I have recently filled in the gaps on my 'red arrow' ready for airbrushing, and now need to begin airbrushing it.

Just wondering whether it matters if i use white primer, or grey primer? The actual plastic is red..........

thanks

Ill keep u posted on my progress and how my first time airbrushing went with pics!!

Ive just found these on the internet it seems a good site for decals:
http://www.misterkit.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=29489&PHPSESSID=e14fe5f71da088bbf4e3d1

thanks lewis i can probly find some on tht site for my awacs if i get the engines.........but my earlier question still stands guys!! thanks

Halfords White Primer would be better for the "Red Arrows" as the Red paint would appear brighter. Yellow primer would give a better brighteness (that what they do on real cars) but unfortunately yellow is normally thicker (its used for hiding light scratches IRL) and would fill the panel lines on the kit.

cheers Allen, wanted to clear that up before i bought or most likely borrowed any...........HINT HINT!! lol

Sam

Be careful not to get a primer marked high build (the yellow one reffered to above is this). It always used to be yellow, but i think they now do it in other colours.

If you use that all detail will disappear, as it's meant to fill small scratches etc.

It's only about 3.50 to but a tin and it lasts quite a while. Once primered you could always undercoat in yellow acrylics aor enamels to get the brighest finish possible.

Photos of the finished article would be nice

Andy

I agree people will be able to give you better advise on further models if they see previous ones.

yeh i intend to take pics soon of mid-build and at the end and hope for some feedback, cheers for the advice andy ill bear that in mind when buying/borrowing any!

If you really need to you can borrow some of my grey primer but it will be 30p a spray. lol

lol ill probably borrow Allen's white then!!

Light grey or white... IMHO it really is personal preference. The real purpose of primer is to give the following layers of paint something to bind to. Also, if you're preshading, then it really won't make any difference what colour your primer is.

I agree that it doesn't really matter what colour primer you use, although I always use white now. As Allen suggests, though, white can be better under some colours, but it can depend on how thick your layer of paint is.


Unless of course you are using my pre-shading method then white is a must

To pre-shade or not to pre-shade

To pre-shade or not to pre-shade-part deux

A tip with Halfords primer, when it is dry it can be slightly rough (usually?) I "polish" it using 0000 grade wire wool. This creates a lot of dust but really smoothes out the primer, a must for a good finish. The reason for using wire wool (0000 grade is very fine) is because it acts like emery paper but doesn't sand off detail. After "polishing" the primer make sure that you remove all the residue, blow it off, wash it off but get rid of it. Before painting I use a "tac rag" or possibly some low tack tape, to go over the surface to pic up any bits.

Another tip for a good gloss finish is to build it up gradually. The first thing that I would do is apply a mist coat. This is basically what it says, hold the airbrush off the model by 300mm or more and spray with a widish pattern. You are not trying to cover anything but are looking for the paint to form tiny droplets, evenly, all over the model. This will form a "key" and stop the finishing coats from pulling away from edges and panel lines of the model. This is a trick employed by car modellers, to help them get that "showroom shine". The next coat is applied straight away, Get in closer, 100-150mm, turn down the width of the spray pattern and with the paint at the same consistency as for the mist coat (about 50-50 [thinner to paint] but it depends on the paint) spray in overlapping bands but do not try and cover the complete model. This first coat should be thin. There are now several schools of thought on the best way to proceed. One would leave the paint to dry, sand out any impurities, dust etc. remove the sanding residue, as before, then apply another similar coat, painting the bands at 90 degrees to the first layer. Repeat again, but this time thin the paint a little more, I.E. 2 more layers at 90 degrees, waiting for the paint to dry and sanding out any impurities between each. After sanding out the last coat apply the final coat, again thinned more. When dry sand again, if necessary. The sanding should be done with very fine emery paper, after the final coat the surface is sanded, lightly, all over then polished, using plastic polish, but tooth paste can be used.
The other method is similar but instead of waiting for the paint to dry, wait 15-20 minutes, then pick out any impurities with a fine pointed pair of tweezers, then apply the next coat. This second method is one that I have done and it worked quite well. If I was after a gloss finish now, I would probably have a go at the first method, but this is more for cars than aircraft. It was also based on using enamel paints and I don't know if you can get the same results if using Acrylics.
For an aircraft model I would be tempted to paint it in a satin finish rather than high gloss. It does depend on the scale, satin for 1/72 and 1/48, gloss, possibly, for 1/32 and probably for 1/24. The choice is yours of course. Also for aircraft I would alter the final finish by using varnish, matt, satin or gloss.

This might be similar for cars but I don't build cars

Having said all that I actually paint aircraft models differently anyway, as I'm not after a high gloss finish

Mal

Cheers Mal that will help meout when i start an aircraft.
Thank you.

thanks mal,

hopefully those tips will make my model look really good, for when you arrive......Pictures coming soon!!

Hi Sam
What kit is it?
I have the Airfix Red Arrows kit in my stash and was planning on getting some scarlet car paint from Halfords for it to try and get that deep gloss shine.
Nige

It is a revell 1/48 scale 'Red Arrows' Hawk T Mk.1 i think! i don't have it to hand atm! I have bought the 'xtracrylics' official red arrows red actually bought at Telford this year......apparently this is the best colour for it! hope thats useful!!

sam

Maxson making your model to look 'really good' will be an impossible task.

Sam your kit is actually 1/72nd scale, you obviously missed my lecture on basic modelling, that or you fell asleep :-)

I hate Acrylics, they dry far too fast, usually drying on the tip of your airbrush causing it to clog, or worse still blow the dried paint onto your model. It is far easier to adjust the drying time of Enamels. It is possible to get acrylics flowing well, without drying on the airbrush tip, but it is a black art. Why go to all that trouble

Having said that I will attempt to show you a little of this black art in Jan

Note this from my little intro on getting a high gloss finish:



Mal

Im not sure this black art will be alloud on the squadron. :-)

With Lenny wanting to come. :-)

Having read the book, it's spelt Lennie and is he coming to the weekend?? :-)

Yeh, allen i have splet since then as you so often say.....!

And you need some more sleep if you are spelling like that Sam.

lol touche!!!