Weathering GB - 2/1/2011 - 1/31/2012

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! the work going on here is just magnificent to say the least. Gives me somethimng to strive for let me tell ya.

Doogs if I could find a model of the Triumph Bonnie late 60s early 70s I would be all over it. I think a nice vintage bike build would be a great decompression build.

Added some staining... I spent quite a while looking at Hellcats. The shape of the stains is pretty consistant but the color is all over the place from a deep brown to all shade of grey to black. What I came away with was that the darker the aircraft the mor subtle the staining especially the ejector ports on the wings and guns. I can still work it. I am definately looking for inpu on this one.

Phase 2 has begun, pastels!

I am really pleased how this turned out so far, this tank has been through hell apparently...lol

More to come soon!

Tiger: Can you seal the pastels? I've heard that really bad things happen if you apply a coat of sealer over pastels. I'm confused.

jbrady,

afaik, you can seal them with a dull coat, just gotta be careful if you have some of the thicker applications. other wise pretty sure they should hold up. If you go to heavy it could act weird and wet everything making it look a lot darker than planned.

Markings are on. The Eduard decals were fantastic...probably the nicest I've used to date, including AM sheets. Got a few bubbles in places...totally user incompetence there, though. Also managed to tear the "4" on the port side a bit trying to sink it into the panel line. Oops!

I'm amazed how crisp these decals are. They look fantastic...but they definitely need to be toned down...

Doogs That Me109 is really shaping up, just beautiful.

Tiger, the stug is coming along great, everything seems to be tieing together.

J,Brady, beautiful work going on there, as an answer to sealing pastels I use humbrol matt 49 with humbrol thinners mixed about 50/50 or even about 60% thinner. but make sure the matt is really well mixed, mist it on and everything should be fine, thats just how I seal them, MIG pigments can be blown away by the varnish so a lot of people just seal them with thinners. It shouldn't take you long to work it out as you seem to be  a very skilled modeller.

And again thanks to everybody for all the kind comments.

Terry.

I'm calling this one done.

Note the left wingtip navigation light is made of Micro Krystal Klear. The last damn piece took a flyer off the tweezers and I can't find it.

Damm! I'm calling that one gorgeous.

Went to a show in Rochester, Minnesota today for their local IPMS chapter "Hope It Don't Snow" show (it didn't, even though there's about 55" still on the ground up here) and saw some Lifecolor sets.  Not that I'm in the sticks, but we don't have anybody that carries the line up here in Minneapolis.  I almost bought the "Rust and Dust" six color set, specifically for this group build.  Then I realized I can add a drop of light gray or white to my rust and get the same variations of rust and save myself the $35.00.  Eh, I guess that was the point of the post here, weathering, rust, dust, that stuff.

Just found this looks great,

http://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://www.andreaslarka.net/ps531058/2007_53105801.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.andreaslarka.net/ps531058/ps531058.html&usg=__5LTty2QXzO5iQ0u17iiYVoXx9IY=&h=480&w=640&sz=131&hl=en&start=40&sig2=qP1LPP-Fl89fkoB6g4ZgGg&zoom=1&tbnid=C02Eq7Bj-cfHQM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&ei=1kBXTdSoDJOxhQfWxc3GDA&prev=/images%3Fq%3DStug%2B111%2BG%26start%3D21%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1

Terry.

Some great work going on here. The widcat looks great and the 109 is coming along very nice.

Tiger, that StuG is looking good. But from a presonal view you have added the pastels to soon. Firstly theres the issue of handling the model. Second, the dirt and dust they represent would be on top of markings, chips and  everything else. I also add mine at the end, after all the tools have been put on and the vehicle is just about done. I don't seal them in as chalk pastel are quite resliliant as long as handling is kept to a minimum and you are careful when you do.

Just my .

I got the base coat of Intermediate blue and the first fading coat on Wildcat

Paints still wet in the bottom photo. I read an article last night about the Wildcats in the Cactus Airforce that stated the planes looked like they were covered in chalk instead of paint after about a month of operations out of Henderson Field.

This is kind of funny (or maybe not) I bought my airbrush in August and have been using it almost daily since then. This afternoon I discovered I can modulate the trigger to control paint flow. Should have read the instructions at some point I guess.

jbrady - GREAT job with that Hellcat! Looks fantastic! I've added a pic to the build roster.

Weathering on the 109 begins tonight, and I'm still debating the order in which I'm going to tackle things. Guess I'll make the decision this evening!

Weathering underway. Sprayed the entire kit with heavily-thinned Tamiya Buff and gave it a wash of ProModeller Dark Dirt (which was mostly wiped off, leaving it in the panel lines).

Still trying to decide if I want to post-shade or not.

For reference, here's where it started...

Also, mig pigments (Gulf War Sand) on the tires...

The 109 is looking good. Did you do the wash before or after you put down the buff?

Hi guys, sorry I've been so uninvolved lately but I've been carried away with other things that have taken up way too much of my time. I got back into the Fw 190 last night and it was really a breath of fresh air! Now I'll show you what I've done....

First I painted over the ridiculous pink with a nice coat of dark gray....

Then I mixed some aluminum with some light gray and threw in some random high lights. It looks more patchy and random as I didn't follow the panel lines really.....

Then I salted her up and sprayed a coat of diluted light gray over the top of it and several minutes later removed the salt mask.....

Once that was complete, I masked a few sections and gave it a light green splinter camo scheme. I know its not really accurate but I'm not after accuracy really at this point. I focused mainly on the edges of the camo so I didn't ruin the faded look.....

So there is how the Butchered Bird stands for now. Hopefully tonight I'll give it some faded markings, seal coat it, then do some washes and dry brushes and all that other fun stuff.

Thanks,

There is some very nice work being done in this build. That FW190, the 109, the stug. All looking very cool. The RCV211 will be done tonight or tommorow. this is what i have to post now.

The rims and tires.

Just flat black, dry brushed with flat aluminun and some rust pastel dust.

The body work has been repainted and is ready for over 50 different decals. That should be fun.

Not much to see on the body work, just repainted and gloss coated.

Doogs Tamiya make mostly Japanesse bikes with a few Italian Ducatti's and a Bitmota ( not sure that is still around). I can't say I have looked but I have never seen any good quality 1/12 scale plastic models of Harley's or anything British. Tamiya makes soom older bike that could be done as cafe racers or old street bikes. It looks like they are concentrating mostly on the GP class of sport bikes.

Anyway off to finish the RCV211 

There has got to be a better way!

This is after 5 applications of Micro Sol. The decals are just starting to settle down. And yes they are Tamiya decals. Is there anything else out there that will help?

jbrady

 Is there anything else out there that will help?

I use Walthers SolvaSet on those stubborn ones ... stronger than the MicroScale product  (which I use ALL the time)... it's hotter, so be sure to test it first ...

pepper

jbrady - thanks! I put the buff on first, then the wash (highly thinned like this, the Tamiya dries FAST). Also, as pepper suggests, Solvaset. In my experience, though, Tamiya decals vary wildly in quality, even on the same sheet.

oddmanrush - that Fw is looking awesome! Are you going to diorama it?

Bob - the bike's looking nice...that wheel definitely looks like it's been around! Figured there wouldn't be any Triumphs in Tamiya's lineup (could care less about Harleys, though...hate the obsession with the obnoxious exhausts). One reason I don't build cars or bikes...they just don't make what I want to build. Well, that and the whole flawless gloss coat thing...

In 109 land, I think I've figured out my approach to the further weathering. It kinda feels like I'm jinxing things by calling my shot, but hopefully somebody will respond and stop me if it sounds like I'm heading for disaster...

First - post-shade with a heavily thinned Tamiya brown/black. Panel lines and random airflow streaking.

Second - hit the leading edges of the wings and a few other areas (fronts of radiator housings and such) with a slightly stronger, possibly lightened Tamiya Buff, feathered back from the leading edge. I figure, in addition to the strength of the N. African sun, this aircraft was also operating in a harsh climate and flying through harsh, abrasive sand that would probably scour those leading edges and other protruding areas. 

Third - chips and stains and such....

Doogs, jbrady, oddman awesome work!

I think I'll start my Bf 109 after I finish my SR-71 for the Stealth GB. I just received a Verlinden map kit in the post. Only US$7 on ebay but you get a heap of 1/35 staff, road and aviation maps. Scale is only minimally different. I noticed the pouch on the starboard of the Bf cockpit so I wanted to put something slightly authentic in it.

Also ordered a Henkel Salamander from HLJ.com and gave me an idea for a future build for birds with weird engine placements (in this case on top) and A-10 Thunderbolts etc.

Cheers

Doogs have you thought of dry-brushing the leading edges and other protrusions? Might give you a bit more control. I read an interview with the head of Eduard. He announced a full line of 1/48 109's beginning with the E later this year.

Here's where I'm at now. decals are finally set as well as they can, I've got some fading going, and the first wash and flat coat is on.

Next I'll do another fading coat to tie it all together. Then staining and chipping. This one is in the home stretch.

Lookin' good, jbrady!

Did some more work on the 109 last night. Sadly, I had the post-shading mix too strong when I started on the drop tank, so I'm going to leave it off for the time being. I may come back and fix it later, but for now, nah.

The rest of the plane's getting close. Planning to flat coat tonight and hopefully unmask the canopy tomorrow. 

Also overdid the chipping on the props, and found out to my chagrin that Gunze Mr. Color drybrushes terribly, epically bad. Almost tempted to respray the prop in places...still trying to noodle it out.

J.Brady, that Wildcat is just killer, I love the Airbrush work, actually I'm jealous.

Doogs, the 109 is really shining, your weathering is brilliant, love your approach, weathered yet subtle, excellent work.

Jon the 190 well excellent, I love the salt effect you have achieved, looking forward to seeing how this progresses.

Regards,

Terry.

The RC211V is finished.

The frame before the body work.

The body work with some bruising skid marks.

The body work is on. This side will stay open to see the frame and motor work.

In this shot I think you can reallly see the krud that has developed on the frame.

It looks like she has been down a few times.

Well Thats it. I hope you guys like it. I know it not a aircraft  or armor but I wanted to see how I could weather a bike. Time to pick out some thing for the next project.

Bob

Bob:

That sucker is awesome !! ... tell us how you weathered the metal work under the skin and also, put the scratches on the body shells...

Stunning build sez me !! ...

pepper

Bob: Beautiful work.

Bob having laid down a bike or two in my day your build really does look the part I especially like what you did with the frame and engine, looks to have been leaned against the back wall of a shop somewhere for a few years. Very well done sir.

Gotta tell how you did it and did you do the weld joints on the frame ? They look spot on