Holy crap, dude. This is awesome. Now, you’re SURE you’ve only put together 3 models/[%-)]?
Jason! Great work going on there! Great updates too!
Your work is an inspiration[tup]
Max - I built models when I was a kid up through high school, but they were nothing like this. Back then it was just “glue-paint-decals-done,” very messy and nothing all that nice. More of a “hurry up and finish” mentality. I have alot more patience now and that has made all the difference.
When I picked the hobby back up I read everything I could find online about techniques and methods and practiced on a few old projects. Probably spent about a month reading before I even thought about touching a new kit. Read read read!
The base blue color doesn’t have enough depth for me, so I’m going to do some post-shading after I get the decals on. I gave her three coats of Future last night and let it cure overnight. More updates later!
And thanks David!
Great work fella. Shes looking peachy.
…Guy
Getting close now - decals are finished.
I tried using warm water for the decals and one of the stencil decals fell apart on me, turned out these decals prefered room temperature water. Applied with MicroSet and then used Solvaset to get them to snuggle down into panel lines.
Next up is a wash and then I need to decide if I’m going to do any further fading. Hmmmm…
Good Lord, in the amount of time you’ve almost finished, my slow arse would still be working on the cockpit.
Great build!
PB
I’m with you, Porkbits. This guy is quick. But also very very skilled.
Brewer, will you be doing any paint chipping?
In my research on the Dauntless, I found that they were very well maintained. So I’ll try to keep chipping to a minimum, focusing my weathering on fading from the plane sitting in the sun on the carrier deck and some slight exhaust staining.
Today I got the wash, staining, and flat coat done!
The wash was the same method I used for the cockpit. 1 part water, 1 part paint, 2 parts Dawn dishsoap. I used Tamiya German Gray for the underside/gear and added some Tamiya Brown to it for the upper surfaces. The exhaust staining was done with Tamiya Smoke, and is a little heavier than I wanted but I can live with it. I got the airbrush a little too close and had to stain a little more to compensate. The flat coat is Polyscale
Here is a pic with MOST (not all) of the remaining parts. Final assembly should be complete in the next day or two 
I’ll be using the stacked canopies, but I masked and painted the closed one for extra practice haha
Beautiful! But holy carp, you do indeed work fast. In the time since your last model here, you have virtually completed one more, while all I have done is think about, and finally buy one toolbox, so that I can start on one in oh, another few weeks or so… By then you’ll probably have two more udner your belt. [bow]
BUt just a little clarification on your wash formulation: Did you mean to say 2 parts Dawn, to 1 part water and 1 part paint? That seems like a lot of Dawn, but I’m new to this water-based wash stuff (it was all turpentine based last time I built in the '80s, and I had to wait a month or more for the enamel undercoats to cure before attempting a wash)
Unreal! You are flying through this build and the results are absolutely stunning. Keep the progress updates coming, this is wonderful! [bow]
This is one super groovy build thread… cannot wait to see it all come together…
Fade to Black…
Awesome work Brewer. Shes a beauty. The exhaust staining looks sweet to me.
…Guy
It could be closer to 1:1:1, but there’s definitely more Dawn than paint. The more soap you use, the easier it is to wipe up the excess after it dries.
Thanks again for the compliments everyone. I do move right along in my builds, but that’s just because I have too much free time these days
Its really looking awesome Brewer. I wouldn’t worry too much about how dark the exhaust is… those ol’ birds were fairly oily. Heck, I saw cars in the 50s… wait… i mean FROM the 50s [:-^] that had darker exhaust stains! Gonna look like it just got back from a mission and is getting ready for another quick turnaround. [bow]
Thanks for the clarification! I’m going to be starting a 1/72 P-40 for my 5 year old son, but mostly as practice for myself before starting on my 1/48th kits, so I will try out this soapy wash method.
Another question for you, related to your ability to work so fast - what kind of cement are you using for assembly?
Well it’s almost finished, just a few final touches remaining. I’ll make a new thread for the final pics tomorrow [tup]
I used to use Testor’s liquid cement almost exclusively (black bottle with needle applicator), but once I started using resin parts I fell in love with liquid CA. It dries very fast and holds strong, and is definitely what allows me to work so fast. Picked up a two-bottle pack of generic CA for $1 at the dollar store and it has worked flawlessly. I use it to fill small seams as well, rarely needing to use any putty.
I still use the liquid cement for parts that need a little longer drying time in order to align them correctly, and for large parts such as the fuselage halves and wings I use Tenax 7R liquid cement with a Touch’n’Flow applicator.
Final pics posted!
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Thanks for answering my questions, Brewer. I’m encouraged to hear you’re just using “generic” CA. I have no access to a hobby shop, and the last bottles of “specialty” CA I shipped from the states kind of solidified in the bottles, completley wasting my money. But, I have plenty of “dollar store” CA options around here. And Testors liquid - oh well.
Working fast is very important to me now, since I find myself with only the occasional block of fre time in which to attempt something like this - I want to make sure I can get as much work done as possible during that time!