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

kermit

Guys,

I am a bit stuck at the moment. At the start of this GB i was very eager to plan in another revell German sub in 1:72 (the big *ass ones), confident i would find a bunch of them on ebay but sofar i have had little luck

I do know revell of germany discontinued both the type VIIC and VIIC/41 but usually i would see alot of them on ebay. All i see now is that Gato class one...

Will have to do either the smaller one (1:155 scale, just about 1 ft. 8inches.) or something completely different.

Richard

Sorry to hear it, Richard. May I suggest tackling Revell of Germany's new Arado Ar 196? 

The kit looks fantastic (I see Zvezda's "build the internal structure" thing is becoming a trend), the price is totally right ($35 at Great Models), and oh, the weathering possibilities!

It's funny, I usually feel like the filling/sanding phase is a kind of modeling purgatory that just goes on and on...but with this E-7 I blew through it in a night. Then spent last night masking and installing the windscreen and aft canopy, rigging brake lines on the landing gear, and painting the spinner. 

Tonight I'll be masking the cockpit and spraying the frames their interior color, then it's on to priming and the fun stuff!

A few pics:

The drop tank from the Cyber-Hobby E-4 and the rigged brake lines. Apologies for the shakiness.

And...the spinner. Really, really enjoying these Gunze paints. Can't wait to see what they do with the overall paint scheme!

Hi Again:

Some clarification is in order, m'thinks ...

I'll use PE and resind if the parts are very visible - as suggested here ... I won't if they're not ...

As I said in my meanderings last night, 'to each his own' ...

Everyone should use everything and all resources available to us, whether it be a good/bad kit, decals/paint/PE/resin/referenc sources or whatever ? ...

I'm thinking that to most of us, the pleasure of the hobby is the journey taken to the end -  a finished model ... and great pleasure is taken in doing the best work we can, while learning from others, honing our skills and sharing the good, bad and ugly of modeling ...

Thanks,

pepper

Guys,

I am a bit stuck at the moment. At the start of this GB i was very eager to plan in another revell German sub in 1:72 (the big *ass ones), confident i would find a bunch of them on ebay but sofar i have had little luck

I do know revell of germany discontinued both the type VIIC and VIIC/41 but usually i would see alot of them on ebay. All i see now is that Gato class one...

Will have to do either the smaller one (1:155 scale, just about 1 ft. 8inches.) or something completely different.

Richard

DoogsATX

Well, honestly I try to aim a bit higher than the 3 foot rule all the time, mainly because 1) IMO that's where the challenge is and 2) my builds will mostly be viewed via high resolution photography. 

My rule now is...focus on the focal points. .

As for the really fiddly little PE bits...I usually don't mess with them. Or I'll give them one try and move on. They aren't that critical and they aren't worth the effort.

I too, aim higher than the 3 foot rule, but still avoid the aftermarket items if they're not going to be seen ... and it always seems to be that the less visible the part is, the smaller it is and the better it flies off my workbench to that Great Unknown PE Resting Place ...

I think part of my issue with PE is there are so many parts that I know I'm never going to use and it seems to be a huge waste of money to me ... another issue (I have several as we all do) is the extraordinary amount of parts in modern (and expensive) kits that will never be used ...

I look at some of the fighter aircraft of today - one kit has almost 200 parts, of which maybe 90 - 100 will be used, with the rest being various forms of ordnance ... the Real McCoy can't carry all that stuff and neither can our models, yet the kit makers put it in the kits - the more parts, the higher the price ?? ...

I realize that the unused extras can go into our spare-parts boxes, but if one builds modern aircraft (which I seldom do) how many missles, laser guided bombs, dumb boms, Lantirn pods, etc. do we need in the box ? ...

Just my opinion, of course ... I love to see what everyone is doing regardless of the costs or difficulties or ? ... makes me a better modeler, for sure ... I hope that I can add something of relevance to this GB as well, as so many others already have ...

Just my 2 cents worth (and 2 centa won't buy a piece of candy anymore) ...

pepper

Very very nice work fellas!

Jbrady, bummer about your Wildcat, but that office for the F6F looks first-rate! I am a firm believer that even if it isn't going to be seen, it's still a great way to hone one's skills.

Terry, pictures of the real thing are not allowed!! Seriously, you could write a tutorial on weathering with that level of work!

Tax, great start - I'm definitely going to be watching this build closely.

Tiger, that is one of the finest Stugs I've ever seen modeled - jaw dropping work my friend! Looks better with each update!

Doogs, excellent work on the Emil, and that Dauntless 'pit is exceptional! You seem to set the bar higher with each subsequent build.

Obligations have kept me from the bench the past few days, so I have no real progress to show on my Pfalz. Probably won't until at least thursday (which will be my first real day off in a while).

This is the most extreme example of "weathering" i've ever seen. Absolutely outstanding.

/forums/t/135261.aspx

Hey Doogs, wish there was an emote for a shaking fist! Damn you Doogs!!

After I read about the armament set for the Bf 109 I ordered a set for myself, also got the resin detailed QB ammunition box, the wheel set that you ordered and I couldn't resist the resin radio set!

I wouldn't buy any of this stuff for a 1/48 but the 1/32 and larger is a special scale that I don't build that often and worth the extra detail I think. (from the discussion before)

Cheers

Thanks Doogs for the info. I will exhibit patience, and get a few more kits under my belt. The Dauntless is one of my favorite airplanes... don't know why... and I want to do it justice.

jbrady

Doogs: How was that dauntless build? I've got that kit and I keep opening the box but I haven't gotten the nerve to start it. Some reviewers call it the best plastic kit ever but caution inexperienced builders.

It's a good kit, mostly, but anybody calling it the best ever is looking at it through rose-colored glasses. Several areas are needlessly over-engineered. Now...I've built other over-engineered kits (Zvezda's La-5 springs to mind), but the difference is that this kit has you attach all kinds of pieces, then attach two major subassemblies without setting up any real way to test fit as you go. I don't like going in blind like that, and ended up having to cut pieces off the IP to make everything fit.

The other thing - the kit's dive flaps SUCK. Do yourself a favor and track down the Eduard PE flaps. They're a bit daunting to build (not bad if you go slow), but they look so much better:

They're kinda my exhibit A for "here's an instance where PE is worth every penny"...

Overall, though, it's a pretty good kit, and I'll probably come back and build another at some point (though I hear that the best Dauntless out there is the Trumpy 1/32 kit...).

Doogs: How was that dauntless build? I've got that kit and I keep opening the box but I haven't gotten the nerve to start it. Some reviewers call it the best plastic kit ever but caution inexperienced builders.

Well, honestly I try to aim a bit higher than the 3 foot rule, mainly because 1) IMO that's where the challenge is and 2) my builds will mostly be viewed via high resolution photography. 

BUT...I'm very selective about what gets the PE/resin treatment. I learned this after spending way too many nights detailing a Dauntless cockpit with Eduard PE:

Only to close it up and see this:

And that's before the gun deck and canopies went on! Basically the seatbelts and IP...and everything else is swallowed up and invisible.

My rule now is...focus on the focal points. Unless I'm for some reason modeling a plane upside down, you will never see me spend money on Aires or Quickboost gear bays. But I'll spring for PE interior for the right aircraft, or resin wheels or exhausts or turned brass barrels.

As for the really fiddly little PE bits...I usually don't mess with them. Or I'll give them one try and move on. They aren't that critical and they aren't worth the effort.

What Pepper said and beautifully stated too.

I use PE sometimes but mostly for seat belt buckles and to get more of a 3D look on IPs. Most times I find the kit details with a bit of scratch building works just as well.

jbrady

I'm getting way to serious about this stuff.

I've not used PE extensively but just one time and my frustration level was so high doing so, I ultimately wound up using the model as a target for my BB gun :-) ...

I find now,  that I can make a 'good enough' set of seat belts from Tamiya tape and an IP using  paint or decals ...

I see models in these forums that have hundreds of hours invested in interiors and details, which will be hidden as soon as the fuselage is glued together or the turret is placed uipon the hull - but - this is a hobby and 'to each his own', sez mne ... ...

One of the famous model railroaders I follow has the philosophy of 'good enough' and practices the '3 foot rule', that being if the model or track or scenery look 'good enough' from 3 feet, than it's truly 'good enough' ... when you really think about it, other than for a contest or  for a photo session , almost all of the time, they sit on a shelf or in some instances, they're boxed up and stored ... so, 'good enough' is probably good enough for most of us ...

But, i digress ... again, this is a hobby and everyone should do what floats their boat ... if you want to spend hundreds of hours detailing interiors or whatnot, then please keep on detailing - if you don't, then keep on not doing so ...

But, PLEASE, all of us should keep on sharing hints, tips and tricks plus our thoughts and ideas plus our photos and plus (even) our frustrations ...

These forums are great teaching tools and I have learned tons of stuff by posting questions or progress reports ~ or ~ by telling of build problems or frustrations with materials, kits or ? ...

And with all that said, I've gotta get back to Project Reefer, take some photos to post here and then take a nap ...

pepper

Casper, Pepper, Doogs: Gotta agree with all of you. I painted one half of the right consloe and used the PE on the other half. There is a difference in detail but in this scale I just don't know if that difference justifies the added frustration level. I will say I really like good PE instrument panels but... a well done decal gets the same effect and some of the monogram 70's kits do as good a job with injection molding in plastic.

I'm getting way to serious about this stuff.

I really like the idea of unseen detail. Just the hint of a window or an open panel hiding some unseen or mostly obscured goodies that are rich in detail sort of excites me in a geekish way!

For me it is totally worth it but I agree sometimes the size of PE frustrates me, doesn't take much for it to pop off the tweezers and drop to the bottom of the carpet pile!

Cheers

jbrady

A question in 1/48th is PE really worth the effort? 

IMO it really depends. Makes a heck of a difference in some places, less in others. In a plane with a very round fuselage and small cockpit opening like the Hellcat, you don't see as much of the office anyway...

[quote user="jbrady"]

Here's my F6F 5 N cockpit. A question in 1/48th is PE really worth the effort ?.

(/quote)

IMHO - NO !!

pepper

Here's my F6F 5 N cockpit. A question in 1/48th is PE really worth the effort? Spent about 4 hours on assembly, painting, weathering, and dry brushing. I bet I spent another hour just looking for PE parts that jumped of the bench or just disapeared. The cat got the rudder pedals... I've given uip on those.

Hi Everyone,

I'm just about to get going on this build again. This is my starting point, the Tamiya 1/48 Sd Kfz 250/1 'Greif'. According to some research I've been given, it started out in Panzer Grey, and I've marked the camo pattern to be applied but never got around to doing it. Following that, the grey will need to be obscured with a slurry of desert sand (sand not paint), which I might do with powders.

Should be an interesting weathering job.

Cheers

Tony

Just a few more shots added the decals and finally added the wheels except one which is being retarded and will have to be beaten into submisson...lol pastels to come!

Yeah... thats what I thought too. I ordered another for $15. Because of the paints and glues I ordered it has to be shipped ground... I figure the end of the week.

I started an Eduard F6F 5N. With the solid paint scheme there should be some interesting weathering possibilities... very, very subtle.

terry - that's some really, really great work! Makes me want to find something white and rusty so I have an excuse to mess with it! Though...I've got a Zvezda T-34 that I'm not really inclined to build up as a full tank (mainly don't want to waste friuls on it!), so I've been considering doing it up as a wreck with another tank stumbling up on it (Russian or German TBD)...could be lots of opportunity for rust and such with it there!

jbrady - sorry to hear about the F4F! Good bird to figure this stuff out on, though! I'm a bit daunted at the prospect of beating up a $50+ 109!

Thanks for the compliments. Really sorry to hear about the cat, she was comming along with great potential.

Terry.

terry35: That is jaw dropping stuff. If I had just looked at those pics, without any context, I would have thought I was looking at some rust bucket piece of armor.

That is one wildcat that won't be making it home. I have completely ruined the surface. I have another kit on order and should be back to where I was yesterday in a week or so.

Well update Time for me.

First the bulkhead, Ihave over rusted this, there are two doors attached here later, an inner and outer. i decided that my vehicle maybe is the one evaluated back in England, so she is a couple of years old at this stage and well travelled.

I need to get to the next stage with this which will involve pigments.

A close up of the door way,

Just matched up to the floor to try keep some continunity to the weathering.

The driving/crew stations.

The start of the interior/upper shell. just brown paint at this stage,

Firstly stippled with a sponge//piece of foam.

Bigger bits hand painted in.

I gave the lower hull a quick wash of raw umber just to see how the detail stands out. I also gave it a quick streaking just to give myself a start. The streaking was just a piece of foam pulled through the wash.

THe wash dried.

Thanks for dropping by.

Regards,

Terry.

Well I've had a good read through the pages and I must say that the GB is really shaping up, progress, finished and people just starting.

Tiger great work on the Stug, comming together well.

J. Brady, great work on the wildcat, I can already imagine scenes from the Battle Of Midway, weathered fighters trying to make the carriers.

Doogs the 109 is trooping along well, you have a great scope to your weathering because of its operational enviornment.

Jon that 190 is terrific, can imagine it resting peacefully in a forest somewhere like in the Youtube video.

Terry.

Sneak peak :)

Pepper I found another way to get polka-dot effects. I did a wash to bring out the panel lines. The next step was supposed to be using a gloss coat to seal the wash then a final fading coat. I had a major brain fart and forgot to seal the wash. NEVER lay down an enamel coat over Pro Modeler washes. I'll try and post some clear pics of the mess if the sun comes out tomorrow but I think I ruined this one.

The only saving grace is that the sub assemblies can be salvaged. I added anothe Tamiya F4F to an order I had with Scale Hobbiest. Just glad this build hasn't started yet.

I like it TigerEP1