1/32 Hasegawa Fw 190D-9 "Black One"

Great work so far John!

Excellent John.

Well done on the repairs John. Looking forward to the weathering...

I agree.

The weathering on Black 1 is FINALLY started. I find myself pausing after certain milestones and that ID band repair was definitely something that caused a sigh of relief.

My first step in weathering is some post-shading. I use a very diluted mix of brown/black and highlight the panel lines. The bottom will be more heavily done than the topside due to (a) the dark colors of the top will nullify most post-shading efforts and (b) the fact that the upper surfaces of Black 1 were repainted late in the war.

Here is what the underside looks like prior to the post-shading.


And then the bottom after post-shading. It's best to have a subtle touch at this stage... you want each layer of weathering to contribute to the total effect. In addition to highlighting the panel lines to simulate dirt accumulation, I've also applied some streaking effects. Since the camo colors are protected by multiple clear coats, any mishaps in the post-shading can be easily "erased" by gently rubbing the area with fine Micromesh or sandpaper. After this picture was taken, I removed the post-shading along the yellow undercowling as I did not like how it turned out.


The same approach was applied to the port fuselage sides. I could've elected to start on the exhaust stains but I wanted to research the Dora books to see some examples of the exhaust patterns first. This post-shading step is a good systematic way of adding dirt/wear effects on your model.


I just started on the starboard side when my thinned mix ran out. It was getting late so I decided to stop at this point.

I like your post-shading on the undersides John, just the right amount.

Thanks gentlemen! The weathering work continues...

The post-shading of the panel lines has been completed. After the bottom, it was extended up the fuselage sides and the tail. I have not done the upper surfaces of the wings and horizontal tail surfaces because they are so dark. The effect is kept on the subtle side with more emphasis on what I consider the "dirtier" parts of the aircraft... around the power egg and the bottom centerline.







With the post-shading done, I will go to the next weathering step: pastel wash. This will be done using two colors given the color differences between the lower and upper surfaces. The bottom surfaces will be given a dark brown wash to highlight the recessed panel lines and rivets. Here is the bottom prior to the wash.


My thinned paint finishes are on the delicate side so I prefer using a wash that is benign to the paint finish. So I make my own water-based wash. It's very easy... all you need are some pastel chalks (not oil), water and some dishwashing soap.


I put a very small amount of water into a small container. For the bottom surfaces, I select a dark brown and a black piece of chalk. Using a knife blade, I scrape fine amounts of both chalks into the water.


Here are the ingredients prior to mixing. To help reduce the surface tension of the water and allow easier mixing, I add a small dap of dishwashing soap. Note the small amount of water that I am using.


Mix it well and you should get a nice, solidly-colored fluid. This small amount is enough to cover the entire model and then some.


Using a small paint brush, the wash is applied over the bottom surfaces, making sure that it gets into every recessed line, raised detail and rivet. Let this dry COMPLETELY.


I like to give my washes about 10-15 minutes to dry completely so that it holds in the places that I want it to hold. Wiping off a still wet wash will result in too much removal and you'll have to repeat the application. Once the wash application is dry, I begin to wipe it off using a piece of damp (not wet) paper towel. The dark pastel pigments will remain in any recess, serving to highlight that feature. Always end your wipes in the direction of the airflow.


The wash is systematically removed. Depending on the effect that you want to achieve, you can leave residual streaks of the dirty wash on the model to simulate wear.


Remember that crazy mottling pattern that I applied to the model before the camo painting? That was the first layer of effects that have been applied to the model. The pre-shading, post-shading and now the pastel wash, all work together to create an illusion of depth on the otherwise flat surface.

I slowly work my way around the aircraft, applying the pastel wash over sub-areas, letting it dry and then removing it. A paper towel may not be best choice in removing the wash. Depending on the quality of the towel, it tends to leave a lot of paper fibers all over the model, which then have to be carefully removed.






The fuselage sides are the last areas to be treated with the dark brown wash. Just a note about the pastel wash process. I find that it works the best over a gloss or semi-gloss finish. You can do it over a flat finish but there is some danger of the pastel leaving stains or tide marks.






The dark brown wash is finished. With my magnifier on, I get used to working very close to the model, which is great for detecting and correcting flaws. I have to remind myself to periodically pull back from that close-up view and to look at the model from a more normal perspective.





The next step is applying a darker wash to the upper wings and tail surfaces.

Great tutorial John and I'm glad that you clarified that the wash should be done over a gloss surface. Doing it on flat will almost certainly result in unwanted stains as you've said.

THX for sharing.

Good stuff so far John!

Thanks for support guys! A short update tonight. I mixed up another wash, this time very dark black/brown for the upper surfaces. Much less of an impact due to the darkness of the RLM82/83 scheme but there is some effect.



I finished up the exhaust stains also. It was started yesterday with the post-shading.



Using the examples found in Jerry Crandall's two Dora volumes, I outlined the two exhaust stains in different patterns. I gave the port side an arc that seemed to be present in many Doras. Due to the deflector plate and supercharger intake, the starboard side goes more straight to the back. I built up the exhaust stains using a highly thinned brown and gradually making the paint mix darker and working my way from the outside in.



I popped in the port side exhaust stubs just to see how they look... vrrrroooom!


Weathering is not done yet! The next major step will be some salt fading on the topside. Since it involves rinsing with water, I have to seal the pastel wash first with a clear coat.

I'm interested to see your next step.

Crimea_River said:

I'm interested to see your next step.

Click to expand...

Yeah, me too Andy! I really like the effects from the salt fading technique but it can be such a MESS plus the spectre of white frosting appearing out of nowhere makes me leery.

Waiting with great interest that step with the salt (I did not know it at the end of the weathering)
Surely I will learn something new and novel.

Saludos maestro

Looking good John! I thought you might leave the exhaust stains until after the salt fading or are you planning to avoid that area?

turbo said:

Looking good John! I thought you might leave the exhaust stains until after the salt fading or are you planning to avoid that area?

Click to expand...

I'm going to avoid that area. I plan to do the salt fading on the upper surfaces only. I'm still not a master of this technique and only feel comfortable doing a light spray over a dark base.

On to the next step... salt fading. During lunch today, I thought I'd get a head start on the salt technique. I applied water on the upper surfaces and sprinkled on various grades of salt. Most of it is rock salt that I ground up myself, with a little table salt mixed in. This was done on top of a semi-gloss coat and I had a hard time keeping the water from pooling. That's all I could on my lunch break.



After work, the water had completely evaporated and the salt crystals were dry.


A thinned mix of gray is sprayed randomly over the upper surfaces. This is really hard to gauge as I cannot tell if I'm putting too much or too little gray. I err on the side of caution and decide to keep it light.


Removal of the salt is an intensive process as it has dried completely onto the model surface. I get as much of it off as I can using a stiff-bristled paint brush and then I resort to more drastic measures: I use a spray bottle of water and a clean microfiber cloth to remove the remainder. The result? Hmmm... interesting. Not quite what I expected. The pooling water must've collected the salt into clumps. Also the finer grained salt had no effect.


It's not bad but it's not great either. A flat coat will alter the appearance of this effect, usually by diminishing it so I'm hoping that it remains visible.


My current flat coat is Alclad Aqua Gloss plus Tamiya Flat Base. I have to be very careful with this mixture because too much Flat Base will result in a white frost effect. Also, when spraying a flat coat onto the model after the salt process, hidden salt crystals that were not removed will frost into a white stain. So I do the apply the flat coat in batches. When an area of salt frost materializes in a crevice or corner, I have to take a stiff brush or Micromesh to get rid of it and then re-coat the area with the flat.



With the flat coat, the bottom looks really good. I think this is the first time that I've liked how the bottom turned out more than the top!



So where's the salt fading effect? Oh, it's there but as feared, the flat coat really choked it out.



Other than that, the flat coat has really unified the different components of the finish: the camo paint, the masked markings and the decals.



The weathering on the top surfaces remains a question for now. Do I attempt a second salt fading layer? I know that the water will pool less on this flat coat so I may be able to get a more desirable effect. But... the disposition of the real Black 1 comes into play as well. Since the upper surfaces of this aircraft were repainted during the change from Yellow 1 to Black 1, the non-weathered look of the uppers compared to the well-weathered bottom could be argued as being appropriate.


I'll let this flat coat dry completely before I do anything else. Maybe I'll do some paint chipping next as I mull over that second salt fading pass. I'm leaning towards doing because the upper surfaces just look too clean to me.

John I marvel at your skill and courage. I would not have the willpower to face the fear of wrecking such a fantastic looking model.