Horton Go 229 1/72

[Cogez88]

I started this a couple of weeks ago, and so far it's been fun! Although I was disappointed to find that after a fair bit of time painting and assembling little bits of cannon and interior struts, they're mostly invisible in the finished product. But that's ok! Someone once told me "you know you love your car when you clean bits nobody will ever see"... I guess it's kinda like that.

The landing gear is quite fiddly, and I have to get the angles right to make sure it fits. So I'm assembling on-aircraft, but not gluing the whole lot down so I get the angles right. But annoying... I dropped the nose landing gear when I was packing up and broke a little bit. Hurgh

Painting the underside in an 80/20 mix of XF-23 and XF-5 has been interesting. Firstly, the first mix was much "greyer" than the second coat. And it's still got lots of brush strokes. Going to try a third. Hope it turns out ok!

Anyway, it's been fun so far... No more dropping pieces from here on!

Cogez88

 

[papa 695]

Looking good so far Jordan, as for not dropping things any more, have you not heard about the carpet monster?

 

[Cogez88]

Looking good so far Jordan, as for not dropping things any more, have you not heard about the carpet monster?

Haha I imagine your carpet has devoured dozens of tiny pieces over the years?

 

[Tim Marlow]

I had a wooden floor once and the carpet monster still ate bits…..
As to bits you can’t see later on, that aircraft modelling in a nutshell…..as they always say, at least you know it’s there…..
Lastly, brush painting Tamiya paint is not easy. Best advice I can give is to dilute it a little and put on two thin coats rather than one thick coat. It’s not the best out there for brush painting.

 

[Jakko]

Lastly, brush painting Tamiya paint is not easy. Best advice I can give is to dilute it a little and put on two thin coats rather than one thick coat.

And be aware of the signs that the paint is starting to go off. If you brush on Tamiya acrylic paint and then find that when you go over it again before it’s fully dried, you pull almost all of the paint back off, then forget about using that particular bottle ever again for brush-painting anything but very small areas. You can still spray it through an airbrush, but trying to brush it after it’s reached this point is going to be an exercise in frustration.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Never overbrush acrylics Jakko, they all do that. The secret is finding the time the paint takes to skin over so you don’t do this. Extra thinning does help as it slows the drying time. Never dip your brush in the stock bottles either. Take out what you need onto a palette of some sort and then reclose the lid. This is one area where dropper bottles lord it over jars and pots.

 

[Cogez88]

Hmm, both good pieces of advice. I've always painted straight from the bottle because it seems easier to chop and change bottles as I go along. But I've also had paint layers come off on a second coat... Which I think means it's off?

 

[Cogez88]

Quick question actually... What do people do to get a clean linenwhere

 

[Cogez88]

Quick question actually... What do people do to get a clean line where two colours meet on the leading edge? Just masking tape? It seems too thin!

 

[Dave Ward]

Just masking tape?

Jordan,
yes, masking tape - mke sure you rub it down well, so paint can't creep under the edge. It's better to use narrow model maskng tape - it's more flexible. As a quick tip wash the assembled model with warm soapy water before applying any paint. This will remove any grease - from fingerprints - and get the paint to adhere better. Use a broad brush with warm water & washing up liquid & allow to air dry. One thing with all acrylic paints is to shake well. then shake a bit more!
Dave

 

[stillp]

Hmm, both good pieces of advice. I've always painted straight from the bottle because it seems easier to chop and change bottles as I go along. But I've also had paint layers come off on a second coat... Which I think means it's off?

I don't think so, more likely you've started the second coat before the fist was full dried and cured.
Pete

 

[Steve Brodie]

Nice work, yesterday i was drying out some oils, knocked a head i had completed onto the cardboard and gave him a blue rinse and a mud neck !! , air went blue, managed to clean the paint off, lesson learned.

 

[Cogez88]

Finished up for tonight. I put a third coat of paint on the underside, with a drop of thinner in the paint mix. Looks heaps better, although still a bit "stroky".

Landing gear are all together, and so far no pieces have been dropped or otherwise broken by me being a gumby. I'm pretty happy with how the landing gear turned out, because I initially thought it was impossible. I assembled one on the aircraft, and one off, to see which one worked better. I think they both worked ok... We'll see if they fit back on though!

Thanks for your advice everyone, it's been helpful

 

[minitnkr]

Tamiya is not my fave. Been hairy sticking models for 50+ years and have been spoiled by PollyS paints. The best model brush paints ever. Unavailable for years, but still have a bit left. I have had to settle for ModelMaster & now they are no longer available, so Tamiya & Valleo are it at my LHS. Neither of which are ideal, but are doable.

 

[Jakko]

Never overbrush acrylics Jakko, they all do that.

Not in my experience — I’ve brush-painted quite a lot of models with Tamiya acrylics, which is something a lot of people claim is entirely impossible If the paint is good you can brush over it while it’s still (semi-)wet just fine, but if it’s gone off (for want of a better word) you’ll have that problem.

 

[Cogez88]

Minor setback today... Little strut on the nose landing gear didn't really stick, and I broke it trying to refit it. But I think I got it back together and got away with it! Haha

Masked up the underside to add the yellow sections at the front, first coat looks ok. Also applied all the underside decals. It's all looking pretty good!

It's getting to the point where I can only do a little bit each night, so might have to get a new kit soon :p any suggestions?

 

[Dave Ward]

any suggestions?

Another aircraft, or maybe a tank, or even a floaty thing? If you have a preference, I'm certain that you'll get many suggestions - loads of people will be happy to help you spend your money!!!!!
What's the situation in W-W - do you have to get all your stuff by internet buys?, or is thee a local model shop?
Dave

 

[Cogez88]

What's the situation in W-W - do you have to get all your stuff by internet buys?, or is thee a local model shop?

Ah, we don't have much. We have a toy store that has a small range of models, and Tamiya paints. So pretty much everything comes from the internet!

 

[JR]

Jordan I'll pull up a seat if I may .

 

[Dave Ward]

any suggestions?

Jordan,
a suggestion - HobbyBoss 1/48 P-51D Mustang 85806 ( alternatively 85902 or 85808 ) http://www.hobbyboss.com/index.php?g=home&m=product&a=show&id=1314&l=en although of simple construction, makes up into a lovely model!
Dave