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

I think you'd be better off getting that kind of fading out of an airbrush and/or oil filters. 

Also, wow, that's some epic staining coming off the gun ejector ports!

jbrady

Steve: The question I have is are you modeling a plane based on land or a carrier. Even with a high operational tempo carrier based planes were a lot cleaner thatn their land based counterparts. As for the weathering itself, remember that the ailerons and flaps are moveable surfaces dirt wouldn't accumulate heavily in those areas. I would try a darker wash around the flap aileron area to highlight them and the lighter pigments around panel lines to simulate the dust and grime you'd see on a sandy, dusty aircraft... my two cents

Here's a photo that I found online at wikimedia commons which is pretty much what I'm trying to get my Hellcat to resemble:

I think the pigments are getting me there, but right now look too much like dust than fading. 

Steve

Steve: If you're doing a landbased Hellcat be aware that there were only a few VMF units flying them from landbases. Mostly composite recon/fighter and nightfighter squadrons. Most Marine units flying Hellcats were carrier based. And Doogs is right, by late 1944 almost all F6F's were done in dark sea b;ue.

Doogs: What do I know? I've seen so many references that cite so many different interior color combinations that I'm confused. If anyone calls me on it I can claim that my Wildcat was built by the Eastern Aircraft Corporation... they used interior green for their Wildcats.

Hey all - great work going on! 

Tiger - I think the Jeep's looking pretty great! If you want to make the bullet holes look like it got caught by shrapnel or something, you could always jag them out a little bit so they aren't as round. Just an idea...

oddmanrush - what a great story with that 190 - can't wait to see what you do with it!

jbrady - I have to confess, I'm intimidated a bit by ruddratt's epic Pfalz engine, but your Wildcat's coming along great! One thing - I thought Wildcats used bronze green for their cockpits. Or maybe that was just the early models. 

It's also kind of sad how exactly Hobby Boss copied the Tamiya cockpit (also, IMO, the single best part of the HB kit):

Steve - considering you're going island-based, I think you're fine. I've seen pics of some Corsairs that just looked awful. Personally I like the upper port wing the best, but I'd try to find a way to darken up the panel lines. Another thing to consider - and I'm not 100% on this, but I feel like I remember reading that the Navy adopted the gloss sea blue scheme in part because it didn't fade/flatten out as bad as the tri-color.

My 109s obviously on hold for a few days while I'm out here in Vegas, but I had a bit of a ridiculous breakthrough last night. I still wasn't happy with the way the cowl was fitting, so I decided I'd rip out select pieces and go with the exposed engine option. Started with the little disc insert up front that holds the prop mounting shaft, which I welded in with Tenax. It didn't want to come out, but I wanted it to, and in the process, I managed to mangle the forward "lip" of the fuselage that's hidden by the prop. Didn't get the disc out, either.

Not wanting to push my luck into realms of actually breaking the fuselage, I decided to do another test-fit, just to be safe. And guess what? The prop and cowl aligned almost perfectly! So I'm going to go with "yeah, that was totally intentional".

jbrady:  Thanks for the input - that's what I'm looking for.  My idea is a land based Hellcat flying from one of the coral airstrips somewhere in the Pacific.  I'm loosely basing what I want to do on several photos that I've seen of Corsairs, but ultimately I'm really experimenting on learning some new techniques and weathering with oils and pigments. 

My thoughts were to go easier on the pigments (a little really goes a long way!) and then seal them with clear flat.  After that, I would go over the panel lines with a pin wash of burnt umber to get some dirt/grime into the mix.  Maybe a bit of dot filters to selected areas after that.  I've played with the dot filters but have not been happy with any of the results yet.  Probably using too much oil. 

Steve 

Steve: The question I have is are you modeling a plane based on land or a carrier. Even with a high operational tempo carrier based planes were a lot cleaner thatn their land based counterparts. As for the weathering itself, remember that the ailerons and flaps are moveable surfaces dirt wouldn't accumulate heavily in those areas. I would try a darker wash around the flap aileron area to highlight them and the lighter pigments around panel lines to simulate the dust and grime you'd see on a sandy, dusty aircraft... my two cents

Wow!  Lots of really nice work going on here!

jbrady - your cockpit is looking really nice

TigerEP1 - you Jeep is looking very good - I like the addition of the stowage

ruddratt - your Pfalz is looking amazing!  That engine looks looks awesome!

I need some opinions on the latest experiment on getting the faded, weatherbeaten look of a fighter from the Pacific Theater.  In the three pictures, I've used MIG productons pigments - Concrete, Light Dust, and Ashes White.  The heaviest concentration (a little pigment goes a long way) is on the upper left wing.  The right fuselage has a bit less and the lower left wing about the same amount as the fuselage.  I rubbed the lower wing the most.  I think that the actual model looks a bit better than the photos.  Thoughts?

Thanks!

Steve

jbrady nice pit, good work.

I've been experimenting with the weathering cockpit thing and have come up with a couple of solutions. I've been using a heavily thinned wash of Georgian Oils in Lamp black with mineral turpentine. This works really well for jets (40s onwards) or RLM66 colour schemes for WWII Luftwaffe. Anything with a chromate or interior green I find a 40/60 mix of lamp black and raw umber oils thinned down with turps can help give rust and interesting highlights that work well with the green. My Zero in this build I think turned out great with this technique;

Just sloosh it on the surfaces and gravity takes care of the rest. It pools in the nooks and crannies and the excess runs off.

Cheers

agreed, looks fantastic!

Jbrady, you shouldn't be intimidated with that work! Looks great to me!

After looking at the work on just this page I'm a little intimidated... but here goes. Got startedon the Cockpit of the Wildcat last night. I've had some issues, in the past, with weathering cockpits. I thought of using the Pro modeler system but the guy who sells it doesn't reccomend it for cockpits. I went for the less is more approach. I used a mix of 5 parts thinner ( Testors Enamel Thinner) and just one part MM flat blackand sprayed it on after the detailing and dry brushing was done. It looked a little weird at first but when it dried I think I got the very subtle effect I was looking for.

More later.

TigerEP1

None the less thanks for the compliment, working with what limited supplies i have, i feel its coming out well. Good news is i landed a new job that pays really well and gives me 4 days off each week so I can afford to buy supplies and model!

Sounds like a good deal to me! Like I said, its nothing to rack your brains over, its just what stood out to me. Every one models differently.

As for my Fw190, let me give you some back ground....When I was in high school I purchased the Revell Fw190 from Michael's. It was one of those pre-painted yet still needs glue kits. I slapped the thing together, as most youngsters do and called it good. The thing hung from my bedroom ceiling for years, surviving 3 house moves! I got married and had a kid and became a serious modeler. The 190 was over shadowed by better models and soon became a derelict, collecting dust on the back of my modeling shelf. My daughter loves airplanes, and had shown interest in my models...as a two year old, of course, they were off limits. But then I remembered this little plane I had. I removed all the pointy bits and gave it to her...she expressed her gratitude by asking me to paint it pink. Which I did. And soon the Butcher Bird became a butchered bird...fit for nothing but the trash. 

Here she is:

You can see all the bits and pieces I've salvaged over the last years that she's had it...

I decided to restore it some dignity and model it as a long forgotten wreck, considering its history as a long forgotten model.

Here is how she sits right now...

I will be scratch building the frame work for the control surfaces as I will be modeling them as if the fabric has rotted away. The port side wing will not be attached but will be in the scene. I'll take better pics as it progresses.

Here is an unrelated picture of my daughter and I (and son in the background) putting together her new snap tite Revell F-14...good times. She painted it herself...looks very, uh, tie-dye.

Hmm wow those are tiny...lol  Well it could be that the bullet holes are old and the wear and tear and time /rust has enlarged them =)

or maybe it was ALIENS!! ...lol OK now I'm stretching hahah

None the less thanks for the compliment, working with what limited supplies i have, i feel its coming out well. Good news is i landed a new job that pays really well and gives me 4 days off each week so I can afford to buy supplies and model!

I've never been one to be a stickler for circumstantial accuracy though I do think the holes are still a bit large even for  damage done by an MG42 or MG34. Take a look at this photo:

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii7/raphael1971/100306017.jpg

That might be more akin to what you're looking for.

However, its entirely up to you. I'm no expert or whatever so even if you leave it the way it is, its still cool!

Thanks Jon!

The initial idea was not abandonment , tho now it's starting to take shape as such..lol  I agree the holes are a touch large, but Germans never liked small arms did they now...LOL

Im thinking they may have shot past a MG encampment, or met the front end of a tank but were going to fast for the turret to catch up so the MG just unloaded a few rounds till they were out of site.

That sound reasonable?

TigerEP, the jeep is looking pretty good! Are you modeling it as abandoned?

I really dig the bent fender. The only thing that I would point out is that those bullet holes look quite big if they are intended to be from small arms fire. Otherwise, they look pretty cool as fragmentation hits or from larger caliber weapons.

Well i could not leave well enough alone...lol I decided to add some damage, tho I am worried i may have ruined my little jeep =(

added a sleeping bag , made a mount for the toolbox, added a hangin bag and canvas water bucket. Some bullet holes, a dent in the fender, bent the hood some, tweaked the passenger front wheel.

I dunno i gotta still do a tone more weathering and dull coat this thing.

Thoughts?

Looking what i got today...

Jeep will be decked out once im done =D

muahahahahaha

Tiger - glad to see the Stug progressing. Definitely looks like a more complicated build than my Sherman - but it'll be awesome seeing it come under paint!

Steve - yeah I've been experimenting with oils lately myself. Used a raw umber filter wash built up in layers to dirty up my recently finished P-47. Also had some success on an earlier build dot filtering with Winton & Newton transparent white. Think I may try it a bit more rigorously on my next Pacific theater build. Also, nice P-47! Got the same markings for my Hasegawa 1/32 kit.

NiceFit - I'll get it added! 

ruddratt - very, very nice work on the Pfalz, but I have to admit, I think I just went blind looking at those turnbuckles! And that engine...wow! I've got an Aires engine set for an upcoming P-51 build, and if I can make the Merlin look half as good as what you've done there, I'll be happy!

Also...I'm off to Vegas way too early tomorrow morning (for work...sigh), so if I'm relatively unresponsive until next week, well, that's why.

Ruddratt

Great stuff, that engine is gorgeous!

Cheers

Doogs,

LOL i find it funny that the Germans are know for precision after looking at that pic!

ruddratt,

O_O that looks fantastic man, givin my ole jeep a run huh? (honestly it makes my jeep look like it was painted by a 5 year old with a crayon..lol) I honestly have to say thats ine of the coolest paint jobs on a plane...ever cannot wait to see it applied!

Got a bit more done on the stug (please don't mind the terrible periscope pic for some reason my camera was being weird and made it look squashed and rougher than they are actually)

ruddratt

Well guys, it took a while, but I finally have some pics to share of my WnW Pfalz.

This is the bird I'm doing. Loved the paint scheme, especially with the silver-grey for both surfaces of the upper wing and the lozenge camo for both surfaces of the lower wing. It has presented a weathering challenge that I hope I'm up to.....

Woo woo - I am impressed ... on my bestest day, I couldn't do half of what you've shown us ...

Keep the pictures coming !! ...

pepper

Well guys, it took a while, but I finally have some pics to share of my WnW Pfalz.

This is the bird I'm doing. Loved the paint scheme, especially with the silver-grey for both surfaces of the upper wing and the lozenge camo for both surfaces of the lower wing. It has presented a weathering challenge that I hope I'm up to.....

The first of many turnbuckles. The are for the control lines in the 'pit and were made with .5mm brass tubing, fine wire, and EZ-line....

Looking down into the office. The main color is MM RLM02 ( a good match for the pale grey-green paint found in these birds). The wood is Tamiya XF-59, streaked with a wash of MM flat brown and then coated with tamiya clear orange, then flattened out a bit. I retained the kit-provided seat buckles, but replaced all the straps with Verlinden lead foil, textured by rolling a needle file back & forth across each strap.

The engine, a kit in itself. The ignition wires were made from fine solder and EZ-line, and the molded on rocker springs were removed and replaced with real ones salvaged from old electrical contacts.....

...and where she stands so far, with the engine installed. The whole module fits perfectly into the fuselage. These are very well-engineered kits....

Thanks for looking!

Man, you guys are just cruising right along!

Steve, I'm likin' that 'Cat a lot! Never tried the dot filter method, but that's one of the many reasons I joined this GB - to learn stuff like that. Nice P-47 too! Love 'em fully loaded!!

Doogs, your Emil is really shaping up into a beauty in spite of the fit issues your having. I have that same Aerodetail book (plus the one for the 109G and the 262) - they are invaluable references. Very convincing work on the dent in the spinner too! Not something you commenly see on aircraft models, but very effective!

Some really cool stuff going on in this G.B.. Will definitly stop by more often.

TigerEP1

Looking great Doogs! I totally understand the shoddy cowl thing as my bf109 has the same issue only its due to the terrible hasagawa molding...

I was taking another look through the Aero Detail book I picked up...and maybe the shoddy fit is actually accurate!

Also been trying my hand at creating dents. First several attempts (on a broken P-38) were horrid. But I started to get the hang of it...actually relatively happy with the dent on the left side of the spare E-4 spinner:

Hey there! I'd like to join the GB with a Revell 1/125 German Submarine U-99. Up to this point, I've only built WWII aircraft so this will be a nice change for me. Funny thing is, someone's effort on a u-boat kit inspired me to get back into fine scale modeling.

DoogsATX

Steve - the cat's looking really sharp so far! Definitely dig the fading/splotchiness you've got going on on the wings.

A few suggestions, mostly out of stuff I've been considering for my own tricolor builds. Granted, I haven't done one yet, so don't take me as gospel or anything close!

- Fading out the decals a bit more, especially on the wing.

- Filters to mess with the tonal variation. I think some gray, blue, and maybe even some raw umber (at least on the bottom) could do curious things and help give that splotchy look you're going for.

- Airbrushing filters of white or very light gray. Like 9:1 thinner to paint. 

- Gloss coat, then flat coat, then strategic wet sanding with 1600-2000 grit sandpaper. Again, all about the tonal variation, or in this case, reflective variation. Used this one completely inadvertently with my Dauntless build last summer (Polly flat spat white flecks everywhere and I didn't know the "shoot it with gloss" cure at the time), and it came out pretty great:

Doogs,

The 109 is looking sweet!  That lower cowl seam looks nasty -  Oh, the joys of sanding!

Thanks for the ideas on the fading - that's exactly what I'm looking for.  Your Dauntless looks great! 

I think that the first thing I'm going to try is a wash of Tamiya Deck Tan over the top surfaces and a Black Umber wash on  the undersides.  I've been experimenting with oils on a test plane - Mig Faded Navy Blue, Mig Buff, and Titanium White.  I laid down a base of MM Flat Sea Blue enamel, then drybrushed different panels with RLM 02 Grey.  Once that had about a week to cure, I used dot filters with the oils to get the following:

I'm not totally sold on the results of this process so I haven't tried it on the Hellcat yet.  I definitely need to fade out the decals - hopefully the wash will tone them down.  I used a similar process (without the dot filters) on the P-47 Thunderbolt below:

Thanks!

Steve

Looking great Doogs! I totally understand the shoddy cowl thing as my bf109 has the same issue only its due to the terrible hasagawa molding...

oh and for some reason the whole engine assemble sits off center... gotta love older kits!

Looking forward to more progress =)

Heres a shot of the StuG in current state, may as well add it to my list =)

Got a good chunk of main assembly done on the 109 last night. Overall, it went well. The fuselage goes together well with no real gaps (though there's a bit of a "trough" that's going to need filler). The only trouble spot is the shoddy lower scoop. The wings are similar. Go together well, line up with the fuselage well, except where the center mates up with the fuselage underneath. Had to break out the gap-filling CA there.

The cowl continues to be a giant pain. If I were starting this one over again, I'd do it with the engine exposed.

Here's the shoddy lower scoop and back of the lower wing/fuselage join:

Finally, issues with the prop and cowl fit. You can also see the cowl/fuselage issues under the trop filter: