Thursday, December 12, 2019

Mission Models Clear Primer


In order to get the best performance from water based acrylic paints a primer is needed to guarantee the paint bonds to styrene. But this is a pain in the butt and I’m lazy. Ugh, I need a primer coat, then colour?  Bummer, dude! Ok, it works for exterior surfaces as one needs to check seams, but for cockpit interiors it seems like an unnecessary extra step. So my long term modeling dream was an acrylic primer in interior colours…aka USAAF and USN Interior Greens, British Interior Grey Green, etc. But no, we got primer in grey, white, and black. Ok, sometimes tan and pink, but that isn’t much help!

Enter Mission Models Clear Primer. The first question I heard was “Why a clear primer? How can you see the seams you missed?” Ah, but think outside the box. What if clear primer was compatible with the other Mission Models acrylics? What if you could tint the clear primer to get any colour you wanted? Oh, yes, yes you can…and now we finally have interior colours in a primer.


As a test, I combined 50% Mission Clear Primer (MMS-007) with 50% RAF Interior Green (MMP-079). A rather thick mixture resulted, which was cut 50% primer with 50% Mission Models Thinner/Reducer (MMA-002). Shot at 12-15% PSI out of a Harder & Steenbeck Ultra airbrush, the paint leveled perfectly and dried to a nice semi-gloss finish.  (And I get to skip another step, no need for a clear gloss before washes are applied.)


Rumor has it, you can mix the clear primer with the Mission metallics and make the metallics even more robust, but I haven’t tried it yet. (Next time.)

I hate hyperbole, but Mission Models Clear Primer might just be a game changer. Not only can you mix any primer colour you want and skip painting two different colours, but it appears to make the Mission Models colours even more durable. So they’ll never equal the durability of lacquers, but the health benefits of less toxic paint and no nasty smells might just convince me.

Friday, July 12, 2019

YouTube Suggestion

I'm a procrastinator, so often instead of using my free time to actually build models, I end up surfing YouTube and watch others build their models. I call this research...or maybe education...it isn't procrastination...no seriously, it isn't. Anyway, I recently ran across the Night Shift channel.  While it is all 1/35 scale tanks, I enjoy the irreverent humor (something missing from many modelers) and might have even learned something aka wasted way much time. I think his chipping/distressing technique might work well for an Afghanistan based CH-147 Chinook I have planned as a future project.

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

2019 Tacoma Freedom Fair


An airshow over Commencement Bay is just one portion of the July 4 Tacoma Freedom Fair, but it certainly is the most interesting part! A few photos of of this years event, which returned in force after a short absence.

Ace Maker II (N133HH) is an ex-RCAF CT-133 Silver Star (CAF 133452).


The Marines brought an AV-8B Harrier to the event.  The hovering is really only a party trick, but it is a very cool party trick. The Navy provided a EA-18G Growler from NAS Whidbey Island as pictured in the header photo.



The F4U-7 Corsair (N1337A/BuNo. 133722) from the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon.




The ex-RCAF Kittyhawk (N940AK/AK940/RCAF 1058), also from the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon, makes a dirty pass.




It was pointed out by the commentator that both types were flown by Tacoma native Pappy Boyington.  No idea if that was on purposeful choice by the airshow organizers or just a happy coincidence.

Monday, July 8, 2019

Reed Oak 1/72 RAF figures


Once again, the most excellent proprietor of Model Paint Solutions, Dr. Model Paint (aka John Miller), has posted one of my articles. However, in the editing process one of the figures was dropped from contention; the RAF WAAF. To make amends, I have posted some photos of the unprepared WAAF figure. It is hard to express just how impressive the detail is on these figures.