Reich Defenders V: Hunters of the Dark

I'm still not listed as a participant, I will be in with this kit and I hope to start before the end of the year.

JJ -- sorry about that! You're on the list now!

M/TB379

GAH !!!!!!  Mental note..... don't trust the paints to be the correct RLM colors, even when they say they are a certain code.

Anywho,  I was painting a bunch of small pieces with Mr. Color RLM02 and I thought things looked a bit too green for my taste so I went and checked the color against the RLM chips on iModelKit. Well, it wasn't even close. So, using the app I spent a few hours going through all the RLM chips and playing with my mixes in the app using Tamiya paints and I managed to get very close on nearly all the RLM codes and nearly perfect on a couple. So, I mixed up a new batch and sprayed everything, AGAIN, and it looks like a near perfect match. I should have taken shots but I was focused on getting the color right and spaced it off. Maybe I can do a pic with the Mr Color lid and the painted parts so you can see the difference.

I then checked my previous interior RLM66 against the apps paint chips for RLM and found it is not dark enough, too grey. Oh well, too late for that now, but all the other colors will be correct RLM chip matched. If you haven't downloaded that app, it's free and it works with nearly all the paint suppliers and has nearly all the country's paint codes and sample chips with the ability for you to set up custom mixes to match those colors. It really made a big difference for me. I'll post more pics this weekend.

That sounds a fantastic app -- I tend to homebrew a lot of colours, so it would be great, I'm always on the lookout for recommendations. Tamiya have an 02 in their range which is clearly much too dark and green, while their 70 is not dark enough and too green... They Sky is two dark and too green as well.

My kit for this GB will be on its way from the US in the next couple of days, so I should have it in hand in a couple of weeks. I'm not planning on getting into it until after new Year, but I could always do some prepainting, and order up harness and masks.

Cheers, M/TB379

Ok fellas, here's my Fw-189A-1 finished. As usual comments and critiques most assuredly welcome.

Enjoy.

Steve

WOW! Hey, MC, that looks great, and the camo came out very well! Okay, we have our first completion less than a month in, very well done! Which of these shots would be your pick for the Honour Wall?

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Thank you.

Picture 1 I should think.

Nice job Steve. You totally smoked through that one. I am no where near there. I hope to be done by year's end but that all depends. Great job and sweet camo work.  

Thanks Brandon,

that camo is as small as I can get with my present airbrush.

I have 9 more GB's to start/finish. 5 of which start in January so I'm kinda booked, at least for the next few months.

Modelcrazy -- p1 updated! Congrats on being first across the finish line, especially with a build so complicated, not just a wild camo scheme but a very creditable winter diorama as well. Sterling work!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Awesome job Steve!

I finally found my way in here as well...

Modelcrazy: That 189 looks sweet! Great work all around!

Brandon: Nice work on the 410 so far! The PE is looking really nice!

Beautiful job Steve! Just Beautiful!!!

Thank you gentlemen,

It was bunches of fun. The canopy was tough. It came in several pieces and didn't fit was well as the rest of the kit. It took some creative filling with acrylic medium to make it look decent. I liked that the kit came with it's own PE. I usually build OOB and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the PE set.

Nice work, Steve.  Beautiful work on you Fw 189,

Steve, awesome work on the 189. That's a really nice scheme, and great work on the base as well.

Thanks guys, I enjoy building somewhat obscure subjects.

THUNDERBOLT........dry for the delay my house burning down and not being able post pics.

I have decided to continue on being I'm on the roster I'll get pics to you somehow.

And  drum roll....lol my pick is HOBBY BOSS  ME 262A-1a/U2 (V065).

I have seen photos of this craft the # V056 a fairly large on the front rite below of the canopy.

Dose anybody have someplace different then photo bucket that I can try to load pics from.

Happy to be on-board thanks for letting me in.    :D

Okay, finally got some more time to work on the Me410. I was able to complete all the little tiny detail work that this cockpit has and get the canopy set up and glued in place. Now that the real tedious work is over with most of this kit it will really start to move right along. 

Blackdog, no worries, I've updated p1 with your project, and look forward to seeing it --these Hobby Boss kits are quite something, I have four of their 262s in my stash already.

Brandon, coming along nicely!

My project kit has finally arrived from the US, it'll be the DML Me 262 B-1a/U-1, so that'll be a start next year.

Cheers, M/TB379

Yes I did a FW-190D and a TA-152  in 1/48 for the butcher bird GB that was my first GB / forum ever and both those hobby boss built wonderfully. First time with the hobby boss brand I'm now fairly heavy invested with there Luftwaffe line in my stash. Fit very well and represent finished aircraft well.

Looking good Brandon.  I will be posting pictures of my Bf 110G-4 in morning.

Moose

Nice progress, Brandon!

Well it's just absolutely crickets in here lately. Let's fix that shall we?

I've been making some good progress of late so here is where I sit today.

I managed to get the wings attached and they hold much better than I thought they would so I am no longer worried about them snapping off. I also got it primed yesterday and painted all the panel lines today. I used a new technique this time on the panel line shading. Rather than airbrush them like normal I decided to try a fat tipped acrylic pen in gloss black and simply traced them out using that. It was much easier, faster and came out perfect.

I also managed today to get down the RLM 76 on the underside and sides of the fuselage and now it is curing out. I will hit the upper surface tomorrow with the lighter of the two remaining colors. I also mixed all the colors for this paint job using my iModelKit app on my phone to match the colors to the RLM chips, mainly because I found the "RLM" paints in the bottles to be willfully lacking in accuracy. My ROM 76 is a bit more grey than the chip but much closer than my Mr Color's were. So, all in all I am pretty happy with it.

I also started using Mr Color/Gunze paints and once you get the thinning figured out they spray very nicely and cover very well. I also think the end result using them over Tamiya is better and more durable. The Tamiya paints are easier to spray but I am not happy with the end result like I am with Mr. Color.

Once I get the three colors RLM 74 75 76 down, it will be time to start mottling. Yeah !!

Moose and Brandon.... Wow... both projects looking GOOD!!! Thanks for tip on panel lines , yes they can be difficult with an AB. Your method much easier!

Some great looking stuff, guys!

I was not at all pleased with my colors once I had them down so I resprayed the plane. I have two of the three down and I am much happier with the colors and my pre-shading is showing up better this time. Here is the before and after shots of the underside with the different paints applied.

As soon as I get the top side paint done I will post before and after pics of it as well. Till then, later gents.

Now satisfied with the RLM colors I laid down a second time I set out today to get the mottling started. I used my Badger Sotar 20/20 set to 8 psi using Mr Color paints thinned out until they would spray at that pressure. I used a photo of an Me410 with mottling and splinter camo just like this one as a reference and that made me feel better about how I put is on. Random and blotchy. I used all three colors, 74, 75 and 76 on the mottling.

Funny thing here is how satisfied I am with the results. I only read a few forums and watched some vids on how to do it and then I set out to do just that. No practice, I just jumped in and prayed for a livable outcome. I am pleased with this one. Just  a bit more work and decals and final assembly. Yeah!!! 

Mottling looks good Brandon.