Hey guys, I’m getting ready to start my first model with my new airbrush. This is my first time with an airbrush so this will probably turn out to be a disaster. Luckily, I found a 1/48 scale Tamiya Mitsubishi Zero from WWII for only $11.99 at Hobby Lobby. I bought two of them, one for practice and one for later on down the road when I know what I’m doing. If it’s ok to show progress through the message board about the model as I move along then I’d like to do that and hear some feedback about good practices or mistakes that I am making. This will probably be a really slow model since I have to finish up the last few weeks of classes and then finals, but hopefully I can find some time to learn what the heck I’m doing again.
I decided on this model because not only is it cheap but I feel like it would be easier to start out with just a solid color scheme rather than camoflouge right away. I plan on using the early model zero paint scheme (light gray).
That’s the plan so far…please let me know if I need to know anything else or any other good ideas before I dive into this bad-boy
You’ve definately come to the right forum, and you’ve picked a solid model to start with. In fact, that’s the exact plane I started with a few years ago when I jumped back into the hobby. The Tamiya A6M2 is a great build for what you’re doing and a small price to pay for developing your skills. Wise choice.
Here are my Zeros. After a few years, it was a great measuring stick to see my own progress. If you have the attitude to improve your own skill by only competing with yourself, you will admire the fantastic work on this site from some of the more seasoned modellers while not being disappointed that you aren’t at that level (yet).
Like you, I have plenty to learn here also. I’m sort of working on my Hasegawa A6M1 Zero as my first real effort in A/C. Same color too. Are you using Tamiya paints? Plenty of great tips here, I look forward to your progress.
I’m actually going to be using modelmaster enamals. I found some on sale at a local hobby store and heard they were easier to airbrush for beginners, so I thought they would lend well to this “practice” model.
If this model turns out half as nice as some of the one’s I have seen on here, I will be extremely pleased[:D]
I only use MM enamels and love the finish. Just use in a ventilated area. Go to Swanny’s website, tools & tips section, and make one of his fume cans. I have one and it works great. And unless you are spraying pure water through your AB… use a respirator along with all the stuff previously mentioned. Good luck. Post pics when you get the first coat down.
Progress pictures are certainly welcome, we would love to see your progress. Happy to give any help I can, I’m sure I’ll wind up learning from your build as well.
I have quite a few questions for all you experts around here. I haven’t began to build the darn thing because I have a test tomorrow (stupid engineering class), but I can’t keep it out of my head all the cool things I want to do (try [;)]). I’m probably getting way ahead of myself thinking about all this junk right now, but I want to plan things in my head before attempting this kit. So anywhere, here’s a list of questions and thanks in advance for all the insight.
Anyone know where I could find a resin cockpit kit for this model. The detail inside the cockpit is a little less than what I was looking for. Would photoetch be too hard to do for a beginner?
Also, as far as painting the very fine details in the cockpit, are there any tips or tricks anyone could fill me in on. Does it detract from a model to have a airbrushed cockpit with hand (brush) painted details such as the rudder pedals. i realize that dry-brusing is a good way to show instrument dials, but is it ok to brush on things such as the seat belt buckles even though the seat itself was airbrushed?
The engine cowling on the early IJN Zero’s had a semi-gloss effect to it. Also, I don’t feel comfortable painting the prop a shiny aluminium color, but would rather have a dull aluminium. What’s a good way to achieve these colors? I was thinking just paint them up with the gloss black and aluminum and then after applying a coat of future for decals, applying another coat of future with some Floquil flat finish mixed in with it. Anyone have any advise on this?
Last question…for now [}:)]. When it comes time to lay the first coat of paint down, what is the best way to mask off my canopy? I have some blue painters tape laying around, so I was thinking about applying that over the canopy and then cutting the shape out with a hobby knife. This seemed kind of risky to me though, I don’t want to etch a line into the canopy that cannot be easily removed. What’s a good way to go about this?
WHOA oleander… your head is going to explode. First things first… study for the test. Good job means more money… more money means more PE and resin details set, decals paint… you get the idea.
Not sure of the availability of Zero AM stuff, never having built a Japanese fighter. As popular as the a/c is, there must be something out there.
Don’t be afraid of PE details. There is a learning curve but it is short and shallow usually. Click the banner in my signature and go to tools and tips. Swanny’s website, on the links page, is a good source of info as well.
I like to get as many parts ready for painting as possible and AB them all at once. Sometimes the parts are molded together and need to be 2 colors. Like an IP with the rudder pedals beneath. In the case of a a/c I spray the panel black and brush the pedals chromate. Dry brushing is a technique that is easily mastered as long as you build up the color instead of going to heavy and trying to get it off. Brush painting is always needed in one place or another and with practice and the right paint consistency excellent result can be achieved. If you are planning to use a resin set, you will do some brush painting since most of the detail is molded as a single piece, after the base coat goes down there is a lot of detail that will need to be picked out with a brush, as well as dry brushing and the use of washes to highlight detail.
There are numerous methods for masking canopies. Searching the forum will give you lots of methods to choose from. Again, Swanny’s sight has a good description of where to start. I like the bare metal foil method myself, applying the self adhesive foil and cutting out the frames with a new #11 blade, but will use different methods depending on the canopy. A canopy with lots of individual lights, or panes of glass, I use the foil and cut each one. A recently complete bubble top on a P-47 I outlined the frame with very thin strips of Tamiya tape and filled in with Micro Mask liquid. I would avoid painters tape as the low tack may allow paint to bleed under the edge. You want to use a thin a tape as possible to reduce the chance of paint build up at the edges. Go with very light coats and build up the color. Don’t forget to spray the cockpit interior color first then the exterior color.
Keep asking questions… around here there is no shortage of people willing to help.
Cockpit painting: I would venture that most people who airbrush their cockpit only paint the major components with it. When you get to the pedals, switches, & belts, these item are generally painted with a fine tip brush (0 or smaller). I’m not sure how you would go about masking a buckle to be painted properly.
Semi-gloss: what you suggest works fine. Another way is to apply a satin final coat - most paint makers have gloss, satin, and matt coat finishes premixed in a bottle. Since you are going to coat the whole model with future for decaling, it doesn’t really matter if you use gloss of flat black first, as your future coat & then your satin coat will determine the ‘shininess’.
I recommend Tamiya tape over painters tape for masking canopy. To further insure paint doesn’t creep under the tape, make sure you burnish it down. You can also lay down a thin coat of future once the canopy is masked. This seals the edges. An alternative to the method you described for masking, you can mask just the horiztonal frames, paint, remove mask, and after the paint is cured, mask the vertical ones and paint. This will allow you skip the cutting part. Works well with mostly vertical/hortizonal framing canopies. Just make sure the paint is cured and you lay down thin coats to prevent buildup.
A technique similiar to the one you described is to first use thin strips to mask around the framing an then fill in the center. The definitive writeup in my opinion of this method is on Matt Swan’s site, here’s the link http://www.swannysmodels.com/Canopies.html. This minimizes cutting on the canopy.
Hey everyone, just got finished using my airbrush for the very first time on an actual model and I thought I’d post some pics and hopefully get some pointers. I think I mixed my paint a bit too thin, but I just turned down the pressure and gave it a shot. Wasn’t sure what to do about the wheel wells, but I just figured I could mask them off when I apply the aircraft coat.
Let me know what you guys think for a first try at airbrushing!
Worked on the cockpit some more and I’ll probably assemble it tonight unless there some suggestions. Sorry about the resolution of the photos, just using a cruddy digital camera (WHAT!..i’m a college student [;)]) One question, should I apply a wash before or after assembly of the cockpit? Also, what is the general procedure for applying future? Future, wash, future, dullcoat or something different?