Oddman- I'll be watching your weathering on that 'Cat closely for ideas when I get to that phase on the one I'll be getting back to when done with my Lightning. Looks very nice
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Casper- Awesome work on the 109 interior
. Many years ago when I was in high school in Ft. Worth,Texas, I had the opportunity to sit in one of the Hispano built "109"s that were used in the film Battle of Britain. I recall it to be a very snug little cockpit to fight a war from. Especially with the lid closed. No place for a claustrophobic.
Dragonwagon- Neat little Stuart
. I'm normally a wings and wheels modeler, but this GB has got me tempted to give a go at some armor and naval stuff.
Got some update pics of the Lightning.
First up, some paint chipping with a silver Prismacolor pencil. I'll add a little more chipping later with a fine brush and aluminum paint to get some variation in the intensity of the "exposed" metal.
Base coated the turbos with Model Master chrome silver and allowed to dry overnight in prep for the discoloring and weather washes to come.
Materials used in my exhaust weathering process. The paints are just what I've on hand , but about any water based acrylic would probably work. My measuring is pretty much a" looks about right" method , so anyone trying this, experiment to find what works for your application.
I start with a few drops of Future thinned with a few drops of water (approx. 50/50). To this ,I add a drop or two of Thalo blue.
You can see how the color builds up with each coat . Yet still very transparent, allowing the base "metal" to shine through. This would be very effective in discoloring chrome exhaust pipes, etc., and could be taken to various levels of color depending on how heat discolored and/or rusted you want.
Could also be applied with an airbrush for a soft edge as on the polished aluminum panels under an exhaust stack. A polished P-51 for example.
After a little dry time for the blue, a drop or two of red to the mix. Again experiment and adjust to the intensity of the purple your after. As more paint is added to the wash mix ,you may need to add a drop or two of water to keep it thin enough to work as a wash.
Then a coat or two of the purple.Allow to dry.
You can see how the each color builds up while still allowing the previous color and base show through.
Now , I'll add a few drops of yellow to the mix to give me the brown tones. Usually takes a little more yellow than the other colors to bring in a more straw colored brown. Again , allow to dry.
I wanted to start the "rusting", so I added some ModelMakerz burnt sienna pigment to the wash and gave one or two final wash coats.
Finished off with a light dusting of dry, rubble dust and burnt sienna pigments,
and a very light dry brushing of ModelMaster steel to pic up some highlights.
I'll sometimes use MM jet exhaust for this step , depending on the look I'm after.
Went with the kit wheels and vinyl tires . Sealed off the wheels with paint and Future before installing the tires to protect against the vinyl eating the plastic , then sprayed with dullcoat.
Felt the tires were too black, so I went over them with a wash made from pastels to give them a more rubbery look . Also gave the wheels a bit of wash to start their dirtying process. Then a final sealing with dullcoat.
Here's a look at one of the installed turbos.
The pic really doesn't do it justice. You can see a deep metal shine and even some of the blue and purple tones through the browns and rust. All they need now are exhaust stains.
For the formation lights under the fuselage , I lightly carved out a depression with a round Dremel cutter chucked in a pin vise. Then base coated with some chrome silver. Also the other nav. lights on the wing tips and tail were given a coat of chrome.
Then added drops of appropriately colored acrylic to Future and built up the color on each light. Took more than one coat but the lights have a subtle reflective look to them and some depth.
Down to the final assembly items and fiddly bits. Not long till this one is complete.
Howard