First build ever, plus sophomore effort!

[killerquagmire]

This is pretty much my first attempt at building a model on my own since I basically watched my parents build the last one over 30 years ago! Obviously I made many mistakes. Most notably; I painted the canopy frame the wrong color, damaged one of the star decals on the wing. I also misinterpreted the instructions and filled the slot that allows the canopy to slide back with filler because I thought it was a gap! Despite all that, I was still fairly pleased with the end result being a first build and all. Revell P-51D Mustang 1/48:











My sophomore effort- Revell F-15e Strike Eagle 1/48 was much improved and I was very pleased. Unfortunately, I had quite a bit of decal silvering for some reason.















This was the photo I used as inspiration for weathering:

I would like to also add that I learned all my techniques from Paul's fantastic youtube tutorials.
Thanks for viewing. Any constructive criticism is appreciated. Peace!

[chief5437]

Nice builds, I really like the F-15, looks beautiful!

[Art17847]

me too... the f-15 looks awesome ....so good the last pic fooled me i was like how in the heck did he shoot that photo...and then i was like wait a minute and realized that was the real deal...great job

[trekfanj]

Everyone's first build looks bad; my first build was Revell's RMS Titanic. Glue marks, canyon - sized gaps, and I didn't let the paint completely dry so there were paint fingerprints all over it.
And the gold cheat line was probably a scale 8 feet wide.

It's just a matter of constant improvement, which you're definitely showing; your Mustang is better than any of my earlier projects by leaps and bounds. And the weathering on your F-15 is top-notch!

10 years in the hobby and I'm still learning new things everyday!

[HistoryRider]

OOOOHH Nice F-15!!!!

[killerquagmire]

Wow! thanks for all the encouragement! I can tell you a few things I learned from these two builds:

1. Super glue is your friend!
2. Paint sticks for pin stripes...not so much
3. Modern aircraft have a ridiculous amount of decals!
4. And finally, "most" damage can be undone lol

I currently have a Hasegawa F-22 Raptor w/ etched photo parts on deck and I am absolutely terrified! Any advise on tools for bending etched parts? I'm really trying to avoid dropping 40 bucks on an etching tool if possible, especially since this is my first attempt.

[m0gb0y74]

Great work - I now have managed to get my success rate to 1 success for 2 thrown in the bin

I'm surprised no one mentioned it - decal silvering is caused by applying decals to a non-gloss surface. Coat your model with future/clear/gloss varnish before applying decals will stop that from happening. Seal them in afterwards with a varnish of your choice - I usually use a matt or silk to take away the shine.

[Lee]

Great first efforts there mate

[eightfooticeman]

I think you did a fine job my friend.

[UKguyInUSA]

Both great builds mate....I particularly love the F-15

Regarding the silvering on your decals; did you apply a gloss clear coat/varnish all over the plane and allow that to dry before applying the decals, and then when the decals were set apply a flat clear coat / varnish?

If you did do all that, then I don't know what happened, other than maybe a poor setting solution?

Cheers

Martin

[thing]

Fantastic effort. I'm learrning a lot from my first proper build too, especially WRT decals!!