Revell 1/350 Tirpitz WIP - PE question

[tcoat]

Nov 2, 2024 14:11:42 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Nov 2, 2024 12:58:39 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

I guess I didn’t really contemplate the size when selecting this project. My station is equipped for 1/48 Luftwaffe and 1/35 Wermacht subjects.

 That is the same problem I would run into with a build this size Chad. Glad to see you sticking with this one and I don't blame you one bit in focusing solely on this build alone as that is the only way I'd ever make any kind of headway on a model with this size and complexity. Good progress report on this one buddy. 

That kit is 28" long. My total work space is 28" wide WHEN it isn't covered in paints, tools, other model parts, instructions, drinks, dinner and often a cat!

 

[moparmadness]

Nov 2, 2024 14:48:23 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Nov 2, 2024 14:11:42 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

 That is the same problem I would run into with a build this size Chad. Glad to see you sticking with this one and I don't blame you one bit in focusing solely on this build alone as that is the only way I'd ever make any kind of headway on a model with this size and complexity. Good progress report on this one buddy. 

That kit is 28" long. My total work space is 28" wide WHEN it isn't covered in paints, tools, other model parts, instructions, drinks, dinner and often a cat!

 

I’ve since moved the tractor which opened up more space. I need extra room to account for my often clumsy dexterity! I laid out a towel to keep from scratching the freshly painted hull while maneuvering the boat for masking, inspecting, etc…

[themongoose]

Nov 2, 2024 12:58:39 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

I guess I didn’t really contemplate the size when selecting this project. My station is equipped for 1/48 Luftwaffe and 1/35 Wermacht subjects.

that pic is priceless!! Doesn’t even need a caption for those of us that airbrush 🤣😂

[moparmadness]

Thanks everyone for the kind words!! Basic “dazzle” camo has been laid out. I know I’m setting myself up for frustration later on when I start making/painting the superstructures. It took 6 different sittings and one complete redo, to get the paint the way I wanted it. Next I’ll go back and airbrush a few spots that got bumped or scraped during the process. Later I’ll lay out the complete step-by-step process with pics for anyone wanting to tackle this livery. Still debating on whether or not I want to weather it.

[moparmadness]

Nov 3, 2024 18:06:55 GMT -5 themongoose said:

Nov 2, 2024 12:58:39 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

I guess I didn’t really contemplate the size when selecting this project. My station is equipped for 1/48 Luftwaffe and 1/35 Wermacht subjects.

that pic is priceless!! Doesn’t even need a caption for those of us that airbrush 🤣😂

The struggle is quite real!

[keavdog]

Nov 7, 2024 22:38:12 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

Nov 3, 2024 18:06:55 GMT -5 themongoose said:

that pic is priceless!! Doesn’t even need a caption for those of us that airbrush 🤣😂

The struggle is quite real!

That turned out awesome!  Great looking job - I would have a hard time weathering that as well.

[handiabled]

The camo work looks great! If anyone can get the pattern carried into the superstructure it's you! In reality it took longer to build it than it's life in service before being destroyed so weathering it is really a toss up.

[moparmadness]

Nov 7, 2024 23:22:43 GMT -5 keavdog said:

Nov 7, 2024 22:38:12 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

The struggle is quite real!

That turned out awesome!  Great looking job - I would have a hard time weathering that as well.

Honestly, I was thinking about leaving it unpainted so that you could see all the brass photo etch detail, I’ll probably do that on another project though.

[moparmadness]

Nov 8, 2024 3:01:45 GMT -5 handiabled said:

The camo work looks great! If anyone can get the pattern carried into the superstructure it's you! In reality it took longer to build it than it's life in service before being destroyed so weathering it is really a toss up.

Thank you very much! For inspiration, I recently read an old book titled, The Sinking of the Bismarck, and I think it only had a lifespan of roughly 2 weeks!

[kyledehart5]

Really incredible work on the camo. That looks outstanding

[moparmadness]

Nov 9, 2024 6:27:26 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Really incredible work on the camo. That looks outstanding

Thanks buddy! I’m trying to decide if I want to weather it or keep as-is.

[moparmadness]

I applied a coat of Tamiya TS-13 Gloss from the aerosol can. The gloss was too hot and compromised the integrity of the paint causing it to crack. The trick here is to not lay the gloss on too thick. Small light coats would’ve been best.





The second issue I had was a result of using the wrong decal solution when I tried to apply the hull decals. I grabbed a bottle of liquid decal film instead of micro set. They both look similar. The liquid decal film burned through the lacquer gloss coat so I had to resand the area to even everything out.







The cracking in the paint isn’t visible from a distance. At this point, I think I’m just going to touch up the sanded areas and say, to hell with stripping and repainting the whole thing. I never planned on entering this in any contest, nor will any other human being see it in person other than my wife and myself. Bottom line, my trigger response to this situation would be to bin it and move onto the next project. But I’m just gonna touch up the paint and move on to the next step.

[keavdog]

Shoot! Ya, I'm sure you can touch that up. Do you think a clear flat final coat might help?

[tcoat]

Nov 9, 2024 9:55:00 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

Nov 9, 2024 6:27:26 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Really incredible work on the camo. That looks outstanding

Thanks buddy! I’m trying to decide if I want to weather it or keep as-is.

After reading the above this decision would be easy for me! Some nice weathering would go a long way to hiding the issues. There are reasons that I beat everything up. 

[moparmadness]

Nov 13, 2024 11:09:04 GMT -5 keavdog said:

Shoot! Ya, I'm sure you can touch that up. Do you think a clear flat final coat might help?

That would be nice. My last step will be a coat of flat so we shall see!

[moparmadness]

Nov 13, 2024 11:11:14 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Nov 9, 2024 9:55:00 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

Thanks buddy! I’m trying to decide if I want to weather it or keep as-is.

After reading the above this decision would be easy for me! Some nice weathering would go a long way to hiding the issues. There are reasons that I beat everything up. 

Yeah, that might take care of my, weather/not weather, dilemma!

[tcoat]

Nov 13, 2024 11:37:09 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

Nov 13, 2024 11:11:14 GMT -5 tcoat said:

After reading the above this decision would be easy for me! Some nice weathering would go a long way to hiding the issues. There are reasons that I beat everything up. 

Yeah, that might take care of my, weather/not weather, dilemma!

[Tojo72]

Bummer,but a nice job on the camo.

[moparmadness]

So I stripped the paint down to the plastic, I’m just going to repaint it. I couldn’t get over the cracked paint. I know that’s the only thing I’ll notice every time I look at the ship. But, I’m gonna put this one on the back burner for a little while. This episode burnt my Tirpitz mojo out, because painting that hull took hours and hours. I’ll get it going again, but I’m too aggravated with it at the moment. I might shift to my 1/350 Dragon Scharnhorst lol.

So the big lesson here is CHECK and RECHECK the chemicals you apply to your model before you use them!

[brentprice]

Looks like a lot of my builds, one thing goes right and then two things go wrong. Nice to see other people make mistakes and have some issues, lets me know I'm not alone. LOL

[moparmadness]

We’re definitely not in a minority group, that’s for sure! I am going to give myself a couple weeks to reset, finish a couple Stephen King books, then I’ll repaint the hull from scratch! Many lessons have been learned with this one.

I’ll also use the opportunity to shave down the ledge above each window and replace it with photo etch. No excuse to be lazy on a build that’s going to take this long.

[keavdog]

I'm sure when it's all done and on the shelf you'll be happy you made that choice.

[handiabled]

Sucks that you have to do a reset on the paint work, but you got this for sure!

[scottrc]

Nov 13, 2024 11:02:01 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

I applied a coat of Tamiya TS-13 Gloss from the aerosol can. The gloss was too hot and compromised the integrity of the paint causing it to crack. The trick here is to not lay the gloss on too thick. Small light coats would’ve been best.





The second issue I had was a result of using the wrong decal solution when I tried to apply the hull decals. I grabbed a bottle of liquid decal film instead of micro set. They both look similar. The liquid decal film burned through the lacquer gloss coat so I had to resand the area to even everything out.







The cracking in the paint isn’t visible from a distance. At this point, I think I’m just going to touch up the sanded areas and say, to hell with stripping and repainting the whole thing. I never planned on entering this in any contest, nor will any other human being see it in person other than my wife and myself. Bottom line, my trigger response to this situation would be to bin it and move onto the next project. But I’m just gonna touch up the paint and move on to the next step.

I have had that happen several times lately using both Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics and aerosol topcoat.  I'm back to airbrushing.  

[moparmadness]

Nov 13, 2024 18:39:11 GMT -5 brentprice said:

Looks like a lot of my builds, one thing goes right and then two things go wrong. Nice to see other people make mistakes and have some issues, lets me know I'm not alone. LOL

Thats pretty much every build for me!

[moparmadness]

Nov 13, 2024 20:55:30 GMT -5 keavdog said:

I'm sure when it's all done and on the shelf you'll be happy you made that choice.

I completely agree. There’s a few areas under the hull that have ghost seems that I’d like to delve into and rectify.

[moparmadness]

Nov 14, 2024 2:57:59 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Sucks that you have to do a reset on the paint work, but you got this for sure!

thank you buddy! I’m gonna use the opportunity to work on some seams that need a little bit more putty. So it’s a good thing I guess.

[themongoose]

“I grabbed a bottle of liquid decal film instead of micro set. They both look similar“

I’ve done that! I totally agree, they look too too much alike 😡

[madhatter]

sorry to see it happen man. Its really disappointing to have your amazing paint job ruined by something as trivial as using the wrong decal solution.
I hope you can fix it up without too much issue?

[mattilacken]

Nice work on the camo! That looks great, to bad about the damage but I bet you can fix it with some patience! Will be following!