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The first few photos show a
"real" B-58 Hustler at the Pima Air Museum, which is located in
Tucson, Arizona U.S.A. I took these photos in December, 1985!
The kit is made by "Testors/Italeri."
I don't know when the kit first came out, but I have a date of April 18, 1993
written on the box. I got it at one of our club meetings, and paid a mere
$4.00 for it!
| This finished 1/72 scale model
is another one of my examples, using "SnJ" Spray Metal Aluminum
paint. I built the model almost "out of the box!"
The pitot tube was the only item I replaced, by using telescoping
stainless steel tubing. |
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The overall construction went very
well! I choose to open up the three cockpit hatches, and these photos show
the end results!
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After I glued in the finished
cockpit, I white glued in 4 "BB's" just inside the intake on all four
engine nacelles, and several of them on the inside of the fuselage just forward
of the main landing gears, and in the cockpit area. I taped the model
together, and attached all the kit parts, including the three gear struts.
Once I had enough "bb's"
glued in so the model would sit on the nose gear, I disassembled the model and
finished all the necessary work. Very seldom do I place all the weight
needed forward of the nose gear. I found out that if you do it that way,
over time the nose gear will bend.
My only problem was with the kit
windscreen. While carefully sanding it, it cracked! I wrote to the
company who made the kit, and low and behold they sent me another windscreen.
I was extra careful in sanding this windscreen. Darn it all, if it didn't
crack in the very same place as my first one.
I glued the two parts back together, and sanded the inside very smooth. Next, I
made a "plaster of paris" mold, and vac-u-formed a couple of
windscreens. Of course they had to be sanded down to 2000 grit grade of
sandpaper, then polished out with "Blue Magic," and dipped several
times into "Future Floor Wax." I cut and fit the windscreen to
the fuselage until I achieve a near perfect fit!
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| A modeler wrote to
me from Europe wanting to know how I painted the inside of my canopies and
windscreens, especially in 1/72 scale. I sent him several email
attachment photos, including these B-58 photos. I wrote on the
photos, as to how I do it.
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| I peel off the backing paper on the artist
type "Frisket Film," and place one little pieces of it on one of the outside
widows of the windscreen. I draw on the window, then remove the
film. After all the windows are drawn, I cut them out and begin to
place them back on the outside of the windscreen. Sometimes I
have to remake one or more windows, as they may be too big, and/or too small! Once I replace,
and achieve a near perfect fit for the outside windows, I repeat the same
process for the inside, using the outside window frame lines as my
inside guide. GOT IT ? ** GREAT! ** DO IT! |
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When this is accomplished, I
airbrushed on Tamiya XF-1 flat black paint to the inside of the
windscreen. About 20 minutes later, I rub down the paint with a clean
cotton ball to remove any over spray, etc. I use a new #11 blade, and
carefully place it slightly under a corner of the frisket film and lift it up
and bend it over. I use tweezers to gently pull off the film
"very" slowly."
As mentioned in other stories, my paint to thinner mix ratio is at least 4 or
more parts thinner to one part paint. The denatured alcohol evaporates
very fast, and after several thin coats of paint it's dry in no time at all.
This film is super thin, and it leaves next to "0" ridge line of
paint. Always remove the frisket film within an hour or so. If you
leave it on too long, it will leave the adhesive on the plastic!
"HOW TO REMOVE THE ADHESIVE:" I use only "Mineral
Spirits," sometimes called paint thinner. I dip a clean "Q-Tip"
into the thinner, then remove as much of the thinner as possible, by wrapping a
clean cloth around the Q-Tip, so it soaks up the thinner. I gently roll
the "Q-Tip" back and forth, which will soften the adhesive, and pull
it off the clear plastic. You will have to use several "Q-Tips," which
depends on how many windows you have to clean up. The paint thinner
usually will not remove the future floor wax, nor the Tamiya paint, but you must
work fast. Once you remove the adhesive, clean the parts with a very mild
soap/water solution, then clean with only water, and blot it dry. It will
remove any "enamel paints!" This will take some practice, until
you get it right, so experiment on a spare windscreen, and/or canopy.
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The enclosed
photos show how I apply the windscreen to the model, using future floor wax, and
super glue. If you have never tried this method, well just "do
it!" It works for me, and with some practice, it has to work for you.
Since I started attaching my windscreens using this application, I have
never "fogged" a windscreen with super glue. Just sand the outside
down to 2000 grit, polish it out, and apply lots of future floor wax, and let it
run off the model. Wipe down the fuselage with clean tissue/toilet paper, etc.
Carefully wipe the fuselage with a damp cloth, using water and/or denatured
alcohol!
I was ready to paint the model after I had replaced a few panel lines, checked
for imperfections, and finished sanding the model down to 2000 grit sandpaper.
Somehow, I was holding the model wrong, and I broke off the left outboard
engine. Once it was reattached, sanded etc., it was paint time.
During the month of November, and December, 2001, the weather was very cool here
in San Jose, California. I estimate the outside temperature to be around
50 degrees. For me, that's "SnJ" paint temperature. I have no
idea what percentage of humidity we had, but it rained off and on a bit.
My paint booth is outside in front of my garage, or outside of my
backyard enclosed patio. I choose the back yard this time! The first
few "light" coats of "SnJ" Aluminum went on to perfection.
About an hour later I inspected the model for flaws, dust, etc. Hey! there
were none, so I added some more "SnJ." About two hours later, I
put on my white "nylon" gloves, and rubbed down the paint with clean
cotton balls. I had no over spray around the four engines, nor on the
pylons. I couple of days later I added more aluminum paint in the morning, then
more of it a few hours later. A hour or so later, I began applying the
aluminum polishing powder with a clean "Q-TIP" and polishing the model
out with cotton balls, and the polishing cloth which is supplied with the
starter kit. Long ago I started using the white nylon gloves, which
prevents my finger nails from leaving "line like" scratch marks in the
paint finish.
For the additional colors, I just mask off the model with my low tack "fine
line" masking tape, and/or the frisket film and applied the other Tamiya
colors. I use to mask my model as soon as I finish polishing it out.
However with this fine line tape it does leave some marks on the paint at times.
I got the bright idea to wait a couple of week so the paint gets good and hard.
Presto, it works! No more tape lines!
I used the kit decals, and
applied them with "MicroSet/Sol." Next, I attached the landing
gear struts with white glue, then aligned them up. The next day I put on all the
tires with white glue, and adjusted them for alignment. Darn it all, but
they all touched my very smooth and flat table top. Nothing like having a
tire or two up off the table top/tarmac, etc. A few days later I added the
three cockpit hatches.
It's finished, and looks darn good
to me. It's really fun to build out of the box after all these years of
this super scratch building!
As they say, happy modeling!
Rodney
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