ok more painting fun and games....
The painting is finally completed, though there were a few moments where I thought I had stuffed it up!! This new paint takes a bit of getting use to compared to the normal acrylics but I have to admit I love the stuff now. This Lifecolor paint pretty well takes what you throw at it and still comes out a nice finish….though it is quite fragile, which suits my style of weathering.
With the under surfaces done came the masking, and boy did that take some time! The wiggly lines aren’t 100% correct but after the time it took I’m more than happy. So next coat on was the Olive Drab, as it went on it started to go lumpy even though I had thinned it down a lot more than the Sky Blue. Was getting very frustrated with the finished so just pressed on, if I had to sand it back and do it again well that was what I had to do. After a hour in the lovely winter sun it had smoothed completely out, with just a slight uneven finished which I liked.
It turns out the venturi section of my airbrush is bent which was causing uneven air flow hence the lumpy finish. Bent it back into sort of shape, not 100% but at least it paints a bit more even….may have to buy a new one!
Next again more masking…this part is sooooo painful! I used liquid masking solution to fill in the unpainted areas, something I normally use, worked out quite ok.
Then the final colour, Foliage Green, before going into the sun again.
Once dry off came the masks and to my surprise it actually looked rather good. A little bit more than normal touch up was required. And again the Lifecolor acrylic paint went of perfectly with a brush, was very surprised…I do love this paint.
This air craft had a major section of the starboard wing replaced in service with new USAAF parts so hence the odd colour section. This was Olive Drab/Neutral Grey, which was the last bit of painting done.
Finally a wee bit of ware and tear on the paneling and the painting stage is complete, just a coat of gloss to seal.
As can be see on one of the prop nose cones the paint is very thin and comes off easily…..a wee touch up required there.
Next up was the clear coat, there were a couple of issues notably with the clear gloss coat, it went on a wee bit lumpy (probably a bit too thick…result of rushing) and it seemed to react with the “salt” weathering I did with the main coats. Nothing too bad, actually looks good in some places! It may disappear with the final flat topcoat, we’ll see.
The decals went on without issues and that’s about it!
There is not a lot to do to finish her off, unfortunately she didn't make it in time of the GB.
Next update will be the final one with completed photos.
