Sputtering start to a new layout

Stephane Savard May 24, 2018

  1. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    I'm modeling in n scale, so yeah, the windows are quite small. However, it really will be very close to the edge, and very easy to peek into the windows.
     
  2. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    Well, priming is going better than expected!

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    I feel like I've still got days to go before I'm finished, but so far I do have some of it done.

    I loaded up the bottle-fed Iwata with the Vallejo grey polyurethane primer, thinned slightly, and so far so good. Mostly. I've had the most trouble on the roof. A bit of a splatter, and of course the first coat of primer revealed some divots and seams that needed filling and sanding. I think I'm happy with the end roof pieces, but the center roof piece is rough. For some reason I just couldn't get the airbrush to not splatter, and trying to correct just made things worse. Doesn't help that I have to work with the speckle texture that the roof panels have. I'll wait for it to dry and see if I need to fix it again. The brick work on the other hand came out perfectly. The tricky bit is trying to mask off the bits that will receive glue.

    Seriously though, I wonder if there's a better way, like maybe not using the plastic solvent glue and not worrying about masking the seams? Maybe use another glue to do the final assembly? I know I can probably try scraping the paint off the edges but I really wonder if that's going to be the easiest way.

    I also haven't primed the base yet. I'm a bit chicken right now, I want to take my razor saw and scratch wood grain into the planks, but once I start, there's no going back! It looked easy in the youtube video I watched... :eek:
     

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  3. Sumner

    Sumner TrainBoard Member

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    Looks great. Might be time to change the name of the thread soon. Don't think you are at the 'Sputtering Start' anymore;).

    On the gun I think you should try the newer gravity feed gun you have (I think it was gravity feed).

    On the gluing (I'll be interested in what others say) I've been gluing all of my filament printed stuff together with super glue. Some has been painted and other parts haven't been painted before gluing. They are still all together at this point.

    I did buy a lot of other different types of glue after googling the subject but so far have just used the super glue. I use the thin Duro Super Glue most but also have used the thicker Loctite Ultra Gel Control super glue and like it for some applications.

    At times I want it to set quickly as I'm holding two pieces together. I use BSI Insta-Set after seeing Mike Fifer using it to quickly put a building together. He was spraying it just after applying the super glue. I did that but didn't like the wider than needed spray pattern, the smell and the use of a lot of it where I didn't need a lot. The spray quit working on a bottle so I started using a cheap small micro brush dipped into the bottle and onto the glue joint. Now I don't spray anymore.

    I usually put a very small drop of glue using a toothpick in a strategic location and quickly set it with the Insta-Set. Then if I'm happy I'll apply more to the length of the joint and let it setup normally without the Insta-Set.

    Keep the pictures coming,

    Sumner
     
  4. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    haha, yeah, that thread name was kinda silly at the time, I didn't realize it would kinda turn into a two year blog for my building :D It should probably also reside in the n-scale sub-forum!

    I'm using the Iwata HP-BCS siphon feed (bottle) for two reasons! First, it has a 0.5mm needle, which I feel might be best for the primer. Second, I can just fill the bottle with primer, add thinner/flow improver, and then not have to worry about filling the little cup every few minutes. I.e. I'm not changing colours. It's a great airbrush, just not convenient when I need only a few drops of colour paint. When I get to painting the model with colours, the H&S will definitely be used :D

    As for glues, so far, I've assembled the model using Testors liquid cement for plastics. Works super well, but once painted, that cement is useless - that's the reason I've been trying to mask off the glue joints as much as possible.

    I do use CA glue, but sparingly. I've developed an allergy to the stuff from my days building R/C planes - if I use it too much, the next day I end up stuffed up like I have a cold, and feeling miserable. I also do have a bottle of the BSI spray I picked up a few weeks ago but I have yet to use it.
     
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  5. Penner

    Penner TrainBoard Member

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    Most of the time I mask off the glue joints, but sometimes that gets extremely tedious. I too use the Testors Liquid Cement for Plastics, along with CA (thick flow - I tried the thin flow and it was a disaster!). If you get paint on any glue joints, you can still make the Testors work by scraping the joints with a hobby knife just enough to reestablish that plastic-to-plastic contact.
     
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  6. Chris Hall

    Chris Hall TrainBoard Member

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    I tend to not bother masking joints and just give it a quick hit with a nail file to remove the primer. I also use both Tamiya Cement and the Tamiya Fine Primer and I find the cement has no issues bonding if there is a little primer residue left, but that could be because they are designed to work together so unsure how different brands would react.

    As for the splattering gun - and I'm no expert here apart from some informal teaching and trial and error - maybe the mix is still a little thick? One of my colleagues taught me how to spray paint when we were rebuilding helicopters and for primer he said to add thinners until it was runny and then add a little more. I'm trying to think of how to explain this but I'm struggling! Its like the consistency of skimmed milk. Also check your air pressure - maybe its a little low and not atomising the paint properly, It could also be the type of compressor your using - tank vs direct supply - so if the gun is dual action maybe just spray a bit of air first, get that stabilised and then introduce paint.

    Other things you can do is give the tip/nozzle a quick clean with a soft brush between parts as the paint may have dried a little as you put one bit down and pick another piece up and that will cause a little splatter at the start and then clear itself as you progress.
     
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  7. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    About paint splatter, I've not had the chance to work at it for the last two days, but I did figure out that it was paint buildup on the tip. A few things helped. First, less rapid starts and stops. I was giving quick spurts and that was causing more buildup. Second, yup, I thinned the primer a bit more. Third, I keep a soft cloth nearby and occasionally wipe the needle. And finally, start and end spraying off the model.

    On another note, the Vallejo primer levels out and contracts real nice onto the surface. So many of the blemishes that might appear at first disappear when fully cured.

    Thanks for the tips everyone! Super appreciated!
     
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  8. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    Wow, I just had one of those moments when it suddenly clicks!

    IMG_20210504_174011234.JPG

    So still painting the station, unfortunately I didn't get a chance to get back to it in a few days. I did manage to paint the roof sections a dark grey (Valleho Dark Gunship Grey). It turned out fairly smooth, and I'm happy with the results mostly. The airbrush clogged at one point, but cleaning out the nozzle I found some goop in there. Still, that was not the clicky moment.

    The moment came when I painted the brick walls. See, I visited my local hobby shop, but their supply of Vallejo Model Air is getting fairly low, and I don't think the stock they have moves much. So I looked for a nice brick colour in the Model Color range of Vallejo paints. Settled on Cavalry Brown. Now this paint is much thicker, and Vallejo has a Youtube video where they recommend thinning 1:1 with their thinner. I did just that in a little mixing cup, then added that to the Airbrush. I also put on the little cap on the Airbursh's paint cup. Then...

    Then I proceeded spraying my very best coat of paint I ever did!
     
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  9. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    (whoops, clicked post instead of upload photo, heh!)

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    The brush didn't splatter, didn't run, didn't give any trouble - instead it was silky smooth and with no tip drying at all! Couldn't be happier with the base coat on the bricks!

    IMG_20210504_181753828.JPG

    Now I've got the roof painted, but it needs touchups. I had some masking tape on the bottom edge to protect the plastic, and it unfortunately pulled some of the paint off. And I've got the window frames and doors mounted on some masking tape, ready for the next spray.

    IMG_20210501_135629334.JPG

    For the windows frames that could potentially be seen on the inside, I sanded down the overhanging frame into a thinner profile. In the above photo, the bottom frame is sanded down, while the top is original. I'd guess I reduced the frame by half or a little less. I figure it will make the inside a little better. I'm still not sure how much we'll even be able to see the inside!

    On another note, for the brick, I'll be filling in the mortar lines with pastel chalk dust. Technique I found described in the model railroad book I bought a while back - Basic Structure Modeling. Apparently just need to rub some ground up light grey pastel into the cracks, then wipe away the dust from the brick faces with a damp cloth. Other techniques I've seen involve drywall plaster, or thinned paint. For my first try, I figure the pastel chalks are the safest and easiest to repair (wash the model) if I fail miserably!

    The base I'm waiting to paint. I've ordered a Vallejo paint effects set - Old and New Wood. Looking forward to seeing how that goes!
     
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  10. in2tech

    in2tech TrainBoard Member

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    The bricks look awesome :) It all looks awesome to me, actually! Great job!
     
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  11. Chris Hall

    Chris Hall TrainBoard Member

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    Looking awesome!

    Maybe give the brickwork a quick dusting of matt varnish - just as a protective coat - that way if you do decide that you don't like the look of the mortar you can give it a gentle wash without worrying about washing off the brick colour too. Think I saw that in a video about painting 40k warhammer stuff, the guy would do different varnish coats as he painted to 1. enhance the look or remove/add shine 2. protect things for the next painting step.
     
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  12. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks for the advice, I went ahead and did this today in preparation of the mortar application, we'll see how it goes in the next days.
     
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  13. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    Meh, okay, a bit of a failure today. I started with grinding a light grey pastel stick into dust and tried rubbing this into the mortar lines. Made the entire side of the little brick building grey. Then tried rubbing away from the face of the bricks with a damp cloth. It left nothing except dirty brick.

    Okay, so I tried another way I've seen online. Made a white wash.. a few drops of light grey paint, a drop of flow improver and diluted in water. That looked promising. Touching a paintbrush to the bricks had the paint flow into the mortar lines and looked great! But I left it to dry and in the end, it just well, just disappeared, leaving dirty pale bricks.

    I tried washing it off, but it's still ugly and now also slightly damaged. Tomorrow I'll need to reapply the base coat and start over. Wish I knew what I did wrong.
     
  14. Chris Hall

    Chris Hall TrainBoard Member

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    mate, that sucks.
     
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  15. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    Yeah, learning from my mistakes, no biggie. The hard part is that if I really screw it up, there's no going back and I have no spares.

    I think I'll try slightly watered down spackle next. I can try it first on the small brick shed.
     
  16. Chris Hall

    Chris Hall TrainBoard Member

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  17. PAPPY1

    PAPPY1 TrainBoard Member

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  18. sd90ns

    sd90ns TrainBoard Member

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    [​IMG]

    This is thinned wall-board mud applied and allowed to dry completely.
    It is then wiped on the diagonal with a barely damp square cleaning sponge.
    After a couple of wipes allow to dry again to check if enough has been removed, if not try, try again.
     
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  19. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    Is drywall compound and wall-board mud the same thing? I also have some Polyfilla Lightweight spackle on hand.
     
  20. Stephane Savard

    Stephane Savard TrainBoard Member

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    Well then, yesterday I re-sprayed a light coat of brown on the bricks, and today I sprayed a new thin coat of matt varnish on the brown coat. That took very little time, so what now? Time to take out the microscope coverslips!

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    I bought this pack of cover glass off Amazon a few weeks ago for about 10$ (CAD). There were possibly more reputable brands for more money, but seriously, I'm cutting these up and optical quality is really not important here. So I went with the cheapest stuff I could find, and the largest panes I could find. I have a lifetime supply now! As a side note, the yellow isn't translating to the mobile camera, it's actually somewhat paler in person than shown here.

    IMG_20210511_174406825.JPG

    To cut the glass, well, it's not easy, but not really for the reasons you'd think. I just use a tungsten carbide scriber I got at a local hardware store. Amazon was way over price (2 to 5 times the cost found at the Canadian Tire store near home). The difficult part is that the panes I need to cut are TINY! Trying to measure is almost impossible, so it's a lot of trial and error. I use a protractor as a straight edge simply because I can better align the glass as square as possible. I've found the easiest way is to lightly scribe a line (barely any pressure), then pick up the glass, lay in ON the protractor, scribe line aligned with the edge, and gently press down to snap it.

    Oh! and Safety First! wear safety glasses and regularly shop-vac the workspace!

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    These are my smallest windows I made, just 'cause I can I guess. There's not going to much to see inside the building through these tiny things :ROFLMAO:

    And the result? Well, I'm not done (half the panes are done), but the panes are really clear!

    IMG_20210511_182944627.JPG

    ok, so tomorrow I'll be ready for a second attempt at the mortar lines, fingers crossed!
     
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