1/32 NACA Bell X-1 Finished

[Adam the Akrodude]

Hey Eric,
I'm beginning to think that your polished Tamiya white primer technique is now so popular that it has cleared the shelves of this product, at least in Melbourne. I can't find the stuff anywhere!
ARGH!

[Ericg]

Hi Adam,

I actually used Mr surfacer white 1000 spray for the S4. Try that.

Salty, please contact me through the usual channel thanks.

Eric

[hrtpaul]

Great to see ya here Eric. Looking great yet again. Look forward to seeing more of you awesome work

[Ericg]

This model requires a complete re-scribe. It features some weird curves that traditional rulers and dymo tape were having trouble following. We recently purchased a house that had some aluminium venetian blinds in it that where too long, like these ones:

http://www.shadesblindsshutters-nh.com/ ... linds.html

Upon removing the 10 or so blinds to shorten them, I discovered that each individual blind would make an excellent straight edge, that was in reasonable supply and was easy to work with. To rescribe, I simply place a line or blob of blu-tack that will hold the straight edge in place,



Firmly place the straight edge in position





The aluminum can be easily cut to desired shapes to give a stable template to scribe with



Here is another trick I have been using. There are many instances where I have to spray small areas with primer and want to use the excellent Tamiya fine surface primer. I have heard of a few ways of decanting the spray pack and recently saw one of my mates use a similiar method to this. I have refined it slightly, hopefully making it more effective.

Take the primer, a pipette and a spare glass paint jar



Cut the bulb from the pipette and also some of the smaller end so that it fits like this (now with a divergent nozzle that it slows the spray down) :



Now it is just a simple matter of spraying it into the jar, no waste.



I have heard of guys letting it sit for a while to de-gas, I prefer to stir it with a metal stirrer, which speeds up the process so that you are then able to use it almost straight away. I have also noticed that out of the few different ways that I have tried decanting the spray pack, this one is the one that requires the least de-gassing.



Spray away!

[Capt NG]

Learn something new every day.. Some great work there.By the way Eric, in regards to your opening statement,insofar as any of us getting terminated from AMI, only one person in that boat, and unfairly as has been the general level of sentiment from those who matter to him most. The rest of us moved on as sycophantic, malicious, obsequious behaviour towards Ray was typical from a few " heros"...and as a show of support to Ray and a realisation of a niche modelling market we wanted to make a go of this site... We also haven't self destructed as you suggest, but never let the facts stand in the way of a good yarn aye... Just thought I'd clear that one up as I'd hate mis truths to be promulgated aye?... as a Captain, you'd know that though right?

[Ericg]

Actually Capt, I was going tongue in cheek towards one of the members who told me personally that he `self terminated' and was meant to be a dig at him. Self terminated/self destructed same thing and it was a bit of fun. No untruths there at all mate. Being a Captain yourself though, you know you cant be too serious all the time around the crew otherwise you end up booking a table for one on overnights right? LOL! seeya at expo mate.

Eric

[Capt NG]

Being in safety as well as flying now means no one wants to speak to me anyway! Those that know me know I ain't serious all the time.. But I just have a serviceable bullshit radar that's all.. That's part of being a Captain aye?

[Adam the Akrodude]

I am the "Self-Terminator"! I'll not be back!



BTW - excellent hints Eric on the spray can de-canting and use of venetian blind straight edge scribing tool. Hey, there's a new product potentially for you, the "Venetian Scribing Tool" - sounds pretty fancy! I've only had one go at re-scribing, over 1000 years ago on a Testors 1/48 SR-71. I was so lazy, I only re-scribed the top and gave it good "Matchbox" style finish with very deep trenches! I did use a bit of thin and flexible sheet metal (a drafting tool I had) as a straight edge, as you have.

This will be another cracker build! You, much like the X-1 back in 1947, are very much pushing the performance envelope of modelling in this country!

Looking forward to seeing your S4 posted here too!

Cheers

Adam - T-900 "Self-Terminator"

[Ericg]

So I have been copping a bit of a ribbing from a mate over not doing anything much regarding bases for my models. This is partially due to the fact that once a model is finished and in the display case, then it is time to move on. The other reason is that the pre-printed bases that I have had my eye on from online stores are never available and are a bit too generic for my purposes.

Anyway, I was sitting there doing stuff to the X-1 and thought about giving it a go and here is the result. I hope it looks OK as it my first attempt at a home made base ever.

I used a some plasterboard cut to size as the platform on which to add the detail. I then cut out squares of 800 grit sandpaper and layed them onto the board with PVA glue. I left a very small gap between each one to simulate the sheets of concrete.

After this process was complete I then coated the base with Tamiya surface primer from the spray can. I then use Tamiya Sky grey to paint the concrete, and then several layers of mottled dark gray to pick out edges and provide some interest. Once I was happy with the general concrete colour of the base, I sprayed a thin film of water all over it and randomly sprinkled salt in various layers across the whole board. Once this was dry I applied a thin darker mix of the Sky grey paint to give the concrete its patina. Once this layer of paint was dry, I brushed off the dryed salt, leaving the contrasting and random pattern that you can see in the pics. I then did this again using the opposite colour to really break up the surface and introduce even more randomness. Once totally happy with this, I loaded up some Gunze Tyre black and sprayed the dark lines that divide each sheet of concrete. To give the base a used look, I then built up some layers of grime as if it was an area where an aircraft had been serviced, and then flicked oil splotches over the entire base with a stiff brush.

I hope to be able to completes the base using some wood as an edge.







Next to the reference pic I used. Sorts looks the same....

[hrtpaul]

Wow very cool Eric