SunDevilPilot

The brown is down.

On Tuesday I should be able to get the black on the wings and on the elevator. At that point the camo portion of the wings will be complete.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

I have no idea if this is going to work but I decided to try and up my scale detailing ability. I have a couple models which are painted and none have any fine detail. I usually do the main color scheme then stop. I just had no way to paint the little numbers and such. So, I'm going to try a little experiment.

I already had the airbrush, two in fact. So, I ordered a nice compressor making airbrushing a lot easier. Previously I had to fire up the main air compressor, get out two sets of hoses, and connect up my particle / water trap. This is necessary for the larger spray gun I use but for minor little details it is a lot of work. The compressor came today. It is an Iwata Power Jet Pro. Super quiet and fills the tank in about 15-20 seconds. It is more then I needed but why go small! I also ordered something called a Cricut Air. It is basically an inkjet printer with a blade instead of ink. The Cricut works by sticking your material onto a sticky faced plastic mat, which holds it in place, and using software to program the cuts. The software appeared to be aimed at crafty women but I think I will manage. Hopefully I will be able to cut my own airbrush masks / stencils with the cutter and make whatever I want. The first experiment will be the numbering on the rudder. There doesn't seem to be any two Nieuport 28s with the same numbers so I can really come up with whatever I want.

The process of cutting the masks and painting will be documented here in a little more detail than normal in the coming days.

SunDevilPilot

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

Phil:... found this at the Lone Star museum of flight in Galveston.
Sorry I am messing Up Your build thread.

SunDevilPilot

Mike,

An L-4 is always welcome! It may be my next project so all you did was distract me! Hope your traveling is going well.

Phil

SunDevilPilot

Today turned out to be a great success. I mentioned before I really struggle with some detail, specifically in terms of painting. I usually get the main scheme on then stop painting. Lettering / Numbering always seemed to escape me.

With a quick plan and a little experimentation with the Cricut cutting machine I moved forward.

With the cutter set to to the lowest pressure for Vinyl I was able to cut the Frisket but leave the underlying paper intact. Once cut I sized the mask to fit between the red and blue areas, on the white. By sizing it centering became easy. I made one quick alignment mark and placed the mask. I started at the top with the blue tape, hinged it up, peeled off the backing, then worked it down. Went really well.

Once the mask was in place I completely masked off the rudder and proceeded to paint. The airbrush really shined for this part, allowing me to just fog the paint on with little chance of bleed thru / under.

About two minutes after painting I stripped off the mask. I couldn't believe how sharp it came out. I am super happy with the result.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

After the numbering on the tail was done I cleaned up my airbrush and moved onto painting the black onto the wings.

For those that have never painted before I broke down the steps in the photos.

First I make the shape with some 1/8" Vinyl Masking Tape (3M Brand). For this project I am using a photo on my iPad for reference.

Second I go around the vinyl tape with some blue tape. I use the "Original" flavor of tape and found it superior to the newer styles. The original leaves no mess behind. This may seem like a pain but for this part I cut little strips, which can be seen waiting on the edge of the table. Resist the urge to tear the tape as the ragged edge is prone to peeling / leaking when painted. The vinyl tape will give a perfect edge while the blue tape gives a little more area for the paper masking to be attached.

Next I run some paper and tape around the area to isolate what will be painted. I add the tape to the paper on my counter then apply it to the part as one piece.

Next I spray, fogging in the edges and allowing a light coat to cure for a few minutes then coming back for a wet coat. The first light coat seals the tape edge.

Lastly, I carefully remove the tape. I usually remove the mask about 5 minutes after spraying.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

Today I did the first real test of the Cricut machines ability to create larger paint masks for my projects. I decided the best way to tackle the roundels was to start at the outside edge and work my way in. This minimizes the masking to three times per roundel. I'm not following the light color to dark color methodology but so far I think it will work out fine.

Using the design software for the Cricut I make up the roundel. I tried to find some type of schematic as to the color size ratios but ended up going with the "That looks about right" method.

All in all it took about 20 minutes to make the template and cut them out. The masking material is some 12" frisket from a roll.

Once the location of the mask was determined a few tiny pencil marks were made on the wing to line up the mask. Once lined up a hinge was made with tape, backing removed, and template applied.

Once applied I went right to work painting. I'm currently using a gravity fed dual action Iwata airbrush, with a .5 tip, but I'm going to switch to a siphon / bottle fed brush in the near future. The bottle style will give me a little more paint capacity in the brush (On Order).

Possibly tomorrow I'll paint the blue.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

Same as the red, on goes the blue.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

Bottom side of bottom wing Roundels complete.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

I was slightly hesitant to try my hand with large numbers but using what I had learned during the creation of the roundels the numbers turned out to be super easy.

Quick creation of the paint mask with the Cricut and I was off. The software allows you to use just about any font you would like. Once the letter was typed I simply typed in a vertical letter height of 7 1/2", adjusted the number spacing and cut out the mask.

For those who have not used frisket, it is a good habit to go around the edge of the painted area and burnish the mask down. You can see the mask go clear when it is attached firmly. I've had zero issues with bleed under. Then again, I am not going with a very wet coat of paint so I doubt bleeding would be much of an issue even if the mask was not burnished down.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

Before someone asks... Some variants have the bottom numbers on the right wing, some on the left. I went with the left for no other reason than I liked how it looked there.

SunDevilPilot

I started work on the top wing roundels. I was a little unsure if the red would properly cover up over the dark green but it turned out to be a non-issue. I probably used a little more paint in the cover-up process but it worked perfect. I used my bottle feed airbrush for these and it worked really well. With the larger capacity there was no need to refill the paint.

I made a similar template for the bottom roundels, but I guess you can call this one a V2. You can see a series of holes in each of the inner circles. These allow me to make a pencil alignment mark on the wing itself for aligning the next paint mask. The Cricut can cut and draw at the same time so it did all the work.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

Whew..... Lots of painting.

Next weekend I'll finish up the roundel with the white and put on the top wing numbers.

I ran out of frisket so, for now, I am unable to cut the numbers. I have the masks for the roundels all ready.

Then.. Back to the fuselage for some last minute items, then more covering.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

Roundels are complete. Went fairly smooth and I learned a lot in the process. Still no frisket so the upper wing numbers may have to wait.

Now, to start finishing up the fuselage.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

I got the frisket in the mail yesterday, so it allowed me to finish up the top wing numbering. Both wings are now complete. Moving onto the final details of the fuselage, then I will cover and paint it.

SunDevilPilot

cubcrasher

My Feedback: (6)

Damn good work.

SunDevilPilot

Thanks CubCrasher.

This is definitely the most effort I have put into a model. The camo scheme and markings add quite a lot of work.

So far I am really happy with the results. A few minutes ago I put it all together to see how it looks. Fuselage needs some work!

SunDevilPilot

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

Should be good enough to enter in Gun Smoke wouldn't ya think. Static 99 flight score 97 Very possible.

SunDevilPilot

Not too sure about competing, but you never know!

Today was another bust for flying, due to high winds in the area. So, painting continues. Wheels are done.

The tires are permanent to the wheels so masking for painting could be an issue. However, using the CriCut cutter I made some painting masks. I cut the masks 1/8" smaller than the edges of the wheels. Then I cut the masks into quarters. Then, I pushed the tire out of the way and slid the mask between the wheel and the tire. Once the majority of the tire was protected I finished up with one more little piece of paper, some tape, and a larger paper mask.Simple.

Paint was sprayed and the masks removed.

At the bottom of the photo you can seen the axle adapters / wheel retainers all ready to go.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

Sort of a must watch

https://youtu.be/xaotIR0nMW4

jpflyer

My Feedback: (13)

Very nice. I liked the flying vids too.

SunDevilPilot

Covering on the fuselage has begun. Due to the fuselage not being a true cone I decided it best to cover in two steps, the rear fuse first then the forward fuse.

The rear went easy enough but this was largely due to the flexibility of the SolarTex.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

Took a step back, then right back forwards with the project.

The gap between the top of the vertical fin and the counterbalance of the rudder, towards the front, was very close. Not sure how it ended up that way but I had a dilemma. Live with it being close and hope it doesn't start to rub in the future or just strip the fin and adjust the part. Reluctantly I sliced into the covering and removed it from fin. Five seconds at the disc sander to make the adjustment, then recovered and painted.

Now the gap is correct and I won't obsess about it.

It it did give me a chance to test out my new Iwata Spray Gun. This is the smallest of my guns and runs perfectly with my little airbrush compressor. This is a perfect setup for painting smaller parts and may serve for larger ones if needed.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

Today I spent some time covering up the forward fuselage. Due to its shape I decided to cover it in two pieces, a right side and a left side. This gave me a seam in the center of the upper and lower fuselage.

Process went pretty smooth. I made each panel of covering cutting it to fit. Then I positioned it on the plane and used a few pieces of tape to hold it in position until I had attached it in the middle of each side. Then I worked from the middle of each side towards the edges of the covering. Had no issues.

SunDevilPilot

SunDevilPilot

Here is a quick tip. If you aren't sure you have the covering fully attached over the sheeted parts you can so what surfboard craftsman so, use side lighting.

I closed the garage door and turned off the lights. Then I illuminated the fuselage with a handheld flashlight from the side. As I iron the covering down I use the light at near 90 degrees to the surface which illuminates the flaws. Each bubble / looks area can then be ironed down with ease.

A flaw can be seen just above and rear of the cockpit opening in the first photo. Same flaw is gone in the second after using this process.

SunDevilPilot