Zenrat's Flying Circus

zenrat · December 03, 2016, 04:31:06 AM

Hah, it looks clean because I haven't addressed the wing root fit issues yet and have managed to keep gluey and fillery fingerprints off of it so far.
The underside is currently smeared in filler as there are bad joins and ejector pin marks which would be hidden by the flaps if I wasn't building it flaps down.
Removing the exhausts would be a major exercise with some tricky filling & rescribing. I have a set of resin exhausts to replace the not very nice kit ones.

zenrat · December 03, 2016, 11:55:37 PM

With my trusty Pasche single action airbrush I spray enamels, water based acrylics, lacquers, two-pack - basically anything I want to put on a model.
It copes pretty well with all these except for one. the flippin' water based acrylics. Every time i've had blockage problems it's been with them.
Today I was trying to paint a Meng D9 dozer with Vallejo acrylic and had nothing but grief. Bloody stuff.
Still, I got it done in the end. A few lumps & runs from when it spat a lump and suddenly flowed freely but all in places where i'll be taking the paint back off again in the weathering process so thats OK.

DogfighterZen · December 04, 2016, 03:14:57 AM

I use Tamiya Acrylics and no problems for me so far but, the only time i used Vallejo air colors, the same thing happened to me. I thought it was supposed to be ready to use without thinning... still, i used a lot of their thinner too and it seemed like it just wouldn't thin the paint, even using 3 times more thinner than paint... and it still wouldn't flow well. I have a set of 10 Vallejo colors but i haven't used any at all after that first experience...

zenrat · December 04, 2016, 03:33:10 AM

Sometimes they spray well. Other times they don't.
The problem seems to be that the pigments separate out and then if I don't shake the bottle enough before filling the airbrush jar then that is what clogs the nozzle.
Today I was using model air paint and I squirted all that was left in the bottle into the jar. If it wasn't mixed properly then all the thicker pigment sludge at the bottom would have gone in to be sucked up into the airbrush.
Some colours are worse than others. I was using UK Azure which is not the worst but is a separator.
Today was also warm (25 C) and humid which probably didn't help.
I thin Vallejo with tap water being too tight to buy a different brand of thinners for each of the many brands and types of paint I have. I have Tamiya acrylic thinner (probably just alcohol) which works with Tamiya (obviously!) and Gunze acrylics. I can't remember if I have tried to thin Vallejo with Tamiya thinners but I have tried mixing Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics and it made an unusable sticky mess.

You can brush on Vallejo model air paint. It just takes more coats than when using model colour.

kerick · December 04, 2016, 06:55:40 AM

I finally bought one of those battery powered paint mixers from Micro Mark and now I won't paint without it. It might help your paint separation problems. Worth a try.

scooter · December 04, 2016, 08:22:06 AM

Quote from: zenrat on December 04, 2016, 03:33:10 AM
I thin Vallejo with tap water being too tight to buy a different brand of thinners for each of the many brands and types of paint I have. I have Tamiya acrylic thinner (probably just alcohol) which works with Tamiya (obviously!) and Gunze acrylics. I can't remember if I have tried to thin Vallejo with Tamiya thinners but I have tried mixing Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics and it made an unusable sticky mess.

I've used plain old, commercially available at the druggist isopropyl rubbing alcohol for thinning both Tamiya and Testors/Model Master acrylics. I wouldn't be surprised if it worked with Vallejo.

Old Wombat · December 04, 2016, 09:34:06 AM

Don't put money on it!

I generally use Tamiya acrylics but I have a fair number of LifeColor, AK Interactive & a few Vallejo acrylics, none of which react well with Tamiya X-20A acrylic thinners (which is pretty much isopropyl alcohol, anyway.), water they seem fine with.

Rick Lowe · December 04, 2016, 09:20:40 PM

I've noticed my Humbrol Enamels don't play well with Tamiya 'Enamel' Thinners...

zenrat · December 05, 2016, 02:11:53 AM

Ah, the dank and murky world of paint formulation.
It's almost like the don't want you mixing brands...

Not much done today other than a mammoth masking session on the Turbocat using my new Tamiya bendy tape and some non-bendy tape (see the stash growth thread for my comments). I didn't get any paint applied as I had just dipped my brush when there was a banging on the shed door and I had to go and drink tea with a mate and put right the wrongs of the world.

PR19_Kit · December 05, 2016, 07:38:37 AM

Quote from: zenrat on December 05, 2016, 02:11:53 AM

It's almost like the don't want you mixing brands...

They don't, it's called 'B-u-s-i-n-e-s-s'.

It's why Ford bits don't fit GM cars etc.

zenrat · December 05, 2016, 02:14:55 PM

We really need a sarcasm emoticon. But then i'd probably forget to use it.

Although, some car parts can be swapped. Usually those made by outside suppliers although I do know that Volvo bumpers (one of the "proper" straight line Volvos from the 70's) are a direct bolt on fit onto Mk2 Cortinas.
As a youth I worked in a motor parts shop and it was surprising how often parts had Leyland, Ford and GM parts numbers.

PR19_Kit · December 05, 2016, 03:26:43 PM

With a big enough hammer............

I once fitted a Triumph 2.5 PI engine into a Bedford CF van, in the BACK, behind the driver's seat, so I guess anything can be made to fit if you're really determined.

scooter · December 05, 2016, 05:05:24 PM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on December 05, 2016, 03:26:43 PM
With a big enough hammer............

I once fitted a Triumph 2.5 PI engine into a Bedford CF van, in the BACK, behind the driver's seat, so I guess anything can be made to fit if you're really determined.

LeMons builds prove that theory. Granted, they have this nasty tendency to ~~explode~~ ~~blow up~~ spew parts across the track in unique and exotic ways.

zenrat · December 13, 2016, 01:37:37 AM

Telstra - An Australian Aboriginal word which has no direct translation but can be said to be a combination of lying, incompetence and dishonesty.

In my shed I have one of those jump starters which consists of a lead acid battery in a plastic case with jump leads, condition indicators, cigarette lighter sockets etc built in. Last week we had some heavy rain which goy under the roller door resulting in the jump starter sitting in a puddle. Ever since then it has been emitting a high pitched whistle. It was driving me insane but I have got used to it now and don't hear it most of the time which is possibly worse...

The Sunbeam Tiger got its third paintjob today. It went against the grain but I followed the instructions on the (Zero Paints) clearcoat and put it on only 15 minutes after applying the (Zero Paints) Hemi Orange colour coat.
I also cleared the ABC Warriors Dodge Van but with some "bling" powder in the clear. I think its a colour shifting one but as I have a few different types and they are all unlabelled its anyones guess as to the exact effect.

The Magpie Wyvern is coming along. It's not going together as well as I thought it should and have required a small amount of PSR.

And, i've started an Airfix Tigger Moth as an armed single seater.

scooter · December 15, 2016, 02:23:06 PM

Quote from: zenrat on December 13, 2016, 01:37:37 AM
In my shed I have one of those jump starters which consists of a lead acid battery in a plastic case with jump leads, condition indicators, cigarette lighter sockets etc built in. Last week we had some heavy rain which goy under the roller door resulting in the jump starter sitting in a puddle. Ever since then it has been emitting a high pitched whistle. It was driving me insane but I have got used to it now and don't hear it most of the time which is possibly worse...

Could be outgassing hydrogen. Or the internal electrics could be acting up