Allan's new projects Raiden and two 109s

[Allan]

the 109s weren't going anywhere so they've been banished to the unmade shelf of doom and I'm doing some more work on my Raiden, which will be in Marseille's markings
not sure what to do with the Otaki Zero just yet, but perhaps white backgrounds to the rising suns and then the green speckled camo you sometimes see on Tonys......maybe with a red tail too...any other ideas?
Allan

[Allan]

Zero canopy masked and painted Revell matt black....masking took days
the paint was mixed about 60 thinner to 40 paint with mineral thinners and was shot through my Iwata HP-B plus at about 10 psi...it went on pretty well...perhaps my airbrush is better suited to matt paint

[Captain Canada]

That's alot of masking ! You can really see it after the paint went on. Good stuff, Alan !

[NARSES2]

That's alot of masking !

Yup, just a tad - well done mate

[Allan]

thanks Chris and the Captain
here's how it looks now with some of the yellow (Humbrol gloss) on the wing leading edges and more to go on today and the Xtracrylix red on the tail...the latter went on pretty well, in fact marvellously, but required very judicious and careful thinning with soft Canberra rainwater and windscreen washer...even so it clogged my brush once and so it needed a thorough clean...not sure if I'll use the red again....Xtracrylix greys seem to be okay though
as for the tail, I'm tossing up leaving the entire tail assembly in red, which would mean wrapping a strip of masking tape vertically around the fuselage just in front of the rudder, or doing some more masking and leaving only the rudder and elevators red...will decide later, though clearly the former option is the lazy modeller's out
Allan

[PR19_Kit]

Ah, that'll be the lo-viz scheme then? 

[Allan]

yes, it will really blend in with the clouds, won't it
the yellow on the leading edges is Xtracolor gloss, not Humbrol, and I annointed the Zero with another coat this morning..will wait for a few days for it to dry, mask it off as well as the red, tough up the black under the canopy and then cement the canopy into possie
Allan

[Allan]

masked and more yellow put on to make the tape bleed-proof---first time I've used that technique
I've touched up the black on the fus and will post piccies later on

[NARSES2]

Must admit I seal my masking tape edges with Klear/Future. You have to be carefull you don't get a ridge but it tends to work for me

[Allan]

good one Chris, as long as it works
here's the plane with a first annointing of Tamiya enamel flat white...the Humbrol flat white enamel wasn't really inspiring me with confidence...I've had some issues with flat white cracking before, so this time I'll apply lots of thin coats, letting each one dry thoroughly
and today I bought some plastic sheeting.....here's what I bought so you can compare the price at your local hobby shop.....one Aussie dollar is worth just a little more than one US dollar at the moment
I haven't done anything to the tailplane yet, just covered it with a tissue and stapled and stickytaped it into position so there is no white overspray
Allan

[Captain Canada]

Looking good Allan ! You sure are putting alot of work into this one....look forward to seeing it all come together.

[Father Ennis]

I've never heard of the sealing your tape to keep it from bleeding. I've always used a metal straight edge to give it a clean edge. Once I've done that,I mask and spray,but I do always burnish the edge,first. I've never had any problems doing it that way. I would have thought that doing it your way would cause an edge when you unmask. How do you avoid having that happen after multiple coats of paint ? 

[NARSES2]

I would have thought that doing it your way would cause an edge when you unmask. How do you avoid having that happen after multiple coats of paint ? 

There is a danger of that yes. I use Klear/Future to seal the mask with and don't normally have problems with edges. Those I've had have been removed with nail polisher board. Must admit I only tend to mask ID stripes, canopies etc, when I tried this technique on splinter camo I did get ridges which needed substantial work with said nail board. For some reason I find burnishing tape on canopies difficult 

[Allan]

though there are multiple coats of paint, they are very thin ones, so I'm hopeful that there won't be a prominent ridge
here's the cockpit with seatbelts fashioned using a technique I picket up on the net....next is the antenna, which I've painted yellow and will wood varnish......I'll cement the antenna to the fus and when the glue has just about dried, thread the canopy over it (you can see the hole in the canopy) and cement it to the fus with white glue, comme toujours
Allan

[Allan]

Here're the Zero and Raiden...I'll mask off the red Zero tailplanes and then maybe start with the upper or lower colors, masking off the white wings too, but maybe not giving the fus a coat of white...the canopy has been cemented into place using the Tamiya very thin cement, a fav of mine....the Raiden, which will be in Marseille's markings, needs to have the canopy fitted before painting may commence
Allan