Dragonhawk1066

Very nice! I love the color!

Nicely done!

Thanks guys! Thanks Andrew! I thin the paint with a "homebrew" thinner that I got from one of the Facebook groups I'm in. It consists of 3 parts distilled water, 1 part 91% isopropyl alcohol, and 4 or 5 drops of glycerin (per 8 ounce batch) as a flow improver. I had been using plain blue automotive windshield washer fluid until about 6 months ago with decent results, but really like using this homebrew thinner better and I think the results are better as well. I start the ratio at about 50/50, but usually end up at around 60-65% thinner, maybe even 70%. I now mostly use my no-name dual action airbrush with a .3 tip at about 20-25 psi. Start with real light coats, then go to medium, and finally a few heavy coats, depending on how well the paint covers and the depth you're after. I've sprayed as many as 8 coats, and as few as 3. The Mustang took about 7 or 8. I've used a few different clears from Pledge Floor Gloss, which can be airbrushed straight from the bottle or brushed on, and Decoart Duraclear Gloss Varnish (Which is a polyurethane and I found after 4 or 5 days can be wet-sanded) that I airbrush on. For the Mustang, I used Tamiya TS-13 Gloss Clear with 2 light coats, 2 medium coats, and a heavy coat. The Tamiya clear has by far the best results, but the other clears are pretty good too, depending on the amount of shine you're after. Most craft acrylics do dry to a very matte, or flat finish, and the metallics to a matte to satin finish. You can thin craft paints with Pledge Floor Gloss for a better shine once dry. I've used it to thin from time to time with mixed results, so I really don't use it any more, but others get really good results with it. Barbatos Rex on youtube has some great paint how-to's and tests using all kinds and brands of paint, including craft paints. It's a very good and informative channel.

Thanks! Yes, the first set is the wheel of choice on this one, and it's just going to be a black interior. I thought about white seats and door panels, but all black suits the general look I'm after.

Thanks everyone!

This is one of the five bodies I painted last month for cold weather building. The paint is Tamiya TS-53 Deep Metallic Blue and cleared with Tamiya TS-13 Clear Gloss. My original plan was to use the 5-spoke Weld Pro-Star type wheel, but after airbrushing a few other sets of wheels I wanted to compare them to the Weld Draglite style. I still prefer the Pro-Star's, but the Draglites look pretty good too. I'll definitely find something to put them on later. I got the wheels from Morgan Automotive Detail and airbrushed them straight over the washed and dried resin with Molotow Chrome from my refill bottle. In hindsight, I should have primed them and blew any dust off before painting to avoid any imperfections. I still have another set of each, so I may try to get the other set of Pro-Star's done to see if they'll come out better. I took this morning to wet-sand and polish the clear. I used 4000 and 6000 sandpaper, and switched to Micro Mesh Polishing Pads for the 8000 1nd 12000, followed by a polishing with Novus #2. Next will be bare Metal Foil for the trim.

Outstanding craftmanship and workmanship on both!! Just a couple of incredible builds!!

Very nicely done!

For being a notoriously bad kit, you sure did good with it! Well done!

Sweet looking build! I love the paint scheme!

Very sharp and very well done!! Nice smooth paint job too!

Looks great!

Very nice!!

Both are very nice!

Thanks everyone! Thanks Doug! This one was almost done in a non-factory Metallic Gray, but I was able to, at least in my opinion, mimic Calypso Coral close enough to go with it. I may buy another real soon to do either in that Metallic Gray, or another non-factory color such as a Dark Bronze.