Now for something a little different: 1/48 Boulton Paul Defiant

[BarryW]

The major components did not fit quite as well as the rest.

In fitting the wings I had a choice, a wide gap at the top of the wing and the back flush or a narrow gap at the top and some filling of a sunk area at the back. I chose the latter and used Vallejo Plastic Putty to fill the sunken area with a smear to sort the top wing/fuselage join and Mr Dissolved Putty on the seams. I will use my David electric sander tonight.



Above you cn see the filled area.

Below, the cockpit.




You can see a little sanding on seams is needed, particulary on the small area in front of the pit.

 

[BarryW]

The David sander made sanding down the VPP very easy. I finished it off with sanding sponges. Next I sanded the seams and the. Did my second application of Mr Dissolved Putty where needed. More sanding tomorrow and a decision on whether additional MDP is needed..... when all done primer time......

I have also attached the tail and stabs.

 

[adt70hk]

Looking good Barry.

 

[rtfoe]

The major components did not fit quite as well as the rest.

In fitting the wings I had a choice, a wide gap at the top of the wing and the back flush or a narrow gap at the top and some filling of a sunk area at the back. I chose the latter and used Vallejo Plastic Putty to fill the sunken area with a smear to sort the top wing/fuselage join and Mr Dissolved Putty on the seams. I will use my David electric sander tonight.

View attachment 402168

Above you cn see the filled area.

Below, the cockpit.
View attachment 402167

View attachment 402166

You can see a little sanding on seams is needed, particulary on the small area in front of the pit.

Very Airfix to have these little sinkages in the tiniest of places. Definitely worth the extra attention there Barry.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

The David sander made sanding down the VPP very easy. I finished it off with sanding sponges. Next I sanded the seams and the. Did my second application of Mr Dissolved Putty where needed. More sanding tomorrow and a decision on whether additional MDP is needed..... when all done primer time......

I have also attached the tail and stabs.
View attachment 402274

View attachment 402275

View attachment 402276

Good choice of spot to fill rather than the other end which would have been more complicated to sand.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[BarryW]

Thanks Richard. Not so much shrinkage than good old fashioned poor fit. It could be warpage but the plastic at that point is quite thick so I dont think so. I did do some sanding and scraping inside, reducing the thickness of the plastic which helped but the end part just seemed to be at the wrong angle for it all to align properly. It looked OK on a dry fit before joining the fuselage halves with all the 'gubbins' inside though.

 

[BarryW]

I have been getting on with the camo



There is a little touching up to do.

 

[BarryW]

It is no secret that I find decals to be the most difficult part of a build. I always regret not getting masks when I use them and this model is no exception. That is not to say that the decals are bad, they are actually very good overall and went down well. I had a real problem positioning the port side serial numbers and while struggling the ‘H’ code letter came away on my thumb and, in the end both decals were unusable. Fortunately I have some aftermarket sets of RAF codes and serials so I was able to use them.





below is with the a/m code in place. As you can see it is a perfect match. There was an issue with the ‘P’ as you can see. I will have to do something about that.


Below I have lined up the individual serial letters and numbers ready. I have found that it is best to cut the decal film close to the edge of the serial to be able to position it in the right place. The film is not individually cut around each serial which provides a few issues of its own.


I have also found that it is important to use masking tape to provide a guide line to get them straight.


above you can also see an issue with the decal film on the a/m H. I will deal with that by pricking it all over and applying decal solution, but that’s for later.

when positioning a letter, don’t place it too close to the tape. Whatever you do....







The starboard side decals went down OK and no a/m was used.

I will use strong Daco solution on them of which several doses may be needed on the a/m decals where there is a hint of silvering. The Airfix decals are actually better than the a/m ones and I cannot see any sign of silvering at all. Only one treatment of Daco needed on them.

 

[rtfoe]

Hi Barry, decals are scary even for me. I always have nightmares of decals folding over themselves or out of alignment when set.

Quite a good recovery. Sometimes silvering can only be dealt with by cutting very closely to the letter and pealing away the carrier film if poking or slicing with lots of decal juice doesn't work. Good use of the masking tape too.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[stona]

Those decals should come out alright in the end.

I do tend to cut the carrier film away as close to the letters as I can, but it entails another risk. For example, on that 'H', the removal of the film increases the chance that the letter will fold on itself creating another problem. Cutting away the film on a curve over and under the bar of the 'H' helps, and you can usually figure out something similar for other letters

Your camo looks really good.

 

[BarryW]

Those decals should come out alright in the end.

I do tend to cut the carrier film away as close to the letters as I can, but it entails another risk. For example, on that 'H', the removal of the film increases the chance that the letter will fold on itself creating another problem. Cutting away the film on a curve over and under the bar of the 'H' helps, and you can usually figure out something similar for other letters

Your camo looks really good.

The kit H did not have film between the ‘prongs’ and that was the problem, it folded in and I could not get it to ‘open’ in the water and it ended up disintegrating. The a/m H did have film, hence the silvering. I just had a look and the ‘pricking’ has done the trick. I have applied another load of solution and hopefully I will be able to apply a varnish tomorrow ready for pin washes.

 

[BarryW]

I have done a panel line wash over a semi-gloss varnish after which I did a matt varnish




Then it was the turn of pigments and other weathering materials such as weathering pencils and specialist washes, pictured.


the metal powder and kerosene leaks are applied after a final matt coat while the other pigments and weathering pencils are best used on top of a matt varnish but under the final matt coat to fix them in place.

you can see some streaking effects from the pencils and washes applied inside the wheel wells. I still have a spot of work to do with washes on the underside.




The chipping is applied over the top matt varnish as we want the sheen of bare metal. I use a cocktail stick, dipped into the Uschi Metal Powder which is rubbed where I want it to appear. It is easy to overdo this so I take it slowly, working around panel corners and other places likely to suffer chipping plus a few ‘random’ chips.... In some places I want it to look more like worn paint than chipping, in those places I use a cotton bud dipped in metal powder, but again, care is needed not to overdo it.

If you have not used metal powders then you really should give them a go, as I find them the most useful pigment of all and very versatile.

 

[BarryW]

One quick pic of the completed model. An enjoyable build with no real issues, recommended. I will do a completed thread as soon as. I kept the weathering fairly light.

 

[outrunner]

If you have not used metal powders then you really should give them a go, as I find them the most useful pigment of all and very versatile.

I used Uschi Metal Powder on the dozer build and also think they are good.

Andy.

 

[KarlW]

I've only ever used ground up pencil and my finger to apply.

 

[stona]

I've only ever used ground up pencil and my finger to apply.

Me too. I've even got a 'silver' pencil which is use for nothing else. I always used to do machine gun barrels with powder from a bog standard HB pencil over black too. I've got a paint now which approximates a parkerised finish so I often use that.

 

[BarryW]

The advantage of the Ushi Powders is that it’s no fuss and with three different types some really good effects can be achieved. Chipping and general dry brushing, I find, is better with the metal powders in most cases. I do use the silver (and other metallic) pencils as well, sometimes in combination with the powders.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
As always a really great result. That filling resulted in an invisible fix. Glad Airfix came through with the replacement part. Dropping down a scale has not compromised the quality of your work.
Jim