F8 Crusader

[Model Maker]

Welcome back Lou!! We've missed your ongoing encouragement over the past while, but recognize you have had more important items to deal with. Trust you are recovering from the tragic loss of a loved one.

I'm afraid I am not buying into your comment that the mortise and tenon approach is beyond your skill set. You are a very skilled craftsman!! I suspect it has more to do with the scale you typically work in (1/72 or smaller). With 1/48 scale and larger, standard chisels can be used for most mortises. The tenons are simple, since they are an extension of the root area of the attached component.

Below 1:48 scale I suspect miniature chisels would be required for the mortises. For the strakes, which are only 3/32" thick at the root, I had to resort to a small electronics screw driver to remove material. If the scale was smaller, I could see myself either buying some miniature chisels or making some using nails, drill bits or similar thin metal sources. There are a few YouTube videos on making miniature chisels.

[lastvautour]

Thank you for the vote of confidence.

Lou

[Model Maker]

Finally finished the second attempt. Still requires a little sanding, but should be ready for the shellac sealer shortly. I used some poplar for the tail and horizontal stabilizers since it is a little stronger than pine. But it seemed to be a courser wood, so I'll stay with my pine / maple combinations on future models.

Will have to get moving on this model to have it completed by year end for the annual photo album.

Was able to salvage the first attempt, so will work on assembling and finishing it in parallel with painting this one.

[lastvautour]

An excellent Crusader.

Louis

[Boomerang]

 Looks amazing Ken.

 Looking forward to the finished model.

 Gordon

[Model Maker]

Have laid down base colours (grey & white) and started work on the details. Wanted to utilize homemade decals for the star and bars, but the shape of the re-fueling pod would be a bear to form a decal around. So have opted to paint the star & bars with masks.

First photo is the test to see if the stencil would appropriately form around the re-fueling pod. It did using FBS Gold Mask, which is a paper masking material. I find for certain profiles this adheres better than the plastic masking material since it is paper. Test install was performed on primed finish before wet sanding.

Next photo is the Star & Bars partially completed. A couple of knife knicks in the star trying to remove the mask. Will touch this up at the end

Last photo of the completed bar and stars. Not quite as crisp as a decal. But looks acceptable from a distance.

On to airbrushing the remaining details

[J Luke]

Very nice! Did you cut the shapes for the insignia out yourself? If so, did you have a pattern to follow or anything?

[Model Maker]

I utilized a site which listed the dimensions / ratio of the various components and redrew the image in Inkscape so I could import the stencil into the Silhouette cutter software.  I suspect I could have redrawn directly in the Silhouette software, but I am not as familiar with the various functions in this software. Once imported I let the Silhouette cutter cut out the various components of the stencil along with some spares.

[lastvautour]

Magnificent painting.

Louis

[Boomerang]

Excellent work Ken.

Gordon

[Model Maker]

Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm still honing my painting skills.The separation clear coat went on with some orange peel appearance. Will perform a sanding with 2000 and 3000 grit sanding medial before applying the final clear coat.

Have completed all the painting as shown in the pictures. Still have to add the decals on the rear portion of the fuselage and then apply the final clear coat.

[J Luke]

That looks great! I admire your very smooth finish.

[lastvautour]

Excellent workmanship.

Louis

[Model Maker]

The finish is a little rough, although it may not be apparent in the photo. Will sand with 2000 grit to smooth before applying final clear coats.

Photos show positions of decals and alignment using tape. I use 1/16" FBS fineline tape which has low tack and a greater thickness than some of the other masking tapes. Using this approach allows me to establish vertical and horizontal reference points. It also allows me to check the positioning of decals on each side of the fuselage to ensure mirror locations without the worry of a decal setting up.

Homemade decals installed. They install very quick and easy as two decal edges simply butt up against the reference tape. Used Microset solution to set the decals. Since the surfaces are relatively flat, there was no requirement to apply Microsol as a follow up.

On to minor paint touch ups and clear coat.

[J Luke]

That looks great! I like the idea of using masking tape as a reference. On plastic models, I always had panel lines to go off of, but with wood models, I was just eyeballing it on my Thunderbolt.

What kind of decal paper do you buy to print your own? I did a quick search on Amazon and there were tons of options. I'd love to hear what everyone uses for theirs, as that seems to be a more economical way to go, in addition to giving you more freedom of markings.