My first ever model ship - complete

Steven Van Dyck
I never paint the hull parts separately, because they need to get sanded along the seam to get a perfect fit. But it would ease the painting of course.

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Kesa Tiho
I would do the same thing but i wanted to be cautious and not have to worry about accidentally painting the other side and ruining it. Ill try your way when i buy and build my next model ship and see if its easier. Thanks

Steven Van Dyck
By the way, I also made a Theodore Roosevelt a long time ago.

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Guy Rump
Following! 👍

Steven Van Dyck
Kesa, if you used the masking tape, how come the black line got like that? I guess the paint crept under the tape, it should be pressed tight to the hull. Can that paint be removed? That is possible with X20a, but you need to repair the grey and red afterward.

Kesa Tiho
I painted the black line without the masking tape first and then painted it again, i would use X-20 but i dont have it, dont have the money for it and i dont know if it works with revell matt black (which i used)

CaptGPF
Rolling - wanna see how this turns out!

Kesa Tiho
Now time to go through the agony of using tamiyas X paints to paint the planes.

Lorraine Lin
Great progress！

Steven Van Dyck
Areas that have to receive a lot of decals should be coated gloss. Like that you can prevent silvering. The decals seem well applied though.

Kesa Tiho
I would apply gloss but sadly i dont have it, i always thought i had to apply decal softener instead. Or should i apply both? Im scared some kind of reaction will happen similar to the reaction with tamiya glue and tamiya paint and with this deck in specific i want it to be matte

Steven Van Dyck
To the contrary, the coat will protect your paint and would even be necessary in case you want to protect the decals with a second layer. Then you would be able to eventually weather the deck with washes, that would be dangerous at this moment because the decals attract fluids if they are not sealed with the coat. Decal softener is useful if the surface is rough or plied like you had on the island with the hull number. It makes the decal soft, but it might not help if you have very matt paint. The matt effect is caused by uneven particles that can harbour microscopic bubbles. The gloss cover will fill the voids and prevent the bubbles. I guess if you use Tamiya that would have its own transparent gloss and matt paint numbers.

CaptGPF
Steven is correct - gloss clear coating is important because it gives you a smoother surface for the decal to adhere to, but also important so you can easily slide the decal around when placing it without running the risk of tearing it.

A general rule of thumb is to run your fingers on the painted surface before you apply any gloss coat, if it is rough, lightly sand the area with a 3000 grit sanding paper to smooth it out. This is important because the gloss clear coat will not give you a smooth finish if applied to a rough surface.

When choosing a gloss clear coat, it is recommended to use a different type of medium vs the panel line washes you plan to use in the end . Example: if you plan to use oil or Tamiya panel line, use acrylic clear coat. If you plan to use water soluble coloring pencils, use a non-acrylic clear coat (like lacquer or enamel). This is so the thinner used to dilute or rub off the washes won't strip the protective clear coat.

When applying decals, some people apply solvaset on the area the decal is to be set, then you roll a cotton bud over it to squeeze out any solution under the decal, before applying microsol. Experiment with a smaller decal that is not so visible, as some decals like Arma and Eduardo's are very thin and can start melting immediately when applied on microset.

Solvaset or Tamiya's Mark fit strong is then applied on the decal to make it conform to the surface. Make sure the decal is placed where you want it before you do this, as it will melt the decal to the kit. Once that is done, apply another layer of gloss clear coat before weathering.

If you use Tamiya X-22, a 50-50 mixture of gloss to thinner may seem too thick, but trust me, it levels out very well.

I apologize for the overly long post, or covering some stuff you already know - just trying to be thorough for anyone new to the hobby.

gorby
Nice work Kesa. It's a lot better than the ships I built when I was your age.

Kesa Tiho
Might just be because you didnt have as many tools as i have, if you did i bet you could make the same aircraft carrier look ten times better than mine