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

Doogs, how much would you 'dirty' up an aircraft interiour, especially one that operated from conctre hard standings and runways rather than grass. I am always worried about over doing aircraft, both inside and out, when it comes to dirt.

DoogsATX

Chris - interesting to watch the Landie come together. I used to drive an old Land Rover (not as old as that, but still), and have a lot of affection for pretty much everything they made pre-'94. Have to say, I find your paint-everything-and-then-brush technique terrifying! Brush painting is far and away my weakest skill, and I usually try to airbrush everything that I can on its own before assembly.

 

Oh, I'm scared too!

Have made a bit more progress and will post pics when i'm home later tonight.

Chris.

Bish

Doogs, how much would you 'dirty' up an aircraft interiour, especially one that operated from conctre hard standings and runways rather than grass. I am always worried about over doing aircraft, both inside and out, when it comes to dirt.

It's funny. People always go on about how weathering's overdone and aircraft based at those nice English bases were pristine, but every time I look with any depth into an aircraft, I usually find them surprisingly filthy. 

I guess it makes sense. Imagine taking a thousand mile roadtrip every day. What would your car look like? Now imagine your car randomly leaks fluids from various panels, and instead of out back, the exhaust shoot out the fender. 

I imagine most planes were probably incredibly variable in their appearance, depending on mission frequency, supplies, whether the crew had the time or inclination to wash them. I mean, those pristine English bases could still see a flight group CO's plane looking like this:

From experience with silver cars, it's hard to make silver look dirty. Especially in black and white. So when I see the streaks running off Petie in this shot, especially if you look at the clean drop tanks as a comparison, she's one filthy plane here. 

Now...the inside probably isn't filthy, per se, but I've got a color photo of a "used" Mustang cockpit in the reference book I just got, and it's not the typical spit-and-polish restorations you usually get the good detailed cockpit shots of. I'll try to scan it later, but suffice to say, weather away!

Not to mention the lovely english weather at times, if not half the time.... A grass strip field can turn into a muddy mess i imagine.... Scrambling pilots would run through the mud, splattering it on their clothes.....dirty boots...etc etc. The average cockpit would reflect that would it not?

Richard

There's nothing wrong with our weather I'll have you know

Actually, East Anglia where most of these aircraft were based and where i am from, is one of the driest regions in the UK. I recall hearing once that we get less rain fall than Israel.

You guys make good points. And yes Doogs, getting interior pics of period aircraft can be tricky, we largely rely on Museum pieces, which of course are nice and spotless.

Richard, i would imagine the same, especially with aircraft in places like the Eastern front, imagine trying to keep the inside of those clean. But as for UK bases, there was a big building program and most if not all the bases, seem to have been hard surface rather than grass but the time the 8th arrived. I think if you want to be accurate in your weathering, that's another thing to research, what was the surface at the airfield the aircraft you are building was on.

Alright, here's that pic I promised...

A few others things to consider when it comes to these WWII aircraft:

1 - UV. P-51s in particular operated at high altitude, and up there the UV would almost certainly take a toll on the upper surfaces of various controls and such. 

2 - Lubricants. I have to assume things like the throttle quadrant, rudder pedals, and pretty much every manual or hydraulic lever had some sort of associated lubrication regimen. Some of them probably leaked, too. Then you have spills, especially if it's a situation like D-Day where the planes are basically coming back to refuel, rearm and get back in the air. And all of those attract dust and crud.

I'm generally not in favor of heavy-handing it, but I have found that drybrushing (I use Floquil Old Silver), topped with an oil wash (raw umber, heavily thinned) does a pretty good job of conveying wear.

Also, the oil wash is priceless for dirtying up seat cushions and belts. Especially those Eduard PE belts, which always look way too clean and pretty.

I gave the Mustang it's bath tonight and it looks pretty solid. I'll take some pics tomorrow before I close up the fuselage.

Nice pic, does show that off well. And some good points to take into account as well. Looking forward to see more pics, always a pleasure to see your kits come together.

Bish

Nice pic, does show that off well. And some good points to take into account as well. Looking forward to see more pics, always a pleasure to see your kits come together.

Thanks! Always a pleasure for me as well. This hobby can feel like a giant exercise in patience sometimes, but I still get a charge out of those milestones (fuselage closed, wings on, paint, etc).

You know, one thing I wish Eduard or any of the IP gauge makers would take into account? The yellowing of the dials. It's like an old car. You never see that perfect, gleaming white. They're always just a little bit off-white.

Hmm. I may need to think about that before my next build. Maybe a highly thinned wash dabbed into the gauges could give that sepia-ish tone, and then be sealed with Future?

Patience is certainly a key to this hobby. Alot of people who come into my barrack room and see what i do for a hobby, the first words are usually 'i ain't got the patience for that'

As for the yellowing, i am not to sure myself. Most of the aircraft we are building modles of would probably be no more than a year old, 2 years tops. It might yellow slightly over that time, but not to much. You would have to be careful not to go to far.

Ok, so I've made some progress on my SAS Jeep.

Here's some pics of it primed:

You'll note I deviated from my initial thoughts of gluing the whole thing together and then detail painting later - I just don't trust my abilities enough.  So, I put all major part together and have primed etc smaller parts on the sprue tree.

Here's some pics of where I'm up do with some painting.  I'm pretty happy with the mix of pink - I simply followed the instructions for %s.

I became impatient and rather than apply a gloss coat before applying a wash to the underside, i simply tried to apply the wash over the matte coat - and i'm not terribly happy with the result.  Luckily nobody will know (except ya'll).

Next time i build an AFV, I'll follow my normal plane building techniques and try not to get impatient.

Thanks for looking.

Chris.

Chric, thats looking very nice. Nice job on the jerry cans as well. One thing, those GPMG Shoulder butts and the handlt for removing the barrel should be black.

Hi Bish,

Thanks for the compliments and tips.

In the instructions they say to paint those areas black, but the instructions also have a picture of the real jeep (it's black and white), but the butt is definitely a much lighter colour, so i assumed it was wood.

Do you know if they would have been metal painted black, or black plastic?

Cheers.

Chris.

All the ones i have used and seen have been black plastic. Though i am pretty sure that the butt plate is metal, its been a while since i handled one. I seem to recall there was often wear around the edges. Also the handle is normally off to the right of the gun, out of the line of the sights. This isn't used to carry the gun, but to remove the hot barrel.

Think i'll call this one done.

Bish: thanks for the tips about the GPMG.  I considered cutting off the handles and trying to place them off to the side, but got lazy...

It's completely OOB (i'm not much for a detailer/scratchbuilder).

Overally, the model was great, but i'm not real happy with my attempts to simulate paint chipping.  I used a 00 brush with dark gray paint to try and simulate the paint chips, but think i was too heavy handed, also, the 'chips' are too big for the scale.

Never mind - as long as keep trying to hone my skills, i'm happy.

I quite enjoyed putting this one together.  Ground up pastel was used on the tyres for a sandy look.

http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/cml_1981/Models/Armour/SASJeep22_2.jpg

http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/cml_1981/Models/Armour/SASJeep23_2.jpg

http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/cml_1981/Models/Armour/SASJeep24_2.jpg

http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/cml_1981/Models/Armour/SASJeep27_2.jpg

Thanks for looking.

Whoops, sorry about that.

I had a brain lapse and temporarily forgot how to post pics.

Here's another attempt.

CML I have to disagree with you buddy. Those paint chips look great man !!!!!!!!! Its a build you should be very proud of, very well done And thank you for sharing it I really enjoied following your work.

Cheers Vetteman, thanks for following and the encouragement too!

I have seen recently some other's have used make up sponges to assist with chip simulation.  I'm going to give that a go too.  I really want to try and hone my "chipping" skills.  Nothing looks better in my opinion than a well worn, well chipped AFV.

This GB is great, cool. Ill but weathering up my F6F (I feel every model of a wartime plane should be weathered to some degree).. and placing in here then :D

I dont think there is a Pacific fighters  GB ??

Welcome aboard! There's a pic somewhere back in this GB of a very beaten looking F6F-3. I know F6F-5s were a bit tidier (the sea blue didn't destroy itself in days the way the tri-color scheme did), but I'd say you have plenty of room to muck around.

One thing to consider, though - the airedales on Navy carriers were relentless in keeping corrosion at bay, so chipped paint was exceedingly rare. Touched up patches would be more the norm. For land-based, it was a completely different story.

Also...this GB's gone somewhat dormant (my fault as much as anything), so it could sure use someone to get posting in here to revive it a bit! Looking forward to it and I'll get you added to the front roster later this evening.

Thanks mate. Good to know.

Yeah I understand there were a few 5's with the tri colour..? Hope so cause thats what Im painting mine.. got it all planned. Plse let me know if Im heading the wrong way. Thanks again Doogs

Well I have been wanting to build a Tank a Sherman tank for a long time now, and well. Doogs its all your fault with the move and all those nice lookin tanks you have goin I just had to start my very first ever armor build. Heres the kit box art the 1/48 Tamiya Sherman.

These tanks build up quickly ! This was a couple hours work while waiting for glue to dry on a Spitfire I am working on.

Gotta have the " Lookin down the barrel " shot ya know

Now I just need to figure out what to do with the tracks an wheels an weld beads an .........................

More to follow soon, as this is a fun change

vetteman - excellent! I have to ask, what's the track situation with the 48th Sherman? I seem to remember reading that Tamiya 1/48 are all about the link and lengths, but that seems kinda silly for the M4.

Doogs heres a pic of the track sprue. The instructions don't really tell what to do with them just to put them on in this order kinda thing. Maybe you can tell me is it easier to paint and weather them before or after installation.

Randy!,

Well slap me silly and call me froggie...a tank....really? Looks like youre having fun with it as well. Just hope you wont be cured from armor modelling doing a 1:48 scale sherman. I have a Hobbyboss sherman here in the same scale that i broke off....waaaay too small for me.

Anyways... forget my ramblings.... absolutely great to watch you build your first tracked vehicle!! Way to go

Richard

Got my two fuselage side glued together with this Hellcat... god what  a job...  so many little bits to have added while doing it, radio set cockpit, tail wheel housing and the circumference was big that the glue started to dry at the start point before I could get through to the end.. arghh  

Enjoy it a lot though =)

Im trying out some new paint from Spain (sorry forget the name.. comes in 17ml plastic bottle with a squirter top). I initially brought their so called "light sea blue" colour but have found it horribly bright for my Hellcat.  So what Ive dont is mix that with Tamiyas field blue in which Ill use as the middle colour on the F6F's tri-color scheme.. I reckon its fairly close, does look slightly darker in these shots as they were taken this morn' when it was still dark.. no flash sorry.

Check out the horrible bright blue I first put on the tail (sorry for the crappy mobile phone picture), I did not like colour at all. Also their paint stays very tacky for at least 24 hours which seems strange for an acrylic base.

Great to see this GB spring back to life!

Vetteman: i know what you mean about those tanks building up quickly.  I cut my teeth on the 1/48 armour series too, about 3 years ago.  I'm currently building my 3rd.  Be careful though, it opens the door to 1/35...

Furyan: nice looking Hellcat - what brand/scale?  Can't wait to see it finished.

Hi

Trumpeters 1/32.  Yeah they must've been quite a big aircraft irl for a fighter, very chunky. Liking this kit a lot so far. =)

alright i might as well join! i will be entering my 1:48 hobbycraft Bf-109 G-14

Since i already have it here are some pics.

the landing gear bay had no detail so i had to make some

more to come...

Furyan - sounds like Vallejo to me. Yep...their Model Color paint matches can be a bit...off. Had similar problems with their Blue Gray when I was building a Dauntless last year. Took some creative mixing to get a color I was happy with.

I'm surprised by two things from your post - first that you mixed Vallejo and Tamiya - the two have some pretty different makeups (even though they're both technically acrylic) and I'm kind of shocked that you didn't hit massive problems as a result. What did you thin them with?

Second - that Vallejo stayed tacky 24 hours later. The only thing I can think is a thinning issue. I've always had Vallejo dry to the touch within a half hour at the most. And that's with heavy brush painting. Airbrushing it's usually dry in minutes.