North African GB "All Subjects" (Start NOW - Finish 31st of Oct)

Thanks all. After I posted the pics, I noticed the NASTY gap between the wing & fuselage. Just thinking of the best way to tackle that one. Worst case is to mix up a little more OD.

Well Fellas i'm back and yes my enforced absence was Kremps enforced We had one of her famous whirlwind travel adventures, this time to the Congo to search for a mythical pygmy tribe............

Pingy & Darren, Fellas, clean up those benches boys, how can you make models without knocking everything over is beyond me

Bob Great looking work mate The preshade looks fantastic.....

BTW Tom Love the Martlett, makes me wanna start the wildcat but i am wondering how ol Kremps fits in the pit.........

And it's good to see some mugshots when i sort out these damm P-C problems I may just post up a oic of myself.........

Tom the Martlet looks simply fantastic and the weathering looks just fine IMHO, nice job .

Bob I'm trying a little experiment with my current build and I'm thinning down the Future with a couple of drops of Windex. So far it seems to be working just great.

Daniel, you call that messy, you don't know messy.


Now that's messy.

Cheers
Darren

Tom - Your Martlet looks great so far. I don't thnk the weathering looks too heavy at all. Not in the photos anyway. I'll also let you know what you did wrong when you finish......

Rick - no fair!!! tell me now! (oh gawd, I am starting to sound my wife around Christmas!!!)

Bob - looking good! I spray my future straight... I have a separate AB bottle I keep it in and just refill it now and then, every once in awhile I put a few drops of water in it and it works fine for me.. I spray at a slightly higher PSI for Future, about 20 to 25 PSI, 25 seems to get me the best results usually...

Rick -- I'm still waiting! haha actually I could name about 50 things wrong with it right now. And I forgot to mention, the landing lights etc... are not in yet.. waiting on the last coat of dull... I welcome all comments on my build as long as it doesn't involve my relationship to a certain nurse we all know!

Well folks, here's my first attempt of 'pre-shading' using the airbrush, somewhat based on the FSM article on the P-51A an issue or two ago.



I still need practice (much practice) on getting a tighter pattern & the correct thinner/paint ratio (everyone says to use 2% milk as a guideline, but I only drink skim!)

Now I have to decide if I want to stay with the USAAF scheme or go with the RAF scheme, which means masking and spraying some faded middle earth.

btw-when you guys spray Future prior to decaling, do you spray it straight or use thinner (Windex, etc.)? Thanks

Looks good Tom. I'll wait until you're done to tell you what you did wrong

Regards, Rick

cool Tanky, that's a good deal!!! I'm going to go check them out in a bit and see what they might have for me... I need to expand my vallejo collection as well... looking foreward to pics! Make sure you put the batteries charging tonight!!!

BTW: I agree about the too grimy look but this is the first time I tried a few things on the weathering end and already have a tube of white oil to tone down the wash...

I like it a lot. Though I think it is a bit too dirty for my personal tastes. As I aid before i really like the way the oil work came out. My build is about at the same stage as Tom's. A few detail pieces to add, but I still have to mask and paint the canopy.

Forgot to mention, i just got a steal today! Trumppeter 1/35 Hind for 65$!!!! Gotta love greatmodels...

hey thanks for the shot Dave!!! that's the way I figure, I'm almost 40 and I see these people around work who look 50ish and they might be anywhere from 39 to 43... So I guess it's all the clean living and being honest has paid off for me!

Here's a shot or two of the unfinished Krempsmobile. The prop is still futured from putting the decals on, in fact they were just drying when I snapped the pic.. I have a few minor details but will DEFINITELY be done by tomorrow... I've enjoyed this one, tried a few new techniques (thank mainly to Daniel for the instructions on making a Mk.III Martlet) and shared a few laughs about Kremps (just don't tell HER)

a comparison of a Wildcat and a Martlet cowl: (did it wrong the first time)



the right way, no intakes



more:







BTW: the canopy is not glued down yet, I still have to put on special decal on and re dullcoat it before I place the canopy..

----edit----

oh yeah and paint the tail wheel!

Alrighty then...
















You asked for it...










Brace yourselves...















Actually, I think I still look pretty good for being an old fart at 41! Still got most of my hair and I recently lost about 20lbs!!!

I am currently working on the groundwork for the base for my 109. It's still grey and I'm waiting for it to dry.

Hmmm.. I'm wondering if Kremps and Jules have gone off on a lark again... maybe that's why she was making sure the battery was charged and there was plenty of fuel in her truck the other day...

hahaha you call that messy????? I'll snap one of a messy desk later.. umm.. it's my friend down the streets cousins desk... that's the ticket!!! Ok it's mine... and I love the disorganization... pictures at 11!

Righto chaps, here's my crappy self-portrait.



Now that you've picked yourselves up off the floor, here's a pic of my workbench. I was sitting near it when I took the photo, so I took a pic of the mess at the same time.



Now I want to see a pic of everyone elses workbench. And, no cleaning up before you take the photo, I wanna see it in its natural state.......

Sean, sounds like quite the Birthday Party. Nothing like that would ever happen here. Were much more civilized than you mad Aussies

Regards, Rick

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 Sean - That comes from all the great thoughts going through our heads.. All the mental activity heats up the skull and the hair burns up!

Just when I thought I'd heard it all.............

Sean - That comes from all the great thoughts going through our heads.. All the mental activity heats up the skull and the hair burns up!

Daniel - looking forward to a pic! It is nice to put a face to the words, now it's your turn! And don't worry about oddly shaped heads... Kremps has a thing for them...

Tom The Martlet looks great mate. I like the look of the weathering.

Good to see some mug shots being posted. It's good to put some faces to names. I'll have to see what I can do about getting one up. Though I must warn you, I have been described as an "ugly bastard" a few too many times for my liking. So don't expect to much of me and my strangely shaped head.......

Well, got the pit painted in black/grey, and the i/p detailed.
Decided to colour it myself rather than use the kit decals, adds a touch more realism.
Just have to source some German seatbelts cause the pit looks pretty sparce to say the least.

Tom, I see a definate resembalance to Kremps in that pic!!!
Do you have kankles too???

Something else I noticed.......I seem to be the only person with a full head of hair!!

Rick Strange you should mention the Post Office thing.
For my 21st my friends thought it would be funny to stick my face on the walls of the Post Office and the Police Station!!!
My police friends then organised for me to be escorted, in handcuffs mind you, from the local pub where we were having the party.

It was all funny of course, people staring like I was a serial killer.
They got the most laughs when they cuffed me to the traffic lights in the centtre of town for 2 hours!!!

Yeah, I got a real chuckle outta that one......................

Bob - thanks for your words... In real life it actually doesn't look as weathered as in the pic... maybe in the fully lighted pics it will show better. As far as Kremps I was thinking more that as long as I remember that chubby little "cute" face of the pilot from long ago, the beef jerky looking face of today isn't so bad to talk to.

Tom-I like the Martlet. I'm a big fan of weathered planes and yours looks great.

Darren-I agree, nice to put a face with the name. Of course, I'm going to need after therapy seeing the legandary Kreps' picture....and Sean thought my pic was scary....

Belly of the F-6A was painted 'lightened' grey today. I'm not happy with the fit of the radiator scoop and my ability to fix it....maybe next time....

Rick - I felt the same way about the weathering, the old adage of overdoing the chalk as the future will mute it down didn't work so well for me... it's all a learning experience though! I think I like a bit more weathering thatn you do but not by much...

Oh - and as far as being brave, it was really a matter of finding a picture where I was not making a face or ummm... fixing my eyeglasses with my middle finger... I finally settled on that one... (being the only one) Well and then there were the pics from my time dancing in the all male cabaret but they weren't safe for work..

Darren - thanks! I like this one better than my other Martlet... The other one was such a dark shade, weathering would not have worked on it... (I tried to darken the panel lines but it didn't show on the last one) Plus I think it is a combo of the gull grey and middlestone, not a typical pattern on the fuselage either! (3/4 up the side with gull grey instead of just the lowers) When I saw this one on the decal sheet I knew I had to do it...

On the oils I used a 50/50 mix of lamp black and burnt umber. A lot of the reddish tint on the panel lines is a combo of ochre and burnt sienna chalks.. I think next time on a light plane I will add some white to the wash as well to mute the stark contrast of the colors...

All I have left are the hamilton insignia and stencils on the prop, glue the canopy down and put the antenna and wires on... And a little more post weathering such as some desert colored dust on the tire treads etc...

Tom I must say I really liked your BoB Martlet, but that one looks that much better again . I don't know if it is the color scheme, or the finish or a combo of both, but it looks great.
BTW, what color/s oils did you use for the wash Tom?

Kremps, aaahhhh what can I say, she one mighty hot lookin babe.

Oh yeah and nice mug shot Tom (and sure you're wearing trunks ), Bob and Sean it is nice to be able to picture the people I "talk" to so often on this board.

Cheers
Darren

Tom, The Martlett looks good. Maybe a tad overdone on the weathering for my taste, but it's your build.

Good mug shot. you're braver than I thought

Regards, Rick

Haha that's great. It's good to put a face to the name Tom.

ok I was browsing the net and came across this... a painting done of Kremps when she was going through pilot officer school in England, right before she took the reigns of the black "K". As you can see she was.... well she was younger then, let's stick with that...

ok here's a quick sneak peak at the Martlet... the weathering is over done for my tastes but I am still happy with the overall kit. I had to go back and redo a few areas this morning then refuture over them... just dullcoated with Vallejo clear flat and LOOOOOVE the stuff, I think it must be kin to polly scale flat because of just how flat it gets the finish... goes on easy and doesn't take a whole bunch to make it flat! I filled my 1/2 oz color cup a little over 1/2 way and still had to put some back in the bottle (only used about half of it!!)



should be done tonight or tomorrow morning and will get shots with proper lighting...

---edit---

until I get a better shot here is me without my naked (ok I was wearing swim trunks) body in it... Me and the wife were out on the lake and she snapped this one...

QUOTE: Originally posted by Tankmaster7 Right now I am working on the intolerably boring task of masking the canopy. Getting tempted to rip it all off and hand paint the damn thing. But no, I shall persevere. It'll probably take me another hour and a half to finsih masking.

But time well spent Tanky. Unless you mess up the masking

Regards, Rick