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

Thanks Julez and Ritchie. I thought "Black 10" was defintetly the way to go. I love thoses non standard color schemes. I have been playing it out in my mind thought how to properly finish the paint on the model with the mix of NMF and paint. I want to do the normal future decal future panel wsh then dullcoat procedure but you can not treat the NMF to this procedure without ruining the finish. I plan on using Hawkeyes acrylics with the buffing powered for the NMF. The underwing decals wil over lap both the painted and NMF so I can not treat them the normal way.

So here is my thinking on this. Paint the NMF first and polish it. Then mask it of and paint the rest of the model. I hope by applying the future carefully I can get it on without it creeping under the tape and onto the NMF. Treat the rest of the model as decribed above but agian having to be extra carefulnot to have the panel wash creep under the masked NMF. Then remove all of the mask and mask of an paint on the underwing crosses that are the simplified solid black design. So guys does it sound like a good plan and do you think it can be done without bleeding under the tape or leaving a heavy mask line either.

Soulcrusher

Scrusher -My build 'Black 12 ' was picked becaause of the mix of nmf and camo. I was tihinkin' I might spray the whole plane in various nmf 's ,seal the hell out of it then proceed with camo.This is in 1/24 if that matters.

Soulcrusher,

To avoid under mask creep could you brush a light coat of either lacquer gloss coat or dulcoat at the tape edge to provide a seal?

I hope to get my pit and IP installed in the fuselage tonight.  If it goes smoothly I will prime.  Hope to post pics later.

Soulcrusher I really like the black 10 don't think you could have picked a better color scheme. 

I have good luck misting an unthinned acrylic clear to seal masking tape usually 2 or 3 very very light coats does the trick for me. I tried it using future but that wicked under the tape and left some strange looking marks there, like it glued the adhesive from the tape to the model. Just my worth.

Thanks Richie!

Hoping to spray the gear bays tonight, so I can begin assembling the wing.  I have spent some time tonight too fixing the sloppy fit of the main gear legs.  Some styrene shims and it is MUCH better!

The pit fit!    Got it in with minimal fuss.  After slipping it in place I glued styrene wedges to the fuslage inner surface and finished with the seem around the upper perimeter of the cockpit opening.  Too late now to prime and be sure but I am fairly confident the fuselage longitudinal seam will be invisible.  Did some fitting on the lower wing to fuselage joints too.  That is looking good too.  Now I am waiting on some resin fro Jerry Rutman.  Here are tonights pics:

Clebode- Excellent progress there!  Love the long, lean lines of the TA.  Can't wait to see her with those wings on!

Looking good Clebode. Just like Frank I am a huge Ta 152 fan. I have one build up. in 1/48 and two more in the stash. One of them is the Trimaster with all of the photo-etch and white metal extras.

Soulcrusher

soulcrusher

So guys does it sound like a good plan and do you think it can be done without bleeding under the tape or leaving a heavy mask line either.

Soulcrusher

I would avoid at all costs putting down a mask on the NMF. So, I would paint black first where the crosses go. Then I would put down a mask of them on the black. Then mask the edge of the painted area and do it first. Then, I would mask the other way and do the NMF right up against it. Then remove all of the masks.

Actually Bill I am using Hawkeye's Acrylic's for the NMF. Masking over it is no problem it is tought as nails. I masked over it once before when I build my Buchon. I am mainly worried about the bleeding under the masked of NMF area when I do the Future coat and the panel wash. I am going to try sealing the tape with a clear coat and hope it does not leave a ridge either. It was tricky when I built the Buchon but it came out ok.

Soulcrusher

This nmf discussion is the best on this post so far.I am watching for input. Black 12-

My own procedure would be as follows: Finish and prime as usual ,mix and match gloss,satin, flat blacks,blending as per the panel lines ,overall coverage ,perhaps the method mentioned above would fit in here and mask the black markings  .(Cant wait to see the D-9 all in black)

This will be the base for the nmf which will also be various shades.All these coats must be left to dry ,between coats and after to ensure solvent dissipation.Then some good sealer coats ,I havent decided what clear to use ,these must be left to dry well.There is a lot of nmf on this plane so I would mask off and or liquid mask chips ,panels ,etc. Pre- painted items like landing gear ,fabric surfaces,etc. would be masked for all this as well.Some pre-shading may be in order at this point.

If I got that far ,and it was going ok ,I would then spray the 75 grays on the under wing and sides .My build has primer fabric surfaces, so they are already painted. Then the 84 green that is peculiar to this plane .And so forth with the 81/82 upper fuselage surface,lower surface nmf . Wing upper surface 75/77,lower surface 84/76 ,nmf geardoors. Then the peculiar patches all over this plane. Finish/seal  with clear coats.

Writing a method out like this is helpful in 'seeing' the procedure .It also shows me this aint no picnic! I will add the step for the markings as in the above reply. (thanx bman!)I am thinkin' weathering would be a lot as it is depicted late war with crappy gas exhaust staining ,field splash , maintenance damage etc. Wash's and pigments for 1/24 scale would be ok I think.

Dragon USA is having an aircraft sale.  I just ordered  a Hasegawa 1/32 Bf 109E for $18 and a Hasegawa 1/48 Fw190A-5 with a BMW 357 staff car for $20.  The number of planes is small but the prices seem to be great. 

I'll have to check out the sale.

By the way, Clebode, are you an East sider or a West sider? I'm a displaced West-sider (Westlake)

Clebode it thinl Dragon is having the sale because they are no longer going to be the importer for Haseagawa and are cleaning house. I have the Hasegaswa 1/32 Me 109 E also. Its older but with some resin and PE details it should biuld up into a nice kit for a fraction of the price of the Eduard.

Know I would be very carefull about what you use to seal the NMF. What paint do you plan on useing? It has been my experience anything sprayed over a NMF will ruin the look of the paint. That is why I think I am going to paint my markings on last. Dcals would have a gloss finish and no way to seal them without ruining the NMF. Also some of the NMF paints are very delicate and do not like being masked over. Not a problem with the Hawkeye acrylic paints. That why I chose them over all of the others.

Soulcrusher

Scrusher Thanks- I have written the procedure out to help bring these issues to light .The nmf in my case will be dulled if I clear, it I am aware of that ,its not a new plane so I would be ok with that,There are certain areas that are nmf these would need to be protected which would be easy since they are designated panels with edges/borders. I even sprayed alclad sealer on some alclad chrome and ruined it . I will be modifying my procedure as we go into this and testing will no doubt be nessecary .Hawkeye 's nmf is acrylic is it not? I have heard good reviews and would like to compare with Alclad in a test ,I havent seen it in any lhs yet. The problem here is that the camo is sprayed on to ,and fades out to nmf .This is helping greatly though as we discuss it,all of the builds on here will have to address thier paint schemes if this discussion  is applicable.

Mucker,

I live in Cleveland Hgts.  Where are you located in KY?

 SC, that is gonna be a cool scheme and I'm very interested in a "How To". I've never done a NMF aircraft, but there are plans for a couple in the future. I'll be following your progress closely.

 Clebode, looking good! Will be checking in on progress.

 Frank, great bit of detailing. Very nice.

 Really looking forward to getting started on this project. Very inspring work guys, Keep posting!

Wow guys, your really getting stuck in. Sorry ive not posted in a while but i been a bit tied up. Anyhoo, im on the case now.

Crusher,  Frank, great stuff so far.

...Guy

Thanks Mobious. Though it is probally going to be alot more of I hope this works than a how to guide. It is my second build of a mixed NMF/paint scheme as you can aee from the picture of my Buchon that I posted.

Yeah Guy is back! Your going to look bad if both me and Frank finish our build before you so get crackin'!

Soulcrusher

Hi all, Ive been rather busy and did that thing that i always do when on a roll. Forget to take too many pics. I did do the rear of the engine that you see through the open wheel wells though. Here are a couple of it in position,

I painted the assembly in Alclad steel and then gave the assy a few heavy washes of Black, paynes grey and brown. It will probably get a few more as well.

Next up, after reading several great build up reviews, i attacked the miss shaped propellor. Very strange that Eduard did this but hey, the rest of the kit rocks and were modellers, not assemblers...Right? heres the prob with the kit prop,

The prop actually touches the cowl and is totally the wrong shape on the top and the bottom. The bottom needs more of a relief let in. This is easilly done by following a very handy seam line,

Heres the before,

and the after,

Mucho bettero. The top of the blade needs fettling too as there is a big noticeable step in the real deal and nothing in Eduards offerring. Heres a pic from Aero scale that explains my waffle,

Anyhoo, ill attack that tomorrow after football.

As i said, i appologise for the lack on 'In progress' shots but heres where i am as of now,

More soon,

...Guy

Thats the way to jump right back into the scrum Guy! Looks like you are right about where I am in my build. I think when you get to the engine assembly stage it might slow you down a bit!  More Football? I though you were growing to old for that? My 7 year old niece is quite the "Football" player she is averaging 3 goals per game and is already being recruited by coaches from other leauges!

Soulcrusher

Clebode

Mucker,

I live in Cleveland Hgts.  Where are you located in KY?

Luftwoller,

You are one focused builder!  You are almost ready to paint and I am still trying to get the fit on my wing roots lined up.  Great work!  Your engine will be a help when I get to mine.

Do'nt even try to keep up with him Clebode. He cheats! He has two helpers named Wingus and Dingus that help him out on all of his builds. Also if he asks to borrow a towel do'nt let him, he never returns them!

Soulcrusher

I am thinking I am going to watch and learn from these builds before I tackle my 190. Great work so far guys

This is my first German plane, what is this NMF stuff you are talking about. I am building a G-3 out of the box in 1/48, the bomber version. This kit is hard enough to fit together now I'm stressing on this NMF. Help a stupid person, please.

Natural Metal Finish.The term used to describe the 'look' of un-camoflaged aircraft.The 'look' of the aluminum sheet, used to fabricate the aircraft ,in its 'natural ' state. That means no paint just shades of Alclad or other 'metallizers'.

Hey Guy... looks like your putting that kit through the paces! Nice work so far. No doubt she'll be a fine one in your hands.   SC is doing a real nice job too but he builds at a snails pace.

Okay... I'm ready to tackle my kit for this build. Tamiya 1/48 D-9 to refresh some memory. Here's the kit...

I don't much care for the red undersides so I dug in the decal pile and came up with a couple of AeroMaster Late Dora decal sets. I let Karen (my wife) pick out the plane to build and she picked out a/c #3 from the part II decal sheet.

It's not a fancy paint job or anything but it is nice and clean looking. The only strange thing about it is that the upper wing surfaces are to be painted a camo pattern of RLM 82 and primer grey. Just seems a little odd to me, but all these late war birds were a little wacky in the paint department.

I'll get some progress pics up when things start happenin'!!!

Hey watch it there smarty pants! I like to pace myself just like Frank. You are so not getting to shoot my Garand now!

I made some real good progress today. Wings all closed up, tail havles together and radiator all painted up and weathered. Here are a couple of pictures. You got alot of catching up to do there Jeremy!

Soulcrusher

Great work fellas, love those Doras!  You guys are flying with these builds.  I have been playing around with the bomb loading trolley and figures from my Tamiya kit, nice little diversion they are! I'll get some pics tomorrow when the camera batteries are back up to snuff.

Jeremy- Your wife has good taste (besides the obvious LOL!), I would have chosen Yellow 4 as well!