Guide : Painting a 1/48 US WWII Pilot
While finishing my Italeri 1/48 A-36 Apache, I decided to go ahead and paint up a pilot figure so I can use it as a size reference. It’s what I have been doing with my 1/72 modern pilot. This WWII pilot figure comes from the Hasegawa 1/48 WWII Pilot Figure Set. The instructions simply say ‘US pilot’ so I’m not sure if this represents a USAAF or USN pilot. I think it’s the latter though. In any case, this is the only option for a US pilot.
The details are decent but nothing to shout home about. Clean up however was minimal.
First I sprayed a base coat of black.
Then I sprayed white at a 45 degree angle from above. This simulates the Sun as the light source so I immediately get some highlights and shadows.
The basic colors are then handpainted. Some of the highlights and shadows can still be seen which is what we want.
Then I washed the figure with Army Painter Warpaints Soft Tone for the flesh with Army Painter Warpaints Dark Tone and Citadel Shade Nuln oil for the rest.
Once the washes have cured, I went back in to add highlights using the same basic colors.
The end result is… decent for an hour’s work. But it doesn’t look half bad posed with a plane so I’m more than happy with it.
The box comes with RAF, IJA/IJN and Luftwaffe pilots too so there’ll be more practice to come.
Happy Chinese New Year
Wishing everyone a merry Chinese New Year. May the new year bring more fortune, luck and time for their hobbies!
Upcoming : Academy Gatchaman New God Phoenix
Now this is unexpected. From the Korean (?!) manufacturer Academy comes the New God Phoenix from the anime Gathcaman II.
The only details so far are that the kit will come in multi colored parts and will include the Gatchaman team and their individual vehicles which can be stored inside New God Phoenix. No other details like release date and price so far.
The nostalgia fuel is strong in this one. I used to have the Popy toy and I was actually more exposed to Gatchaman II and Gatchaman Fighter instead of the original Gatchaman.
More pics at Tag Hobby.
WIP : Italeri 1/48 A-36 Apache Pt. 3 – Painting
Before painting can begin, The canopy needs to be prepped. As mentioned previously, once both halves are put together, not much can really be seen in the cockpit. And since the canopy can only be installed closed, even less will be seen.
Canopy masking was with Aizu 1.5mm and 1mm masking tape for the outlines. Prop plane canopies are always ‘fun’ with all the frames. This kit is particularly more ‘fun’ as some of the framelines are soft so there’s a bit more eyeballing involved. As is usual, once outlined, I backfilled everything with Mr. Masking Sol R. The liquid mask will also help to hold the masking tape in place better. Once dry, I gave everything a spray of interior green.
The fit is quite good with only minor adjustments required for the frame above the rear windows and the middle canopy requiring some pressure to better conform over the cockpit opening.
Once done, I’m now ready for seam line fixing.
Time for painting once the gaps have all been settled. First is a base coat of black.
Next is a marble coat with white.
First on is the bottom color. The instructions call for FS 36173 Flat Dark Gray. I went with the closest shade of gray I have: AK Interactive RAF Ocean Gray which is FS 36187. Besides thinning the paint down, I added a few drops of Vallejo Glaze Medium which turned the paint slightly translucent. I also added a few drops of Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver to slow down the drying.
With the (already) thinned paint cut further with Glaze Medium, I’m able to allow the marbling coat to show through quite easily. The result is very blotchy but once the finishing gets going, they won’t look as stark.
Once cured, I masked off the gray sections with a combination of masking tape and rolled up blutack for the demarcation lines.
Then it’s Model Air US Olive Drab thinned and glazed just like the previous color.
The patchiness is more subtle on the olive drab. I think I’ll have to go back and have another go at the gray areas.
Once the main body is done, the other parts were also painted.
With the cleaning and patching up of the camouflage done, decals and finishing are next.
Build Log
Part 1 – Construction | Part 2 – Cockpit | Part 3 – Painting | Part 4 – Finishing
Musings : Bandai’s Super Mini-pla Sentai Robo series
Candy Toys are toys/model kits packaged with a piece of candy or gum and sold in supermarkets. Usually there will be 3-5 different models in the same box design so you have to hunt through the racks to get the one you want. I used to buy these as a kid from Japanese supermarkets. The candy is arbitrary really because the main event is building the toy inside the box.
In the last few years Bandai has started releasing the robots from Super Sentai for their Super Mini-pla line which are basically candy toys. Now, you simply buy the whole set in one go so no more rummaging in supermaket aisles needed though I’ve always thought that was part of the fun. Anyway, they’ve released quite a few Super Sentai robots so far:
Pictures from Hobby Search
And they look great: they are articulated and can be split into their component parts just like their TV and toy counterparts. I also think that they visually strike a nice balance between looking like proper mecha and the ‘guy in a plastic robot suit’ look.
Thing is though, Bandai has a habit of dropping a line abruptly. Just look at Super Robot Chogokin, which promised to be articulated non-transforming (mostly) metal robot toys. They also released a few Super Sentai robots for this line. But the line has stopped years ago after just releasing 4 of them.
I’ve always liked the idea of having a display of Sentai robots in my collection but I think the chances of Bandai releasing all of them as Super Mini-pla is actually quite slim since there are so many of them (this list I linked doesn’t even include the secondary robots).
However, this does make it relatively easier to not start collecting the line. 🙂
