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1/350 CVL-22 USS Independence

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  • #16
    Enamel, mostly. They seem easier to use with the airbrush than arcrylics.

    Not, that my experiences with them are bad... Enamels just seem easier to clean up when I'm done, despite the smell.

    The MM USN colors are supposed to be spot on, accuracy wise. Not that I can tell with my eyes.

    Ed

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    • #17
      Originally posted by Zad Fnark View Post
      Enamel, mostly. They seem easier to use with the airbrush than acrylics.

      Not, that my experiences with them are bad... Enamels just seem easier to clean up when I'm done, despite the smell.

      The MM USN colors are supposed to be spot on, accuracy wise. Not that I can tell with my eyes.

      Ed
      Yeah, I'm old-school, too; I much prefer the enamels to the acrylics, though I'm sure at some point down the road we won't be able to get enamels anymore. I suspect somebody somewhere will decide that they are a "hazardous material", and try to outlaw enamel paints on that basis; until then, I'll continue to use them until they force us to go to acrylics.

      Unfortunately, Testors has already started discontinuing some of their Model Master colors, including one of my favorites, Armor Sand; went to my LHS to buy whatever they had left in-stock of Armor Sand, but it was already gone. Might try Hobby Lobby this week, and see if they have any left.
      "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

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      • #18
        I'm making some progress. I'm getting the base color on the ship itself.

        As planned, Measure 21 with the old Measure 14 bleeding through. Not too bad.

        My airbrush if fine enough where I feel like one little guy painting it all by myself. I do like the effect. I may be able to freehand the tri-color scheme on the planes with this airbrush.

        I'll have to de-fuzz a bit. I can touch up with a brush if I have to.

        I did lighten the 5-N on the hull a bit. I want it to stand apart from the deck blue. With my color-blindness, it's hard for me to tell them apart.



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        • #19
          I may have missed it... how much of that amazing interior detail is scratch-built? Nice work!

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          • #20
            None of it -- all stock.

            I did give it a (heavy handed) wash to pop it out a bit.

            I'm tempted to put the deck on, but I think I want to park two TBFs in the hanger near one of the sliding doors, just to look busy.

            Once I assemble the main stuff, it's all details. The guns will be last for the ship itself. The air group will be a busy time, too. I thought I'd need photoetch for the planes, but the parts on the sprue are pretty finely detailed.

            I spent a lot of time reading the "Independence Class Fan" thread at modelwarships.

            I've grown to love Dragon's kits.

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            • #21
              Got the lower hull painted. I forgot to hit the sides of the flight deck with the 5-N. I hate making another airbrush trip for the same color.

              I ran out of my White Ensign hull red, so I broke out the Testors Model Master version. Looking at the bottle, I wasn't sure it was even red, but once I got it mixed up, it looks fine. It has that nice "patchy" look.

              Ed-

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              • #22
                I didn't realize that we had carriers with side-mounted funnels. The Japanese used this method all the time. The Independence was an escort carrier?

                I'd like to use enamels, but without an outside vented spray booth, the fumes are a no-no in the house. I sometimes spray a little bit of rattle-can Krylon primer on the brass work, but that's about it. Tamiya acrylics thin with isopropyl alcohol and don't smell to bad. I also used Life Color naval colors for the Missouri project and felt they were a good match.

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                • #23
                  No, she was a light carrier (CVL). They carried a bit more planes than a CVE and worked with the fleet, since they had cruiser top speeds. Ranger had side funnels, too..

                  I used to only use acrylics, but with an all metal airbrush, enamels seem easier to clean up. I've got a Life Color set, but haven't used them yet.

                  I tried to finish the boot topping on the cheap with spray paint, but it didn't come out well. Fortunately, it's fixable with a minimum of fuss.

                  The stacks were an annoying part of the build. The instructions had you attached the trusswork to the stacks before putting them on the hull. I had a hard time getting them aligned properly, to they're now almost perfect. In retrospect, I would have attached the funnels to the hull first and then add the supporting frames. The attachment points for these were very hard to make out.

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                  • #24
                    The regimen for cleaning my airbrush is as follows: Dunk the entire brush with the paint bottle cap and feed into a tub of water and blow air through it while submerged. I then shoot isopropyl alcohol through it. If I'm not going to use it again for a different color I then disassemble and clean the parts with acetone. The acetone totally dissolves all the dried acrylic and leaves it spotless. I also use the tiny G.U.M brushes (for tooth care) to clean the paint nozzle. I recently started using the acetone since it really works quickly.

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                    • #25
                      I re-did the boot topping. I had to use acrylics for this, as I had no enamel black. That's okay. It went as well as enamels did, so I'm losing my hang-ups over it. I rediscovered my big can of denatured alcohol, which worked for thinning and clean-up. Clean-up seemed easier than I remembered for these.

                      I didn't do the stern, due to the clumsiness of the masking tape at the ends. I'll just brush paint that part.

                      I use the TLAR method for the boot topping. (That Looks About Right)

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                      • #26
                        That does look about right! For the stern, I usually put the tape down in a few overlapping strakes then cut the curve with the Xacto knife. BTW: Save the sprues from the photo-etch. They make great brass stock for small parts, brackets, etc. You just trim the little nibs off. I pre-paint the PE after a vinegar dip to slightly etch the brass to take paint. I then spray prime with Krylon and shoot a finish coat of the final color. It means the railings etc. are painted on both sides. CA holds pretty well to a properly painted surface.

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                        • #27
                          I've been using Gator Glue for the photo etch. A bit more friendlier than CA, and it's pretty strong once dry. It doesn't take too long to set either. I'll have to remember the vinegar part. I'm using Krylon white primer/paint as a base.

                          The stern is pretty flat, so I should have no problem there.

                          I'm not sure what to work on for the ship proper right now. I've started with two TBFs. I was fretting that I'd need photo etch to detail them, but looking closer, they're very nicely done. Everything as molded looks about scale. Even the torpedoes look great, with tiny props.

                          I'll put these two in the hanger near one of the open roller doors. After that, I'll put the deck on, followed by the island. It'll be about 85% done by that point. Final details are the rear radar assembly -- a real big rectangle radar antenna. Last will be the armament. I'm finding with Dragon kits, I have no real urge to replace the weapons. I will use etch for the 20mm shields, plus the railings on the 40mms.

                          I had the option of doing her on her shakedown cruise. She would have been all Ocean Gray (5-0), which I used a little here. I think it would have looked nice and would have contrasted nicely with the 5-N ships in the cabinet. Same Ms 21 color for Lexington, when I get to her. The shakedown version would have had the 5"/38s at the bow and stern, rather than the 40mms.

                          I'm going blind trying to mask the windscreens and turrets. I'm going to get some liquid mask to deal with these. I may just use a dark blue wash to deal with the frames.

                          I don't really care for them molded in clear. If the canopies were attached at the start, then yes, but they're separate, for the most part. Being more brittle they're more of a challenge to get trimmed. I leave plenty of extra attachment on the part and slowly whittle down.

                          Ed

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                          • #28
                            Probably not the best pic, but I'm tired.

                            I was fretting over the detail and got upset, when I broke one of the landing gear legs. But these two will just be in the hanger deck, barely visible through a side door. The folding wings were a pain to deal with.

                            It took some experimenting, but I got my method down.

                            1) Prime with flat white.
                            2) Airbrush the dark sea blue
                            3) Hand paint the intermediate blue.

                            I couldn't find a "perfect" intermediate blue. The Testors Model Master looked too gray. The Tamiya blue was a little dark, but I found an online source to mix it with about 1/5 white, so I have a whole big bottle of that now.

                            These planes are very nice overall. I wouldn't be tempted to add photoetch to these at all. I'll rate them an A-, with the minus only due to the fact that the whole thing is molded in clear. I bit brittle to work with. Despite the microscopic sized parts, I didn't find them too impossible to work with. I'll use gator glue to stick them to the deck when it's time.



                            [EDIT] Added a couple of shots of them in their natural environment.



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                            Last edited by Zad Fnark; 16 Feb 15,, 01:05.

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                            • #29
                              The props and canopies look great! You won't see too much of them when the main deck's on. Kinda like my Victorian Station's interior...lots of work with very little visual access now that it's on the layout. You and I know it's there.

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                              • #30
                                I do like the props, though I think the "stems" are a hair long.

                                I pretty much treated them as practice planes. I'll have to do better with the ones on the deck. The extended wing planes should be fine. Dealing with the folded wings was a bit fussy.

                                The yellow prop tips were done in two stages. I used Citadel's orange foundation paint. It's meant as a basecoat and will cover anything. I followed up with the yellow. I cheated. I couldn't find any regular yellow handy and substituted yellow zinc chromate, which looks fine to my eyes. A little bit of steel to the hub finished it.

                                I gave the canopies a dark blue wash -- Citadel again.

                                I don't think the turret and windscreen look as good. They were molded on with the fuselage and therefore are solidly thick, opaquing them a bit. Maybe some future would help.

                                I had the urge to paint the engine cylinders. You can actually make out some detail in there. I just gave the inside of the cowling some neutral gray and left it at that. The prop tends to hide things anyway.

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