Building the (Old) FLYLINE Great Lakes 2T-1A Kit (26)

It’s time to put some paint on this airplane. If this were going to be a competitive model I would already have gathered whatever color references were available, most likely photos or published artwork, determined exactly which paint products I would need to get the most accurate possible reproduction of the colors on the full scale airplane, and then begun laying out color separation lines on the model in preparation for masking.

In this case the model, while still undeniably a Great Lakes 2T-1A bearing the historically accurate registration NC11338, is not going to scrutinized by scale judges and need only satisfy me that it represents the things that made me want to build one in the first place. The plans provide what is in all probability an accurate color layout scheme and indicate that the machine in question was painted orange overall, with black trim and white pinstriping. That’s all I need to know for this project.

I used my standard color finish, Stits Polytone (http://www.stits.com/) in Cruiser Orange, Dakota Black, and Daytona White. With that decision made, thd next step was to decide which color would go on first and how much of the airplane it would have to cover in order to create the design I want to reproduce. The usual rule is that we put the lightest color on first to avoid problems with coverage by subsequent coats which may not be as opaque as we’d like. In this case the pinstripes, which for the purposes of masking are the first feature that should be defined, are also light (white), and the choice of color sequence is easy.

This is the cowl…top and bottom sections assembled in place…with the final primer coat of Stits Feather Coat sprayed, dry, given a final detail sanding job, and then cleaned of all possible dust residue. I use a compressed air jet for that job. At this point the rest of the airplane has been prepared to this same stage. Everything is as clean as I can get it, I avoid handling the model without having washed my hands first to avoid contamination by oil or any other stray dirt on my skin, and set up my shop for painting.

We have already talked about using an airbrush and/or spray gun to paint model airplanes...there is plenty of good material "out there" on using that equipment, and lots of people better qualified than I am to tell you how to use it. What's happened here is that I have used my Paasche airbrush to spray the entire area of the lower cowl where the pinstripes will appear with Stits Daytona White. This is actually an "off-white" eggshell color that I chose to provide a sort of "antique" feel along with the orange base color. You''ll see how that works out, later. I have mounted the cowl in place for the next step in the process, which is the actual masking of trim lines.

I sprayed the top cowl separately in order to get proper coverage of all the corner areas without having paint clog and stick in the narrow spaces between parts. With the white dry on both the cowl and main fuselage I assembled everything to make it easy to run the lines of masking tape smoothly from cowl to fuselage. .

I applied 1/16" 3M "Fine Line" automotive masking tape to cover the white base where the pinstripes will eventually appear. I located these "by eye" using the markings scheme on the kit plan as a guide.

Here's the top cowl with the pinstripe masks in place, removed from the fuselage and ready for application of the next color. Everything you see here will become either orange or black with the exception of the narrow stripe of white covered by the tape.

On this particular airplane several major components are going to be painted one color overall ( in this case orange), so there is no need for masking. Markings such as "N" numbers will go on later using vinyl transfers or decals. However, we need to be sure that every surface that's going to get painted is indeed fully prepared, which means primed, sanded, and cleaned to the best of our ability. This is the top wing center section that we have looked at earlier in various stages of clear doping, priming and sanding. You can just see a few areas where the final coat of Stits primer has been sanded thin in the process of getting rid of those last few little bumps and low spots. The entire airplane gets the same treatment.

I skipped showing you one step here...sorry. I have sprayed the entire airplane with the Stits Polytone Cruiser Orange, right over all the pinstriping tapes, using a tack coat and then a double wet finish coat per usual spray painting practice. When the orange paint dried completely (overnight, in the case of Stits Polytone), I masked off all the areas that will remain orange using wide masking tape and masking paper...in this case ordinary white wrapping paper...leaving only the portions of the airplane that are to become black still exposed. There are now two layers of the three color paint scheme in place...the while pinstripes are under the fine line tape and the main orange color is protected beneath the paper.

Here's another look at the first two steps of the masking job. The white pinstripe is under the narrow tape. Over that I have sprayed everything orange, then used more tape and paper to cover everything that will not become black in the final step.

The last coat of color, the black trim stripe on the fuselage and cowl, has been sprayed. When this coat of paint has dried according to the manufacturer's recommendations for tape removal, the entire accumulation of tape and paper comes off.

ALWAYS remove masking tape and paper by pulling the material gently back over itself to avoid tearing or lifting the new paint underneath. Here I originally placed a wide strip of tape over the edge of the pinstrip mask and then taped a layer of masking paper to that. Now the paper and both strips of the wide tape are coming cleanly off the finished paint job. The narrow tape over the pinstripe is still in place.

Here's a closer look at the same operation on the top cowl. The black was the last paint to be applied,over all the masks. I am removing the various layers of tape and paper protecting the orange areas in whatever order they happen to surrender most easily.

The last step is to remove the pinstripe tape, again being careful to pull flat and back. This is the part where all the work you have invested begins to pay off...but...you'll have to wait until next time to see the entire new paint job in all its glory.