  already been  said   -   looks  so  real.

 

OC.

[DocRob]

Today, I muddied my Corsair up with Flory's dark grime wash, a clay based liquid, which I applied over the whole airframe, after adding a drop of soap for better distribution, with a flat brush and let dry for about half an hour. The stuff is dried by then and looks totally grimy and dead flat.
Then, I wiped the excess away with a dry piece of cotton cloth in the direction of the airflow and the very fine clay stays in all the panel lines and other crevices. The best part about this wash, you determine the grade of dirt or you can remove it completely wiped down with water, if something went wrong.

 

 

 

It's clearly more visible on the lighter underside, but also noticeable on the darker upper side. The good think, my pre shading is still full visible.

 

 

As a break, I made some detail painting on the landing gear, adding the brake lines and other tiny bits and pieces (not shown) and chromed the cylinders with AK's chrome tape for the first time. It worked ok, a bit more adhesion would have been great on these parts with small diameters, but it looks chrome to me, so thumbs up.

 

 

Cheers Rob

[Old Collingwood]

Amazing work.

 

OC.

[DocRob]

13 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Amazing work.

 

Thank you OC, it's a fun project and I like to build up paint and weathering in a layered fashion. The key for doing that, is work in very thin layers, not to destroy the superficial detail, which pleases the eye so much. On the wing roots, I applied, aluminum, pre shading, hairspray, interior yellow, clear, hairspray again, sea blue, black  for the markings and clear coat, nine coats in all and all the detail is still there. Multiple layers create depth, which is the goal of the process.

I'm thinking about adding another layer onto the sea blue, to enhance the depth furthermore with some oil color post shading.

 

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Some more weathering done. I've seen many corsair builds, where the whingroots were weathered and chipped like hell and the fuselage, nada, not a bit. I did some brush chipping with interior green and then added a variety of other stuff, to let especially the top color look a bit more interesting. I used AK's pencils in different grey and blue shades, creating chips and various dots everywhere. I used an old brush and dry brushed some of the intermediate blue for highlighting onto the darker blue. Then I used Tamiya's weathering pastels in different light colors and dabbed these onto the rivet lines and then brushed them smooth. This simulates an oil canning effect a bit and can best be seen in the spine section of the plane. I dabbed more pastels onto the upper parts of the fuselage to resemble sun bleached parts. Fine sandpaper was carefully used for some abrasion effects.
I like the result now and will wait for a day or two and decide then, if I find something is left out. Weathering has to be logical and well believable distributed, where it helps to lean back and evaluate a bit.
The results show better to the real eye than on the photos, but I will show some anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers Rob

[Javlin]

Getting closer and closer Rob.

[Egilman]

2 hours ago, DocRob said:

Some more weathering done. I've seen many corsair builds, where the whingroots were weathered and chipped like hell and the fuselage, nada, not a bit.

It's a common mistake seen on all too many builds.... 

2 hours ago, DocRob said:

I like the result now and will wait for a day or two and decide then, if I find something is left out. Weathering has to be logical and well believable distributed, where it helps to lean back and evaluate a bit.
The results show better to the real eye than on the photos, but I will show some anyway.

I like it too, it's very well thought out and has a scale appearance.... Well done... It's more about the look to the eye and should disappear to the camera the farther you get away from it.... Weathering is artwork and requires a feel for the effect... it's very subtle... You've got the look down, very scale, stunningly beautiful in effect...

 

A well used operational mud bird, the way they usually looked when flying from bombed up and patched dirt strips...

 

Definitely a "Honey I shrunk the Corsair" build...

 

Exquisitely well done brother and thank you for explaining and showing your technique... It's a lot of work to do a used finish on a live bird...

 

You've got it down....

 

A well deserved WELL DONE!!! It's a shame we can't put it in the gallery.... (although it is a ship of sorts {chuckle})

[Old Collingwood]

Perfect   weathering   -   it  really   looks  the  part.

 

OC.

[DocRob]

14 hours ago, Egilman said:

I like it too, it's very well thought out and has a scale appearance.... Well done... It's more about the look to the eye and should disappear to the camera the farther you get away from it.... Weathering is artwork and requires a feel for the effect... it's very subtle... You've got the look down, very scale, stunningly beautiful in effect...

 

A well used operational mud bird, the way they usually looked when flying from bombed up and patched dirt strips...

 

Definitely a "Honey I shrunk the Corsair" build...

 

Exquisitely well done brother and thank you for explaining and showing your technique... It's a lot of work to do a used finish on a live bird...

 

You've got it down....

 

A well deserved WELL DONE!!! It's a shame we can't put it in the gallery.... (although it is a ship of sorts {chuckle})

 

Thank you Egilman, I'm blushing, but am also pleased, you like my efforts. With every build, I have a certain goal in mind and in this case it was all about painting and weathering. I was bored a little about the construction phase and was looking forward to the final stages and to get he looks, like I had them imagined.

 

The airbrushing sequence plan was made long before I even started cutting plastic from the sprues. The finishing weathering touches were developed accordingly. I find it very difficult to give dark coatings a good depth and believable weathering. 

When I start a project, I try to absorb as many informations and pictures as possible to get a feel for the subject. Historical pictures are sometimes difficult to read, with strange color renditions and are often retouched (one of the first uses of airbrushes) . Actual pictures of restored builds are not better, the restauration process altered the appearance of the subject often. 
What helps me, forming a picture is what I call 'enhanced imagination'. I use all these sources, try to evaluate their correctness and analyze where they could fail. Then I add a dose of gathered experience with materials in real live, like how paint flakes, how wear shows on different material, how corrosion effects material,...

When I was young, I made 3D animations on my 486 PC and was always on the hunt to collect surface textures with an early digital camera, to let the 3D Models look realistic. I kept that open mind and 'brain collect' looks of materials and textures, which I visualize, when I start a project.

As you can see, the creative process is more or less finished with the how-to plan and the rest is applied techniques.

 

Thanks again for your encouraging words, as I'm living in a remote spot of the world with no other modelers around and only the forums for bein connected to like minded fellow modelers.

 

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

15 hours ago, Javlin said:

Getting closer and closer Rob.

 

13 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Perfect   weathering   -   it  really   looks  the  part.

 

Muchas gracias, I'm indeed seeing the finish line with this very entertaining build. I will apply a matte coat next and see, if more has to be done. 

 

Cheers Rob

[Canute]

Your weathering is superb, Rob. And your explanation of the methods you employ is also. Thank you for sharing your artistry.

Edited December 18, 2022 by Canute

[DocRob]

On 12/18/2022 at 1:10 PM, Canute said:

Your weathering is superb, Rob. And your explanation of the methods you employ is also. Thank you for sharing your artistry

Thank you Ken, I always try to learn something new with every build and like to share my experiences as much, as I like to read these of fellow modellers, which very often helped me during my builds.

 

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

An hour ago, I almost binned the Corsair. I hate fails and I hate re-dos and after removing a lot of masking material, I almost reached that point, but told myself to lean back and take a deep breath.
What happened, I don't know exactly. I had residues on all the transparent parts, which were masked with the most possible care. No bleedings, but possibly grey misted residues from the lacquer colors and their thinners, which went through the masking material. 
I also masked the radiator openings around the cowlings with blue tack, that went goo and is very hard to remove. It took about an hour to get rid of half of it.

 

 

 

The good thing, I wear a respirator mask. I don't want to know, what these stuff would have made with my brain without it.
I tried to clean the canopy with a cotton swab and wooden toothpicks and it worked luckily. The greater problem were the other transparent parts, like windscreen, lower fuselage window, and armor glass with gunsight, which were glued in place. I carefully removed them and cleaned them.

Before all these troubles, I matte coated the plane with Tamiya's flat clear lacquer, but it was still too shiny for my taste, maybe semi matte, but not flat. Out with the Pledge after drying, added 30% of Tamiya X Flat clear (never more) and sprayed again.

Now the Corsair looks like this.

 

 

 

 

To relax a bit, I continued with the undercarriage, which received some washes, followed by iron pigments rubbed on, to get a painted metal feel and finally, I had to re do the pistons, which were chrome taped. The tape is not made to adhere to small diameter parts, as it loosened itself and I had to remove it. Instead, I used my trusty Uschi chrome pigments to let them shine a bit.

The tyres were airbrushed in two different near blacks, one for the flanks and one for the running surface and than pronounced with pigments., which is my usual practice. The wheels are from Eduard and much better than these rubber thingies supplied with the kit.

 

 

 

 

Cheers Rob

 

[CDW]

I've had similar results on my clear canopy when using lacquer paint. I think it's because I had too much reducer added and it blead through the tape, not under the edges. At least that's the only reason I could think of why it happened.