Intermission – Hand Painting Canopies III

This is again where I got this technique for painting canopies. You don’t have to watch it again.

I had tried that technique again last Wednesday night on the Corsair and Wildcat canopies.

I had used my homemade zinc chromate as a base coat. Then I had added the second base coat Thursday morning.

While I was at it I had added the top coat for the Zero canopies.

 

This is the result for now since I still have some more paint scraping to do unless I might decide to move on.

We can compare with this screenshot although the lighting is not that good.

I have worked again on the Corsair and Wildcat canopies Friday night. They are much easier to hand paint.

Intermission – Hand Painting Canopies II

This is where I got this technique for painting canopies.

I have tried it last Wednesday night on the Corsair and Wildcat canopies.

I used my homemade zinc chromate as a base coat. I have added the second base coat Thursday morning after breakfast.

While at it I added the top coat for the Zero canopies.

 

What a better way to start the day before going shopping with my wife this morning, and to babysit my grandchildren later tonight. I will see if I have to add a second coat. Tomorrow I will use the cocktail toothpick and compare the end result…

Intermission – Hand Painting Canopies I

I have decided to try this technique for painting canopies. I remember that I had used it before in the 1990s, but I had forgotten all about it…

I have tried it yesterday on my Tamiya 1/48 scale A6M2.

Before

After

Before

After

I had all the tools I needed on hand, and I quickly got the hang of it.

Let’s have a closer look…

The two black base coats were done yesterday.

I still have a vintage Tamiya XF-14 bought in the mid-1980s which is still good. I will paint the black base coat and be using it also for painting the Zero.

I had asked my wife to buy some cocktail toothpicks. I now have plenty for the next 20 years. I will be using one to scrape away the excess paint probably on Friday morning.

Tomorrow I will paint the grey top coat, and after the cocktail toothpick session we can all compare the results…

Intermission IV- Part 7: Guadalcanal – America’s First Offensive: Crusade In The Pacific: WWII

https://youtu.be/fpTvTsFF-50

Intermission III – The Fight For The Sky: Our Fighter Pilots Versus The Luftwaffe In Western Europe (1945)

https://youtu.be/lEJa9iBPYb0

Intermission II – F4F Wildcat Mishaps, Part 1 — Inch High Guy

via F4F Wildcat Mishaps, Part 1 — Inch High Guy

Intermission – Masking canopies?

WordPress tells me I’m on a streak right now… This is the 23rd straight post on My Forgotten Hobby II.

This is where I am right now… Intermission – Masking canopies?.

Here are some tips I found on the Internet about Masking canopies.

http://www.finescale.com/how-to/articles/2018/06/builder-basics-3-techniques-for-masking-canopies

I have used several other techniques before. This one I had used with the B-25 I gave my brother. I had used leftover decals that I had painted silver. I then used them as ordinary decals, and cut the excess off.

One error I had made was trying this technique with the canopies already glued on. I have learned my lesson.

I think using this technique is worth a try once more.

This is a technique I had used before but had forgotten that I did…

 

Screenshot of the video

I will give it a try on my A6M2.

Progress Report – Tamiya – Saburo Sakai’s A6M2 Zero – First Steps

My instructions were in Japanese.

This leads me to believe that this model kit of the Zero is from the mid 70s.

Could be a collector’s item then!

I got a jump start since I could not use the airbrush on Monday.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 5

And then, lo and behold the grandchildren left and there was a window of opportunity…

I finished the F4F-4 base coat.

I touched up the Corsair base coat…

Then came some mixing of homemade zinc chromate with a drop of black and silver to simulate Grumman bronze green. I then used it with a paint brush instead of an airbrush.

Finally I have decided to use the Grumman bronze green as interior green for the Zero.

I don’t think anyone will notice.

Progress Report – Tamiya – Saburo Sakai’s A6M2 Zero

My instructions are in Japanese. I found these on Scalemates yesterday. They will be quite useful.

For once I won’t have to look for how this model airplane has to be painted and for the proper decals.

A nice review is here.

Excerpt
The Zero, next to the P-51 and Bf-109, is probably the most modeled WWII fighter. The Tamiya kit of the early war Zeke was considered state-of-the-art when it was released over 25 years ago. By today’s standards it’s just okay. Cockpit detail is passable and there are a mix of very fine raised and engraved panel lines. The wheel wells are molded in and detailed plus you get a choice of either open or closed canopy clear parts. The engine is just a half molding so displaying it with the cowl removed or open requires some aftermarket resin. Flaps are molded in place so don’t expect Hasegawa finery here. Despite their age these molds have really stood up to the test of time. There is no flash. The only problem I could see was the lower wing (which is one piece) was a bit warped. The decals are typical Tamiya and seem thick but after application that thickness appears to go away.

Intermission – 24 August 1942 – This Day in Aviation

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/24-august-1942/

24 August 1942: Flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat, Lieutenant Marion Eugene Carl, United States Marine Corps, a 27-year-old fighter pilot assigned to Marine Fighter Squadron 223 (VMF-223) based at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal Island, shot down four enemy airplanes in one day. They were a Mitsubishi A6M “Zeke” fighter, a Mitsubishi G4M1 “Betty” medium bomber and two Nakajima B5N2 “Kate” torpedo bombers. Carl had previously shot down an A6M during the Battle of Midway, less than three months earlier. He now had five aerial combat victories, making him the Marine Corps’ first ace.