Lancaster

[lastvautour]

Great job so far.

Lou

[Model Maker]

Was hoping to have this model completed for the end of the year. But alas, too many competing items. However, I have completed the carving and will finish painting in 2023.

Cuts for wing insertion were chiseled out, wing fitted and a filler piece glued and installed under the wing. Tail component fitted and installed.

Nose view of installed wing along with tail components. Getting ready to shape the nose and cut off the tang.

Completed carving with engine nacelle exhaust and carburetor installed. Will add the gun barrels at a later point in the finishing process. They are too fragile to install at this point.

Wishing everyone a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year!!

[lastvautour]

Great looking Lancaster Ken. I look forward to its completion in 2023. Happy New Year to you and your family.

Lou

[Boomerang]

Outstanding workmanship Ken. Looking forward to further updates.

Gordon

[Model Maker]

Thanks Gordon and Lou. I still have a long way to achieve your level of craftsmanship. But it's an enjoyable journey. Unfortunately I just don't seem to have the time I would like to spend on building.

In any event, thought I would capture my method of painting over the next series of posts . In the past there has been some discussions on working with pine, which is the wood I primarily use. I am usually concerned about sap or tannin bleeding through the paint. It is a real concern as I am currently working on repainting some pine bi-fold doors which have really "yellowed" over the past few years. I used a water based primer and water based alkyd on the doors and this combination didn't perform nearly as well as past finishing on similar doors were I used oil based paint.

So having leaned my lesson, I usually apply a base coat of urethane varnish thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits. This allows the urethane to penetrate. I consider this more a moisture control coat to minimize the natural moisture content change. Not sure how effective this is. But it allows me to rest easily.

On top of the urethane I apply 2 coats of Zinsser Bin shellac based primer. Shellac is the gold standard for preventing sap / tannin bleed through on pine. Shellac is also a great primer. But the Bin is very runny, so it doesn't build a thickness like regular paint primers. This primer sands very nicely, so I give it a light sanding with 400 wet paper prior to commencing to cover the Zinsser primer with a water based alky primer. If using shellac, don't forget to select dewaxed shellac. Many common shellacs contain wax, which is fine if the entire finish is to be shellac. But if the shellac is to be painted, the wax can impact the bond of the paint.

[lastvautour]

Your Lancaster is coming along beautifully.

Lou

[RyanShort1]

In any event, thought I would capture my method of painting over the next series of posts . In the past there has been some discussions on working with pine, which is the wood I primarily use. I am usually concerned about sap or tannin bleeding through the paint. It is a real concern as I am currently working on repainting some pine bi-fold doors which have really "yellowed" over the past few years. I used a water based primer and water based alkyd on the doors and this combination didn't perform nearly as well as past finishing on similar doors were I used oil based paint.

So having leaned my lesson, I usually apply a base coat of urethane varnish thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits. This allows the urethane to penetrate. I consider this more a moisture control coat to minimize the natural moisture content change. Not sure how effective this is. But it allows me to rest easily.

On top of the urethane I apply 2 coats of Zinsser Bin shellac based primer. Shellac is the gold standard for preventing sap / tannin bleed through on pine. Shellac is also a great primer. But the Bin is very runny, so it doesn't build a thickness like regular paint primers. This primer sands very nicely, so I give it a light sanding with 400 wet paper prior to commencing to cover the Zinsser primer with a water based alky primer. If using shellac, don't forget to select dewaxed shellac. Many common shellacs contain wax, which is fine if the entire finish is to be shellac. But if the shellac is to be painted, the wax can impact the bond of the paint.

Love the knowledge drop. That's actually quite appreciated.

[Boomerang]

Echo Ryan's comment and will add a Wow !.

Cheers

Gordon

[Gearup]

I enjoy seeing how the basics get done. BIN shellac primer is also pleasant to work with and makes an even better filler if epoxy silica thickener is added to the mix.

Fraser

[Model Maker]

I'm glad folks seem to enjoy the steps of the build process. It's always great to see the finished product. But I too enjoy seeing how the model progresses through the build and paint stages. There are always tips and tricks which I enjoy learning about.

Speaking of which: I'll have to try the filler in the BIN 123 on the next plane. Where do you purchase it from?

Photo's below of the primer build up (3 coats of white and 4 coats of grey water based alkyd primer). I had some left over from painting baseboard had decanted a portion of the left over into smaller paint cans. Had the local paint store add a "couple" of shots of black tint to make a grey primer. Applying the primer by brush is a little more laborious than spraying a high build primer from a can. But brushing doesn't have any of the fumes. If time permits, I can usually apply 3 coats in one day with a 4-6 hours minimum drying time between coats. I like the two tone approach as I can see when I am sanding a through the top coats of primer. 600 wet sandpaper smooths it down nicely.I'm not worried about any breakthrough (small white patches) as the final paint colours to be air brushed are very opaque.

Masking process started using FSB masking tapes. They are similar to the Tamiya masking tape (white roll on left). But there's significantly more in a roll for about twice the price. It's very flexible as well and comes in different colours based on the width.This is the first time I have used the 1/8" (3mm) red as a break. Previous use of this brand of tape has proven to produce very crisp lines. The orange roll is FSB's K-UTG tape which was applied to the wing leading edge. It's similar to crepe but has a special coating which provides very crisp sealing along the tape edge. Regular 3M blue masking tape was used to complete the masking where no colour demarcation is required.

Complete masking in place to paint the black. I used  the FSB ProMask masking paper to cover the wings. It's slightly heavier than tissue paper, but not as stiff as newspaper or printer paper.

[Gearup]

Source for the thickener would be at an auto body or epoxy supplier.
I use west system colloidal silica https://www.westsystem.com/406-colloidal-silica/

The smallest size of 1.6 oz will go a long way.
Fraser

[Model Maker]

Fraser - Thanks for the source info!

I rethought my approach to the masking. I envisioned leaving a thin unpainted primer line where the black ends and the camouflage starts. So I removed the masking and restarted. Laid down the brown camouflage and then masked it to airbrush the green. I painted both colours below where the back will start so there is no chance of any thin grey undercoat line.

Next steps - On to the black and the application of a couple of gloss coats for decal installation.

[lastvautour]

Your camouflage looks fantastic.

Lou

[Jim]

Nice work indeed! Especially like the airbrush job!

[Boomerang]

Looks fantastic Ken. Well done!

I possibly found a source FBS tape over here.

I am currently using FROG delicate tack tape which works OK and is a lot cheaper than Tamiya.

Cheers

Gordon