This is the large trumpeter kit. Testors dark flanker blue turned out to be a bust. WAAAAY too dark. More of a German toned Mig-29S color. I had to replace it with good ol bright blue.
Here is a nice Georgia thunderstorm forming over my house. A good way to choose a color scheme.
Day one: Off to a slow start but a good one. I etched the details using an exacto knife and NO DOGS AROUND ME!
Day 2. Testors… you let me down. The dark blue is just too dark.
Day 3: AH! Refreshing! Fixed the dark. I had to choose a bright blue vs. faded. I like brand new coats so I’m going to make this bird look like it just pulled out of the plant.
Day 4: some touch ups. Added some more medium blue close to the cockpit and fixed some issues.
Everything’s better when wet! I decided to add a trial gloss coat to it just to see if she looked more realistic. Looks nice! Russian aircraft paint can be quite shiny when clean I’ve seen in journals. Trying to emulate that.
I still have a LONG way to go but I’m making progress!
Tomorrow… more touchups and fixes. I plan to do a wash when completed. Let me know what y’all think!
I really like the color scheme. Your doing a terriffic job thus far. I have been fortunate enough to see a few real ones and your doing them justice. I always liked the lines of the SU-27 and wondered if it and the Fulcrum preformed as good as they look.
Ventral side with semi-gloss. Touchups to do on the dorsal side tomorrow. I have some air sensor repair to do after some broke but was going to replace them with pins anyway. Can’t wait to do the wash!
The wash sounds pretty stout. I would test it out on a none model just to gage the effects. Usually an acrylic wash over dried enamels is ok but if the thinner is the same as the paint used it can get ugly. I really like the paint scheme so would hate to see it get washed out. Testing is easy and can save your work even if you use an old model or even a plastic box lid.
Future is acyrlic and testers gloss / dull coat is laquer. Future is very forgiving but the laquers can react and crack/bubble the paint if it is not really dry. Most of the time there is no problem but once in a while it gets nasty. Really when trying washes and overcoating different paint types a couple splotches on a peanut butter jar lid as a test can save your work.
This isn’t going to be easy. I have been told that as long as I use a 1:10 mixture I should be able to use qtips after 10 minutes to remove the excess. Well, no-can-do. It sets way too fast on top of my enamel.
I decided to play it safe and try it on my ventral side first, that way if it doesn’t work out I can simply paint over it. Good thing I did it this way.
I sprayed on some fresh gloss coat and let it set for 2 hours. I then applied the wash using a brush along seams and in heavily riveted areas. Q-tips when rubbing will remove the finish.
Soooo… I thought; Hey! Why not apply it and then use some tissue and simply “wash” it right off?!
It works but you need a ^%@-load of tissue, serious patience and a steady hand. You can use Q-tips to get excess out of nooks and crannies. In an emergency you can LIGHTLY apply an overcoat of the original paintjob to make your problem area “disappear.” Man… I wish I could do that with the IRS.
You probably can’t see much of a difference but this was my trial. Let me know what you think. Be sure to click on the pictures to zoom. Looks pretty good to me.
I’ve been planning to build the Airfix 1/72 Flanker. I have a color photo book on Flankers that came out in the early to mid-90s. Have to agree that newer Flankers can be quite glossy, but older, weathered Flankers seem to look flat and the colors are quite faded. On a flanker that’s been out in the elements for a long time, that dark blue becomes a medium-light blue! And the light blue becomes a VERY light greenish, duck egg blue. Your paint scheme looks great but would repesent a Flanker that has a relatively new paint job.
That looks very noticable to me. Really brings it out. Another thing you may try is regular old water colors. They wash off better with a damp cloth and can be sealed with a clear coat when your happy. I know they wont mare your paint finish.
I spent about 2 hours on it today. Ever reach the point when you realize that you need a 2 day break. I KNOW that if I had kept on working I would have screwed it up.
The enamel wash just stripped the hell out of it. No worries about the camo, it’s still fine.
I thought I’d try graphite. Not my favorite because of the mess but it worked out decently. Not the results I really wanted but nice. I applied it with a big cosmetic brush out of a spray can top and then used thick, clean, wet paper napkins to wash it off. Anything left behind that the water couldn’t get I had to use 409. Worked nice. Made the radome kick ass.
Frankly… had I thought of the watercolor I would have used that first. My wife daps in painting and is donating some of her black to me. In a few days I’ll start again. I need a break.
Well… watercolor just beaded. Something with the modelmaster paints I used just repelled it off.
Sooo… I went back to graphite. I’m satisfied. Better looking than my MiG-29 so far.
Now PLEASE understand that she’s nowhere near being finished yet.
It’s hard to get detail on darker blues and greys…
Now… the lighter shades is where the graphite really shines!
Any suggestions or comments are welcome. You can’t hurt my feelings. I may have been doing this on and off my whole life but I learn everytime I build.
I need to fix some mistakes near the cannon and then get to work on the engines!
Looking good so far! I like the look of the graphite, very subtle yet effective. I have had good luck using water based oil paints for washes. Mix 'em up with water, some dish soap, and the paint and wash away! Just another idea…
