Model Builder International Pilot Issue Model Builder International Pilot Issue | Page 10

With the construction complete, it was time
for some color! I painted the lower surfaces with
Tamiya Sky straight from the bottle and used
discontinued Polly Scale for the upper Extra Dark
Sea Gray & Dark Slate gray. FIG 7.
I was going to use Xtra Acrylix paint, but decided
that the weathering and camouflage process I
wanted to apply would work better with the Polly
Scale paint. For the topside camouflage, I like to
use hand cut masks that are raised off the model
with rolls of tape. I prefer the small tape balls over
stick putty for no reason other than a higher degree
of control of the overall thickness in my mind. I
have also found that a residue can be an issue,
as I’ve had a few clear coat problems in the past
from various brands of silly and poster putty. After
a fast polish with an old nylon, the entire model
was clear coated with Future.
Once the Future had cured, I started the
decals. Techmod’s markings are crisp, have great
color density and are well printed. However, they
are extremely stiff and will crack if they curl up.
Another issue I heard was they are very resistant to
solvent solutions. With that in mind, I started right
off using Solvaset. Wouldn’t you know it, the decal
didn’t even think to soften the least bit. I tried MM
sol, Micro-Sol and Mr. Mark Softer that were in my

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arsenal with no effect. The closest one to working
was a combination of Polly Sol and alcohol on top
with Solvaset underneath. It wasn’t strong enough
to do a lot, but a few applications did get them to
settle in enough to be passable. Polly Sol has been
my old stand by for years with stubborn decals, and
it has on occasion eaten the odd thick Tamiya decal
– so use caution if you use it – and do a test first. I
only used the prominent markings and omitted all
stenciling, FIG 8.
This model does not depict a factory paint job,
in fact using the proper FAA colors more correctly
depicts a repainted aircraft. I’m not going to get
into the differences here, however, I painted
everything as if it was repainted after delivery.
After a couple of flat coats, final assembly
went quickly. A bit more weathering was done,
including some oil streaks and fuel spills but
nothing substantial. Overall, the kit is not that
difficult to build, certainly not as horrific as others
have portrayed it. The shapes and accuracy
issues are rather minimal in my mind and easily
fixed with a little thought. The sheer size and
parts count are what make it a daunting task. It’s
not for modelers who need instant gratification,
but if you’re willing to invest forty or more hours
on a model, then you can build this kit.