Is Klear Still Viable in 2021?

Simple premise - I first saw Klear used by the late Ted Taylor in Scale Models International more than 35 years ago. I was 14-15 at the time and wondered what this wonder gloss he was using was. Imagine my surprise when I found that you got it in the cleaning section of the Supermarket! And it was as good brushes as airbrushed?!? I was still three-four years from my first serious forays into airbrushing so it seemed perfect.

You know what? It was brilliant - once I'd worked out that you didn't use white spirit as a thinner or brush cleaner it clicked into place. And ever since I've been using it almost constantly for various things in modelling - I've certainly never applied it to any linoleum! One thing I have rarely used it for in years is glossing prior to decals. I simply moved into lacquers and my processes changed. I tend to go back to it when glossing large models as it it easy to apply in large quick coats than lacquers in my experience, less demanding of that wet edge, less likely to get vortex grit in sharp corners on large subjects. But largely not used anymore day to day.

Yesterday I was at a low motivational point, and decided to experiment with it as a gloss finish again, using some test pieces ad painting over Tamiya acrylics. I had been playing with greys and green for a while, so decided to gloss them up. The process was simple - the paint was applied (thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinner) and very lightly wet sanded with Trizact 3000 to smooth it. Then two light coats of Klear at low pressure thinned again with Tamiya lacquer thinner, and again sanded between and at the end with Trizact. 

The basic gloss. Certainly good enough for any decal application. Almost fool-proof application at low (10-12psi) pressure, the thinner keys it to the gloss, dries hard in a couple of hours. Another coat, another polish, done. Absolutely solid, hard coat and nice shine - more coats will, of course build more shine.

Then I decided to polish one of the test pieces with Turtle Wax Light-To-Medium polishing compound. The paint and plastic prep was nowhere as thorough as I'd do for an actual gloss finish - but I think the results are clear. It's as good as any other gloss I've cut and polished. 

My verdict? Yes, it's still totally viable and useable in 2021 as a glossing medium. It's no more or less risky than any other paint coat (i.e. basically anything that goes wrong will be something You've done, not the product - and I've failed in applying finishes many times in my modelling career - if you're not failing occasionally you're probably not pushing or learning).

Still useful, still relevant. Will I go back to using it regularly? Probably not, but it's a nice tool and skill set to refresh yourself with, and I may try it a few times on upcoming builds and see where it goes. 

Airfix Beaufort

 Airfix 1/72nd Beaufort Mk.1

Great box art invites the modeller in!

So, time to get this thing started! The one thing I had decided to do fairly early on was to give the model a full rivet job. I can generally take or leave rivets in small scales, but I wanted to busy this one up some using simple techniques. so out came the pencil, some straight edges and dymo tape and the RB Models riveter!

The basic tools of combat when riveting.

You can use straight edges for long runs of rivets, but in all honestly, as long as you have some sort of guide line like an adjacent panel, you can work slowly and carefully freehand - if your rivet wheel isn't overly sloppy it won't tend to wander. But using a straight edge gives an insurance of sorts, so your choice!

I prefer to do most riveting before assembly commences, individual parts have fewer corners and awkward spots to deal with. I stay away from thing like seam lines on fuselage halves - I'll do them after sanding the seams to make all the detail marry up.

And the results - I didn't follow any plans for this, so it's basically an "added interest" feature that is imagineered from the detail provided. I couldn't find any plans covering rivet patterns, so as long as it busies up the surface, I'm happy. A light oil paint wash highlights the panel detail and rivets for the camera.

 Zvezda 1/144th Boeing 757

My very favourite airliner. I've waited a LONG time for this. I built the Minicraft kit that was released in around 1998-99 a few times, but to call it "disappointing" is to understate things slightly. So here we are, in 2021, with an all new tool Zvezda 757. Worth the wait? 100%! Beautifully moulded, fine but consistent detail, looks every inch the sleek, sinuous and predatory beauty the 757 is. I've been on the kit two days, and most of the major subassemblies are done. 

The wing and tailplanes aren't glued yet, but this is the basic model. I did scrape a vee in the fuselage halves at the join so I could fill the seam with black CA - glossy airliners mean you have to make the seam go bye-bye better than most others, and this will help prevent ghost seams opening up later. 

The satellite internet antenna on the spine fits perfectly too! 

Underside view showing fit of wing lower section. The kit includes standard wingtips and winglets as an option, and both RR and GE engines are ins the kit. Basically you can do any -200 series 757 from this model as provided. Clear cabin windows have a section to be cut off for the -200, indicating clear plans for a -300 down the line a bit (2022?)

More soon, nearly ready for some paint!

 "Tamiya Decals Are Thicker Than Aftermarket Decals"

"You can never hide the carrier film". This is an ongoing trope in modelling circles. That Tamiya decals are too thick to effectively hide the carrier film, that you always wend up with a visible edge around them. That you should always seek aftermarket decals for your Tamiya kit in order to overcome this issue. Yada yada yada.

I've had some issues in the past when I've used water that is too cold. Apart from that I have thirty years of using them with no issues whatsoever. But. . . . when it all blew up again this week I decided to actually *test* the hypothesis. You see, I work in aerospace manufacturing. This gives me access to accurate, calibrated measuring equipment. You can see where this is going can't you?

So I picked a spare Tamiya decal (part of the anti glare panel from the 2016 F-14A kit). I picked a spare Cartograf decal (an upper wing roundel from the very recent Special Hobby 1/32nd Whirlwind). I soaked both in water until they came free from their backing paper. I then laid each face down on a piece of non-woven lint free paper (the sort that we use in aerospace to clean and wipe delicate things with) and then carefully cleaned the adhesive off of each with a cotton bud soaked in water. With both thoroughly clean I placed them on a piece of paper to dry. And then I took them to work. 

And here's how they looked once dry. The roundel is wrinkled but not creased, so would measure just fine. 

My weapon of choice is a digital micrometer. I prefer manual micrometers, but for this test decided to use a digital scale. I set it for metric (because I'm not in a third world country and don't use bananas day to day) and zeroed the display with it closed on the ratchet. For info this mic was calibrated in May 2021 and is next due for calibration in May 2022. So it's good enough for helicopters. 

First up the Tamiya decal. Again tightened until the ratchet clicked. 

That measures .013mm thick. For those who insist on using bananas, that is just over a half a thou (or one two-thousandths of an inch). It's THIN. 

Next up the Cartograf

That measures .017mm. Again, for those using bananas that is just under seven-tenths of a thou. 
Yes, you're reading that right. While there is less than two-ten thousandths of an inch in it, the Cartograf decal is THICKER than the Tamiya. And I measured this in several places. It's thicker. Simple as that. 
So whatever issues you're having, it's not because the Tamiya decal is thicker. Japanese decals use a thicker, gloopier adhesive, you can FEEL it on the sheet when wet. Remove that (or activate it properly with very hot water) and there's nothing to choose. 
The decals are fine, you may need to adjust your technique, but they're perfectly useable. 
Well, that's one myth destroyed. Next?

Edit - As expected someone said I didn't know what I was doing and that black is thinnest and it was an unfair test. So here's a multi colour decals from the same Tomcat sheet, using the same layers and colours as the Cartograf decal:- 

So, let's test it.

My god! It's thicker. . . by .002mm (banana counters that's less than one ten thousandth of an inch). The decals are NOT the problem. But someone will have moved the goalposts again by lunchtime to promulgate the myth. 

Ultimately I'll carry on using Tamiya decals because I know how to. 

ICM KDA-1 Drone 1/48th 

ICM's little range of drones started to appear early in 2021, and they are typically modern ICM - that is to say beautifully moulded, beautifully presented (good sturdy boxes count!) and great value at around £13-14 each of you look around. This quick build will cover the first release, that of the KDA-1 variant, a stumpy little jet target used in it's thousands since the early 1950s.

As you can see it's a neat little package, starting from the box art and carrying through the entire model. The intention is to do this one quite quickly - sort of "between projects" palate cleanser, so I will be using a few speedy techniques. 

The first thing was to deal with a few little sub-assemblies. The intake has a piece of trunking for each half - beware that it doesn't sit flush to the fuselage except at the front, it's creating a tunnel that doesn't follow the inner fuselage contours. As you can see I used a thick CA for this - it's a technique that speeds things up, but you do have to be sure of your fit, as you don't have much play time! But if you have the confidence, extensive use of CA can speed up the process greatly

Once in place I added a dab of CA with acrylic resin powder in to each space at the top - this is for nothing more than reinforcement when cleaning the joint up, it's not strictly necessary, but I'm a "belt&braces" kinda guy so in it went!

The intake seam was dealt with using some 400 grit wet and dry wrapped around a suitable tubular form - in my case a micro chisel handle. Wet sanding and polishing dealt with this in minutes. In fact  the total time from opening the box to having the seams in the trunking dealt with was less than 30 minutes - speed!

There is an intake bullet on this drone, and it comes in two halves. Again, for speed I used CA. I can't stress enough how important it is to test fit and be absolutely certain of your join before running CA into it - get it wrong and you have a major recovery job in your hands, but with care it's a great way to build. I slightly bevel each edge of the join to give the superglue a channel to run into. A couple applications and you can sand the seam perfectly smooth. It also means you won't get a ghost seam - EVER. 

The wings are in simple halves, and were glued together with Tamiya's white label cement. This is a slightly thicker cement than their extra thin or quick setting, but I find it very useful for lots of tasks. I applied a thin coat to each wing half and then let it sit for a minute or so before bringing the parts together.  This allows it to soften the plastic but also allows the majority of the solvent to evaporate, meaning you end up with slightly softened plastic, but hopefully none of the solvent will be trapped and end up causing sinkage or rippling on the thin parts when bought together, 

When dry the straight leading and trailing edges were lightly sanded with some wet and dry taped to a piece of tee-al to ensure it remains absolutely straight. Keeping a straight leading edge is especially important on this type of model, as any variation will be very apparent. With the bulk of the material removed on the seam, one can switch to sanding sponges or wet & dry to finish the surfaces off.

The interior was given a quick spray with Alclad jet exhaust after assembling and cleaning up the jet pipe. Little visible here so no more than a quick blast through in case anyone decides to inspect it!  The fan blades were sprayed Tamiya  LP-11 silver and given a wash with Tamiya black panel line accent

This is just an image to again show how the mating edges are slightly bevelled when I'm going to use superglue for joining. The area behind the upper fairing will be joined with a very small bead of Tamiya quick setting because there's some detail there that I want to preserve with minimal sanding, but the rest will be done with CA. 

After dealing with any seams that needed attention, any that were eradicated were restored with a needle in a pin chuck and some vinyl tape as a guide. The model will be painted almost entirely in subassemblies and bought together at the end. So things like the intake bullet and tip pods were mounted to toothpicks for painting

Shot showing the seam lines and where the bevelling edges allows superglue to flow in allows perfect seam sanding and polishing.

You can see the intake seam dealt with here. Clearly visible is the way the rear bulkhead and fan face has a quite visible gap between it and the intake trunk - this is not something I worry about as the bullet will hide nearly all of it when inserted, and it will allow easier masking. 

I also took the opportunity to assemble the cart the Firebee attaches to when complete (and not on a pylon!). It's an easy quick assembly and gives a good way to show the drone off as it has no  undercarriage.

I did remove the main part of the towing bar and replace it with some Albion Alloys tube, as it was probably simpler and quicker than trying to deal with the seam line on that bit!

And so to painting! I'm uncertain whether I will simply add it here or do a new blog entry for painting. . .to be determined! Thanks for looking, stay tuned and please drop a comment.

 Zvezda Beriev Be-200, 1/144th Scale

So this then is the little Zvezda Beriev Be-200 flying boat. Typically Zvezda for these times. It fits a dream, and is a really beautifully presented package. Tooling wise some things could be a little better - Zvezda usually nail build and fit these days, but sometimes their surface finishes can let them down slightly. In this instance with clear machining marks on some exterior surfaces, and inconsistent depth to some of the engraved detail.

The slightly odd shape of the aircraft leads to some early building decisions, obviously in this case leaving the floats and engines off until the end of painting and final assembly, but fit is good enough that a dab of superglue is all that's needed to secure them. Tailplanes were also left off and painted separately. 

The model was not primed before painting, the initial coats doing the job fine, but in all honestly assembly is so good that there was little call for it. 

Initial paint was 3-4 light coats of Mr Color GX1 Cool White thinned with Mr Color thinner and wet sanded between coats with Trizact 3000 grit. This allowed a slow, solid build up of paint without losing detail. The light grey for the lower fuselage sides is Mr Color 16440 light gull grey, and the undersides of the hull is GX5 Susie Blue. A few coats of Mr Color GX112 UV cut gloss were applied heavily thinned and then sanded back again to get a smooth surface before applying decals. Decals are well printed and tough enough to withstand handling - which is good because things like the waterline marking are ultra thin and need lots of alignment!

After the decals were dry another couple of coats of GX112 were applied, and then the whole model was wet sanded with Trizact before moving on to final polishing, which was done with lint free tissue and light cut Turtle Wax polishing compound. This is applied and polished quite liberally to bring up a deep shine. Final assembly was then carried out including undercarriage and other details. 

This kit makes into a small model of a very attractive, unique type, and the lack of difficulty with building means it can be recommended to all but the very beginner - although the finishing may present other challenges, but fortunately there is an alternate Russian Navy scheme in dark grey and light blue included if lots of bright colours put you off. Highly recommended!

                       My thanks to The Hobby Company for the model. 

 The Beaufort Scale. . . . 

Now that's a great piece of box art! A few months ago Spencer Pollard and I had discussed a joint build of this model. Not a challenge, not a race - just two people building the same model and talking about the experience. No axes, no controversy, no edgy attempts to be cool. Just two people, building the same kit, and talking about it. No rules, a nominal time span to maintain focus but nothing more. 

It got sort of back-burnered because of changes, especially in Spencer's professional life. However, Mr Pollard asked just this morning if I was still up for it - well, yes, yes I am. So we're talking about going ahead after we've both wrapped current projects up.

It's also an opportunity to use my blog again, which has had very little use in spite of always being there. Why blog rather than conventional social media? Well, in a word, control. Control over format, appearance, image quality, no intrusive "help" from Facebook's appalling Creator Studio. I'm hoping I can drive traffic here from my social media - it uses me for advertising, so I'm going to use it for the same. At least have the illusion of a two way relationship! I'm especially tired of how bad the compression is on images shared on social media, and how quickly stuff disappears, and lets say "algorithmic shenanigans" cutting people out of seeing my content apparently at random. 

So, I'm going to try this. Please leave a comment, tell me what you like, how you got here. Not being social media does not mean it can't be a community. So please, get involved. 

Late edit :- We're delighted to welcome the Iwata Princess herself, Jennifer Wright to the upcoming shenanigans! I'm starting to feel outgunned already. . .

Airbus Progress

Not much to report in all honesty. .the Delfin is in final assembly prior to varnish and weathering, so hopefully some pics soon-ish! But I did a little more to the baby Airbus. All the joins were dealt with and some primer sprayed on.  The eagle eyed will notice my use of black primer. . . 

Now, this isn't any attempt at "black basing" or anything like that. . . it's simply that the truth is that the best way to spray white is over black. Counter intuitive maybe, but white is a surprisingly dense colour, and spraying it over black will take the guesswork out of knowing when you've got good coverage. No looking at your final white finish and having your eyes play tricks on you. 

This is GSI Mr Surfacer 1500 black. As you can see it's rougher than I'd have liked - as an experiment I used normal cellulose thinner instead of Mr Color levelling thinner like I normally would. Now I know EXACTLY why I use levelling thinner!  No worries, it'll smooth down fine with some fine micromesh. So hopefully I can start painting this in it's BA scheme sometime soon.

That's all, see you soon!
More checks

Masking canopies

Sometimes I want a canopy in place while spraying the main colours on an aeroplane. I always like the windscreen to be glued and faired, but sometimes want the main canopy open on the finished model, but it would help to be able to paint it on the model. So how to seal your cockpit closed and prevent overspray getting inside?

The following method works for me, and I've done a simple photo essay to show how I do it. I take no credit for the technique, that belongs to, if I remember, Dave Aungst, who showed it on a forum years ago. I've not seen it much discussed since, but it does work, and I thought I'd refresh the technique for people. Enjoy!

And that's it! Try it, it really works.

TTFN!

7th July 2021 check for sequencing

BE-200

Just a quick test image from my phone showing the Be-200 with engines, floats and tailplanes on, just the undercarriage to go and she'll be finished.