Reich Defenders IV Group Build: Strike From Above

Hey guys, here are more photos of the Ju88.  I have recently switched from enamel paint to Tamiya acrylics.  I have the RLM 65 coat down which is my own mix of Tamiya XF2, XF5, XF8 and XF21.  The Yellow is Tamiya XF3 with a bit of XF7 (thank you Lawdog!).  The RLM 71 is another mix of Tamiya paint which is XF67, XF49, XF62, XF2 and XF5.  For the 65 and 71 I tried to match my mixes to the colors I have in Model Master enamels.  I think I got them pretty close.  I hope to get the splinter scheme of RLM 70 on this weekend.  I'm still debating on using the kit decals or spraying on the markings.  I recently bought some Maketar masks that I want to try out.  Then I need to decide if I want to try doing the winter whitewash scheme or not.  Anyway, here are some photos:

I'd like to know what you guys think about the colors.  I'm liking mixing my own, but don't know how close I am with them or not.  Thanks!

Steve

Thanks Steve!

Your Ju 88 looks great! The RLM 65 looks good to me, but the 71 seems to be a bit too light. I wouldn't worry too much about colors though the paint on those aircraft faded quite a lot, so no two aircraft looked exactly the same if they weren't coming right from the factory.

Steve, very good! The 65 looks excellent! I wonder if you could post the ratios you use? I use the MM Acryls for these shades and while they are excellent paints they tip dry so badly that I can't use Acryls in warm weather. Knowing mixing ratios for Tamiya would be handy! For instance, I have long mixed my own RLM 76 using their recommended ratio, which if I remember correctly is XF-2 (7) : XF-20 (2) : XF-23 (1). Similarly a corrected RAF Sky I mix using Tamiya's Sky at 1:1 with white.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Thanks Mike and Spartan!  

I have to say that the RLM 65 looks lighter in the pictures than it really is and the RLM 71 is darker than it looks in the pictures.  Here are the ratios I used:

RLM 65 - XF2:9 + XF5:1 + XF8:1 + XF21:1.  I usualy use 1-2 drops of  91% Isopropyl alcohol for every 3 drops of paint and spray at around 15psi.  (XF2=flat white / XF5=flat green / XF8=blue / XF21=sky)

RLM 71 - XF67:9 + XF49:1 + XF62:1 + XF2:2 + XF5:1.  

(XF67=nato green / XF49=khaki / XF62=olive drab / XF2=flat white / XF5=flat green)

I've also made a mixture of Sky after reading and seeing how lawdog made his mix.  My ratio is Sky XF21:4-5 + Flat Yellow XF3:1 plus the 1-2 drops of 91% for every 3 drops of paint.

My camera is on it's last legs, plus I really don't know much about photography or lighting.  I'm looking at getting a new camera in the near future so I hope to be able to post some better photos.

Steve

Mike - I found this useful link for Tamiya mixes.  I use this for a base and adjust to my own liking.  For example, for the RLM 65 I had to get creative since I don't have a bottle of XF23 yet.  

www.network54.com/.../Tamiya+paint+mixing+chart

Steve

Steve, thankyou so much! I like the sound of some of those mixes, yours and on the link page, I've used something similar a few times, but it's great to have a fuller listing. I was hoping RAF PRU Blue would have been on it, I'm still looking for a recommendation on that one. It's great to be able to  mix a necessary shade in a familiar paint brand!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

No problem Mike!  This is the first real attempt at mixing my own colors and I like it!  I'm going to do more google searches to see if I can find more paint mixes to use as a base.  

Steve

Time for another update!

First thing I did was to fix my little boo-boo:

Everything sanded:

Followed by several coats of Alclad microfiller to even out the area:

Some more sanding and polishing:

And a final coat of Gunze primer:

Then I filled in the antenna slot on the fuselage spine (the photos of T9+FK show her without the antenna):

After some touch-ups with Mr.Surfacer 1200 I started the preshading. I wanted to try out something new this time, so I applied some streaking using highly thinned RLM 66 as additional preshading:

This streaking should be visible after painting her and make the finish look like in the photos i posted earlier.

The preshading is a bit rough in certain areas, but I don't think it matters a lot:

Here are the paints I used:

Gunze H401 "Dark Gray" for the preshading and H416 "RLM 66" (thinned 1:2 parts paint to thinner) for the streaking effect:

I just love the way those paints spray and I'd never trade them for any other brand. 

Cheers, Clemens 

Clemens -- great work! Your pre-shade is a heck of a lot more accurate than mine, and I LOVE the idea of the streaking at this point, I look forward to seeing how that turns out! I've never used Gunze but I've heard lots of good things about it! Is it pre-thinned in the bottle? I seem to recall hearing that many years ago... Can't wait to see the colour go on!

M/TB379

Thank you very much!

Gunze paints are not pre-thinned, they just have really fine pigments (that's why i love them) which makes them a pain to brush-paint (I have Vallejo for that). I thin my gunze paints with Mr.Color Thinner. 1:1 for normal covering coats, 2:1 for streaking and post-shading, 3:2 for light coats of paint to build up effects. They spray super smooth once you got the right paint to thinner ratio figured out. Their color selection is also really good. The only paints I can't get in that color line are the interior colors for the Thunderbolt (I used Tamiya XF-26 with a wee bit of black for the cockpit and XF-4 for everything else)

Wow, Clemens... You and Sanderson are really kicking butt! Your Razorback and Sanderson, Your Ju88 are just about there! Keep up the great work!

Doug

Clemens - your pre-shade looks good.  I'm curious to see how the streaking comes out - I've seen it done before by DoogsATX and need to keep that in mind for my next build.

Doug - thank you!  I've been following the 190 Group Build and you have done soem really nice 190's!

Here's a shot of today's work - I got the RLM 70 on to finish up the splinter scheme.  I had paint pull in two places when I removed the masking, but they should be pretty easy to touch up.  After laying down the RLM71 I went and re-applied the pre-shade over the areas to get the RLM 70.  My mix for of Tamiya paints for this is Black Green cut by a bit of Buff  - Black Green XF27:3 + Buff XF57:1. 

Next up is to repair the two areas of paint pull and add the guns to the cockpit.  I really like how the splinter scheme came out so I don't think that I am going to attempt the winter white-wash scheme.  Let me know what you guys think.

Steve

Very nice looking 88! I love the metallic shine on the big barrel. I think the camo colors look pretty good. 70 could be a bit darker, but it could just be my moniter too. The painting overall is just really pleasing. Don't be afraid to try a whitewash, it could really add some nice visual interest. I'd like to see it.

Thanks Nathan!  I have to say that  my camera does make the paint look lighter than it is.  I have ordered a new camera so I hope that I can get some better photos taken.

Steve

Thanks guys! You're too kind!

Steve: She's looking great! Very nice paint job on that splinter camo!

SS -- thanks for the Gunze info, especially the thinning variations. I have a great deal of trouble getting paint to lie down smooth these days, so a line which is naturally smooth is always welcome. I might invest in some later this year and give them a go!

Sanderson91 -- looking SWEET! The mixes are close but I usually have to add black to XF-27 to get a decent RLM 70 -- at least, compared to ModelMaster enamel it's definitely light. The '88 looks great, for my money I'd leave it at the camo, just clearcoat, decals and weathering!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

I'd suggest using Mr.Leveling thinner instead of the normal thinner. It is basically the same thing with a drying retarder mixed in. That should help a lot with tip-drying and makes it easier to get a smooth finish in hot climate.

Steve, that 88 is looking great. Can't beat a good splinter scheme.

Next update:

I sprayed the lower surfaces and the tail in white to prepare them for the yellow paint to follow. This partially killed the streaking effect though, so I mixed some RLM 66 (I do love that shade of gray) into the white and applied some more streaking on top of the white paint. I really liked how it worked out because the RLM 66 turns kinda brownish when added to white. I think it just adds some more interest to the streaking.

The streaking on the right stabilizer is a bit too strong, but the yellow should tone it down a bit (I'll just spray an additional layer on top of that area).

After the white has dried completely, I'll spray the yellow and post some pics. That should be in 2 hours or something like that.

Cheers, Clemens

SS -- I've tried for Levelling Thinner but it doesn't seem to be available in this country. When I can go the $$ I'll have to get some sent from Hong Kong...

Clemens -- looking great! I'm loving your technical approach!

M/TB379

Thank you very much, Mike!

The leveling thinner is impossible to get in Austria as well...

Nice paintwork there Clemens. Have you ever tried this thinner with Gunze Aqueous:?

Just curious cause thats what I use.

I got the yellow (RLM 04) sprayedonto my Jug. It toned down the streaking quite a bit again, but to a point were it is just visible through the yellow paint - exactly whatI was trying to achieve. Then I mixed the RLM 04 with a wee bit of Gunze clear red and clear yellow (just 1-2 drops each) and thinned that mix quite a lot (3 parts thinner to 1 part paint). I did some very light streaking on the wings, stabilizers and engine cowling to add a bit more interest to the whole plane. All of that results in a barely noticeble streaking effect (especially on the wings). There's only one problem: My damn camera can't pick up those little changes in color so most of the photos just show a yellow surface without any streaking. It looks really nice in person though...

Lets not forget my painting accident of the day:

The turbocharger exhaust was literally the last thing I sprayed on my Thunderbolt and I accidently pulled the trigger back too far . Looks like I have to sand/repaint the whole area...

There is some dust visible in the pictures, but it's really easy to remove with a stiff brush, so It won't stay on my model forever

The yellow is slightly more orange-tinted, but my camera fails on that as well

Thanks Nathan! I don't know about the thinner TBH, but i suppose it's not the same. Here's the one I use:

And one final pic of the yellow. Thi sone actually looks kinda like the real thing, but again, no streaking visible.

SS -- how many coats of yellow to get this density? The 04 from MM Acryl is very transparent, to cover preshading this solidly would take me four or five coats.

M/TB379

Mike: The preshading isn't really covered as much as it looks like in the pics. It shows through just right - not too subtle, but also not too strong. I sprayed 4-5 coats with about 20 seconds between the individual layers. I have to say that I thinned my paint a lot though. I also sprayed an additional layer on top of panel lines to tone down the preshading a bit because the dar kgray was just too dark for the yellow to look right (it appeared kinda greenish before i toned it down.)

I tried fixing my paint problem at the turbocharger and just made it a whole lot worse. I applied a bit too much pressure while sanding an "ripped" part of the paint off. Today really isn't my day... I'll just take a break and continue tomorrow before things get really messed up. I'm just not in the mood to do anything productive. I was really lucky though: The damage is contained in a single panel, so I'll probably mask off the area around that panel and sand everything down to the primer/plastic. Then I'll spray a new coat of primer on top and repaint everything. The area behind the turbocharger is going to be really dirty anyway, so don't have to worry about recreating the color effects on that panel.

Very nice yellow Clemens! The thinner I posted is the stuff formulated for the aqueous paints. It contains a water/alcohol/glycol mix, and has a citrus scent! Smells much better than Mr. Color lacquer thinner you posted. The lacquer thinner is obviously compatible with aqueous as well. It makes the paint go on real thin and translucent. I'm not sure if it makes it dry any quicker though. How soon can you handle the yellow after painting it?

Thanks Mike and Bish!  For now I'm going to leave the splinter as is and not do the whitewash.  I need to fix the two paint peels from the mask and then gloss coat and decals.

Clemens, your P-47 looks great!  The yellow looks great!  

Steve

Thanks guys!

Nathan: I thought i was using their acrylic thinner untill now tbh. It doesn't smell nearly as much as other laquer thinners. Heck, most of my acrylic thinners and AB cleaners smell a lot more! The paint dries almost instantly after hitting the model surface. it takes about 2 or 3 minutes untill I can touch it, but I always wait a bit longer to make sure I don't get any fingerprints on my model.

Steve... Very cool looking paint! That is a keeper for sure!

Clemens... I do like the concept and I believe I've seen this in other books... Your doing a killer job on your rendition!