Paint session (F-101B, DUKW, J8M1, XP-79, Eurofighter)

I decided to do a daytime paint session today due to the temps. I remember back in the summertime when we had a nasty heat wave, and it was pretty miserable attempting to paint in an uncooled garage. Well, today was no problem when it came to cooling. The snow from Christmas Day is still on the ground (though less on the streets, thankfully). It is supposed to warm up and rain within a couple of days, so that should take care of the remainder. As it was, my hands were getting pretty numb by the time I finished the session.

The main thing I wanted to make sure was done was add the matte topcoat to the Revell F-101B Voodoo. I’m in a race to get a couple of things completed by the end of 2017, and this is one of them. It’s a nice kit, though I would have preferred a straight F-101A single seater. But when I started, the Valom kit was not available and the Revell kit was in the stash. I am pretty happy with it overall, but I still have a couple of things to do where I can irreparably screw it up before final completion.

I also got a coat of MRP Olive Drab onto the DUKW. The MRP line takes a bit of getting used to. It does not reward impatience. It is thinned enough that it will begin to pool in an instant if you are not careful. Impatient sod that I am, I need to keep reminding myself of that. Next will come the painting of the DUKW’s tires and then decaling. Do I need a gloss coat before doing that? Not sure, so stay tuned.

I was not nearly so lucky with the J8M1 Shusui/Komet. I decided to use a bottle of MRP (Chrome Yellow) which I just received this week. First of all, for any light color, I would definitely recommend a primer coat. I don’t typically prime unless I have concerns about the surface of the model – ie, to fill in scratch marks or such. But the yellow pooled almost instantly, and it is clear that this one will need to be buffed down, primed, and then repainted. Plus the Chrome Yellow was too – well, too yellow – so I may search for a better representation of the rather orangey yellow color the Japanese used for prototypes.

The RS XP-79 got an overall coat of very light grey. I just eyeballed this one, using as light a grey in the US Xtracolour range as I had on hand. It looked good enough, and will allow me to get to the next bit of construction: landing gear and doors.

Finally, out came the Testors Gloss White. Not only did I need to repair some of the paint overshoot on the AZ Chipmunk, but the new-tool Revell Eurofighter has gotten to the point where I can paint the wheel wells, landing gear, and the fin. This will be a 41 Sqdrn RAF anniversary plane. My impressions of this new tool Eurofighter have been very positive so far. It will be my go-to Eurofighter when I start to branch out into Luftwaffe anniversary aircraft. Since I also recently bought the two-kit set of Italeri’s Italian AF special schemes, I will probably just use the plastic that comes in the box for at least the first two. The old Italeri Eurofighter is definitely not up to the quality of the Revell kit, but hopefully since this will be in a lineup with a dozen other planes it won’t be so noticeable.