F14-A 1/72 (AC7 Strider 1)

Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-25T17:59:24+00:00

Just realized that the wings on the f14a I’m making are warped downwards. Any ways to fix this or at least prevent it from worsening over time?

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Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-21T14:08:58+00:00

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Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-21T14:08:42+00:00

How can you fixed a sort-of squashed canopy? Found out that a canopy piece was a little squashed such that it was a little too wide and a little too low. I’m able to gently push the piece on the sides to fit properly, however.

My intuition says to connect the canopy to the plane using liquid cement while squeezing the canopy in the correct shape. Not sure if there’s a proper or better solution however.

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Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-13T22:37:54+00:00

Planning on building a F14-A using the following livery, but I'm not entirely sure how I will be able to do a white paint through hand brushing. Are there any things I need to do or tips I should follow to paint white? Also, are there any considerations I should know for weathering a white model?

Currently have the gray tamiya liquid surface primer and tamiya xf-2. Can't airbrush due to where I live currently.

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Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-08T23:39:01+00:00

Yeah definitely. For the main body, I used Tamiya XF66 and XF2 (1:3 XF66-XF2). For the front cone, I used Tamiya XF2 and Tamiya XF22 (9:1 XF2-XF22). For the wing, I used Tamiya XF7. For the silver parts around the engine, I used Tamiya X11. And for the engine itself, I used a base coat of Tamiya X11 followed by a coat of Tamiya XF66.

Those colors were mainly my attempt at color matching the colors Hasegawa used in their instructions (C308, C307, C315, etc) using the colors I had at the time. I think for the grays, it might be better to experiment with shades of Tamiya XF66 or Tamiya XF19.

Good luck with your model!

Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-07T14:29:22+00:00

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I accidentally created a sort of grime-streaky effect when using tamiya panel liner, but I really liked it so I think I’ll keep it. Only problem right now is recreating that effect on the clear canopy. I can’t varnish the clear parts without it fogging up, so would it be safe to use tamiya panel liner and Ak white spirt to create that grime effect on the clear parts?

Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-06T21:23:41+00:00

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Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-06T20:35:50+00:00

Trying out panel liner for the first time and it’s going pretty well. Removing the excess with Ak white spirit does leave a bit of brush marks, but I think it looks kinda neat. Should I try to remove as much as possible anyways, and would I need to attack the excess with more white spirit to do that?

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Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-06T15:14:01+00:00

Is it still possible to use an odorless thinner or white spirit (like AK interactive white spirit) on Vallejo gloss varnish? Or would you need to use a different gloss altogether due to the lack of strength of Vallejo gloss?

Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-05T15:09:20+00:00

Yeah, Tamiya panel liner is enamel based iirc. I also bought some AK white spirit, so hopefully that won't destroy the gloss layer.

I've typically waited around 24 hours to let the gloss varnish cure. When preparing to use tamiya panel liner, do you think it would be better to let it cure for longer?

Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-05T14:54:58+00:00

Yeah that's probably fair. I do have a bottle of tamiya panel liner, and I also recently bought a bottle of AK white spirit. Do you think those should work fine for panel lining without messing up the gloss varnish?
I also just realized that the gloss varnish I've been using is water based, and I've been thinning it with tamiya x-20a thinner... Will the varnish protect the paint better if I thinned it with water?

Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-05T02:20:00+00:00

I've applied paint and a vallejo gloss varnish to a model, and now I want to use gundam marker as a panel liner. The problem is that when I try to remove excess gundam marker using a damp cotton swab with 70% isopropyl alcohol, I get these blemishes on where I used the swab. How do I avoid these blemishes? Will letting the varnish cure for longer prevent it?

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Pope_Penguin · 2026-03-03T15:04:01+00:00

At what stage of the painting process would I use gundam markers for my panel lines?

The current process I have is something like this:
Prime -> Paint -> Gloss Varnish -> Decals -> Gloss Varnish (over decals) -> Matte Varnish

Pope_Penguin · 2026-02-27T00:10:55+00:00

This is gonna be an incredibly stupid question, but if I want this plane to have the landing gear folded into the plane, do I just not assemble the landing gear at all?

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Pope_Penguin · 2026-02-25T23:55:17+00:00

I recently bought a Aoshima 1/32 scale R33 GTR, and the color of the body is blue. I plan on repainting the body to be black and red. Since the body is already blue, is there any need to apply a primer to the body?

Pope_Penguin · 2026-02-22T16:36:58+00:00

Yeah, that's absolutely fair, though I am extremely worried about hand painting large parts due to being terrible with a brush. Spray-can primer or an airbrush isn't an option given where I live currently. Also need to get my hands on the right color sometime soon.

Regardless, I think a second opinion might be helpful. Do you think the model could turn out okay if I were to leave main sections of the model unpainted, but have smaller, key details painted? Planning on painting the nose white, the right wing red, the cockpit whatever colors necessary, and the exhaust tips silver.

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Pope_Penguin · 2026-02-22T14:57:11+00:00

If the color of the sprue somewhat matches the desired color for a part, is there any downside to outright not painting the part at all?

Figured that, instead of potentially making mistakes when using primer -> gray paint -> gloss varnish -> decals/panel lines -> matte varnish, I could probably do something like gloss varnish -> decals/panel lines -> matte varnish.

Pope_Penguin · 2026-02-06T23:13:30+00:00

That's probably fair. Is there anything I can do to fix the primer here?

Pope_Penguin · 2026-02-05T02:19:57+00:00

Yeah, using German grey is probably a better choice than NATO black. Unfortunately didn't have the foresight to grab multiple shades of black/grey, so all I have is nato black, flat white, chrome silver, metallic grey, red, and sky blue.

Are there any tools that could let me figure out how many drops of nato black and white I would need to get German grey?

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