"The Flying Hedgehog", Done.

Green Dragon · December 19, 2011, 04:06:55 PM

Hey Sticky, what are the rocket pod pylons from? Looking great BTW!

Paul Harrison

Captain Canada · December 19, 2011, 08:41:09 PM

Looks better every time.....love the new name too...and the cartoon ! Great stuff !

Sticky Fingers · December 20, 2011, 02:19:27 AM

Thanks for the kind words, guys, and @ Paul: they are parts 6 and 7, sprue E, from Academy's product no. 2115, their old 1/48 Boeing AH-64A Apache.
No idea what they're actually supposed to be used for though

Sticky Fingers · December 21, 2011, 11:56:13 AM

It's primered, and I'm trying to think up a cool paintjob for the 'Hog. Got some sort of a plan but I'll need to see if I can actually realise it. I've got the right materials, got the time, but I don't know if I have the patience...

Meanwhile, it's audience participation time!
Nevermind the clutter in the background of the following pictures; what 'tail-end' looks best, in your opinion? The one with the most votes will be build.

We've got:

A

B

and...
3

Your choices (with or without the reason why you choose that particular one) are most valued.

flappydaffy · December 21, 2011, 12:07:36 PM

B for me

PR19_Kit · December 21, 2011, 01:20:08 PM

Yes, B works for me as well.

Gondor · December 21, 2011, 01:31:30 PM

B for Me as well

Gondor

Green Dragon · December 21, 2011, 02:26:40 PM

Option B here too.
Haven't got Academy's Apache in the stash but I may have an Airfix one, if not I'm sure I've got something in the spares boxes that'll do so I think I'll be nicking that idea for one of my EC145's or 135's!

Paul Harrison

jsport · December 21, 2011, 03:21:37 PM

B for best.

Sticky Fingers · December 24, 2011, 12:59:05 PM

Well that's unamanamenimemous then, B it will ... eh... be.

Back to the paintjob:
Got good news and bad news. Here's the good news (masking tape removed, nothing else done):

And here's the bad:

Yep, the paint has eaten through the masking fluid! Must've done something wrong. No idea what though, shook the bottle and put two layers on there.
So I'll have to experiment once again (tried to remove it with a toothpick, an eraser and a polishingstick). Or write a groveling letter to Revell's 'Department X' $:-\$

jsport · December 24, 2011, 04:56:49 PM

If the paint can not be removed .. you can't beat it, maybe join it. Maybe a futuristic look where the transparents are camouflaged to match the remainder of the fuselage. Future active camouflage technology will go in this direction.
A second layer paint may be an smooth surface issue, but maybe if could be smoothed out. The transparents could be opaque as they would be painted over anyhow. know this could seem like a step backwards.

scooter · December 24, 2011, 05:03:14 PM

And this is why I stick to masking tape. Have you tried a whiteboard cleaner yet? Expo cleaner worked well for me. Although you'll want to test in out on a scrap of waste to make sure it can safely attack the paint.

arkon · December 25, 2011, 04:24:48 PM

besides the oops, i think the big pattern digital camo is cool

bearmatt · December 26, 2011, 01:51:16 PM

you rather don't get close to this little one...
The name is very well chosen. Great job

Sticky Fingers · December 27, 2011, 02:46:48 AM

Thanks for the comments, people.

@ scooter: I have never had a bad experience with this masking fluid (GSI Creos) so I had no reason to doubt it would work when I aplied it. I have been experimenting with airbrush cleaner to remove the excess off the clear parts, using very little on the tip of a cocktailstick to gently rub it away, and it does the trick, as long as you give it a quick wipe with a cloth before the cleaner has a chance to dry. I will have to repaint the surrounds of the front-glazing, but that is overcome-able. The side windows are a different story though. I might have to replace those with scratchbuild items as the mask/paint mixture seems to have taken superglue-type qualities on those.
Tracing my steps back I can come up with only one cause for this dramatic turn of events (

), and that is that maybe i didn't allow for enough drying time between the 1st and 2nd layer of mask. Adding that 2nd layer might have wiped off some of the 1st. I dunno.

@ arkon: The paintjob is based on the camo that was used by the British tank-folks in the Berling Brigade, in the early 80's.

source: http://www.emlra.org/articles/berlin_brigade.htm
No idea how that would work on a chopper though. I guess it's sort-of safe.

As long as it's parked.

In a build -up area.

@ jsport: I did think about sanding it all smooth and do a Rolling Stone (i.e. Paint it Black) because there's not much interior showing even if the glaswork wasn't touched by the paint, but, while menacing, it just wouldn't look right.
Can't wait for the future though, if your premonissions are right it would save us modellers a lot of hassle!