F-106 - 318th FIS, McChord AFB, 1972 (Completed)
Comments
49 9 April 2023, 17:07
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I'm finding this to be a complicated kit with lots of fragile parts. I spent a good 30 minutes going through the instructions, making notes, and planning. I think I have a good approach now, so I should be able to pick up the pace. I hit a wall deciding how to assemble the missile bay, which I'd like to display open. Basically I'm going to mask the area and leave it unassembled until the very end. Once the rest of the model is basically finished, I'll assemble the interior of the bay, mask off the surrounding area, prime and paint (since everything inside is basically green). There's no way all those fiddly bits would have survived assembly, filling and sanding, painting and all the rest. This seems like the safest way to do it.
13 April 2023, 17:07
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That's a truckload of detail and that in 72-scale - and looking all great! 👍🏻
What you describe with the resin reminds me about making the mistake once of trying to combine Aires LG wells for Hobby Boss to a Kinetic kit (same aircraft of course 😄) - that was really a mess...
Keep up the good work, a very promising looking dart so far!!
16 April 2023, 08:08
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Love the super detailing work you are putting into the kit. Can't wait to see how the Dart comes out!
20 April 2023, 16:17
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I've used Alcad II Aqua Gloss several times now, and I still don't know how quite how to use it. I've tried building it up in thin layers like an acrylic, but it only ends up grainy. I have better luck spraying it on wet, but then I risk flooding the surface. I almost always end up wet-sanding out the rough patches. Any advice would be welcome!
17 May 2023, 03:57
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I have had problems sometimeswhen applying a clear coat over gloss paints i.e it tended to bead and not flow, so I gave the gloss paint a sanding to take the gloss off, which gave a better result. What did you use as the base coat ? Maybe a higher pressure for clear coat as well ?
17 May 2023, 05:50
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@Carlo, the base coat is Mig Ammo, which is a satin finish. I don't think it was beading up as much as it seems to be a skill/technique issue. There was a little graininess in the primer layer, which I thought I'd sanded away, but maybe that's carrying over to the subsequent layers as well.
Adding that other parts of the plane seem to have come out OK, where I think I was laying it on a little wetter and more directly. Higher pressure might help atomize the gloss better, so I may give that a try.
17 May 2023, 14:16
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I tracked down more reference photos and confirmed the location of a few remaining stencils, so I'll be placing those tonight. These 40 year old old decals have held up well, but they take some care to coax into place. This is the build that never ends!
After those are done, I'll seal them in with a gloss coat and then start work on the weapons bay and landing gears. Based on my experience with the decals, I was wise to build in this order, but it's a little weird that there's still so much construction to be done on what is basically a finished model.
2 June 2023, 18:23