Airfix Lightning Part 4: Painting and decals

Welcome to the Scale Modelling Cafe, and welcome to part 4 of the Airfix Lightning project. In this episode I paint the base coat, apply the decals and get the model ready for the weathering and final bits and pieces.

[@BobbyG-bp9xr]

Wow Jamie! Its a real pleasure watching your video's! Extremely therapeutic and informative in equal measures! What an absolutely wonderful finish you achieve. Fantastic looking Lightning, completely blown me away! 🤯😁👌

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

Thanks Bobby

[@paulmanuse2353]

Great paint job!!

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

Thanks Paul

[@alancrowley7991]

Nice job Jamie!!

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

Thanks Alan

[@duncanling2127]

Wow ❤

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

Thanks Duncan

[@FinsburyPhil]

Very timely Jamie. My project for the first half of next year is a chronology of 19 Squadron in 1/72. There'll be a Lightning in there, but I'll also have a Meteor F8 in HSS and a number of inter-war silver dope schemes. So, I'm going to become very familiar with metallic silver paint.

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

You'll have to do one the Hawks from my logbook then! I was on the first ever Tac Weapons course on 19 in 2000!

[@paulhargreaves1497]

Stunning! Although I did notice the port fuselage serial is a bit cut off........I was wincing when you were using those tweezers earlier!

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

I cocked up with the setting solutions trying to hide the carrier film!

[@davidguy6823]

Excellent once again. Impressed with your spraying technique producing first class results. Will certainly give it a shot one day. Do you use a spray booth, face mask etc?

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

Thanks David. I use a mask out here but at home a mask and a spray booth.

[@MrJ027]

Only just seen this jamie. i thought this would of been uploaded on 20/11/22 but it says it was a month old thats why i didnt notice. I’m with you spray multiple coats bit boring but makes for a better finish. I use a 0.4 needle for bigger areas

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

It was scheduled but I had to postpone it owing to the paint embargo. That's why it has the strange date.

[@jfm148]

Thanks for this part, Jamie. I have two questions. First, the new Gen Alclad paints need any extra thinning? I never thinned Alclad before. Second, What decal setting solutions did you use? Thanks again

[@paulhargreaves1497]

..Jamie mentions he used Ammo Set and Sol 😎

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

No thinning required mate, spray them straight from the bottle. I use Ammo Set and Sol.

[@tonydrake462]

I've had trouble with the gloss black not drying (after weeks) - I think I'll get another bottle...(maybe mine is bad).

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

Hi Tony, I've had the same mate. I much prefer the Tamiya gloss anyway, and I hear the GSI crews GX-1 is awesome too.

[@ivanwomack]

Hi Jamie. I picked up a bottle of the Dull Aluminium at Telford to try out. I initially wanted to get the Airframe Aluminium but it looked very… ‘sparkly’ almost like Tamiya Silver! The guy on the stall said “ ah, it just needs a good shake” which I did, but it didn’t change. If you have a bottle of the Airframe Aluminium I’d be interested in what you think of it. Cheers

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

Hi Ivan. The Airframe Aluminium is very shiny and quite translucent. It looks great but can be unforgiving. Duralumin is may favourite, that and Aluminium.

[@FinsburyPhil]

I've tried replying a couple of time to your reply below re the Hawk, but whenever I go back to it, it doesn't seem to be there - can you see anything?

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

That's weird!

[@FinsburyPhil]

​@@thescalemodellingcafe I've just realised that I was signed into YT under a different (work) profile; don't know whether that had anything to do with it. Anyway, would love to do one of your Hawks - T.1 black with blue checkerboard? If there's a particular one that you think is more interesting let me know the details. Have you seen the pictures of 19(R) Hawks in the loop on Philip Stevens' Target Aviation Photography site?

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

@@FinsburyPhil, when I was on the squadron it was known as 19(F) San, much more cool, especially for us baby fighter pilots! Unfortunately back then the photographers didn't know about the loop! It was during the transition from the greys to the black scheme so there were still a few grey ones left, guess which ones we all wanted to fly! One of them had a black windscreen, flap and other panels plus some primer areas, I did that in 1:32 years ago.

[@FinsburyPhil]

@@thescalemodellingcafe Is there a picture of that out there somewhere? Is there a particular registration that I can use? I've picked up the Xtradecal 19 Sqn sheet - it does Gauntlet to Phantom but not the Hawk.

[@TheEdmond30]

early

[@thescalemodellingcafe]

👍