Paint session (Props, Trent Meteor, CR-25, F11F)

Now that was a long painting session. And only one disaster!

The first shot was putting a matte coat over the Fw-200 airliner Condor. I have to admit that, given the painting problems I encountered while doing the black stripes and the fact that it sat on the Shelf of Shame for an extended period, I don’t think it really turned out that bad. It will be getting some completion shots and a writeup in the next few days.

The next effort was pretty tedious, but necessary if you do WW2 aircraft. This was the Yellow prop tips for the two Hurricanes, D-520, Mc-202, Trent Meteor, and Tiger Force Lancaster. My blurry vision being what it is – I was wearing a painting mask instead of glasses – I could barely tell when I was getting a good coat on the tiny prop tips. I should probably convert over to a matte Yellow for this job, as it seems to produce better coverage. Once it cures I will mask the tips and paint the props themselves Black. While I had the Yellow out, I painted the nose portion of the Italian AF Hurricane.

Then came the first upper surface coat on two aircraft, the SAAF Hurricane (RAF Dark Green) and the D-520 (Dunkelbraun, representing the French dark brown). I accidentally slipped while putting it aside to dry and damaged the surface near the wingtip. Guess which section of the wing will get the first contrasting camo coat at the next paint session.

I also painted the ZC Yellow primer sections of the Trent Meteor engine nacelles. Lots of masking for two little areas. Next for this one will come the attachment of landing gear and wheels.

I probably should have stopped there, but sometimes when you are on a streak you just want to continue with the session. This is especially true when you are having energy depletion issues like I have in the last couple of weeks. So continue I did; I gritted my teeth and put another surface coat on the Fiat CR-25, using MRP Italian yellow. Thankfully (I say this without knowing if removing the tape will cause any damage, as it has on other MRP Paint jobs) with the air pressure turned down lower and infinite patience – never easy with me – I was able to get a nice coat on it. Next comes mottling in Olive Green and Dark Brown.

The last event was painting the wing and tail tips of the F11F of the Blue Angels project. Once it cures, more masking. Then I’ll be able to get a coat of Blue Angels Blue laid down.

I went rather nuts with a recent Hannants order and got replacement wheels for the ragwing Hurricane, D-520, Mc-202, and the MS-406, a future French AF project. I wish I had known about the missing Lanc wheels, and could have included them in that order. I’ll have to pick them up next time.

But I will have some new acquisitions to discuss shortly. I took the plunge and bought two Detolf display cases from Ikea. I may not agree with their politics, but I’m a mercenary when it comes to proper furniture. I also ordered some extra shelving to double the number of shelves in the unit. I haven’t finished assembly yet, but will report when I do.

In the meantime, here are some post-painting photos of the most recent session.