Endgame 1946 GB - 1/1/09-12/31/09

Swanny wrote:

Very nice looking build and done so quickly.

Thank you!

The 309 on your site is very nice as well!

Mike

Carlos

Thanks for the kind words!

Mike

Mike:

That 309 looks very very nice...I really like the subtleness of the camo and panel shading.

I give the build two..

Carlos

Well, here it is, my 1/48 Czech Model ME-309.  I have to say that overall I am quite happy with the results, all things considered as I think of myself as a beginner in many ways having only recently returned to modeling(less than a year ago I think).  I would have to say that the kit itself was a nice challenge to the current level of my abilities...a lot of cursing to be sure!  Overlall I wish that I had put a little more time and TLC into the build but, that said, I am amazed at what I was able to do in what amounted to 10-15 hours total time.  Heck, it may not have even been that much!  Now for some of those juicy details we all love to read about! Firstly, I put WAY too little weight in the nose so she is a tail-sitter.  I nearly scrapped the project in favor of one of the two ME109s in my stash but pressed on(I am easily discouraged at times!) I managed to get around the weight issue by putting a pin in the nose gear which will eventually be glued into the wood base I have for it.  There are many other little things I wish I had done or should have done.  There are a few seams and a tiny gap here and there which I hid from you in the photo!  I also made the mistake of not putting down a gloss coat before the decals(I was in a big hurry trying to get it done by the ending date.  Decalling began Sat. morning and put two coats of Dull on earlier today!).  One of the upper wing crosses peeled up a bit after I laid on some gloss and then chipped off when I tried to lay it flat.  I snuck a little thinned white glue under the bit that was still slightly raised up and then did a little touch up with white.  The crosses and swastika are from this kit and a CM BV-70, the yellow 20 is from a Hasegawa ME-109, and the wolf is from a Hobby Boss Sherman!  They look WAY, WAAAAAY better in the photo than in real life.  I believe that I have what is called 'silvering' with them but it didn't translate over in the photo which is great.  The paint scheme is Testors MM Acryl Dunkelgrun RLM 82 and Braunviolett RLM 81 on top and a mix of Apple Barrel Pewter Grey and Delta CeramcoatBlue Jay.  The MM stuff was a bit of a pain at first but I started adding an acrylic extender to it and didn't have the drying on the needle problems I had at first.  Also kept a Windex soaked swab near at hand.  I used a Badger Anthem 155,which I really enjoy(I also use a Badger 250[cheap as dirt spray gun]for Future but I think I may get a slightly better brush than that in order to have a bit more control, but I digress), first preshading with Delta Ceramcoat Charcoal.  The only post shading/washy kind of stuff is on the landing gear and in the wells.  I have had very poor luck with that sort of stuff so I figured I would hold off.  Regardless, here she is:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2629/3872186683_b2fdfae1bb_b.jpg

And a close up of the nose art:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2462/3872970576_b9afd55103_o.jpg

Enjoy and thanks to  WarHammer25 for hosting this party!

Mike

I did some more work on my Ju-88 today,

And He-111,

Heres a picture of an HE-111 undering going restoration, and the cockpit is from the Monogram Pro Modeler Junker Ju-88 C-6 Night Figher kit.

FeldMarSchall Model wrote:

Some nice work over there Bish, I finished the cockpit for my JU-88 Night Fighter,

Thanks, pity i didn'thave time to fiishit, was so close to. Nice lookingpit you got,which 88 kit is that.

Some nice work over there Bish,

I finished the cockpit for my JU-88 Night Fighter,

Sorry i haven't been a very good particapant in this GB. I have been able to get some modelling done but the rest has slipped to one side due to one thing and another.

Anyway, enough of the excuses. Heres some pics i took a few weeks ago before i got some paint on. The first two are of the 162, i left the engine off untill after painting to make masking easier

Even with an Eduard PE set the cockpit is pretty sparse.

The E377 bomb just missing the engine intake

And finally the launch trolley just minus the main wheels.

I have been able to get most of the paiting done since then but have been home on leave the last two week so haven't been able to do anything. The board that this will sit on is almost done. I was hopeing to show this as a completed Dio, but unfortunatly i only have one week left in the month when i can do anything and i have yet to find an access ladder and decide which figures i want to use. My main aim is to get the kit finished and pics up before the end of the month.

Thanks for looking

Well the Feld Marschall is slowing getting back to his work bench, I will start work on my Ju-88, and on my Heinkel He 111.  Which can I add her to the group build?  And I have a few Tanks that would like to join.

I have been working on my Mistel 5 over the last couple of weeks when i can, but unfortunatly progress has been slow. I do have some pics but i can't load them on a PC until i get home at the end of the month, so for now i will just make a written report.

The construction is complete on the 3 sub assembalies. It was all pretty simple, not much to the kit really, made even easier by the lack of undercarriage for the 162. I do have an Eduard PE set which is just for the 162, but i have only used half of it, if that. The cockpit is very basic, but then looking at photos so was the real thing. I have painted the light blue on the underside of the 162 and E377 and the whole of the take off trolley. Yeasterday i got the RLM 81 on the 162 and plan on getting the RLM 82 pn the rest of the 162 and the 377 tomorrow.

The only real issue with construction was the rear section of the fusalage which is a small cone shapped piece that the tail sits on. It didn't sit flush with the rest of the fusalage and needed a bit of filling, other than that it has gone together quite easy.

I am hopeing that by the time i go home and get some pics up the whole thing will be finished.

C.Alan,

Thanks for the reply to my question. I'll try it on one of my next builds.

model geek wrote:

I really like the effect you achieved fading out the decals. Can you explain your method in a little more detail?

The decal fading was actually pretty simple.  The base colors are MM enamels, and on top of that is Testors gloss coat.  I then put the decals on it.  After they set for a couple of days, I went back and airbrushed a very thin coat of base colors over the decals.  The paint was thinned to the point of just being tinted thinner when it went on.  I did this with the RLM 81 and 82 that went on the top, and the 65 that went on the bottom.  It helped alot to tone down the very bright white decals.  I then hit the model with dull coat as a sealer.

On the top surface, I also mixed up a batch of 81 and 82 with a little white added to lighten the paint just a touch.  I then randomly shot that on the top surface, especially on the surfaces that faced up, and might catch the most sun.  I think this helped to make the paint job not look quite so factory fresh.

C.Alan,

Very handsome build.

I'd give the acrylic wash another try. The method is well documented on the forum. Here's how I do it. I paint with flat enamels. I prefer Model Master clear gloss coat sprayed over the flat paint. I apply decals and then do the acrylic washer. I use 1 part paint, about 10 parts water, and a couple of drops of dish soap to reduce the paint's adhesion. I brush it over the panel lines and let it dry(it dries in a few minutes). I then use a dry Q-tip to remove the excess wash leaving behind only what's in the recessed panel lines. It us an incredibly easy and effective method.

I really like the effect you achieved fading out the decals. Can you explain your method in a little more detail?

I also think you did an excellent job of toning done the colors.

Thanks for the update. It's been a while since anyones posted on the GB.

Well, I declared the Do-335B complete tonight.  For the most part, the build went well, but there were a few things that did not...

 Like lost parts.  I managed to drop and loose the loop antenna that is supposed to be on the dorsal of the aircraft, but the carpet ate it, and a small clear piece that was on the tail.

 I did a lot of experimenting on weathering for this model.  I tried to do an acrylic wash over my gloss coat, but I could not get the paint to flow in the cracks.  Next time I will use Future for my over coat, and do an oil wash.  I really like the look of the panel lines when they stand out.

This model also marks the first time I have tried to fade out the decals by painting over them.  That worked out much better, and I like the results.

After I did the main paint job, it looked to me to be a little too perfect, so when I faded out the decals, I mixed a little white with the base colors, and tried to break up the perfection of the paint job.  The results were OK IMO, but next time I think will try pre-shading before doing the main paint job.

For the exhaust stains, I tried using a gray, then fading to black.  My air brush did not cooperate very well with me, but I think it turned out ok.

Now, the model will take a tour of duty on my desk at work.

--C. Alan

model geek wrote:

I think you are being a little hard on yourself. Like I should preach, I always expect perfection from myself. I think your finish looks pretty smooth and I like the splinter camo. What is it that you dislike about the enamels? Just curious as I've never attempted acrylics.

I like air brushing with acrylics alot better. I painted this aircraft with some model masters enamel of questionable age. It took me a lot more experimenting to spray nicely through my Badger 350. I ended up doing about a 60% to 40% enamel to mineral sprits thinner to get it to spray nicely without blotting, and with each color, that ratio seemed to change. Also, for being flat paint, it looks very much like a semi-gloss. To me, this is a sign of old enamel paint that has sat too long on the shelf.

I think acrylics are a lot more forgiving when it comes to air brushing. I have used both Tamiya acrylics, and Model Masters Acrylics, and with only a little rubbing alcohol used for thinning, I think they lay down better, dry quicker, and look a lot flatter.

I have also found that when you do have to use a normal brush to do some touch up, enamels will sometime just slightly change color when they are sprayed. I believe this is because you have to thin the paint so much to get it to spray correctly. To compensate for this, I often apply at least three coats when I am airbrushing with enamel. On my Arrow, I am not looking forward to trying to touchup the areas around the canopy.

With Acrylics, I get alot more paint to lay down in one pass compared to enamel. I find that I can go back and do touch up work with a brush, and you would be hard pressed to tell where I have done it.

model geek wrote:

Anyway, keep up the good work. I'm betting it's going to be a fine looking build when it's finished.

Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement

BTW, I hope some day, the keepers of this board

C.Alan,

I think you are being a little hard on yourself. Like I should preach, I always expect perfection from myself. I think your finish looks pretty smooth and I like the splinter camo. What is it that you dislike about the enamels? Just curious as I've never attempted acrylics.

As for the wing roots I can agree with you on that. I've found that most kits have some kind of gap and for me personally it's the most difficult area to fill, sand, and make look like the rest of the kit surfaces.

Anyway, keep up the good work. I'm betting it's going to be a fine looking build when it's finished.

Well, My Arrow now has the basic paint job on it.

I admit it has been years since I did an entire airplane, and it shows.  There was some bleed over on a couple of my masking lines that I hope I can hide with a little weathering.  The worst place was at the tail where three colors all meet in a very small location.

I must be getting more picky in my old age, or doing body work on cars is starting to effect my modeling.  I am now much less tolorant of gaps in my body work.  I am not very happy with the body work I have done on this model.  At best, I give it a C-.  I really should have spent some more time on the wing roots, and i completely missed a gap in one of my leading edges.

I also painted it entirely in enamel, which is something I have not done since I was a teenager.  I must say, next time I will take the time to order the paint in acrylic, rather than using what was at my LHS. 

Next up, the wheels and landing gear.

Karl and Tom, thanks for the suggestions.  I've been out of the hobby for a few years, but have started getting back into it.  i have two builds that are both at the same point,  camo is done, just need to blend it together and start weathering.  I'll be sure to post pics after i try to blend the camo scheme together using the base coat.

C Alan:  yes, the silly putty is used as a mask for hard edge camo patterns.  I like it because you can shape it any way you want and it doesn't leave a residue once removed.  if you want a "softer" look, then you can just do it free hand.  I'll post more pics of the camo before I blend it together.  btw, great job on the cockpit of your Do-330B

Jimmy,

Nice looking E 25. I'd like to add to Karl's suggestion. My son builds a lot of amour kits. His method to tone down the colors is spray the base color. Then he will mix the same color with about 25 to 30% white and thin it down as Karl suggests. He then over sprays the original color a randomly. A little lighter in some areas and a little heavier in others. It gives it a nice sun bleached look.

Here's an example of a Marder III he's working on right now.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the comments on the 262 guys, much appreciated.

Carlos, great job on the Huckebein.

C.Alan, that Pfeil is looking very good. 

Every Tamiya kit I've built has fitted beautifully, and I think that alone is worth the price premium.

JC, I would definitely go with a high thinned overspray of the base colour to pull everything together.

You might also want to try applying highly thinned Tamiya Smoke around the hatches and panel edges to give an idea of dirt build up followed by a good drybrushing.

Finally an oil spot wah works really well on armour at providing a coherent looking finish.

Karl

here are some progress pics of my Trumpeter E-25:

 I decided to do a three tone hard camo scheme.  here it is w/the silly putty:

I've always had a lot of problems working with individual link tracks.  I struggle keeping them linked together and installing them onto the model.  after these pics were taken I glued the upper hull to the lower hull and added the fenders.

one question, what do people use to tone down the camo scheme and blend the colors together?  I've been out of modeling for a few years, I think I used to do a lighter shade of dark yellow to blend the colors, then a light coat of buff.  any suggestions?

Looks cool so far. From the pictures my opinion on the seat belts is maybe just to much contrast with the rest of the cockpit? Maybe tone them down a bit with some kind of wash or weathering? Just an idea.

Look forward to more pics.

Looks very good so far! 

As for the belts doesn't Eduard make a photoetch set of Luftwaffe seatbelts?

Mike