Kikka is Done

Spent some of this weekend completing the Kikka. 

The landing gear were tricky to align and the mounting points made for weak gear. I used epoxy to ensure a good strong attachment. 

Before putting on the wheels, I used Reeves water colour gouache black to bring out the panel lines. 

I washed the whole aircraft in black and waited 30 minutes for it to dry. Then I used a damp cloth to wipe away the excess paint and just leave the panel lines filled with black. That is the theory. A bit tricky to get in right. Some of the deeper panel lines turned out great, but the shallow ones did not retain the wash.

Prior to putting the wheels on, I used sand paper to slightly flatten the wheels and give them that "weighted" look. 

Masked the canopy and applied the dull coat. 

After removing the mask I was close to finished. 

I masked the wings to accept some yellow markings. I had completely forgotten about these.

Grrrrrrrr! Decal disaster. When I lifted off the Tamiya tape the decal came with it. Despite the 3 coats of dull coat on the model. After several deep breaths and some time to regain composure, I used free hand painting to repair the damage to the decal. 

For the base I used a picture frame and printed a rising sun flag. 

I am quite happy with the result. I need to get better at panel lines, but I think I did a good job on the bare metal. 

I would recommend this model anyone who has built a few models and is looking for an interesting subject to add to their collection.