Following some recent talk about fixing up some of these 1/400 models, I thought I'd start this thread to show and document some work that I've started this week. I have a few of the BB400/Your Craftsman B.747s which have suffered from 'cradle rash', one area that can be affected from this is at the tail-end of the fuselage, where contact with the cradle has rubbed off the finish, making the model look like the victim of 'tail strike'. There is no rhyme or reason to this, because some are fine; case in point, I recently acquired two 'holy grails'; a TWA Twin Globe 741 and the elusive ezToys exclusive ANA All Nippon Airways 'Mohican' 747-SR, which has a polished belly. Both were released in 2005, and both had been stored in their boxes since new. Yet, while the TWA was fine, the ANA had the 'tail strike' rubbing on the cheatline.
So, it's time to do a little restoration work: a fine modelling brush, some decent modelling paints, a cup of water, Q-Tips, a work-mat and a steady hand...
I found some excellent modelling paints on ebay. They are acrylic based, rather than enamel, so if you screw it up, you can remove the paint easily with water. They can also be mixed and blended, thinned and applied in layers, to build up a nice smooth coat, minus brush marks. The areas being dealt with are so small that they will hardly stand out if a careful application is made. The challenge is getting the exact colour match. Once satisfied with the result, a careful application of gloss varnish may be made, as a finishing touch.
I started work today on a Saul Bass United 741 which had a small dose of 'tail strike', so was an easy quick fix. For this, I used a liquid silver paint, a perfect match for the straight silver paint commonly seen applied to these models. (I've listed all the exact paints used below, with pictures as well).
After a careful application of the liquid silver, it's as good as new. This paint is very useful for restoring blemishes on wings and engines, too. It did not require thinners.
The next project is restoring the ANA 747, this is still a work in progress as I am waiting for more paint to arrive which will be a better match to the ones I already have; the shade of blue is quite tricky, it looks like a Light Turquoise/Deep Sky Blue blend. The beauty of working with these acrylic paints is that they can be easily mixed, and thinned down with water with each application. The initial results are shown below; when the other paints arrive I'll have another go at it.
Cradle rash 'tail strike' damage on this rare bird:
Establishing the first attempt at colour matching and application:
Further blending with Q-Tips, a little water and remixing the paint:
The initial result is quite good, but I will follow this up with another colour match attempt. The gloss varnish will add a nice finish hopefully.
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Last edited by barison82; 11-20-2018 at 03:47 PM.
Reason: Corrections
Here are the paints I used. I've also got some plastic putty for when I have a go at fixing a damaged nose on a BB400 BA Negus B.747-136.
Vallejo Model Colour Paints & acrylic resins, made in Spain:
70.790 Liquid Silver 35ml (Alcohol Base)
70.510 Gloss Varnish
70.400 Plastic Putty
70.842 Gloss White
70.844 Deep Sky Blue
70.961 Sky Blue
70.925 Blue
The last three were bought in an attempt to colour match the ANA. It was close but not exact. I've ordered four more below, the Prussian Blue is for the BA 747 I'm going to restore:
70.840 Light Turquoise (This looks like a much closer match on it's own)
70.841 Andrea Blue - for mixing
70.915 Deep Yellow - for mixing
70.899 Dark Prussian Blue
If I perfect the colour for the ANA, which I hope I will after all this effort, I'll share the results here, it might prove useful to someone. Please feel free to add any projects of your own!
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Last edited by barison82; 11-20-2018 at 05:25 PM.
Reason: Corrections
I found some excellent modelling paints on ebay. They are acrylic based, rather than enamel, so if you screw it up, you can remove the paint easily with water.
Ahh yes. The age-old debate of acrylic v enamel
Acrylic is certainly becoming the more prominent and popular paint you see in most hobby stores. But, I can't break away from the classics.... I'll forever use enamels.
My major gripes with acrylics are how you typically need both a primer and an overcoat to get a consistent, even finish. And also how they tend to apply much thicker than the oil-based enamels. When you work on fine scale, thick-adhering paints can look just God-awful. Filling in panel lines, noticeable ridges between paint colors, etc.
Your end results are quite good, though. I'll have to go check my own United 747-100 to see if it has tail-strike marks.
Acrylic is certainly becoming the more prominent and popular paint you see in most hobby stores. But, I can't break away from the classics.... I'll forever use enamels.
My major gripes with acrylics are how you typically need both a primer and an overcoat to get a consistent, even finish. And also how they tend to apply much thicker than the oil-based enamels. When you work on fine scale, thick-adhering paints can look just God-awful. Filling in panel lines, noticeable ridges between paint colors, etc.
Your end results are quite good, though. I'll have to go check my own United 747-100 to see if it has tail-strike marks.
Hi! Thanks for your feedback Indeed, I understand where you're coming from there, but I found with these particular brand of acrylic paints, that they weren't too thick actually, and a little water to thin them even further for mixing and blending with a Q-Tip seemed to give good initial results. I'm still experimenting, so I'll see how this goes and post the outcome. I'm too afraid of using enamel-based paints in case I screw up; these paints are easy to remove if any mistakes are made, but once fully finished and clear-coated, should be more or less permanent for the affected area.
That Silver paint is alcohol based, it's a perfect match. Good luck with your copy, hopefully it won't need any TLC but should be a very easy fix if it does.
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Great write up Barison! I've become quite adept at fixing up blemishes on my models but I solely use enamel paint. I've also found that colour matching is the most difficult and time consuming aspect of fixing up blemishes. Other than that, all it takes is a steady hand, a fine brush and quality paint.
One of my greatest feats was bringing back to life my AC Air Greenland A330 which arrived with a gaping hole behind the cockpit! Yikes! I actually found a replacement Phoenix version before taking on this project should I have made a mess of it.
Before: Huge gaping hole.
After: Presto!
I carefully mixed and colour matched the paint. I then let a few drops of enamel drip from a toothpick into the hole. I found that enamel paint adhered quite well to the existing paint and the fact that enamel is glossy meant that it was a perfect match. There's no sign of the fix and I now have two beautiful versions of this bird.
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Fine repair jobs utilizing real modeling skills. In a perfect world, all models would arrive in a pristine factory fresh condition, and they should, but they often don't. Great to see these examples of positive steps taken to return these models to 'like new', better than just sitting there stewing and complaining on the forum. DA.C is a varied universe, and there are some righteous dudes among us. Keep 'em flying, Doug
Thank you very much for this write-up, Andy! I'm traveling right now, and have a bit more on my plate than usual when here in Rochester. So very little time to write. But a few notes:
I have a number of models with similar 'tail-strike cradle rash.' I've also got a few with silver-painted undersides with nicks in them. Nicks in that faux-bare-metal silver stand out like sore thumbs, which is one reason I prefer bare metal being left bare metal.
I recently successfully repaired a buffing-scuff in an AC DC-10 engine (from that unfinished batch that needed their engines buffed) with Tamiya no. 11, which I have been told is good for bare-metal silver. The paint matches well.
I'll need to buy some other colors and get at that tail rash. I'll look into the Vallejo paints as well. These AC - BB 747's are some of the greatest treasures of the hobby, and they deserve the best care!
Jim
__________________ The greatest need in 1:400:Reissues of Major Passenger-Carrier 747 Classics: -100/200, -300, and SP, of NG / Aeroclassics / Big Bird Mk. 1 quality. Examples: American; United Blue-Star, Bass; TWA double globe, double stripe; Pan Am delivery; British Airways Negus, Landor; KLM 70's-80's blue top; Air France 70's-80's; Lufthansa 70's-80's; Aer Lingus delivery; Sabena 80's circle-s; Japan Air Lines 70's-80s; All Nippon 70's; and Qantas 70's-80's.
I have nowhere near the talent you guys have. But I have successfully touched up blemishes on white nose cones using a white Sharpie. It's actually some sort of paint rather than marker ink.
It fills small blemishes quite well. A black regular Sharpie marker can be useful for gloss black areas.
Great write up Barison! I've become quite adept at fixing up blemishes on my models but I solely use enamel paint. I've also found that colour matching is the most difficult and time consuming aspect of fixing up blemishes. Other than that, all it takes is a steady hand, a fine brush and quality paint.
One of my greatest feats was bringing back to life my AC Air Greenland A330 which arrived with a gaping hole behind the cockpit! Yikes! I actually found a replacement Phoenix version before taking on this project should I have made a mess of it.
I carefully mixed and colour matched the paint. I then let a few drops of enamel drip from a toothpick into the hole. I found that enamel paint adhered quite well to the existing paint and the fact that enamel is glossy meant that it was a perfect match. There's no sign of the fix and I now have two beautiful versions of this bird.
Wow, quite a bit of feedback here, great to see! Canopy, thanks for your input, what a fantastic job you did there with your Air Greenland. I can't even see where that hole was! You colour matched the paint very well indeed; clever method with the toothpick - a very useful tip, thanks for sharing Did you use paint thinners at all?
Enamel paint appears to be favoured; I do have quite a few tins of Humbrol enamel which I use on bigger jobs, perhaps I need to build up a bit more confidence in using enamel paint for working on such tiny areas. I might practice on something first. However, my experimentation with the acrylic paints have so far been quite successful, if I get the colour match exact I might get away with it! I guess I feel more at ease knowing that I can remove the paint very easily if I make a mistake with the colour or application, but I can certainly learn from others, so thanks for sharing your example with us
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Good to see these beauties getting repaired and restored.
They are beauties indeed - it's great to see what others are doing here as well. The ANA example has taken years to track down, hopefully after a little more work she'll be completely restored. The British Airways 747 will be a bigger project, using putty to fix the dent in the nose for a start. Will share this work here soon.
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Fine repair jobs utilizing real modeling skills. In a perfect world, all models would arrive in a pristine factory fresh condition, and they should, but they often don't. Great to see these examples of positive steps taken to return these models to 'like new', better than just sitting there stewing and complaining on the forum. DA.C is a varied universe, and there are some righteous dudes among us. Keep 'em flying, Doug
Hi Doug, thank you for your positive feedback, much appreciated. I've had a few models with these kind of scuffs/marks, more often than not, they seem to always be on the BB/AC 747s, they are heavy models so I think the weight combined with the way the plastic packaging is moulded is the cause of the problem. It's a fact of life that a lot of our models will have these kinds of blemishes - but yes there are so many creative ways of fixing them up, and modelling is great fun, too! I'm only too happy to share any ideas with the community, and it's great to hear everyone's feedback.
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Thank you very much for this write-up, Andy! I'm traveling right now, and have a bit more on my plate than usual when here in Rochester. So very little time to write. But a few notes:
I have a number of models with similar 'tail-strike cradle rash.' I've also got a few with silver-painted undersides with nicks in them. Nicks in that faux-bare-metal silver stand out like sore thumbs, which is one reason I prefer bare metal being left bare metal.
I recently successfully repaired a buffing-scuff in an AC DC-10 engine (from that unfinished batch that needed their engines buffed) with Tamiya no. 11, which I have been told is good for bare-metal silver. The paint matches well.
I'll need to buy some other colors and get at that tail rash. I'll look into the Vallejo paints as well. These AC - BB 747's are some of the greatest treasures of the hobby, and they deserve the best care!
Jim
Hello Jim, very welcome, and thank you for taking the time to write when right in the middle of a busy schedule. Yes, indeed, everything you mention there is very, very familiar, and irritating! Especially the nicks in the faux-bare metal silver. The one I had in the Saul Bass United 741 was only a small nick, but boy was it annoying. I also remember your very helpful article regarding buffing up the rough finish on the DC-10 engines; that was back in May I think. Tamiya paints are also great, handy tip there, thank you.
I've found the Vallejo paints to be very easy to work with, and mix; careful, layered applications have achieved very satisfactory results so far. Many shades are available too. The gloss varnish would be the final touch, I haven't got to this stage yet as I'm waiting on some other shades of blue in order to get a closer match. I've just felt more at ease using acrylic in this example due to the rarity of the models involved, that in itself can make any attempt at repair daunting.
Those 747s really are the jewel in the crown for many collectors, so I would definitely like to encourage others with similar problems to have a go at restoring them, and not be frightened to do so. It's very rewarding to nail these delicate repair jobs as well.
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I have nowhere near the talent you guys have. But I have successfully touched up blemishes on white nose cones using a white Sharpie. It's actually some sort of paint rather than marker ink.
It fills small blemishes quite well. A black regular Sharpie marker can be useful for gloss black areas.
Hi snowghost, thanks for the tip! Well, you've achieved some fixes of your own there using Sharpies, which is great. I might order a pack of those myself, I've never used them before. Seen them around but just assumed they were markers. Interesting. Sound very handy actually.
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Today I decided to start on another bit of restoration work, while I'm waiting for the other paints to arrive. This time it's with a damaged BA 747, which had suffered very rough handling in the post, plus was packaged very poorly. With a model this hard to get, albeit for a decent price, it felt like such a waste of a good model. The nose had been dented out of shape, damage of the sort which could only occur if the model had actually been removed from the cradle itself, and had been dropped; it's a miracle no other part of the model was severely damaged, apart from a few minor dings here and there, which are hardly noticeable. Lucky that the nosegear wasn't attached, either. I have since got hold of another copy, which is flawless, but these models are precious so I am more than willing to invest the time and patience in attempting to 'save' this one.
Waiting in the workshop: G-AWNL, a BigBird400 British airways B.747-136 in Negus 'Red Tail' colours, seen between 1974-1986:
I'm not going to lie, fixing up a dented 1/400 scale nose-cone with putty is a pain in the backside, as the correct profile of the nose has to be restored by shaping and re-sculpting it from very tiny amounts of putty, and I don't really have an established method, so I'm just going to 'wing it' (pardon the pun) and see how this goes. One trick that I do have up my sleeve, however, is that I intend to customise this model by adding a black radome after the repair, which would pretty much cover and hide the affected area. For this job I intend to use a decal.
The damaged area to be repaired:
The area of the nose which is flattened out of shape is the main area to be dealt with. Enter Vallejo Plastic Putty, in a handy little bottle, it's essentially marble dust, and I literally applied it to the nose from the bottle, squeezing out tiny amounts. I then roughly shaped it around the nose-cone with a dampened Q-Tip and my finger.
The initial result after the first application:
I deliberately over-applied the putty so that I could then sculpt it down into shape. This proved to be very difficult, because the area is so small, and there is not a lot to get hold of here. I had to use a dampened Q-Tip to make the hardened putty malleable again, then I rolled the Q-Tip 360 degrees around the surface of the nose-cone, over the putty, attempting to form a profile; I had to add tiny bits of putty again during this process.
The result:
Holding the model against the light to inspect the outer contour of the nose profile:
After a couple of hour's work, I decided that it was time to leave it there for today. However going by the pictures above, it looks as though the overall profile has been restored; it's the final blending of the area that remains, colour-matching the dark navy paint and carefully re-coating the area. In the workshop she remains, for now!
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Last edited by barison82; 11-23-2018 at 01:43 PM.
Reason: Additions/Corrections
Hi there. Have any of you had a problem with many Big Bird/Your Craftsman 1:400 models from as early as 2004 have engines slide out as if no glue was ever there? Faheem from Threshold Aviation literally glued back the engines on 20+ of my Bigbird 747-400s...
Hi there. Have any of you had a problem with many Big Bird/Your Craftsman 1:400 models from as early as 2004 have engines slide out as if no glue was ever there? Faheem from Threshold Aviation literally glued back the engines on 20+ of my Bigbird 747-400s...
Hi JagT747, I've not had that particular problem on any of my BB400 747s (and I have a lot), but these are all 747-100/200s only, not -400s, I don't have any of those as they are too late for my collecting criteria. So perhaps this issue was with the -400s only? Most of mine also date from 2003-2005 also...
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You know, this repair work is magnificent, but Photoshop works pretty well, too... Keep 'em flying, Doug
Haha! But that would be cheating wouldn't it? I will admit, fixing up such a tiny area with putty is a real test of patience, especially for somebody with OCD like myself...
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Hi again Barison, can I use plastic putty to cover up a tiny attena hole on a 747-400 1:400? (Is it possible?) and then paint it over with white
Hi JagT747, yes I don't see why not. In the examples above, I used it with great success to restore the damaged nose profile on that model. You won't need much - you'd be using it as a filler so would want just enough to fill the hole and be flush - or just a touch under - the surface of the fuselage, then a very careful application of colour matched white paint (enamel or acrylic, whatever you prefer using) should do the trick. The layer would have to be applied carefully and delicately so as not to leave a blob of paint or lump in place of the hole, which should help to hide it better. Possibly use thinners to help achieve a more delicate, even coat.
Hope this helps and good luck, feel free to share pictures or feedback on this thread
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No time for pictures today, but I have a success story to share!
Not long ago an Aeroclassics Ozark DC-9 arrived with a bent port wing. By using heated needle-nose pliers and a cut piece of cloth, I was able to bend the wing back and save the model.
As with nosegears, I microwaved a coffee mug of water to boiling. Let the needle-nose pliers sit in it a minute or so. Then, fold the cloth around the wing, to protect the paint and distribute the heat. Close the pliers nose over the wing, and *gently* bend the wing. It took me a few tries, only bending a little each time. I had to reheat the water, too.
And now, the DC-9 sits in the 70's North America section next to my computer!
Jim
__________________ The greatest need in 1:400:Reissues of Major Passenger-Carrier 747 Classics: -100/200, -300, and SP, of NG / Aeroclassics / Big Bird Mk. 1 quality. Examples: American; United Blue-Star, Bass; TWA double globe, double stripe; Pan Am delivery; British Airways Negus, Landor; KLM 70's-80's blue top; Air France 70's-80's; Lufthansa 70's-80's; Aer Lingus delivery; Sabena 80's circle-s; Japan Air Lines 70's-80s; All Nippon 70's; and Qantas 70's-80's.
No time for pictures today, but I have a success story to share!
Not long ago an Aeroclassics Ozark DC-9 arrived with a bent port wing. By using heated needle-nose pliers and a cut piece of cloth, I was able to bend the wing back and save the model.
As with nosegears, I microwaved a coffee mug of water to boiling. Let the needle-nose pliers sit in it a minute or so. Then, fold the cloth around the wing, to protect the paint and distribute the heat. Close the pliers nose over the wing, and *gently* bend the wing. It took me a few tries, only bending a little each time. I had to reheat the water, too.
And now, the DC-9 sits in the 70's North America section next to my computer!
Jim
Wow that is pretty amazing That is a great story - and tip, thank you for sharing. These references are extremely useful for others, an ingenious solution for fixing a bent wing, using careful heat treatment. I was hoping for others to add stories like this so a kind of compilation of modelling tips/ideas/solutions would develop.
If you can add pics further down the line, that would be greatly appreciated by myself and I'm sure, many others
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Today I received a model that has an engine glued in at a visible wrong angle, pointing down at the front. It's firmly glued. Otherwise the model is fine.
What have folks here done to loosen glue and straighten parts out? I'm going to try putting a cloth over the engine and pressing a heated needle-nose pliers over the pylon-engine join area to see if that loosens the glue. Literally a couple of taps of the finger under the front of the engine would straighten it, if I can soften the glue. But thought I'd put the question out there, too.
Jim
__________________ The greatest need in 1:400:Reissues of Major Passenger-Carrier 747 Classics: -100/200, -300, and SP, of NG / Aeroclassics / Big Bird Mk. 1 quality. Examples: American; United Blue-Star, Bass; TWA double globe, double stripe; Pan Am delivery; British Airways Negus, Landor; KLM 70's-80's blue top; Air France 70's-80's; Lufthansa 70's-80's; Aer Lingus delivery; Sabena 80's circle-s; Japan Air Lines 70's-80s; All Nippon 70's; and Qantas 70's-80's.
Today I received a model that has an engine glued in at a visible wrong angle, pointing down at the front. It's firmly glued. Otherwise the model is fine.
What have folks here done to loosen glue and straighten parts out? I'm going to try putting a cloth over the engine and pressing a heated needle-nose pliers over the pylon-engine join area to see if that loosens the glue. Literally a couple of taps of the finger under the front of the engine would straighten it, if I can soften the glue. But thought I'd put the question out there, too.
Jim
Heating up the glue is the only way to get it off I believe. Have a look and see if you can identify it as white glue or super glue. Picture would be appreciated. Ask the seller if they used white glue or super glue. The super glue won’t come out kindly without taking paint with it.
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JAG
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Heating up the glue is the only way to get it off I believe. Have a look and see if you can identify it as white glue or super glue. Picture would be appreciated. Ask the seller if they used white glue or super glue. The super glue won’t come out kindly without taking paint with it.
The model does not appear to have been repaired; this is a new model and has whatever glue the manufacturer (Aeroclassics) used in its manufacture. I'm really hoping that heat-loosening will work. I get VERY tired of new models arriving with these kinds of mistakes!!!
__________________ The greatest need in 1:400:Reissues of Major Passenger-Carrier 747 Classics: -100/200, -300, and SP, of NG / Aeroclassics / Big Bird Mk. 1 quality. Examples: American; United Blue-Star, Bass; TWA double globe, double stripe; Pan Am delivery; British Airways Negus, Landor; KLM 70's-80's blue top; Air France 70's-80's; Lufthansa 70's-80's; Aer Lingus delivery; Sabena 80's circle-s; Japan Air Lines 70's-80s; All Nippon 70's; and Qantas 70's-80's.
Be very careful when using heat. I've got a similar problem with an AC A333, the fan casings are really poorly fitted, like yours. The fan casings are very fragile, being made out of thin plastic and I've tried hot water and gentle pressure but have had no joy.
I suspect my next trick may be to soak the engines in water to get it wicking in to all the gaps and then putting the model in the freezer in the hopes that the ice expansion will crack the glue. I'm not keen on this as I expect freezing the model may crack the glue in other joints and I could wind up with a kit on my hands with the engines still screwed up. Good luck!
Yep, gemini. Dunno where to begin with paint (most of the paint needed is just to cover some scuffs as you can see), and uh... the only landing gear replacement needed are both for the nose gear.
And the engines. But I dunno where/if even Gemini gives spare 1:400 parts.
Good luck! Might need Donor models. Not hard to find these days. I believe GJ doesn't do it (Considering how old your models are). Paint can easily fix the scuffs though
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JAG
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Re paints to use for restoring models, like Barison, I also favour Humbrol enamels. However, for any white areas, do NOT use enamel paint, as enamels are oil-based and will turn cream in time. Always Acrylics and recommend Tamiya X-2 Gloss White which goes on like cream.
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Adrian
DC-8s still needed to be done in 1/400: Air Ceylon, Air Spain, Seaboard World (-63CF)
Comets still missing- Dan Air (4 & 4C), United Arab Airlines/Misrair/Egyptair, Kuwait AW, Sudan AW, East African AW, Saudi Royal Flt.
Caravelles still not made: Luxair, Air Algerie,SABENA (final scheme), Libyan Arab Airlines, SAS ( SCANDINAVIAN titles scheme)
Ilyushin IL-18s still not made: Tarom (billboard,) Malev (1st scheme),Cubana, Balkan/ Tabso-Bulgarian Air Transport,
The model does not appear to have been repaired; this is a new model and has whatever glue the manufacturer (Aeroclassics) used in its manufacture. I'm really hoping that heat-loosening will work. I get VERY tired of new models arriving with these kinds of mistakes!!!
Hi Jim, thanks for adding this to the thread, I have the same issue on the ANZ DC-10 as well, not tried anything yet but heat treatment to soften up the glue to make it pliable again would be the only way I think - there are glue removers out there (several tyes available), but due to this being a painted plastic part, use of this stuff could cause damage to the plastic/paint finish (unless you can drip very tiny amounts down a thin needle into the slot to run down to the glued area!) ... be careful and good luck, I know your heat-treatment method has worked very well in the past!
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Be very careful when using heat. I've got a similar problem with an AC A333, the fan casings are really poorly fitted, like yours. The fan casings are very fragile, being made out of thin plastic and I've tried hot water and gentle pressure but have had no joy.
I suspect my next trick may be to soak the engines in water to get it wicking in to all the gaps and then putting the model in the freezer in the hopes that the ice expansion will crack the glue. I'm not keen on this as I expect freezing the model may crack the glue in other joints and I could wind up with a kit on my hands with the engines still screwed up. Good luck!
Interesting idea, I thought of freezing the glue as well somehow but it could make it worse...expansion of frozen water in the joint is almost certain to cause damage...the problem is the engines are plastic and so delicate as you mention. I don't know, as another thought, maybe soaking the engine/pylon area in warm water & dish-washing liquid maybe?
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Re paints to use for restoring models, like Barison, I also favour Humbrol enamels. However, for any white areas, do NOT use enamel paint, as enamels are oil-based and will turn cream in time. Always Acrylics and recommend Tamiya X-2 Gloss White which goes on like cream.
Yes I agree Adrian - I've used white acrylic paint with great success in the earlier example of the BA 747 restoration, it worked very well, applied in careful, thin coats.
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Yep, gemini. Dunno where to begin with paint (most of the paint needed is just to cover some scuffs as you can see), and uh... the only landing gear replacement needed are both for the nose gear.
And the engines. But I dunno where/if even Gemini gives spare 1:400 parts.
First check if some of those scuffs are surface marks - a bit of luke warm water on a cloth and careful rubbing has removed marks like those on some models I have. Otherwise, I recommend gloss white acrylic modelling paint, applied thinly and carefully over the affected areas, with a very fine modelling brush.
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If you're ever successful in removing the engines, make sure to have some paint ready because the paint manufacturers use is more liquidy in nature and as strong as superglue (Gemini and JC use this) and it doesn't come out neatly.
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JAG
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Yes it does sadly, but when the individual spare parts are not available, this is the only way to restore other models in need of tlc...by the way, those pics you uploaded are MASSIVE lol
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Andy, what kind of clear coat do you use on your models?
Jim
__________________ The greatest need in 1:400:Reissues of Major Passenger-Carrier 747 Classics: -100/200, -300, and SP, of NG / Aeroclassics / Big Bird Mk. 1 quality. Examples: American; United Blue-Star, Bass; TWA double globe, double stripe; Pan Am delivery; British Airways Negus, Landor; KLM 70's-80's blue top; Air France 70's-80's; Lufthansa 70's-80's; Aer Lingus delivery; Sabena 80's circle-s; Japan Air Lines 70's-80s; All Nippon 70's; and Qantas 70's-80's.
Andy, what kind of clear coat do you use on your models?
Jim
Hi Jim - I've used these two, and have found both to be excellent. I tried out the acrylic varnish (on the right) when I bought all those other acrylic paints, just to see what it was like, and found the consistency very similar to Micro Gloss. I'd recommend either. I found that thinning them down with a little water helps to give a better invisible finish (literally just a few drops as the amount I was using was tiny), and that disguises the application very effectively. Doing it the first time I applied it 'straight' and it left a visible patch when viewed under direct light. I've also used very high quality modelling brushes - leaving no brush marks upon application. Hope this helps!
P.S how is the crooked engine going? I'm too nervous to try anything with mine, so I'm leaving it the way it is, it's not too severe really anyway.
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Last edited by barison82; 02-06-2019 at 06:00 PM.
Reason: Added additional information
Thank you for the info, Andy! Just ordered Micro Gloss online. Haven't tackled the crooked engine yet. Somewhat of a crazy week here. Will let you know when I do, and hope to get it straightened out!
Jim
__________________ The greatest need in 1:400:Reissues of Major Passenger-Carrier 747 Classics: -100/200, -300, and SP, of NG / Aeroclassics / Big Bird Mk. 1 quality. Examples: American; United Blue-Star, Bass; TWA double globe, double stripe; Pan Am delivery; British Airways Negus, Landor; KLM 70's-80's blue top; Air France 70's-80's; Lufthansa 70's-80's; Aer Lingus delivery; Sabena 80's circle-s; Japan Air Lines 70's-80s; All Nippon 70's; and Qantas 70's-80's.
Thank you for the info, Andy! Just ordered Micro Gloss online. Haven't tackled the crooked engine yet. Somewhat of a crazy week here. Will let you know when I do, and hope to get it straightened out!
Jim
Very welcome! That stuff is great, should work a treat. No worries at all, it's been a quite busy week this end as well. Good luck with that, really hope you are able to fix it and will be interesting to see the results. You've got more courage than I have there I think!
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Stage 1: I used an X-Acto knife to gently cut the paint-glue inside the nacelle, coming down in the gaps on either side of the pylon. JagT747, your comment was helpful. I suspect the light gray paint was what was gluing the engine in. I also had to cut under the back of the rear exhaust cone, which scratched the silver paint slightly.
With some patient, gentle cutting at these three points, I was able to loosen the engine enough to pop it off without paint damage around the pylon. I realigned the exhaust cone within the nozzle--the exhaust cone is the actual point of attachment with the pylon--and used a pin to tap a tiny bit of glue down into the hole. Then I reattached the whole, and carefully lined up the casing and nozzle to align then with the other engine. I used a pin to tap some Tamiya # 11 silver onto small scratch areas on the nozzle.
So it can be done. The key is getting a very thin knife to cut down on either side of the pylon. My model has thin gaps into which the knife fit.
__________________ The greatest need in 1:400:Reissues of Major Passenger-Carrier 747 Classics: -100/200, -300, and SP, of NG / Aeroclassics / Big Bird Mk. 1 quality. Examples: American; United Blue-Star, Bass; TWA double globe, double stripe; Pan Am delivery; British Airways Negus, Landor; KLM 70's-80's blue top; Air France 70's-80's; Lufthansa 70's-80's; Aer Lingus delivery; Sabena 80's circle-s; Japan Air Lines 70's-80s; All Nippon 70's; and Qantas 70's-80's.
Last edited by BWI-ROCman; 02-06-2019 at 08:36 PM.
Stage 1: I used an X-Acto knife to gently cut the paint-glue inside the nacelle, coming down in the gaps on either side of the pylon. JagT747, your comment was helpful. I suspect the light gray paint was what was gluing the engine in. I also had to cut under the back of the rear exhaust cone, which scratched the silver paint slightly.
With some patient, gentle cutting at these three points, I was able to loosen the engine enough to pop it off without paint damage around the pylon. I realigned the exhaust cone within the nozzle--the exhaust cone is the actual point of attachment with the pylon--and used a pin to tap a tiny bit of glue down into the hole. Then I reattached the whole, and carefully lined up the casing and nozzle to align then with the other engine. I used a pin to tap some Tamiya # 11 silver onto small scratch areas on the nozzle.
So it can be done. The key is getting a very thin knife to cut down on either side of the pylon. My model has thin gaps into which the knife fit.
Amazing Stuff! That sounded too tedious and something I definitely wouldn’t try. I would just display my model the other way and make my OCD forget the crooked engine was ever there. I just recieved my putty in the mail and will use it to fill up my attena hole.
Barison, What white paint would you recommend to go on top of the putty once I use it to fill in the attena hole?
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JAG
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Stage 1: I used an X-Acto knife to gently cut the paint-glue inside the nacelle, coming down in the gaps on either side of the pylon. JagT747, your comment was helpful. I suspect the light gray paint was what was gluing the engine in. I also had to cut under the back of the rear exhaust cone, which scratched the silver paint slightly.
With some patient, gentle cutting at these three points, I was able to loosen the engine enough to pop it off without paint damage around the pylon. I realigned the exhaust cone within the nozzle--the exhaust cone is the actual point of attachment with the pylon--and used a pin to tap a tiny bit of glue down into the hole. Then I reattached the whole, and carefully lined up the casing and nozzle to align then with the other engine. I used a pin to tap some Tamiya # 11 silver onto small scratch areas on the nozzle.
So it can be done. The key is getting a very thin knife to cut down on either side of the pylon. My model has thin gaps into which the knife fit.
Jim
Oh wow! Thanks for this very detailed and highly useful - and educational - update! That is actually not so bad at all, I have almost identical modelling knives in my kit which are razor sharp. When I'm feeling in the mood, I might just give this a go myself, much better than the heat method, which has so much scope for going completely pear-shaped The pin method for applying tiny amounts of paint/glue in a very controlled, careful manner to restricted areas is also another indispensable modelling tip.
Very very well done Jim, I'm well impressed. This input is extremely helpful so thanks again for sharing the photos illustrating what you did. Tamiya paints are excellent, I have a can of that in spray paint form, might have to pick it up in the jar format, it's another excellent silver colour-match.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JagT747
Barison, What white paint would you recommend to go on top of the putty once I use it to fill in the attena hole?
Hi JagT747 - well, I have used the Vallejo brand acrylic white paint described earlier in the thread with good results, but I would also recommend the Tamiya paints - White Gloss (Item#81002, X-2 WHITE). As discussed at the start of this thead, some people swear by Enamel paints so you may prefer to use that instead of acrylics, but I've been using these type of paints with good results. The area you are painting is tiny so you probably won't need to use thinners, if you can get the application spot-on exact, right on the specific area (the filled-in hole) and not over any other part of the fuselage, which would be ideal. Thinned-down varnish (see brands shown a few posts up) might be needed for that finshing touch, see how it looks after the paint has dried. Good luck!
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Restoring some BB400 747s
Re: Restoring some BB400 747s
Re: Restoring some BB400 747s
Re: Restoring some BB400 747s
Indeed, I understand where you're coming from there, but I found with these particular brand of acrylic paints, that they weren't too thick actually, and a little water to thin them even further for mixing and blending with a Q-Tip seemed to give good initial results. I'm still experimenting, so I'll see how this goes and post the outcome. I'm too afraid of using enamel-based paints in case I screw up; these paints are easy to remove if any mistakes are made, but once fully finished and clear-coated, should be more or less permanent for the affected area. 
Re: Restoring some BB400 747s
I will admit, fixing up such a tiny area with putty is a real test of patience, especially for somebody with OCD like myself...
That is a great story - and tip, thank you for sharing. These references are extremely useful for others, an ingenious solution for fixing a bent wing, using careful heat treatment. I was hoping for others to add stories like this so a kind of compilation of modelling tips/ideas/solutions would develop. 
Re: Restoring some BB400 747s
The pin method for applying tiny amounts of paint/glue in a very controlled, careful manner to restricted areas is also another indispensable modelling tip.
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