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#1880 by roma847 on 14 Jun, 2020 21:50
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Hello everybody,
after the more or less successful test airbrushing of the IT Dummy I have now removed an old burden. And that was the broken tip of the LO2 Tank that fell off the table a long time ago, that's the Lightning rod at the top of the Nose cone cap.
The tip on the Revell-ET of my friend Thomas Emberger, who died in 2017, is approx. 3,5 mm long. But since I remembered a drawing from the George Gassaway collection, I was able to get the exact dimensions from it.
Source: georgesrockets.com (George Gassaway)
Thereafter the Length is 14,01'', i.e. 2,5 mm (1:144), and the Diameter is 6,89'', and accordingly Ø 1,2 mm (1:144).
As one can see, this tip has a cone at the front, whose dimensions L=0, 4 mm, Ø 0,5 mm can be forgotten for a total length of 2,5 mm because it should very hard to get it done.
First I've removed the stub on the cap and gradually drilled it out to Ø 1,2 mm.
And coincidentally there is a round rod from Evergreen with exactly this diameter that I used.
Then I've sanded off a 2,5 mm long tip at a slightly longer piece,
and glued it into the cap.
And this is what the tentatively attached cap with tip looks like on the LO2 Tank, which is now complete again.
But I can't glue the tip in yet because I still need the opening for the priming and painting of the tank, for which it is impaled again on the bamboo stick.
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#1881 by roma847 on 23 Jun, 2020 14:41
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Hello everybody,
and with that I am back again to the paintwork, which seems to be a tricky chapter, which is why I have to deal a bit closer once again with the Spray(un)ability of my Vallejo paints.
That's why I've turned back one year in my construction report once again, s. Reply #1654, what I should have done better immediately,
especially since I had experimented that time already with the thinning of the colors by adding Vallejo Thinner (71.061).
Already that time I had noticed that the Vallejo Model Air paints were not sprayable, contrary to the opinion of my Airbrush Guru Heinz Wagner,
what I had tested with his Drop method. According to this, a paint should be sprayable if the diameter of the color point of a drop from a drop height of 30 cm is between 11 mm and 14 mm, but what throughout was not the case. 
However, due to considerable health problems, he did not respond to my request that time, which is why I had left out the paint job at first.
In the meantime I have studied a few articles and videos and come to the conclusion that the opinions regarding the sprayability are multifaceted, sometimes contradicting and quite confusing.
In the process I have found among other things also this already mentioned video Thinning and spraying Vallejo Model Color and Model Air, from which I had hoped for some clarification regarding the theme Airbrush from Vallejo Model Air & Model Color.
Therein one is also of the opinion that no dilution would be required for Model Air, at best 1-2 drops per cup. In contrast, for the generally thicker Model Color a dilution (1:1) with Vallejo Thinner is recommended, i.e. 10 drops Thinner to 10 drops of paint, which can be mixed inside the cup.
In addition, one should occasionally clean the nozzle cap during the airbrush painting with a Q-Tip with Vallejo Cleaner to prevent clogging. In order to reduce the risk of clogging during longer airbrushing, one could also add a drop of Vallejo Drying Retarder, which will delay the drying of the paint a little. For this reason, Retarder is more likely to be used for wet-on-wet techniques with Vallejo Model Color with a normal brush on the pallet, which should also reduce the skin formation on the pallet.
Then Vallejo also still offers the medium Flow Improver, by which the flow properties of their paints Model Air and Game Air is improved with just a few drops. This medium also ensures that the paint adheres less to the needle when spraying or that the drying of the paint on the needle is delayed, which is particularly recommended for airbrush guns with a nozzle size < 0,3 mm.
So far so good. In order to find out why the Vallejo paints in my test airbrushing of the IT-dummy led to the gun being clogged, it was necessary to test the sprayability of the paints again with the Drop method.
And as one can easily see in the following image, the diameter of the color dots were both in the used Model Air (71.077), on the right in the picture, and especially in the Model Color (70.981), on the left in the pic, below the minimum diameter of 11 mm required for sprayability, which is why I need not be surprised about the clogging of the gun.
Then I also tested my other Vallejo paints, which has led to similar negative results.
Therefore I have to dilute my colors before the next airbrush by adding Vallejo Thinner and a few drops Flow Improver so that the diameter of the color dots is in the range of 11 - 14 mm, which hopefully will make them better sprayable than before.
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#1882 by EG on 23 Jun, 2020 21:33
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Quote
Therefore I have to dilute my colors before the next airbrush by adding Vallejo Thinner and a few drops Flow Improver so that the diameter of the color dots is in the range of 11 - 14 mm, which hopefully will make them better sprayable than before.
I hope it works, what your experiencing is why I refuse to use vallejo paints....
Good luck brother I hope it works for you... (I'm sure you will figure out a combo that does my friend)
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#1883 by roma847 on 23 Jun, 2020 22:02
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Thanks my faithful friend,
nothing beats Trial & Error, and The proof of the pudding is in the eating!
I have to go this way to the end and will grit my teeth,
because this is the only way to get to my destination.
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#1884 by roma847 on 05 Jul, 2020 18:28
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Hello everybody,
Shit happens!
Unfortunately at the beginning of the week I had a stupid accident in our garden, from which I still have to recover ...
At our house, in front of a window in a basement room, there is an approx. 1,5 m deep circular light shaft with boulders lying on top of each other, in which I was fumbling about the roses there.
When climbing out, I had apparently not got enough swing with my left leg at the last step from the narrow rock edge upwards and therefore did not get past my body's center of gravity, but fell backwards into the shaft, especially since I could not hold on nowhere ...
At that moment only a flash of thought shot through my head ...
Now it's going downwards ... Holy shit!!! 
Doing so I must have somehow fallen onto the left upper arm/chest/wrist, but luckily I did not ram my head against something ...
After I had arduously bobbed myself up, I felt pain on my wrist, which was rather scratched by the steel bracelet of the watch, and in the upper left chest area, as I had got to know it painfully years ago when I had a bruised rib ...
After recovering from the first horrors, I've got more momentum on the second try and was happy when I was atop again. Only then I've noticed that I had lost my glasses when falling, but luckily they were lying on the floor undamaged (red circle), thank goodness!
This will be a lesson to me, because next time I'm going to put a ladder.
The bad thing about a bruised rib is just that there is nothing one can do about it other than to be careful and preferably not cough, sneeze or laugh out loud ...
But the pain during deep breathing, bending down and lifting, and especially when sleeping, is very uncomfortable because one can hardly turn, which is why I had lost interest in building for now ...
So please be patient, I will get back as soon as possible and then it will continue.
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#1885 by EG on 05 Jul, 2020 23:27
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Yeah, crap happens if you wait long enough....
Get well brother, this will wait, and we will be patiently waiting.... -
#1886 by JAFO on 05 Jul, 2020 23:44
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At least they were only bruised, instead of cracked or broken. The mishap could have been so much worse!!
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#1887 by jgoldader on 06 Jul, 2020 11:33
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I’m glad it wasn’t worse, Manfred. Best wishes for a quick recovery.
Jeff -
#1888 by roma847 on 06 Jul, 2020 14:32
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my dear friends for your compassion and good wishes. The last rock was just too high for a normal step ...
Since I didn't want to take it lightly, I was at the doctor who checked me out today. But it is "only" a bruised rib, so no X-ray etc. is necessary. He prescribed a pain reliever, with which I should then be able to breathe deeply, which would obviously be important, as he means, what I'm going to comply then dutifully too.
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#1889 by SteveGoodey on 06 Jul, 2020 16:51
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Good to see it was nothing serious.
Instead of outdoor activities what you need is something indoors which is safer. Model making for example. Have you ever thought of doing something like that? You never know, you might be good at it.
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#1890 by roma847 on 06 Jul, 2020 21:45
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Thanks Steve for your good wishes,
I'll think about it ... ...
Joke aside, it could have been ending much worse, but luckily my guardian angel was wide awake by my side ...
Since it will take a while for the bruised rib to go away, I just have to be patient, but that's not a problem for me, as you know ...
As a result, I now have enough time to deal with some Airbrush basics ...
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#1891 by Ronpur50 on 08 Jul, 2020 23:12
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Wow, be careful! I like the idea for the ET spike. I am always breaking mine and that looks a lot more stable!
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#1892 by roma847 on 09 Jul, 2020 11:51
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Thanks Ron for your good wishes.
Meanwhile I know about rib bruises, because this is the third time in the last 25 years, but now it's enough ...
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#1893 by Starbase101 on 09 Jul, 2020 16:38
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At least there wasn't a SRB above the shaft on an ignition countdown! Take care.
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#1894 by roma847 on 09 Jul, 2020 19:26
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Sorry Mike, but I cannot follow you ...
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#1895 by Starbase101 on 09 Jul, 2020 19:59
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Meaning, when you were at the bottom of your garden light shaft and looking up, at least you weren't seeing the exhaust opening of a shuttle rocket booster starting up!
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#1896 by roma847 on 09 Jul, 2020 20:53
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I only saw into the blue sky and heard my guardian angel singing ...
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#1897 by EG on 09 Jul, 2020 20:58
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I only saw into the blue sky and heard my guardian angel singing ...
Yeah, someone was definitely looking out for you brother....
Get well... take it easy, bruised ribs take a while to heal....
EG -
#1898 by roma847 on 09 Jul, 2020 21:14
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Unfortunately yes ...
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#1899 by roma847 on 15 Jul, 2020 18:21
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Hello everybody,
after I'm feeling a little better again, I want to get back in touch today and draw on my recent conversation with my friend Heinz Wagner, which first focused on the required consistency of Vallejo paints, which are to use for the Airbrush technique.
As I have learned in the meantime, it depends on the correct use of language, whereby in his opinion you have to differentiate between sprayable and ready-to-spray, what is not the same and is often confounded.
While the Model Air paints from Vallejo were specially developed for the Airbrush technique and are basically sprayable, the Model Color paints were specially developed for the Brush technique and are therefore much thicker, which one should know and also note. However, this does not mean that Model Color paints are unsuitable for airbrush technique. One only has to dilute them accordingly so that they achieve the required consistency and can be applied with a spray gun.
Therefore one should check the viscosity of the respective paints before each spraying, regardless if Model Air or Model Color is used, and dilute them if necessary with Vallejo Thinner, so that they are ready-to-spray, which can be tested with the Heinz Wagner Method already described.
Source: Airbrush beginners course, CD (Heinz Wagner)
But already at the name of the Vallejo Thinner one can start to ponder because one can find four different data for one and the same article as one can find on the Vallejo-Website, which is available in four different bottle sizes as required, but what you need to know:
71.261 (17 ml)
71.061 (32 ml)
71.361 (60 ml)
71.161 (200 ml)
Accordingly, a correct mixing ratio between paint and thinner is crucial for ensuring the ready-to-spray consistency of a paint. And that is evidently the crux of the matter, especially since there is no patent remedy for it, but only empirical values that one can believe or not ...
Therefore, one should not trust a mixture ratio that one has not tested himself and found to be good, based on the famous quote: Do not trust a statistic that you have not falsified yourself.
For example, by Vallejo a ratio of 1:3 (Thinner to Paint) is recommended for the dilution of their Model Air series, but what can never be right according to my current level of knowledge, to be able to spray these paints easily.
And also the filling up the Vallejo dropper bottles with Thinner, as it was recommended in the video by Jens Kaup in Reply #1652, does not have the desired sustainable effect.
As one can see in the following image, the dropper bottle Model Air (71.130), filled up with Thinner a year ago using this method, is not ready-to-spray, which is clearly proved by the too small color point < 11 mm, when using the Wagner test. An airbrushing with this paint would inevitably clog the spray gun, which is why one shouldn't even try it. 
About this I recently spoke with Heinz Wagner, who has not been wondered at my initial failings.
In order to get a feeling for a reasonably "normal" airbrushing at first, he initially recommended a mixture ratio of 1:5 (Paint to Thinner), which results in a much thinner, but therefor a ready-to-spray paint, what is indicated by the larger color dots (right) promisingly.
So I should first carry out the exercises described on his Airbrush CD and remember to occasionally clean the nozzle cap with Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner to avoid cloggings effectively.
Although I didn't take it that seriously at first, it seems to me that it is absolutely necessary and helpful for becoming more secure. However, the paint seemed to me to be a bit too thin, which is why I once tested a mixing ratio of 1:3 (Paint to Thinner), which led to a color point of Ø 13 mm, what suits better in my opinion.
And with this mixture ratio I will now carry out some exercises.
