MiG 25 - Foxbat B

Skyhiker
I was thinking about starting this kit soon. When will you begin?

Jamie Pearson
Yesterday!
It's converted all the colours from revell to humbrol and tried to work out just what the instructions want me to do.

Skyhiker
Cool. I may start mine soon as well. Although I think I probably work a bit slower than you and I have 7 other builds going on at the same time. It will be good to have someone to compare notes with. Will you be doing Red 4 or Red 46?

Jamie Pearson
No doubt yours will look better though. ????
All I'm saying so far is 'Brace yourself' it's a bit of a beast!

Skyhiker
Do you spray or brush the Humbrol? I prefer the older tins of Humbrol over the newer. The mix just seems better to me. I normally use Revell when painting with enamel.

Jamie Pearson
Brushing nowadays, I agree some of the old tins I have are still going strong and are glorious to work with. Some of the new ones are horrid.

Skyhiker
I'm not sure if it is because they just get better as they age or if the formula was changed to save money. My guess is they are try to make them cheaper to make.

Skyhiker
After 7 years of studio art at the University and 30 years experience as a professional artist I have learned that enamel paint works best when brushing if you thin it down to a filter and apply 5 to 6 coats with a flat brush. As long as you avoid pooling and wait for it to dry between coats with practice you can achieve the same effect as an airbrush.

Skyhiker
And the adventure begins... Have fun and enjoy!

Skyhiker
Do the instructions really call for an olive green interior? I thought all Foxbats had that nasty turquoise in the cockpit.

Pierre Pierre
folllowing !

Jamie Pearson
Instruction call for humbrol 76 (converted from revel) which I don't have, so swapped it out for 155.
(One of the few joys of being a bit colourblind)

As a heads up, there are a few things on the instructions that are different to the model.
The back and head rest should have a plinth on the seat to stick to, they don't. Use the cut out in the cockpit bulkhead.
How the seat and foot pedals are supposed to be is something I do not know!
But I plan for a closed cockpit so doubtful anyone will notice.

Skyhiker
You got quite a bit done today. Love the photo comparison to the spitfire.

Jamie Pearson
Yeah, it's vaguely plane shaped now!
Engine intakes got a bit fiddly, then I dry fitted the cockpit to tape the intakes at the right angle. Added glue, then realised I was dry fitting as I needed to paint the cockpit.
It's been a long day.

Skyhiker
Do you know which decals you will be using, the Soviet Red 4 or the Russian Red 46?

Jamie Pearson
Probably red 46, as red 4 looks to be a bit bland.
Interesting the box art is red 16 though!

Skyhiker
It's looking like a plane!

Jamie Pearson
The best compliment there is!

Pierre Pierre
soon painting ?

Jamie Pearson
Hopefully. Just checking the filler has actually filled the gaps.
A little more to go...

Skyhiker
Your painting looks like it is going down well.

Skyhiker
Very nice brush work. From the photos it looks nice and smooth.

Jamie Pearson
Thank you. I took your advise onboard.
Just got the rest to do, and masking is always my downfall. Any hints?

Skyhiker
Where do you have difficulty with masking?

If you are masking with tape you can seal the tape with clear varnish before painting to prevent bleeding. Just be careful when removing the tape. Sometimes a knife is required to keep it from pulling up the paint.

The second technique is to try dry brushing the area around the tape line and paint washes only up to the dry brushed area. With this technique you have to be a little careful not to build texture while dry brushing. 2000 grit sandpaper may be required.

Pierre Pierre
that is very interesting tips !

Skyhiker
Glad to help.

Jamie Pearson
Pierre - seconded!
Skywalker = legend.

I usually get a bit of bleed though under the edge of the masking tape. So rather then a crisp line, I get a wavey wishywashy line.
I've taken to usuing a Qtip to squash the edge of the tape before painting. Then painting away from the tape edge. Wondering if there is something even better to use?

Skyhiker
I usually go over my tape edges with a wooden cocktail stick, which I have carved to a flat end. I put it in my micro drill so I can hold it better. Once I know the tape is down then I consider which technique to use. If you are using an airbrush then the tape should be sufficient. But when brushing, especially before using wet paint a clear coat is a good idea. Then if there is any bleeding the bleeding is clear and can be carefully sanded afterwards if necessary. Once the tape is sealed you can paint with anything.

Skyhiker
The reason I use a cocktail stick instead of a Qtip is to avoid any cotton hairs from sticking to the tape.

Skyhiker
Jamie, did you get any bleeding with the aluminum paint under your tape? It looks like it laid down really well.

Jamie Pearson
Surprisingly not, but I probably got a few hairs as I used a Qtip.
Also did something a bit weird. I left the paint to dry for a few hours then peeled the tape off after the second coat (paint still a bit wet) then went round with a Qtip dipped in white spirits to reduce the step in the new paint and to take out the non exists bleed through.

Cocktail sticks are on the shopping list. Thanks again for the advice!

Julian Herrero aka Yuri
Following

Skyhiker
How's it going Jamie? I haven't seen any new photos for a few days. Are you progressing or has real life gotting in the way?

Jamie Pearson
Thanks for the nudge, real life has been getting in the way, but there has been progress, be it small bits than need painting then leaving for 6 hours....

Skyhiker
Looking good.

Skyhiker
Hey Jamie it's looking really good. You still seem to be getting a bit of bleeding. Have you tried clear coating the tape yet? Normally it will save time in cleaning up the edges.

Jamie Pearson
Not yet, on the list.
I did try using the previous colour paint as a layer, to do exactly that. I think it helped. But not perfect, still a vast improvement on what I had.

Decals now going on ????

Skyhiker
If your paint is thin, as it should be when brush painting, you may need to go over the tape a few times to insure a seal. Normally you can see if it is sealed or not. Looking forward to seeing the results of your decals. Keep up the good work.

Skyhiker
How is the landing gear going?

Jamie Pearson
Landing gear is pretty sturdy, it's not even been glued in yet. Not sure it ever will be!
But I want to get everything that involves a brush done before I add the wheels.

Just need more hours in the day.

Jamie Pearson
Bit of a shocker today. Yesterday I had left humbrol clear Matt to dry, probably for 12 hours (humbrol don't give a final drying time for it)
I applied a Flory models wash over the aircraft, I've watched the tutorials many times, when I came to removing the wash with a damp paper towel, I noticed a loose decal on my fingers.....

None of this happened with the test mule I was using before.

It seems the water on the cloth has eaten in to the clear underneath the wash and was able to lift the decals.
What I should have done was stop, walk away and deal with it tomorrow.
What I actually did was reach for the humbrol clear and brush on a new layer to keep the lifted decals down and to remove more of the wash via the brush.
Pretty crap way to end a weekend. But, it's one of those things.
Hopefully it better on camera for all of you than I does in real life for me.

Skyhiker
I'm not sure how that could have happened. Are your paints and your wash both water soluble? Makes no sense. You are right, you should have walked away and the next day just used a bit of decal setter. But from the photos I can't see anything. Don't worry everything is fixable with will power and patience.

Skyhiker
Congratulations Jamie! I think this is one you can really be proud of. It looks great with your collection.

Jamie Pearson
It's a bit odd, yesterday I was ready to give up on it all and start again.
Today, I've enjoyed working on it in-between work, and I'm quite fond of the effect, but I admit it's a bit to over the top for the historically accurate people out there.

Need to work out what went wrong with the weathering. But I'm now eyeing up a foxbat for the future. (May need a bigger display cabinet!)

Skyhiker
Maybe a foxhound? Interceptor/Fighter MiG-31 "Foxhound" (Revell 04378, 1:72)

Jamie Pearson
It has been a long day. That's what I meant 🤔