News
Finally Finished With My Vallejo Disaster
Well, after a good afternoon of painting on the Isuzu TX40, I finally got around to working on one of the two Oscars that had the Vallejo Aluminum Disaster.
About 8 weeks or so ago, I painted the two Hasegawa 1/48th Ki-43 Oscars with Vallejo Model Air Aluminum. I the past I found Vallejo paints easy to use because they dried quickly and were easy to clean up. After using them for a couple months with no problems I came across a strange case of the paint not drying. Today, after the eight or so weeks had passed, I took the two kits out of their storage containers. The one that I had stripped and coated with Alclad II Aluminum was dry to the touch and was looking pretty good. The second one theta was still wearing the Vallejo Aluminum was still tacky when touched. I took the kit to the sink with a Scotchbrite pad and went to work. In about ten minutes of light scrubbing the Vallejo was mostly gone. I hope that the next weekend I am home I will be able to give it a light sanding and give it a base coat of Alclad II Gloss Black.
A New Beginning
With my wife leaving for Vegas this afternoon that leaves me with close to a day and a half of building time. Time to get some paint on the TX-40, redcoats the Oscar with some Alclad II, and get some of the Ecto-1 painted. Seems like a lot to do, but it’s the first time in months that I’ve had this much time to put into something. Looking forward to it.
Bad News: I’m Almost Finished the Isuzu TX40
But Chris, why is almost being finished a model a bad thing?
Well, kind reader, it becomes a bad thing when two days into my shift I am told that we will be working here for 24 days instead of the 10 that my shift was originally. Luckily my wife may be coming to visit for a day and will bring me something else to work on.
Now, on with the photo. The rear cover and the cab body are not glued on so that I can still get inside and paint and install the driver figure. I am quickly running out of parts to glue on before I need to start doing some painting.
Gettin’ er Done1/48
After my last post about not getting anything done in hotel rooms, I decided that I wasn’t going to let this shift turn out the same. So after settling into my room tonight I setup the iPad and turn on some Lie To Me on Netflix and took out the kit.
I have to say that I did a pretty decent amount of work in the last two and a half hours and it has really come along quite nicely. At this rate I will be finished before I go back home and will be left with nothing to work on while I am here at the end of the week.
Staying In Hotels
Staying in hotels is not the best way to get a lot of modelling done. I know a lot of people who can do it, but I am definitely not one of them. I work in an industry that requires that I work out of town for ten days ate time and on those ten days I stay in motels, hotels, or houses with a room for rent.
With all the best intentions of getting something done, I always bring along a kit and my little toolbox with my knives, sanding sticks, sprue clippers, and glues. This week I brought my Hasegawa 1/48 Isuzu Truck with the canvas back that will be in a diorama with my two Oscars and another Isuzu Fuel Truck withe the actual fuel tank on the back.
As I said, I am not o e of those who can build very easily when not in my familiar surroundings. It probably didn’t help that I also bought a new iPad last week on the same day I left town and spent a lot of time just playing around with that. The following photo is a whole ten days worth of progress…pitiful.
Hasegawa 1/48 Ki-43 Oscar
As promised last time I was home, here are some photos of the Oscars I am currently building. The first one still has the old Vallejo Model Air paint that didn’t seem to dry very well. I left it for almost six weeks and when I came home they were both still quite tacky. After washing them with some warm water and a scouring pad all the paint came off and I tried my hand abusing Alclad II lacquers.
The second photo shows the second plane that has already had the Alclad II applied to it.
IPMS – Come On Canada Contest
Modeling Madness, in conjunction with IPMS Canada is having a contest. The subject is Best Canadian Subject. They started taking entries on August 15, 2012 and you can submit your photos until October 15, 2012. I know I’m late posting this but I just found out about it today.
You can read the General Rules here.
You can check here to find out what a “Canadian Subject” is.
Alclad II
So after I managed to get the tacky Vallejo Aluminum goo off one of my Oscars, I decided that would give Alclad II Lacquers a try. I have to say I am pretty impressed with them so far. I wouldn’t say that I’ve done a great job with them, but with practice I can see how some guys can get a super metal-look on their builds.
I started with the Gloss Black Base and then applied the Aircraft Aluminum over that. I think the Aircraft Aluminum might be a little too dark for the look I’m going for. After it’s dried for the next 10 days I will come home and mask off some of the panels and spray them straight Aluminum to add some variety. Chances are no one will see the difference once I get them into the diorama setting I am planning on.
I will get some photos of the kit with the Aircraft Aluminum up in 10 days time as I will be out of town until then.
A New Look
The site has finally moved on from my futile attempts at making it look good. My wife spent about four hours setting things up and making things look good for me last night. She rocks. If you need something designed, check out Fetching Finn Creative Studio.
I have to go out of town in a couple days for another couple weeks but I am hoping to be able to take some photos of some kits I already have built and to post some of kits I have on the go…before I have to go.
Lots of Unposted Material Has Happened
I’ve been slacking on my posts again. Since my last post I have been to two shows, won some kits, and bought some kits.
On June 1st I drove up to Edmonton to spend a weekend with Ben Jakobsen and his family. On the 2nd, we went to the Western Canadian Regional Model Contest which was being held in Edmonton for the first time. This year marks the first year which will see the show alternate back and forth between the Edmonton club and the Rocky Mountain Model Club in Calgary.