HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

After checking my references most of the engine parts that you see here,except for the copper induction pipes,can be used as is.The lacquer seems to have given them just the color and finish of the real engine.Using just a little pastel should be enough for the weathering.(see Mark Miller's Clerget 130hp engine reference)

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The instruction booklet is not very clear on how to put this engine together ,so I will take a few more pics to supplement their text.I assume that anyone putting this engine together in the future ,will already have a booklet.Model Expo has also put up a copy of it on their website.
I plan to build up one cylinder at a time around the crankcase.
Be sure to clean up all parts and dry fit everything before final assembly.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

John:

I used Tamiya Acrylic. Water based paint.

Would enamel work better.???

Hi! I am not sure about enamel as I haven't really used it much and I was never very happy with Tamiya acrylic that you thin with alcohol .Personally I use JoSonja acrylic mostly because it dries absolutely flat in its natural state.By adding your own varnish
you have complete control over the toughness of the surface depending on where you want to use it.With figures for example when I know they won't be subject to a lot of handling and I want to retain a fairly flat finish ,I use only a little varnish or none at all.With a light rubbing of your finger over the surface you can then bring it up to a low luster.(especially nice for the leather look)If you were doing something like a model RR train that would be handled a lot I would use as much varnish as I can(subject to it getting too shiny) and even top coat it with a semi-luster varnish to toughen it up.The nice thing about this type of paint is that you have complete control over the shine and the toughness of the surface you want.In addition ,if you screw up ,you don't have to start all over again as long as you have put your paint on in thin coats.Say for example you find the surface too shiny you can come back over it with just the tube paint and start again with a new flat surface.As far as how easily it chips,which was your original question ,I would try just experimenting a bit with a tube of the paint and a little varnish.Let the paint set for a few days though.Another nice thing about Jo Sonja is that it is quite easy to remove for the first 24 hours(approx)
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[istf]

On the Ýëåêòðîííûå êíèãè ïî âîåííîé òåìàòèêå è ìîäåëèçìó page, i saw some good japan scale model making videos. It`s usually kit building, but sometime these have a little scratch build, for example the making the P-47 engine: Ýëåêòðîííûå êíèãè ïî âîåííîé òåìàòèêå è ìîäåëèçìó » Custom XX - Tamiya P-47D Thunderbolt 1.48
If you clickt the "forum" link, you can find more great video