FW-190 Reich Defender III 5/10-2/11

Jeremy That dora is looking great nice paint job. Hey I also had the silvering problem/gremlin that you are having and Coach Crushers advice worked great. I painted with a brush a heavy coat of future poked some holes and no more silvering.

Guy Love that RLM 84 that paint job looking great!

stumpjumper nice to have you along.

Hey everyone thank you for the comments on the TA152. She looks good in my late war collection. I would love to build something else but overcomitted on other GB. I will be watching you guys great work and keep it up.

Guy, Jeremy excellent paintslinging fellas!!!! Beautiful work!!!

Just a quicky. I was about to future the plane for decals when i thought id try something new on the tail (For me anyhoo) Couple of bits of tape, squirt of Tamiya Smoke, Voila,

Decals tomorrow, maybe,

...Guy

Luftwolle - wow, now THAT'S what I'm talking about! That paint job is terrific. I'll post up a pic of my second attempt as long as it's not too hideous!

Thanks to everyone who responded - there were loads of you and this is clearly an ego-free zone where everyone is simply enthusiastic about this hobby. Am gonna learn a lot from you guys, I'm sure.

Just for interest, this little beauty was at the International AIr Tattoo last week mixed in with a bunch of Spitfires, Hurricanes, another 109 and a 108 I think. If anyone wants a few more close-ups from when she was on the ground then let me know

Guy and Jeremy- Excellent work there my friends, I need to get in gear to catch up with you guys.

Stumpjumper- Welcome aboard!  Already some good advice dispensed here on mottling.  I've found that different techniques are required for different paints and airbrushes to get good results.  I use a much thicker mixture for my paint because I get better control and my airbrush seems to like it.  Use an old model or even a piece of cardboard and practice spraying at different pressures and paint consistencies until you get what you want.  The key is putting out a very small amount of paint and slowly building it up until you get the shape and size you want for your mottle.  Too much paint and/or pressure you wind up with a round blob, of course sometimes that may be the shape you want, but not all the time.  I'm using .2 mm needle which helps as well.  Keep at it, it's a science and one of the harder techniques to master but you'll get there.

Steve and Guy--I followed your advice and the spar on the D-13 seems to have gone in nicely.  Test fit of the upper wing halves appears to be good so far.  Next I'll install the Y24, 25, 27 etc. parts Guy warned about and watch the fit carefully.  I also found a couple of reviews on Aeroscale that alerted me to a potential problem with the fit of the firewall (W1)  around the exhaust boxes.  I am almost finished weathering the engine plug and hope to post some pics of it tomorrow.  Thanks again. 

Mike/benzdoc- Great photos, glad you had a wonderful day there!  I have to get myself one of those mono pods for airshows and museums.

Leave it to Guy to not only go for build #3 here, but to wow us with all sorts of special effects- nicely done!  Great idea on the forced-shading there.

stumpjumper- I thank you for the kind words here!  Yes, the men building here are among the finest this hobby has to offer, not only for skill but also for being downright pleasant to build with.  No matter what you are looking for, one or more will always be willing to help with a problem or lend advise when needed.

I went to the annual EAA AirVenture show today, and what an incredible array of aircraft!  The highlight for me was while getting myself some lunch.  I was just walking out of the stand getting food when I was scared almost to death by an F-4E Phantom streaking overhead in full afterburner at treetop level- WOW!  Gave me a chill to see the raw power of that beast.  Mike- bring on Phantomania II!!!

Couple of photos from the show-

Frank, I'm dribbling down my bib here -- we don't get those aircraft types at shows here! I'm not sure what's on thew airshow circuit at this moment, it's a few years since I was at one -- five years, in fact -- but a Phantom I've never even seen in the flesh and I'm so glad one is still in the air.

M/TB379

Awesome pics Frank. Ill bet the Phantom was amazing. Ive never seen one flying, but would love too.

Clebode, those exhaust boxes can be a mare but theres an easy way to save yourself any hassles. Just open out the slots in the firewall that goes around them. Another good tip would be to add the exhaust last. It makes painting the thing so much easier and all you have to do cut the exhaust pieces in 3. There is a recess to allign them in the box so its no biggie. Also dont forget to scratch a deflector to stop gunk going in your supercharger. Its funny as the instructions all show this piece yet Eduard didnt include it in the kit LOL,

...Guy

Thanks for the pics Frank!!!!! Would be so nice to see and hear a Phantom again!!!!! Was such a common thing growing up going to airshows. Had the pleasure of seeing the Starfighters, well one of them but saw both, at the last airshow I went to before going downunder. We got to see the last 111's fly here though.

Mike, if I here anything about what might be at the airshow next year I will let you know. They have a website, but they don't give out much info really.

Ahhh, starfighters and F-111s! Them was the days! I remember a team of German Starfighters setting off all the car alarms at Greenham Common one year. I recollect airshows when I was a kid seeing stuff like that, plus SR-71, lightning, Buccaneer, Jaguar, Victor. Where have they all gone? The International AIr Tattoo had the Vulcan this year plus a team of F-5s (not seen any of those for ages), F-22, F-18, F-16, but somehow they dont all cut it in the nostalgia stakes! They had a phantom on the deck but it didn't display.

Never ever seen an F-14 in the air, to my eternal regret.

Guy, Jeremy, looks like you two are cruising along.  Like the masking/shading technique Guy! 

Frank, more great pics.    Sounds like my schedule is free to go to the Abbotsford airshow in a couple of weeks.  The Thunderbirds are going to be there as well as the Snowbirds but I'm totally thrilled that the Lancaster is going to be there too.    I'll be taking lots of pics.

I'm still plugging away on my Academy 1/72 Fw 190.  Still haven't received the decals in the mail yet.  I need them before I can do the RLM 81 but in the meantime I can do the yellow rudder and nose band and finish up painting the landing gear.  Long weekend coming up too so I hope the decals come tomorrow cause I can get a lot done if they do.  Sorry for the blurry pic.

Dave, nice looking progress its looking great and caint wait till those decals arrive. It will look great with the stickers on it. One quick question for ya, what are the bumps onthe left side of the fuselage???

Steve

Luftwoller

Clebode, those exhaust boxes can be a mare but theres an easy way to save yourself any hassles. Just open out the slots in the firewall that goes around them. Another good tip would be to add the exhaust last. It makes painting the thing so much easier and all you have to do cut the exhaust pieces in 3. There is a recess to allign them in the box so its no biggie. Also dont forget to scratch a deflector to stop gunk going in your supercharger. Its funny as the instructions all show this piece yet Eduard didnt include it in the kit LOL,

...Guy

Guy--Unfortunately, I had already glued the exhaust outlets into the boxes before I saw this your post above.    The good news is there is a second Fw 190 D in the box and I will definitely use this trick on it. 

All--The Eduard kits I am building are the 2010 released D-11/13 dual pack.  I have followed the advice of Guy and Steve re the wing construction and the fit has been almost flawless.  This goes for the cannon bays  too.  I did have to open the notches in the fire wall and sand down the firewall circumference a bit to close the fuze halves but this was very minor surgery.  I don't know if Eduard has corrected things from the D-9 kits that caused headaches but this set should be an easy build if a little care is taken. 

Dave great fantastic looking paint, even if you are working in that rediculous scale LOL,

Clebode, glad some of the advice helped. It just proves that not all the guff that comes from my mouth is best ignored. Looking forward to seeing the pics,

...Guy

Luftwoller

Dave great fantastic looking paint, even if you are working in that rediculous scale LOL,

I BEG your pardon!!!!!! I resemble that remark LOL!!!! I would love to see a divine scale from you Guy!!! Come to the dark side my friend!!! More planes in a given space, larger planes in a given space, and..... well you get the picture. PE is a B!&$#% though lol!!!

I may well rag you a bit but guess what scale my next buildski is? Yuppers Braille scale!!! And me with my fat fingys.

Anyhoo, after what seems an eternity, Ive finished the 'Big Tail. One of the 4 known photograped Ta 152 tailed Doras, Yellow 6. I love these planes, and if i find a 1/24 Stuka in the near future,(For swapsees) i may build another. Pics,

...and all the girls together,

...Guy

Love the paint work Dave! The nonstandard paint jobs look great on these birds!

Guy - You're a freakin' maniac!!!   You're going to pull the title for fast building from his Aaronliness if you keep at it! I love the big tail and the underside colors. Nice lineup pic too!

You're ace and I wish I was your son!

Guy -- these builds are so very good in so very many ways! Damn, you gone done and raised the bar agin, dude! WOW!

M/TB379

Dave- Once again your mastery of the airbrush is apparent!  Such fine mottles in 1/72 must take a REALLY steady hand!

Guy- What the?  Number three is done already?  I'm starting to think you already have these built up and are just showing the photos now LOL!!!  Excellent work, love those rare big-tail Doras.  Which one are you going to build next?

Nice paint work there dave and in 1/72 scale. Very impessive.

Guy is done agian? No surprise there! She looks good all opened up Guy. That is a sweet collection of 190's you have there. A 1/24 Stuka? I have one of thoses built up tieing up a huge space on the top of my bookshelf. The old Airfix kit build up great and the fit and detail is top notch. Just make sure you have some where to put it because it is huge!

Soulcrusher

Dave Nice work 1/72 is my fav scale and you are doin great

Guy You are a machine!  I love your latest what a good looking plane    I think that is one of my favorite colors RLM 84. What do you use for the paint chipping? it is subtle and adds interest to the plane. Guy I have totaly enjoyed watching your work and look forward to see more.

Damon

Guy that is a stunning build mate yet again!!!!! Your standards of finish are top notch!!! Am looking forward to seeing your 1/72 entry!!! What, tomorrow?? I think braille scale would be 144!!!

Guy- Just superb craftsmanship, great looking bird!!!

Dave- Paint looks great, I may have to do a 1/72 project to put my new airbrush through it's paces.

You guys are the best. Do great things to my ego LOL. Dont know if thats a good thing or bad? In my stash i have the Eduard (Those again) D-11/ 13 combo, a Royal class 190A, so thats 4 kits isnt it? Im not saying no to another but i have a couple of other commitments, model wise, to do 1st.

The 1st is the Braille scale beasty. Its a Heller Fouga Majister. If you dont know what one of these is, go check it out. It has to be my 2nd favourite jet. Guess the favourite.

The 2nd commitment is a couple of Wildcats (Eduard again lol) for my model club. A guest from the 'Friends of the New forest Airfields Association' Brought a shed load of kits, each with ties to the New forest airfields. Why i chose 2 to do, god knows. LOL But the deadline is the 1st wednesday in December so theres plenty of time.

If your not familier with the New forest. Throughout the War the Forest was littered with airfields used by America and Britain for flying bombing missions and fighter sorties. The New forest is right on the South Coast and fairly close to where i live.

...Guy

Me again, Ive redone a few pics, using a custom white balance and the pictures are greatly improved, IMO,

You may also notice i remembered to put the Morane ariel on LOL,

...Guy

Thanks everyone for your kind words on my build.  Decals did not show up in the mail yesterday (Boooo!) so I'm limited to what I can do this weekend on it.  I was hoping to get it close to finished.

Guy you modeling God you.  Three 190's and all of them Beauts!!!    Your Ace and I wish I was your son.

Heh, am almost tempted not to post this, having seen those pics Luftowoller. Anyway, you guys took the time to help me last week so here are some pics of where I'm at. The mottling is MUCH better but still needs refining, however the tips you all gave me (especially thinning the pain even more) have given me much more control over the airbrush. The desk was also covered in A4 sheets with varying grey stripes and practice dot patterns for a while! Oddly enough, I found the detailed work much easier to control at around 20 psi. Under 10psi just created too much mess. 

This project is very much about learning and trying new stuff so there are tonnes of mistakes on it (filling and sanding - ouch) but I will hopefully avoid them next time. 

What would you guys recommend I do next and what kinds of weathering techniques should I try? I can risk messing it up cos I gotta learn somewhere so would appreciate some guidance on how to bring the model alive. Well, you know what I mean..!

Cheers all.

Looks damn fine from here Stumpy. What id do next is get your clear coat on and decal the beast. That way when you wether it, you wether the whole plane, decals and all.

The clear coat will make the decals sit down nicely without silvering (Where the clear bits of the decal go shiney due to sitting on rough textured paint) The clear coat also protects the paint against the effects of the wethering. The 2 choices i use for a clear coat is either 'Future floor polish' or Tamiya clear. Any other questions, lets have em,

...Guy