SPA Modeler

Wow John your recover/repaint work is impressive! Looks spot on according to your reference pics.

Great work on the removal and reapplication of the chevron markings. What paints are you using for this project?

Very nice repair work!

Thanks guys! I guess my practice at correcting painting mistakes is paying dividends! I was not daunted at all by the prospect of redoing the chevrons seamlessly because of the absence of paint lift on this build. Paint lifting off the plastic can really make seamless repairs difficult so having a solid base to work from eased a lot of the anxiety. The primary camo colors for this build have been Mr Hobby Aqueous RLM 76, 70 and 71. The yellow is a 4:1 mixture of Tamiya Lemon Yellow and Orange.

With the paint markings complete, I'm giving the model a coat of gloss (Alclad Aqua Gloss thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner).



The Eagle Cal notes for this aircraft note an absence of factory stenciling due to the repaint so decal work will be very limited. I have one custom-printed decal that I made for the 410004 code on the tail and I'll be cutting the tiny *8" from the Eagle Cal decal sheet to be placed within the painted chevron... hopefully the scale difference isn't too noticeable.

Got a golf engagement today and fishing engagement the next day so the next update won't be for a couple of days.

I love those Gunze/Mr Hobby Aqueous paints! Some of the best paints out there for airbrushing.

As far fixing any problems with mask leaks, it looks like each time it happens, you’ve gotten better and better at correction work. You make it look almost effortless.

Enjoy your weekend outdoor activities!

Excellent repair. I'm a big fan of the Gunze Aqueous too

Thanks guys!

I've applied the decals. Not very many of them... limited to the 410004 code on top of the tail fin (which was custom printed onto Microscale decal paper), the white warning stencils on the red control surface tabs and some other stencils on the tail. This is based on the notes found on the EagleCal decal sheet which says that stenciling was not apparent, presumably because of the field painted camo. No yellow fuel triangles on the fuselage or dotted white walkway lines but since the tail was presumably left in factory colors, I put stencils there.

I used the kit decals for the white warning stencils but used some of the EagleCal stencils because they seemed to be more in-scale than Borders, even with the scale difference.




The small "8" from the EagleCal chevron decal was cut out and applied within the painted chevron. Size-wise, it looks ok.


The decals were sealed with a coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss and I moved on to the pastel wash. My washes are a simple mix of scrapings from a pastel chalk, water and a touch of dishwashing soap. Very easy, economical and I can create any shade I need. For the bottom, I used a grey wash. Here's the starboard wing bottom before the wash.


The starboard wing bottom after the wash.


Starboard stabilizer before and after the wash.



The grey wash is not as contrasty as black or dark brown and highlights the rivets without making them stand out too much.




The same grey wash was used for the upper surface. The contrast effect is now the inverse of the bottom... the grey wash is now the lighter color. I think it works well on the darker RLM 70 Black Green but the contrast is reduced to almost zero compared to the lighter RLM 71 Green.

The wash looks good John. I think that when you seal it all in with dull coat, that should darken it up a bit.

Thank you Carlos!

The wash is finished. After a few different experiments, I decided to go with a darker wash color on the lighter RLM 71 Green portions.







A flat coat on the bottom begins to lock in the final look of the paint scheme plus applied effects including pre-shade and pastel wash.

After the flat coat on the bottom dries, I can remove the tissue paper from the wheel wells.



The topsides are given a flat coat too. I'm using Model Master Flat Acryl.