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

[DogfighterZen]

No one can do everything at the same time so, take it easy and you'll be back in the game before you know it. 

[TheChronicOne]

Thanks!!   I'm hoping that be tomorrow! I can afford to slack off some now. 

[TheChronicOne]

11AM!! Here I sit, in my chair!  I need to do something about fixing lunch but I'm free and clear after lunch to work on models and watch TV all day. 

'Bout damn time!!!!!


I'll start with the BAC-111 first then switch over to the Spitfire. I lost the stupid aerial mast thing so I'll have to file and sand down a piece of half round sprue. Other than that, though, I need to slap on 2-3 more coats of BROWN then I can start with the GREEN camo and try my best to copy the pattern correctly. Once this is done, I can gloss it and do the transfers later maybe.


Anyhow, I went and looked at the big expensive house and property this morning. I'm getting a funny feeling about this one but I'll get into that more later after I actually know what I'm talking about.  In other lawn crap, I've managed to get caught up on lawns, despite half running equipment and extreme weather, and boy am I glad. Of course, I won't get to have no sort of break, though, because the next cycle starts immediately. No telling when I'll finally get to put things down and do proper maintenance. Some of this stuff is barely hangin' on.  Not much I can do until either one hell of a break in the weather or a day sans paying lawns.


Lastly, been up to no good again on the eBay. Man oh man, scored some pretty choice wares!!!!!!!!!!  Have a F-27 in 1/144 coming over from Jim, as well. Looking forward to that. I scored its "cousin" the other day (YS-11 in 1/144, same airline, same manufacturer) and it'll be here probably tomorrow.

[TheChronicOne]

I ain't making no plans for models today. I'll just see what happens after work and if I get anything at all done I'll be glad. I either have 4 or 5 jobs today. One... I might not do because they didn't get ahold of me until yesterday after I had went to bed. I have them scheduled for two days from now anyway. We'll see. I might have to do it though and if so I'll be out in the 100 degree weather for sure. It's going to be well over 110 degrees today and will be in the hundred before noon. These one people..... they water their front flower beds, right, but they use a sprinkler that hits that and half the front yard which is almost nothing but weeds so that stuff grows like mad even in the dead of summer when nothing else grows because of heat and lack of rain. I wish I could just say, "HEY, STOP WATERING THE WEEDS." 

But anyway!!! The other day I started with the green camo on the Spitfire but made a boo boo!!!   This is what happens when you work on things exhausted... so anyway... I painted the wings correctly but put the wrong scheme on the fuselage so now I have completely mismatched paint job on the damn thing.     

Also, I sanded on the wing tops of the BAC 111 one more time and fixed the nose. I primed it again but the stuff is still shining through on the wings. Not even raised detail... it's as if oil is on the former detail and the paint won't go on it. It's really weird. I suspect I'm spraying my coats of primer way too heavy and will try to mist coat them this time.

So, yeah, one step forward and two steps back on both things I worked on the other day.     

[TheChronicOne]

Well, I went for the "extra" day thinking it would be nice to "get ahead" and not have such a rough day Sunday. I HAD a new lawn to do that day and it's always nice to set aside extra time in case things get difficult. So, I had 5 jobs today, trash then 4 properties to mow lawn. Just to come home and see that this person I was going to go to Sunday CANCELED on me. Hottest day of the year, over 110 and I scheduled the roughest day of the year because I WAS behind, almost am again, and didn't want to be there again... only to find I wasted my time out in this god awful heat.    Second time this week some wanker did this to me. That's real money, and time, that I'm losing when these people do this. It's so rude! Don't even have to dignity to speak to me.      All part of the territory though!! Fact of the matter is, I'm glad I'm ahead now and I was instantly able to fill the missing Sunday slot with another job.      Just one, though!!!! I should make it home pretty early and be able to work on builds all day. 

ANYWAY. So I actually managed to work on THREE builds, thoough!!     And, amazingly, no hitches. Everything went smoothly and all three have progressed without having anything REgress.

So, the BAC-111 is now ready to have the wing fences glued on and actual paint work started, with one caveat: I'm starting to wonder about the wind screens. What I did was glue in the factory glass and smoothed it over. I think it will work just fine but was the glass on the actual 1-11 recessed like this? I mean, this is how the kit was designed... I didn't alter it any. Since I'm using aftermarket windscreen decals I kind of wonder how they'll work and again if the windscreens were even recessed to begin with.





Sam story on Yak-53 pretty much. It is now primed and ready for actual paint! Nothing more to report on that one other than I'm glad it's ready. All downhill from here!






Lastly, I looked at my Spitfire and found that only one side of the fuselage was painted incorrectly so that helps. Still, the port side and top were painted wrong so I went ahead and painted green on in the proper fashion then next round I'll come back with brown to correct it all then it's time to peel off the masking and do all the cut-in and touch-up.

[PR19_Kit]

No, BAC 1-11 windscreens aren't recessed, that's just worn moulds in Airfix's part I expect.

But as you're using a decal windscreen the silver frames will disguise the recess and no-one will know. 

Ask me how I know this. (© Zenrat Industries) 

[TheChronicOne]

 

Thanks!!  That was the the last thing hanging me up, now I can proceed with the build!

But, uhhhhh, you know me..  now that I know the truth, I'm going to have to fill that stuff in and get it all level and even with the fuselage. 

At this point, I don't really mind. I gave up the idea of this being a "quick, simple build" long ago.... 

[PR19_Kit]

I gave up the idea of this being a "quick, simple build" long ago.... 

I'm not sure there is a 'quick, simple build' possible with those ancient Airfix 1/144 kits sadly. 

Maybe the DC9-30 and the Comet 4 may work better as they re-furbished both of them maybe 10 yrs ago.

[TheChronicOne]

Ahh!  Good to hear on those two, I have one of those Comets. It's a really colorful looking airplane.

[TheChronicOne]

Well, with only one lawn to do today I decided to sleep in to the late hour of 2:45AM. Believe it or not, that45 minutes can make a difference! About a week ago I woke up at 3 and felt great all day and think that's why.     But, I also have to get my house chores caught up when I get home. Still, I think I might actually have ENERGY for a change and maybe I can get some good work done on my builds. I've managed to progress things a little bit recently but it's nowhere near the pace I was moving at about 3 or 4 weeks ago...


So the plan will be to finish fixing the paint on the Spitfire. If I can get this done, it'll be time for touch up painting then gloss.  I could be done with it today depending on motivation and energy level.

I will start to fill in the sunken-in windows on my BAC-111. Won't be getting in any hurry on that because I don't really have the proper type of putty. I'll have to layer my glazing putty and to do so properly takes time. This is looking like another build that just won't die but it only SEEMS like it. Sometimes it just takes time to do things right.

The Yak-53.... well... this one here is ready for white paint if I'm not mistaken! Shouldn't be too difficult? I haven't used this rattle can paint in a long while, though, and am unsure of the results I will get. I use better practices with my rattle can painting these days and am curious to see how it turns out, yet, still worried simply because the can of paint only cost $1 and the QC might no be too great. Worse comes to worse, I'll sand it a bit and hand paint.   


This leaves the ATR-72, F-52, and the B-58 RAF builds. I have done next to nothing on the ATR-72 the last week (and zero in the 10 days or more prior and zero on the other two in the last couple of weeks or more) so I'd like to do SOMETHING on it and the other two. Especially the B-58. I don't want to get behind in the group build.

[TheChronicOne]

Barely chugging along... I've done bits and pieces of work to the Yak-53 and the Spitfire.

On the yak, I primed one last time but there were a couple specks..... I tried to sand it away before the primer was dried and thus created a larger mess....         At that point, I stashed it and will let it properly dry, then I will sand that section and fix it later...


The Spitfire has had the camo paint pattern fixed and it is now 90% within spec. I'll have to go back in with my smaller brush and get the borders into accurate shapes and smooth it all but I'm well on my way now to getting it wrapped up.




Work was also done on the B-58 RAF build for the GB so go check that out if you are interested.


Nothing done on the BAC 1-11. Next task is to start filling in the sunken windscreens still...

Nothing on the F-52.

ATR-72 is still stalled and just sitting around. I think the next thing needing done is to either fill more on the fuselage seams or to start sanding them.

[Old Wombat]

Saw this posted by The Big Gimper over on Beyond the Sprues & thought of you:

[TheChronicOne]

 



Good one!!       I almost named my business "Lawn Enforcement."   

[TheChronicOne]

I forgot to do my morning time planning post!! Oh well, I woke up a smooth 1.5 hours late this morning so I was in a rush to leave. 


So, I'm needing to go back in and do the finalizing of the camo pattern on the Spitfire and get it as close to reference pictures as I can then I can do touch up on the rest of the exterior. After that, I'll paint the interior then it can be glossed I think?

I just did a bit more sanding on the Yak-53 and need to hit one wing with a bit of primer then I can paint it white then decide how to approach the red portions. There are transfers for them but I read that the ones on the wings are too large or something? I'm going to cut them out or trace them then cut THAT out and place them on the wings and see for myself what the situation is. If I have to I'll mask the wings then just use the fuselage striping from the transfers.

This is all I'm planning for for now and will see how things are going later and how motivated I am for other projects.

[TheChronicOne]

The lil Spitfire is trying to kick my arse but I've fought back. First was the masking mayhem:



I masked the bottom off for spraying.....  works great. For spraying. I was thinking, "Hell, let's see what happens and just leave it on there... "     Normally I'd either re-mask properly to prepare for brush painting or just go for it sans tape and clean up any paint that rolled over the wings onto the bottom. Definitely didn't like the result and I had to spend half an hour to an hour repairing it all:



Not perfect. It's hard to even see from this terrible picture, though. Trust me, it's not that great but what it is is good enough and I fully intend to weather this one so this all works out great as preliminary weathering. (which I've already started, mind you, in the form of powder burn or whatever coming from the barrels and some stuff around moving parts)

I finished most of the touch up on the camo. I need to check it again, I may have missed some on the stbd. side. I also painted the cockpit. Weird color green it's supposed to be, "Wasabi Green" on my paints. I still need to paint a little more inside (make the seat cushions brown, etc). I also need to use my crook-neck reverse action needle tweezer things to try to put the damn control stick in as I completely spaced it earlier in the build. 


Yak-53 has rec'd coat #1 of white paint! It looks GOOD! I'm astounded. I warmed the can up REAL hot.. sitting on my surround sound system head unti while I watch blockbuster movies.... then shook the everloving piss out of it. Here's the important part: I didn't go crazy spraying and only hit it with a mist coat. A moderate one, but a mist coat still. It looks really nice but of course I need to do this again once or twice more but it'll be worth it not to screw this up.


This is all I've done today but for the Spitfire it was a good amount of work and on the Yak, it was important work so I am pleased with the productivity none the less. 

I'm done, though. I've gathered up some choice wares from the internet and even from "here" to post in the stash thread. My airliners are now invading my military 1/72 stuff.