1/32 Hansa-Brandenburg W.12

[Michael Scarborough]

This has nothing to do with filling seams so my apologies to all you kind folks while I scold my brother.......who is obviously a cracker.....

Well now, Warren, shame on you son. You are going to make all these yankees think we Southern folk don't know how to read.....go back and look at what Keith wrote and you will not find the word "suck" in it. Hence my confusion. Peel your eyes, pardner. Besides....my people are descended from Jamestown gentry and did not resort to using such common expressions...y'all.

But darlin', we must have lunch.

[WarrenD]

Bless your heart, you've been up there too long. 

Y'all can go back to talk of wax, seams, putty, paint, and floor wax now. 

Warren

[Michael Scarborough]

LOL

[Gisbod]

I know you are aware of "scale" shiny--ness. A lot of model builders are not and they put a gleaming glossy finish on a model car and it just does not look right, even if the real thing gleams like a diamond. The level of gloss is just as accountable to the effect of scale as the choice of paint colors; because of scale, a model 18" from one's eye has to look as if it's actually yards away and the atmosphere between the viewer and the object affects the level of color saturation, etc. Basically, a red shirt when viewed up close appears red-der than one down the street. In the same manner, a shiny Corvette right in your driveway appears shiny and glossier than one down the street.

IMHO, your W. 12 is the perfect candidate for a glowing, but not glossy, finish.

I hope I don't sound like I'm preaching.

Not at all Michael - I've never been a fan of 'glossy' models either - but this one has built up a gloss by default! I must admit, that I can't see how to reduce the gloss now without taking away the nice 'depth' effect.. I'll carry on and see how the overall thing looks 

As for the wax and polishing compounds - I would imagine they're aimed at auto modellers - I can't really see a use for aero modellers? Although it may be worth experimenting on a bare metal finish I guess..

Thanks again for everyone's input - very helpful. I didn't realise the glue shrinks - although I thought the way it works was to 'melt' the plastic and then the two pieces to effectively weld together...

Guy

[stefanbuss]

Ps my worst joins to tackle are the flat fuselage ones like the undersides of the W.12 but frankly, I now cheat! I get some hyper thin plastic card and cut it roughly to shape - glue - trim - sand to blend in and, Voila! Perfect non seam  Just don't tell anyone   

Bah! You're cheating! You should really go the "hard way"; take it as an opportunity to test the seam removal proposals that where made here.

Stefan

[Michael Scarborough]

 I must admit, that I can't see how to reduce the gloss now without taking away the nice 'depth' effect..
As for the wax and polishing compounds - I would imagine they're aimed at auto modellers - I can't really see a use for aero modellers?

Well, I wish I could be there to show you that you can indeed take away the brassy shininess and overt gloss without affecting the visual depth at all.  Indeed, you will increase the feeling of visual depth. That is exactly what a fine furniture finisher does and that this is a model makes no difference. It's all about the physics.

As for the wax and compounds, I am sure Tamiya is indeed catering them to the auto modelers but a surface is a surface regardless of what type of vehicle it is applied to.

Good luck with it.

Cheers from NYC,
Michael

[Gisbod]

Thanks again Michael,

How do I go about reducing the shininess? Just a satin varnish?

G

[Michael Scarborough]

I apologize if I have confused the situation by throwing too much information at you.  I work with paints and finishes and abrasives all day long and I'm pretty passionate about it all.

The last thing you want to do is add anything more to what is already there.  You can reduce the shininess by using compound and then wax to abrade it. It may seem counterintuitive that waxing something will reduce the shine but that is exactly what it will do in this particular instance.

I really encourage you to go back and rereadmy previous posts and then get hold of some of the Tamiya  compound and see if that does not work for you. It is also possible that if you have a cream type toothpaste, not a gel, it will do the same thing for you.

I know this all sounds a little bit crazy but,if done properly, you will get a superior finish that looks like a new really doped plywood covered aircraft.

Cheers from NYC, Michael

[Gisbod]

Ah I see.. Sorry, I got the wrong end of the stick! I thought the wax would make even shinier! It's already giving me a headache from the shine as it is!

More experimenting required...

Guy

[Gisbod]

Fuselage almost finished - looks ok from a distance but bit disappointed - Its had too many layers on it - but on the up side - the Seam's disappeared!










Guy

[uncletony]

That looks pretty neato to me, Guy!

[Des]

Looking really nice Guy, I love the dark colour you have used.

Des.

[Dol]

It's really a great work 

[coyotemagic]

Looks awfully good from my vantage point, as well, Guy!
Cheers,
Bud

[WarrenD]

Guy,
      I'm sorry you're disappointed, but as others have stated, it looks great from here.

Warren