Zenrat's Flying Circus

[NARSES2]

Back in the day at primary school we would have been encouraged to find caterpillars and put them in a jar so the rest of the class could see them. But the world it has a changed to paraphrase a certain Mr Dylan

[TheChronicOne]

I was thinking about that very thing just the other day.........   about lightning bugs (or....   fireflies ).  My all time personal favorite bugs. Used to be a pass-time and "American childhood tradition" to capture them in jars. I was thinking.... "wow, bet you couldn't get away with letting anyone know you were doing that now...."       


Speaking of.... . it's that time of year!! If it rains a bunch, they come out in huge numbers and it's been a bit rainy lately. It's really something looking out across the yard and seeing 10,000's of them flickering. 

[zenrat]

Some rain would be nice.  Especially as i've now finished the annual re-oiling all the window frames and the deck.

Painted the tail of the Beaufighter white and smeared a bit of filler on it.  It seems I didn't scrape enough paint off in some places.
I've found a Mexican P-47 scheme the i am going to adapt to it.

Primed the Zero.  This is a really old Hasegawa mould and its very simple.  Lots of rivetty goodness.  I may sand the all off.

Started another build.  An Italeri Piasecki H-21.  This is going to be civilian.  Possibly Frankston Skycabs.

Did most work on the Kraz truck.  The parts breakdown is starting to drive me (even more) bonkers with even seemingly simple parts having 4 or 5 pieces to them.

Now the bad news.  I seem to have got myself a new position at work with more hours.  This is going to cut into my modelling time.   

[NARSES2]

I've found a Mexican P-47 scheme the i am going to adapt to it.

Yup they had some interesting schemes as did the Brazilian's in WWII

Now the bad news.  I seem to have got myself a new position at work with more hours.  This is going to cut into my modelling time.   

On the positive side, more cash for the stash ?

[TheChronicOne]

That's what I was fittin' to say. MO MONEY -- always nice.     And see, you just re-organized stuff, too, so should be more room to cram more kits. 

[zenrat]

Same money as the hourly rate goes down due to moving from casual to permanent (albeit on a 1 year temporary contract).  However more money overall as i'll be working every week and not just when someone goes on holiday, is sick or has to nurse their husband who has fallen out of a tree (seriously - he thought he could climb it to trim it aged 55.  The broken femur said otherwise).
Plus I now get leave entitlements.
I can now start thinking about a new laptop, fixing those annoying faults on my car and getting my bike back on the road for next summer.

Today I had one aim.  Foil the Edsel.
Edsel WIP 3-5-18 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
Done.  Boo ya!

After that I continued cleaning up and assembling the many annoyingly small parts that make up all the stuff that hangs off the sides of the Kraz chassis.
I am converting this to a RH Drive cab using parts of a 1/25 Chevy Citation dash.  I'll also have to swap the seats over (driver has an adjustable seat and there is a bench for passengers) which is going to mean hacking the cab floor up as parts of the seat mounts are moulded with it (so why not an annoyingly fussy parts breakdown here Takom - where it would help me?).

[TheChronicOne]

That really sets that sucker off. 

[zenrat]

Thanks Brad C.  The '58 Edsel has nice big chunky trim which AMT have moulded with relatively definitive edges which makes it a joy to foil.

[NARSES2]

Nice, neat work mate

[PR19_Kit]

That Edsel looks really super with the chrome done. 

How about a 'teach-in' on you do that with foil please Fred? I've never had much success doing it, and ended up masking and painting which never comes out as good.

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.

Kit, iI use Bare Metal Foil which is like a big shiny sticker.  I've never tried using kitchen foil or chocolate wrapper and glue.
So, to foil a model car with BMF.
Paint and clear and polish the car body.  get it to the point where you are happy with it as you can't polish it once its foiled.  Some will clear over foil.  I don't.
Choose your starting point and measure (by eye usually) and cut a piece of foil.  Just cut through the metal, not right through the paper as well.  Just the weight of the knife will be enough.
Peel off what you have cut.  You'll need to flick up one corner with the tip of the knife blade.
Stick the cut piece onto the model.  Some will recommend aligning a straight edge with the edge of the feature you are foiling to make one less cut when trimming.  I find this to be a PitA as I can never get it aligned correctly with my big clumsy fingers and I just overlap the thing on both sides.
Smooth down the foil.  I use my finger, cotton buds (they soon go fuzzy and have to be changed so make sure you have lots) and toothpicks for tight corners.  You don't need to burnish it down tight at this point as you have to peel some of it back off later when trimmed.  If you are not 100% happy now peel it off, throw it away and cut another piece.
Trim.  This for me is the bit when It gets tricky.  Run the tip of the knife blade (I use exacto #11s) along the edge of the feature you're foiling.  Just the weight of the blade is enough.  You don't want to cut into the clear coat and paint underneath.
Peel off the excess foil.  You'll need to start if lifting by carefully flicking it up with the tip of the blade or by scraping away from the cut with a fingernail.
If not happy peel it off and try again.
If you are happy then burnish it down with a soft cloth.  If using an older sheet of foil this will also make it shine as you buff off the oxidation.
Any glue residue can be cleaned up with a cotton bud dipped in metho.  But be aware that this may dull some clears which will then require a gentle polish.
Repeat until finished.

Easy eh?

Don't skimp on the foil.  Better to cut it too big than to have it too small and to have to try to patch gaps.
Tiny patch pieces never stay put.
Don't even bother trying to foil quarterlights, paint them with silver paint instead.  It doesn't look quite as good but its better for your blood pressure.
Don't try and do the trim round a windscreen or rear window in one piece (some will suggest it).  cut individual pieces for the top, bottom sides and corners.  BMF is so thin that if you buff down the joins real well then they won't show.  Also some real cars often have joins in the trim anyway.  If fussy you could make sure they were symmetrical.
Keep your sheets of BMF in the fridge.  As it gets older Chrome foil develops a tendency to crack when peel off the sheet.  This is a real PitA and renders the sheet good only for small pieces.  This might now be necessary as BMF allegedly cured this tendency when they introduced "new improved chrome" a few years back but I still do it anyway.  To be honest I doubt if there is still any of the old stuff out there.  But you never know as apparently some modellers can be hoarders (hard to believe eh?!).
When doing body side trim there are natural breaks at the door openings.  Remember this - it is easy to get obsessed with doing the whole run down the side with one piece.  Unnecessarily as you'll want to cut it on the door line anyway.
When preparing the car body for painting it pays to consider if it will be foiled and if so look at the trim with a view to sharpening up the edges with a scriber.  This will make it easier to trim the foil later as there will be a better edge to run the blade along.  Remember that paint and clear will soften the edges.
Foil scripts before painting (I do it between primer and undercoat) trimming back close to their edges (BMF is thin enough the edges will be hidden by the paint), paint over the top and then carefully polish off the paint over the raised writing.  Some will say "wipe paint off the letters wiht a cotton bud dipped in thinners".  I say these must be people who enjoy stripping and repainting bodies with ruined paint jobs cause by idiots wiping thinners across them.  Do this before clearing so you can repair any damage caused by overenthusiastic polishing (or thinners if you are an idiot or unusually brave).
Best tip is to experiment.  You'll be surprised at the shapes you can foil.  With a bit of practice you can even persuade it to wrap itself round surprisingly convex shapes like bumpers.
Finally, the finish doesn't last.  As its very thin metal it oxidises over the years developing a slight yellowish sheen.

So today I tinted the Edsel windows with a mixture of Future and food colouring.  It's not real dark but it is noticeable.
I them attached them to the body along with the headlight and taillight bezels and the trim on the boot lid.

Beaufighter got the P S'ed but didn't need an R so I masked the tail and squirted it with some more primer.

Zero got picked up, looked at and put down again.  I need to research the flaps before I either add filler or scribe lines.

The small conglomerations of smaller components that I have been putting together for the Kraz truck got attached to various sticks and clips and toothpicks and got a coat of paint.

Sea Witch came out of the stripping tank (a new jumbo sized one which was required due to its size), got rinsed and was set aside to dry.  As expected all PPP has been eaten out of the keel joint by the caustic soda solution.  So that will need replacing.

[Rheged]

That Edsel looks really super with the chrome done. 

How about a 'teach-in' on you do that with foil please Fred? I've never had much success doing it, and ended up masking and painting which never comes out as good.

In theory, one could use silver leaf.  A book of 25  sheets https://www.goldleafsupplies.co.uk/loose-silver-leaf-51g/ isn't vastly expensive and the gilding/silvering technique is reasonably easy.....I've silvered a small picture frame without undue angst.  Gold leaf, however,  is pricier but the technique is the same.https://www.goldleafsupplies.co.uk/24ct-loose-gold-leaf-standard-80-x-80mm-415/

This whole website might be worth exploring.

[PR19_Kit]

That's magnificent, thanks so much Fred. I've saved it all for posterity, just what I need for my ZZ-Top 33 Ford Eliminator kit. 

[zenrat]

Glad to help.

That gold leaf actually works out cheaper per sq metre than Bare Metal Foil.

Not much modelling today as i was gardening.  I did however glue the Edsel body to the chassis and then sit there holding it for 15 minutes while the glue set.

[zenrat]

Edsel got It's continental kit and a number of small parts today.
Edsel WIP 6-5-18 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Kraz got fuel tanks and air bottles and storage boxes attached to the chassis.
Kraz WIP 6-5-18 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Beaufighter got its underside painted.