What's on my desk? Part 115.
Good morning,
This weekend, the 20th/21st, it's the 'Warm Welkom Weekend' in Mechelen. There's a competition for best shop window going and I've registered for it. If you vote, you can win Mechelenbonnen, if I win I get some extra marketing from the city. But in any case, I'm already mentioned on the flyers, so I'm happy with that!
I've got 4 models to show you this week.
The Viggen underside is (mostly) done. I first sprayed a thin layer of Mig 208. That was the colour I used during the airbrush workshop and I wanted to make sure the entire underside received the same first coat, before switching to Mig 203, which is the more correct colour for the plane. I misted another fine overall layer, then did a more localized spray over the middle of panels:
The shading effect I showed in the previous blog is now a lot more subtle, but still visible. One thing I didn't see at first (probably due to insufficient lighting) is that there are a few areas where the black or even the white primer is still showing through. I'll have to make a few small corrections.
I masked off the nose already. I found that masking a cone works better from the narrow side, so I'm painting the black nose first, so can mask it off easier for the rest of the painting process.
While we're on the aircraft, I've primed the Bloch as well.
Here's one thing that should be included by default for all aircraft kits: pre-cut canopy masks.
I think I've showed this before, but the best way to use these is to peel off the surrounding frame first so you can easily see the separate panels:
Now, it would help if the stickers actually fit nicely; I had to re-make some of the masks myself...
I just now realized the kidney shaped part in between the rear window stickers is meant for the landing light cover. I'll have to install that now, before continuing with the paint.
I stuck some tape around the engine cowl and filled the front with a piece of packing foam (never throw away packing foam! It has a million uses!):
The gear legs have a weird way of attaching. They fit into notches on the underside of the wing, not onto the gear bay. Luckily it all needs to be the same colour, so I could fix them before painting, ensuring a better bond for the cement:
The Ford Focus then. I finally got around to correcting the small damages the decals suffered. I found somewhat-matching colours for the dark and light blue. Next up is a good layer of Satin varnish, then masking and hoping the red paint goes on well.
Finally, the Minerva is finished. I gave it a good layer of pigments out of my dirt box, then installed the wheels. If you are careful, you can fix the hubcaps to the axle and leave the front wheels loose-ish to spin. This doesn't work for the rear wheels, but I needed them 'working', so I drilled a small hole, inserted a small length of brass tube and glued that to the hubcap. This way I can still turn the wheels in order to apply pigment around the road contact surface.
I also installed the machine gun and gun shield, and fixed the carbide lamp. This one has just one attachment point, on the left side, so I used a dab of super glue to make it sit correctly.
I made a makeshift axle for the spare wheels using a piece of toothpick. This way I don't have to take the risk of glueing the tires and having glue stains visible.
Here's a top view, showing off the wood floor:
Still some tiny corrections to do, but overall: it's finished!
One piece of advice if you're building this one: make sure you clean up the radiator top very carefully, removing the seam line and sanding it down perfectly smoothly. It's a prominent feature and with the brass/copper colour it really stands out.
Very very nice kit overall. Having built a Nieuport from CSM I already knew they are a worthy successor to Wingnut Wings. This little armoured car just reinforces that opinion.
See you next week!