1/72 Revell Albatros D.III

Well I took a look at the Albatros this morning. Did a little light sanding to bring those paint buildup lines down a little and decided to use them to my advantage. I oil brushed them with more white to bring the contrast of the grey stripes down and cleared it.

Its going to work, I think.

OH MAN , that's bad news on a so far stellar build . I hate that when it happens to me ,and it does often because the painting stage is my worst nemissis. I sincerely hope you can save it without too much trouble Mate.

I too have the same exact problems (Paint splatter) with my Shinden build.  I ended up brushing the whole Shinden.  Mrs. Toshi and I went to Hobby Lobby this evening to purchase a new needle.  I hope this works, if not I will replace the brass nozzle as well.  Too bad for your current build, I know you'll be able to fix the issue.

I like the two kits you just purchased!  Mrs. Toshi almost bought the Stuka/Me 262 kit for me.  Instead, she decided that a F-104G and a F-22 looked cool.  She really likes the way these two jets looked.  Good luck on your next build!

Toshi

The problem wasn't the paint. I made a new piston seal for the compressor and, y'know what? It sprayed like a dream after that. I forgot to mention I picked up a new 0.35 needle/nozzle for it and, oh boy, I like the results very much!

I hope this seal lasts a while longer than the paper one I made last time.

Sorry to see the painting problem is the base enamel ?

Well this is turning into a nightmare. I sprayed a light grey last night and let it dry for over 12 hours. I started masking it this morning and I noticed it was just wiping off around the edges. [sigh] so I washed the paint off with plain tap water (that shouldn't have been that easy) and decided to go with an enamel paint the second round. That stuff sticks to everything, right?

I guess not.

So here I am having not only that issue, but I can't get even a mildly decent spray pout of my AB no matter what paint I use or how thin or thick it is. My Dad suggests that perhaps the piston seal has gone out again, and my pride immediately tells him no, because I already fixed it once and that was the only time I'll ever need to fix it. ...wrong. I need to go fix it again. Its not the paint. Its not the brand of paint. Its not the thinner. Its not the ratios.

I'm going to have to clean this crap off the model as best I can and start all over again. There's overspray on the wings and fuselage because of all that damnable splattering. I can clean some of it off, but it's going to be a mess any way I look at it.



Things, I thought, were looking good.

Then...





I don't know. I can try to save it. May be a lot easier than the mess of removing it all to start over is going to be.

So while I wait to decide on what to do with that mess I have a few more I just picked up for the stash. Found them on sale.  :)

Thanks, Alan. I'm trying to make it even better. Got a trick up my sleeve that seems to be rather popular and I think it will give the model the extra detail level to bring it up from mundane and average.

Pics to come later today.  :)

Love the way you painted this, Mike.

I added a nice duck egg blue to the undersides of the wings. It still needs another cote though. I also added a couple more panel lines to the front of the fuselage, yet there are still a couple more to do.

Slow progress, but better than none I suppose lol.

I know what you mean! They were really colorful! lol. I've managed to avoid having to work with any of those extremely intricate patterns thus far. But I'm going to have to challenge myself in that arena eventually.

Well, I rescribed the ailerons and dug the old paint out while making them uniformly deep enough to carry a decent wash, repainted, painted the bottoms of the wings, and sealed it all with dull cote for the night. I'll upload some pictures in the morning. I'm tired and its sleepy-time.

Have a good night gentlemen!

That's one of the things I love - and hate - about mid-to-late war German planes. All those different color schemes. So many planes; so little time!

Steve, thanks for the link to that video. That's pretty sweet! I really don't think I can honestly get all of those wires on this model lol!

The paint scheme is pretty wicked, right? I mean, you've got varnished wood and polished steel with splashes of red and white, big iron crosses, and camouflage. Can it get any better? lol

Man that's a wild paint scheme there Mike! Great work man!

I just saw this yesterday, and thought you might enjoy it. One of the cameras really gives a feel for how dangerous the single-spar lower wing could be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x31Vl1eAD4M

Good morning! My preferences for AB or hairy stick depend on what I need to accomplish and what is easier for either tool. I haven't used my AB on this project yet, but I plan on spraying the tail when the time comes. That's just easier than hand painting such a large white area, which I've never had good luck with.

That blending technique is simple to do. I've explained it before in my P-40 thread I believe, but basically you simply paint over the color next to the one you're painting. You mix your paint down to about 50% with thinner and "color outside the lines" so to speak lol. The effect is a softer transition between the colors. My AB can't spray that fine a line.

This morning a touched up a few small things that I couldn't fix last night and I still have yet to fix those panel lines. I think I will do a bit of rescribing, repaint, and try again.

I decided to add the white stripes and color-in my upper radiator as well.

Its about time I pay some attention to the bottom of the wings next.

Jay and Mike, Thank you for the excellent kudos! I'll keep trying not to disappoint you.  :)

Mike,

You've got the patience of Job along with lots of talent on your build. I really appreciate your taking the time to explain each of your steps along the path to completion of this kit.

I could never work in 1/72 - too small for me. I like 1/48 but, even at that scale I don't have much room in my condo. My hat's off to you (and all others who work in 1/72 scale).

Man, I just love this little Albatros !

 All the work you put into it REALLY paid off .Your W.I.P was so very informative and entertaining as well.  The paint work is stellar.  You have me looking at a double winger to buy just so I may try your valuable tips on here.

Again, great job Mate    

Thank you sir for the words of wisdom and inspiration, I can only move forward while learning from my past.  Now back to your build!  I really love the way you rendered the aircraft like a palette, the colors are astonishing. 

As for your technique in painting?  Do you prefer an AB or would you do the whole model by hand brushing?  The reason why I ask is you get the same effect of a AB by hand painting.  What/how is this technique done?  What other techniques did you use for this build that you did not mention sir.  Thank you in advanced!

Toshi

Toshi, my friend! You really do honor me! When I talk about you stepping out of your comfort zone I do not, in fact, expect you to change everything you do. No way! I simply meant to encourage you to try new ideas and techniques on your models. Always stay calm and enjoy what you do my friend. ALWAYS.

You really are a diamond in the rough, so to speak lol. You are so appreciated and respected here. Stay comfortable lol. We like you just the way you are. ;)

Now, for a very long overdue update.

After a little painting on my M-41 I heard my Albatros calling to me. It needed some attention... and it will still need more. I must have had a few too many cups of coffee as I couldn't keep my hands from jittering and making little errors. I'll make corrections later, but for now I have to put it away. Its time for sleep.

I chose MM Faded O.D. enamel for the left side, Tamiya acrylic Red Brown for the middle, and some artist's Veridian Green acrylic for the right side. They closely matched what I had decided this should look like in my mind. Artist's choice. ;)

Thanks for your interest. Have a good night!

Don't worry about us, you do what you're forte is.  You do that so exceptionally well and it shows and carries over in your craftsmanship when you transfer these techniques over to another genre, as you so proven with this current build and the many others you've artistically rendered.  A piece of art!

If I learned one important facet from this build is that a lesson you taught me sometime ago, and that was to step out of my comfort zone (Box) and not be afraid to experiment.  You've proven that time and time again.  

I don't understand why I can't do that?  As you've read my threads, my whole life has been to not be comfortable.  To just go out and get things done all the while enjoying myself.  

Ah, epiphany!  I am trying to be comfortable.  After the TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) injury, my doctors and Mrs. Toshi told me that my whole life has been nothing but go, go, and go.  Now it was time for me to take it easy.  You see, every time I try to step out of my comfort zone, I injure myself unnecessarily in a very preventable way as I try my old proven technique, go, go, and go!  LOL!

Im so lucky to have you and fellow forum members as such, if it weren't I writing in response to you, I would have never figured out why I don't be much more adventurist.  Mrs. Toshi said that comes with age.  LOL!

Thank you sir (Sensei-Teacher).

Toshi

Sorry for leaving you guys hanging! As most of you know, I'm an Armor guy at heart. I've been working on a Tamiya M-41. I wasn't planning on starting it till after I finished up this crate, but I wanted to see how some of the parts would look dry fitted together and the next thing I know, I'm fully invested in it lol.

Don't worry, this little guy is sitting right there in front of me, reminding me that it needs more paint. I've actually got a little bit of a wash over the front of it and that really brought out the details around the engine. She looks spiffy! I'll get her done.  :)

Any progress on this one Mike? I'm hangin' on till the next update.....

Awesome Mike !  

Pencils are an easy tool.  As you mentioned - they're great for getting a metallic type sheen on gunmetal parts - and I've even used super sharpened red/brown colored pencils to add finer grain detail than I could get with a brush - oddly enough - on an Albatross . . .  for both the panels and the prop.

Chris

You sure brought this build to life with such a simple technique!  Everything looks fantastic!  Can't wait for more updates.

Toshi

That lil' guy is turning out A-OK there Mike! I like it!

Crown, thank you. I'm usually in awe of your builds lol. Very glad you like it. ...so far lol.

Steve, I do seem to have a talent for making so-so kits look pretty decent, I'm told. lol. That pencil trick is a life saver fo this build. Seriously, I was going to go at it with a paint brush and hope I could keep the lines straight enough lol. This was much better and I will keep it in mind for later use for more than just making machine guns shiney lol.

A far cry from what you started with. It's looking real good!

I too never thought of the pencil panel lines. I'll keep that in mind for the future.

That's an  awesome job 

That's the plan. I just haven't gotten there yet lol. I'm almost ready to move on to painting other parts. Thanks again for the tip. :)  that looks really neat and I'm glad you pointed it out.

Usually I just use the pencil for adding a realistic gunmetal sheen to my MG's. Still, lots of little things to sort out, but thanks to you, I'm all that much closer.