Hobby Boss Easy Assembly 1/48 P-51-D, ''Yellow Nose''

[Nikola]

Hi gents,

This is one of my current builds, HB's easy assembly pony. It is kind of a warm up for Revell's 1/32 Mustang which I have slowly started. It is my first easy assembly kit and also my first NMF bird so I am trying something new on this one.

I chose the easy assembly kit because I wanted to finish something relatively quickly and get to the paint job asap.

The kit comes with just a few sprues, with very little sub-assemblies as one would expect form an easy assembly kit.

The detail is minimal, only a few rivets and cockpit sidewalls have no detail at all, but the fit so far is good. The wings are not glued to the fuselage yet.

There is a minimal step on the underside where the cowling meets the fuselage. Some sanding from the inside will probably take care of that.

One very strange thing is that the vertical stabilizer is off center line for some reason (pics below).

A good little thing is the pin system (or whatever it's called) to join fuselage halves together. The same as in their P47 easy assembly kit as I've seen.

I tried to make the cockpit a little more interesting with paintwork and some weathering, but nothing special. Didn't want to spend too much time on it.

The cockpit will be closed anyway, and as I said, this is a quick build.

Thanks for looking.


Best,
Nikola

[digger303]

Promising kit it seems and the cockpit is nicely done, but like you said it is going to be hard to see much on the inside once closed up. Those alignment pins are huge.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Keep at it and keep posting
Really seams like a good build so far
I am totally guilty of overdoing the cockpits....details never to be seen again

Good luck with it

[BigWall]

Wow! That is a simple kit but you're making it look great!

[Parker]

love your work, Nikola.

[Nikola]

Hi gents,

Just found out about the vertical stabilizer offset from a fellow modeler - that was a common feature on several more modern fighter designs of the war. The Mustang's vertical stabilizer had an incidence of 1° left built in to help offset the torque from the powerful Merlin engine.

However, HB made one major f'up with the landing gear - the torque scissors are at the front! Pic below.

I'll see how it can be fixed... Or just leave them as they are.


Best,
Nikola

[Nikola]

Promising kit it seems and the cockpit is nicely done, but like you said it is going to be hard to see much on the inside once closed up. Those alignment pins are huge.

Thanks Digger!

Best,
Nikola

[Nikola]

Keep at it and keep posting
Really seams like a good build so far
I am totally guilty of overdoing the cockpits....details never to be seen again

Good luck with it

Thanks Scott. Glad you like it.

Best,
Nikola

[Nikola]

Wow! That is a simple kit but you're making it look great!

Thank you Joe! Appreciated.

Best,
Nikola

[Nikola]

love your work, Nikola.

Thank you very much Parker! Appreciated!

Best,
Nikola

[Tomcat64]

The guys have already said it but that cockpit really does look great.

And interesting to find out about the "anti-torque" devices too - I didn't know any of that.

[Nikola]

The guys have already said it but that cockpit really does look great.

And interesting to find out about the "anti-torque" devices too - I didn't know any of that.

Thanks Neil! Very glad you like it.

Me too. Had no idea. Live and learn.

Best,
Nikola

[digger303]

The guys have already said it but that cockpit really does look great.

And interesting to find out about the "anti-torque" devices too - I didn't know any of that.

Me either

[Nikola]

Hi guys,

One of the biggest lies in BJJ sparring is saying ''let's roll light''. It never ends that way.

Same here. This is supposed to be a very quick build but I just couldn't let some details not get addressed.

I had to fill in the side seams between the front fixed canopy and the fuselage as HB has for some reason left about 0.5mm of unnecessary plastic above the proper seam line.

Also had to rescribe some panel lines including the one running along the center of the cowling top side, as HB does not show them in the completed aircraft drawing in the painting instructions.

The seam is obviously there in the photos of the real thing.

I hate rescribing over filler putty as I can not yet achieve a perfectly strait line. I also went too deep in some spots and I hope that extra primer and paint fill fix those areas. Does anyone have a suggestion regarding this issue?


Thanks for looking!


Best,
Nikola

[Nikola]

Hi guys,

Finished priming with Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 and marbled using Uschi Triniti Splatter template with Tamiya Nato Black.

Next step is the moment of truth - the metal coat. We'll see how that goes.


Thanks for looking.


Best,
Nikola

[Nikola]

Hi gents,

Well, the marbling technique worked like a charm. I got exactly what I expected. Very happy about that. I think that Nato Black is a good choice for marbling over pure black as anything lighter that that would give too much contrast.

One thing which I am not happy about though is how Vallejo Metal Color behaves. It also clogs the airbrush a lot (although I haven't used their flow improver which I probably should have) and it is somehow too grainy.

It might be something to do with the primer underneath or my poor technique as an NMF beginner. As we all know metallics are very sensitive to sanding and buffing, but I have one thing in mind that might fix that although I am not sure that it will work. We'll see when this is dry completely.

Anybody else had similar experience with Vallejo metallic? Any other suggestions for improving the finish?

And yes, it is true what they say, this stuff shows every single imperfection!!!

Anyway, here is the result.


Best,
Nikola

[digger303]

Great mottling effect.
Vallejo Metal colors......add thinner and spray in light thin coats making sure each coat is dry before applying more. Spay at 18-23psi.
Too much paint too quick makes underlying paint react.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ya I like that black basing mottling effect
She is looking good

I don’t spray Vajello as it clogs airbrushes...over and over

[Nikola]

Great mottling effect.
Vallejo Metal colors......add thinner and spray in light thin coats making sure each coat is dry before applying more. Spay at 18-23psi.
Too much paint too quick makes underlying paint react.

Thanks Digger! Appreciated!

You are absolutely right about having too much paint too quick as it started to behave strangely in one area, almost looked like cracking or something. Luckily it is on the cowling top where the anti glare green will go. Phew!

I should have asked questions before...

Best,
Nikola

[Nikola]

Ya I like that black basing mottling effect
She is looking good

I don’t spray Vajello as it clogs airbrushes...over and over

Thanks TKNS!

I am also thinking about ditching Vallejo for spraying and using it for brushwork only. It does behave better with their flow improver, but since there are other great options out there...

Best,
Nikola

[Nikola]

Hi gents,

She's all metalized!

Vellejo Metal Colors - Aluminium for the most part - fuselage, ailerons, flaps, vertical stabiliser, rudder, mg housing panels...; White Aluminium for the filled and painted parts of the wings; Duraluminium for the panels at the exhaust.

These metallics are very difficult to photograph!

Thanks for looking!

Best,
Nikola

[Stokesy44]

Lovely metalwork

[Nikola]

Lovely metalwork

Thanks Stokesy!
Still got to do the weathering and not mess it up!

Best,
Nikola

[Nikola]

A little surgery to correct HB's mistake and bring the torque scissors to the back where they belong.

I shouldn't be doing this Hobby Boss!!!


Best,
Nikola


Before surgery:


The cut:


The result - the patient survived and the doc is happy:

[BigWall]

It's looking great Nikola! I really like the metalwork

[Nikola]

Well gents,

Something somewhere went terribly wrong...


I sprayed a clear coat, Mr. Color GX UV Cut Gloss Super Clear, over the well dried Vallejo metallics and some sort of reaction happened resulting in what appears to be cracking/waves/rippling of the color.
Does anyone have a clue as to what might have happened?

I am starting to really get frustrated with Vellejo as I have this sort of problems only with their stuff.
Am I doing something essentially wrong by mixing them with other products?

Thanks in advance.


Best,
Nikola

[BigWall]

The only answer I can give you is the obvious one. It caused it to craze for some reason. Hopefully someone will be along with a better answer for you. I'm sorry, that's got to be really frustrating!

[Nikola]

Hi gents,

It turns out that probably two factors contributed to this - the first being using different brands of paint and clear, and the second being that I have only waited three days for Vallejo metallics to dry where in fact, from what I've been told, I should've waited at least seven.

How much each factor contributed, that I am not sure of though.

Well, lesson learned! That's why I chose the Easy Assembly kit for my first NMF.



Best,
Nikola

[Casper]

Hi, Real shame about the crazing Nikola, what was the primer?
casp

[Nikola]

Hi, Real shame about the crazing Nikola, what was the primer?
casp

Hi Casper,

I used black Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500.
The primer and the paint had no trouble. Only when I applied clear gloss then it happened.

Best,
Nikola

[digger303]

Despite the nasty rep of lacquer based paints, they do dry much quicker and generally adhere well if the surface is not contaminated. I realize that this isn't the problem that you are presenting here. You got a reaction because the previous coat wasn't dry enough. Whats the weather like there is it slowing the curing process too ? Also how wet was the top coat or any or the coats.

[Nikola]

Hi gents,

Decals on followed by another gloss clear. Ready for washes...
I've definitely learned my lesson not to mix certain types of paint and to wait longer for metallics to dry, as I've had crazing and lost some of the effects which I had prior to the first gloss clear.
I hope that I can fix some of the crazing and that I can achieve the effects again in steps to follow.


Best,
Nikola

[BigWall]

Wow! It looks really great! Hopefully you can fix the crazing

[Nikola]

Well gents, since my Badger 150 does not have the cup cover and since I am stupid, I managed to spill the clear coat over one of the wings and that was that.

Luckily, I had one more in the stash so I salvaged the cockpit, the prop, hub, and the landing gear with wheels, and gave it another go. I used this opportunity to try Vallejo's gloss black primer as well. Not bad.

The first one just didn't want to get built. This is take two.

It might even be a better build as I did not over-sand the tail, don't have paint crazing and damage as I did on the first one.
But, there is still time to spill things and screw up.


Anyway, this is where I'm at this time.


Best,
Nikola

[digger303]

Lovely metalic finish with some nice panel variation...beautiful

[Nikola]

Lovely metalic finish with some nice panel variation...beautiful

Thanks Digger. Appreciated.

Best,
Nikola

[Nikola]

Hi guys,

A little update - masking and painting done. She received a number of coats of Vallejo Metal Varnish, as this time I didn't want to mess with incompatible chemistry and wanted to test this varnish specifically. So far so good.

As with other Vallejo varnishes, I thin them 50/50 and they spray ok, but are somehow trickier to control, for me at least, so I have to be very careful not to create puddling.

One thing which I have noticed is that even after 48h of drying, the varnish is still slightly tacky, so I am reluctant to start decals as yet. Plus, I thought it would be glossier for some reason. I am tempted to give it one or two coats of gloss clear before decals but I am not sure as I don't want to screw up the panel lines before washes.

Did anyone else have the same experience? Any tips?

Best,
Nikola

[Garion77]

Coming along great despite all the problems you encountered ! good you've persevere !

[Nikola]

Coming along great despite all the problems you encountered ! good you've persevere !

Thanks for the support Garion! Appreciated!

[Nikola]

Hi guys,

I noticed that the anti-glare OD, yellow nose and black tail stripes (Tamiya acryilics) are not tacky, but the metallic paint still is slightly. The white aluminium which was sprayed a couple of days after aluminium is less tacky than the aluminium which had more than a week to dry before I applied the metal varnish.

The varnish is applied over all the above mentioned colours in the exacly same time and manner.

Could I coat it with clear gloss even though the metallics are still a bit tacky?

I can handle it no problem without leaving any marks but still not sure about the gloss clear.

I have no idea what's going on. Any clues?


Best,
Nikola

[Garion77]

Hi guys,

I noticed that the anti-glare OD, yellow nose and black tail stripes (Tamiya acryilics) are not tacky, but the metallic paint still is slightly. The white aluminium which was sprayed a couple of days after aluminium is less tacky than the aluminium which had more than a week to dry before I applied the metal varnish.

The varnish is applied over all the above mentioned colours in the exacly same time and manner.

Could I coat it with clear gloss even though the metallics are still a bit tacky?

I can handle it no problem without leaving any marks but still not sure about the gloss clear.

I have no idea what's going on. Any clues?


Best,
Nikola

I would wait longer if I was you.

[Nikola]

Hi gents,

After reading and researching, the answer probably lies in the fact that I didn't wait long enough between coats and had them too thick, trapping coats which haven't fully dried underneath. I found it tricky to visually judge the amount sprayed over the metallics (due to reflection) in comparison to spraying over regular paints. Lesson learned.

However, in my first attempt on the first kit (the one with which I started this topic) I used Gunze gloss clear in a similar manner and it dried normally, despite the fact that incompatible chemistry made Vallejo metallics underneath crack.

I guess that I will have to wait it out however long it takes, if it ever dries.

Any suggestions for fixing this quicker?

Thanks in advance.


Best,
Nikola