Chronic's Research and Aeronautics Project (C.R.A.P.)

[TheChronicOne]

Some do, some don't apparently.




In other news.. having second thoughts on the Ju 88 plane.  When I decided to try to make it more "decent" the "quick build" stuff went out the window and now thoughts of trying to make it look good are intruding upon my mojo!!  I'll give it some more thought this afternoon.

Also, I broke the fixed gear off of my Yak 7v when I tried to Michael Jordan some trash into the waste bin. It instead went straight to my Yak! Weird thing is the plane bounced off the shelf and both gear just neat as can be layed there right beside each other. Almost like I planned it that way. Odd..  But anyway I want to glue them back on.

Also, nagging at the back of my mind is a Space Shuttle build I started 25 years ago and never completed. Now, the glue is all yellow and it looks like junk so I want to clean it up and do it right.

Also, I have an Enterprise NCC 1701 model I'd like to do something with. I built it with the D7 in '09 (the one foray into modeling in the 20 year break I had) and I need to finish them both, Actually..

Tying up loose strings type projects.

In more news, the Soviet GB is starting to get me pretty worked up so I'd like to get started on stuff for it. I've built all kinds of stuff in my years.... from cars, to trucks, airplanes, space ships, tall ships and even the U.S.S. Yorktown but one type of model kit I've NEVER built is a helo kit. Well, now I have one.. an AH-64 that I will build for the Soviet GB as a lend lease chopper. Also, I scored a 1/72 V-22 Osprey that I'd like to "give" to the Soviets as well... so...  these should be interesting all around for me. I want to start getting the stuff together and planning my transfers and stuff but I told myseld I'd get some other work done on these lingering projects before I allow myself to have "fun" with the Soviet stuff.

So, I'm going to at least: Make up my mind on the Ju 88 whif, glue the gear back on the Yak, gather up the space shuttle stuff and at least get it all in one box, then the same for both the Enterprise and Klingon D7. I'll consider myself ahead of the game if I can just get this stuff in a more ready, organized system. I think I'll feel less guilty indulging in the Soviet stuff if I can at least show some sort of love to my dear un finished projects.   

Also, a good clean up and re-organizing of my travesty of a build space.

[TheChronicOne]

I forgot to mention my poor F-84 Thunderjet earlier.    I guess the mishaps were so traumatic I tried to erase the memory of it. 



Oh well. Nothing I can do about spraying the canopy with gloss clear and fogging it up. Hell, it don't look like a travesty or anything but would be nice if it were clear. Point is, though, I can live with it as artistic license. What I can NOT live with is the crazing of my white paint that occurred after I spray the clear on it. Once more I think I was too heavy handed with the clear when I sprayed. Still learning!  Any how, I entertained thoughts of leaving it but that's no good. I'll fix it. I'm worried about rubbing away the panel lines but I'll try to be patient and work in little bitty areas at a time. Once I get it smoothed out I'll have to mask again and we'll go for round two. 

I also broke the nose off of it and glued it back just now. The little pointy bit attached to the intake diverter thing broke off, too. I might put something else on in its place or might not. What is that thing, anyway?

In other news, I put more glue around the seam on the top of the hull of the Klingon ship there. I think this second "coat" will be enough and when I sand it down next time should be a glorious smooth top.

Got the gear glued back on the Yak 7k. 




Got all my Space Shuttle stuff together... all the pieces, the stand, and transfers. Just need to find a box for them. See how dirty it is?! Before I do anything I'm going to plain ol' wash it. I think I will make this one the Challenger.



Got the Klingon parts together, too. It's another D7 like the little green colored stuff above but in a much larger scale. I've mentioned this one and the Enterprise I built at the same time before. Aside from the U.S.S. Constitution (that I keep forgetting about that I built in.. like...early 2000s) these were the only two model I built in my twenty year break and I only built them to have something to do while I was ill and stuck in bed for weeks. Back before I even knew it was a "thing" I had a tendency for "whiffery" because look at the color scheme!

Anyway, big ol' palm and finger prints right on the top so I'll be addressing that and trying to figure out how to paint this thing without having to redo it ALL. I'll have to do something for transfers, too, as I used the STUPID, STUPID stickers they provided with these kits. I'm glad they do the stickers, though, because it's great for lil kids and helps them get into the hobby and allows them to decorate their builds. Just not for me....   (Did the same on the Enterprise build I keep talking about, too..It actually looks pretty neat, I'll get pictures of it later for you all to look at  )  I'll be taking all that stuff off, for sure, then figure something out. I don't have any more Trek transfers because I put them all on airplanes.   



ALSO, I've been doing "clean up" all afternoon and got a ton of my model stuff cleaned up, organized, arranged, etc etc etc while I did more of my "fall cleaning" at the same time.

I'm about ready for a cold-beer.. 

[TheChronicOne]

Here's the Enterprise. The picture doesn't do it justice. For being half assedly put together and using the stickers it actually looks pretty decent sitting on the shelf. However.. it doesn't meet my standards of qualilty any more (never did, really, but I wasn't concerned with the hobby back then so I didn't quite care enough to do more) so I will be doing... SOMETHING with it... 



I think I'll snap the saucer section off and stick it in the same place I am putting the Klingon (red)  D7 which happens to actually be the original box for it. heh!  Such nice, well made boxes, too... Like the new airfix kits? Worth saving in some instances. I wish I had kept the D7 box as well but tossed it.

[TheChronicOne]

OK, I  made my mind up on the Ju88 after I primed it. It will slow me down too much and I don't think I can do it proper justice using random garbage I find laying around the house and still at the end of the day I need a test bed. SO, back to "test bed"with that one.

Also, in looking at my F-84; if I were to go in and try to fix the crazing, I'm going to erase the panel lines. (I need sanding sticks, sanding paper, a dremel tool, etc, and without these the stuff I have won't allow me to do it properly.. such is life being a broke bum such as myself)    I could probably get some of the larger areas but then I'd feel obligated to get the areas where the pattern of panel lines is much more tight and there's no way I can get in those areas to work without ruining the panels lines. SO... what we have is a paint error when they painted the plane.  All *I* did was replicate it!    Truth of the matter is one side looks quite alright so that's the side I'll have facing out when I put it on the shelf and when I take pics... so.. no worries. It'll be fine.

I just need to get this stuff knocked out so I can move on to my Trek stuff, repair works on old models, and new Soviet GB stuff.

Can't win 'em all... just going to have to cut my losses.      One of these days I'll be able to buy proper supplies and stuff like this won't be such a nightmare to fix. 

(I'm so wishy washy, aren't I?! I can't seem to make my mind up on anything.     )

I need to grab a beer and do some chores right now but I do any modeling today (and I want to! ) It'll be something on my tiny little Klingon ship and then I think I'd like to wash the Space Shuttle and start to get a plan together for it. There's a little window on the roof that is all out of whack so I'd like to try to get it put back in place where it needs to be (without knocking it down into the inside of the model where I can't retrieve it... LOL   )  Then I'll mask the windows and the rocket cone thingies on the back then I can prime it. I also need to see how much of the stuff on the inside I can pry out because painting it will be easier NOT in the cargo bay. I also need to dig up some reference pics and the instructions.

Ta for now, and as always, thanks for stopping by.   

[DogfighterZen]

Have you considered stripping the paint off with some type of product? I've never done it myself but i know some folks use oven cleaning products to do it.
Mr. Muscle seems to do the job for some, look it up, might be of use.

[TheChronicOne]

Have you considered stripping the paint off with some type of product? I've never done it myself but i know some folks use oven cleaning products to do it.
Mr. Muscle seems to do the job for some, look it up, might be of use.

Hey that's a good idea!  I had not considered that, no.  Thanks!  Hell, I could potentially use it to fix the canopy, too.  That would be ideal...    my whole worry about this at this stage my panel lines and that would certainly help save those (unless it eats plastic, too...   ). 

I'll go ahead and shelve this thing while I look into that. There's hope yet for the Thunderjet!   

[Rick Lowe]

Yeah, Oven Cleaner works really well - though you might not want to leave it soaking too long, as it can start to attack the plastic after a while - though not as badly as brake fluid, which I've also had good results from.

I've found that the 'non-caustic' variants of oven cleaner don't work nearly as well as the regular variety.

I don't recall how it affects clear plastic, but if you give it an experiment with an already ruined canopy there's nothing lost, right?


On another note, something I've seen used on some small scale (1/2500) Trek scratchbuilds is 1/48 targeting/sensor pods used as the Engine Nacelles - it actually works better than you'd think.

FWIW & Cheers

[kerick]

Some degreaser detergents work well at removing paint without harming plastic. Simple green is one brand in the US.

[TheChronicOne]

Some killer tips up in here, thanks guys! I'll pick up some oven cleaner when I hit the store in a few days.

Been meaning to pick up some of the simple green, too. I heard it mixes with Future/Klear and makes for one hell of a glossy clear coat. More shiny than the polish alone.

[DogfighterZen]

Brad, are we talking about acrylics or enamels? With acrylics, i believe you can do it with isopropyl alcohol, and that does nothing to the plastic. Going by what happened to me about a year ago, i'd just finished painting an F-16 with Tamiya acrylics and i wasn't patient enough to give it a second varnish coat before applying the AK panel liner, which is enamel based, so it stained the paint job. I wasn't aware that i needed a product like white spirit to get it off so i had the idea to try with a wet tissue, didn't work.
Then i tried with a bit of cotton with alcohol in it and as soon as it got in contact with the paint, it dissolved the paint pretty quickly and it all came off on the cotton.
This is the alcohol i use to clean my airbrush as it's available in the grocery store just near my house, cheap and doesn't even damage the o-rings.
Also, the white spirit itself, is a very dangerous to acrylic paint work that isn't well covered with a varnish, just a few day ago, while cleaning the same AK wash from the Harrier's weapons and pods, one of the parts that wasn't very well gloss coated, lost most of the paint to the cotton swab that was too drenched in white spirit...
I've read a lot of stuff in the help and tips section on the Portuguese forum i'm in, and the same as here, lots of suggestions came up, just try the ones you're comfortable with or have the stuff to do it with and let us know how it's working.

[TheChronicOne]

The alcohol tip is quite useful, actually.. I didn't know you could do that and will remember that one for sure! I thought once it was dry, that was it; gotta sand it. Good to know! I always knew water wouldn't work once it dried and paint thinner sure as hell doesn't either so thanks for that tip.

This said, unfortunately, we're dealing with multiple layers of enamel underneath a nice thick coat of clear varnish.     All have have a couple weeks or more to cure up, too. This stuff is "on there" now.

I'll just go with some oven cleaner and maybe try some brake fluid as well. It'll be a good chance to get my hands dirty with it and learn a new technique. I imagine it will come in handy down the road! 

[TheChronicOne]

Finally got some actual work done! I sanded the seams away on the Klingon D7. I also masked all the silver painted bits. Glued the neck and bridge section to the main hull. Primed it.

Woops! I didn't adequately sand with my finer grit sand paper and the scratches and such can be seen through the paint! I put a coat of regular grey paint on the top side per painting instructions (rather than just leaving the primer grey). I suspect with another coat or two the scratches will fill in.

Neato!  Next up I'm going to grab my space shuttle and clean it. 

[DogfighterZen]

Ok, that's probably gonna take something more aggressive... my only experience with enamels was with an Airfix Zero which was painted with the hairy stick, humbrol straight out of the tin and no paint thinner involved... i didn't even know which type of paint i was using...

[TheChronicOne]

Ok, that's probably gonna take something more aggressive... my only experience with enamels was with an Airfix Zero which was painted with the hairy stick, humbrol straight out of the tin and no paint thinner involved... i didn't even know which type of paint i was using...

LOL...    Man, I tell ya, back when I was a kid I thought "water based is kiddy stuff because enamel is more serious and blah blah blah, don't give me this kiddy crap. "  (kind of like, "hey don't give me the non flammable "safe" glue, give me the red stuff that will explode!!! I'm not 5 years old anymore!! "  )   

Now I love me some water based paint and hate using enamels. I mean, spraying is one thing with my rattle cans, but I HATE brushing oil paints...    water based just seems so much better to me. It's more forgiving in the short run, clean up is a breeze, no goofy fumes and smells, etc. Also, it seems to just "act" better but that could be chalked up to any number of things including paint quality, my own ability, etc..  it justs seems like on the whole I can get acrylics to "cooperate" more easily.

And yeah proper thinning is a thing.     I've only recently figured that out myself. More so with enamels but the water stuff too...  A lot of the problems I used to have is because I never bothered to thin my paints.


In other news, I managed to stay true to my word and am currently tinkering with my Space Shuttle!!     I'm having fun with it.. I'm cleaning her up with Iso. and paper towels and one little piece from the payload came loose so I lovingly placed it inside a plastic zip bag...     I took a break to look here and update but I'm still working on it. Going to go in for second phase of cleaning in a few.

Also, I took a closer look at the payload and it sits inside the model proper inside a "bathtub" so I'm hoping I can pry it out somehow. Also, I think I can snap the wings back off after a run through the seams with my trusty hobby knife.

[TheChronicOne]

Time Travelling Brad would have went and told himself to make well built, sturdy models.

Current Brad wishes that little turd had not been so thorough with the glue. 

Any way..  I managed to get the bulk of the shuttle cleaned. The wings won't be coming off. This was a "snap" kit so I was sort of hoping "little me" went easy on the glue but such is not the case. The wings will be staying on. One of the cones on the back broke off naturally so I went and snapped all the rest off any way. This will save some tedious masking! I'll have to sand and file on things but I'd rather do that than mask.

Also, the payload and the bathtub it sits in will be remaining in place. This was also well glued by that turd Little Brad. 

No worries, though. I'm still feeling good about this one. I think I can fix the seams on the wing roots. One is actually pretty damn nice and clean, the other has a hell of a gap, though. Still, I can fill that in, mask the adjoining areas so that I don't erase the panel lines, and make it a go of it.

There are other areas to address, naturally, but I'll stop here and try to focus on little bits at a time.