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

Looks great John.

I do my panel wash the same way as you, but not sure i will be trying that salt fading technique !

Fantastic mate....

Hmm, very interesting John! The model's looking great but I can see your dilemma. I would be tempted to apply a filter to further unify and weather the camo perhaps in combination with a second round of salt fading.

Well you are braver than I am John.

No risk, no reward right? The salt technique is a handful but the results can be nice. I didn't achieve it this time around but I learned something and as a bonus, I didn't permanently botch the model. Micromesh can be a a real lifesaver at this stage in the game and I've been able to use the finer grades of Micromesh to "erase" small painting mistakes.

Oil filtering? That wasn't a planned effect on this build but perhaps it can be. Of all the weathering treatments I've tried, oil filtering is the one that I feel the least confidence in.

I've never tried it either but have seen some done quite badly in my opinion. Kirby did a nice job of it on his Corsair though.

That detail with the salt, you have been very well John, ... is discreet, but it is evident that there it is. Probably, as you say, it looks very clean that top, probably with some paint chipping, look better and only your decision to apply a second layer with salt.

In the distance, that effect you are looking for with salt, becomes so noticeable in a real airplane? It will be a matter of reviewing some images of that era.

My respect for what has been achieved so far !!

Saludos

Nice work John.
Personally, I think the upper surfaces look fine the way they are at the moment - very subtle, and just about right. Any further work could possibly lead to it looking rather 'artificial'.

LOL... I think I've been guilty of badly applied oil filtering myself! It's a tricky effect that I don't have enough control over to predict the outcome. So that makes me nervous to try. Not easy to correct either since you are essentially staining the paint. I agree about KIrby's Corsair... he also does some specific staining using oils that I don't understand but the results speak for themselves. I have more confidence in the salt fading and I think I'll do one more controlled application on the upper wings and tail stabs, depending on how the chipping affects the overall look. Thanks for the comments, Andy, Luis and Terry.... appreciate them! My eyes are telling me that the upper wings aren't done...

The filtering doesn't need to be oil dot filtering, but could be a much simpler overall filter - a green/brown colour like winter streaking grime heavily thinned could work well here followed by some more salt fading. I usually test a filter somewhere relatively inconspicuous like the tail stab - you can always remove it with thinners if you don't like it.

In any event, I tend to follow my gut at this stage of weathering rather than following any sort of formula so just run with what you feel is right and what you have confidence with John and I'm sure it'll turn out beautifully!

Well, good luck then!

Great work so far John!

Went to work on Black 1 last night. Unfinished business with the salt fading technique. I decided to give it another go. One good reason for it is that the water applies SO much nicer for a flat finish than the gloss.


Same deal as before... sprinkle salt, let dry and mist some highly thinned gray over the works. The results for the 2nd time around? A little bit better but still not great.


Some areas were overdone, like the starboard wing. But overall, the effect swung too much from way too strong to non-existent. I think I would've been better served to use a more uniform spray pattern instead of trying to apply the gray in random streaks.


I was disappointed by the results. I toned down the overcooked areas using Micromesh and then sprayed another flat coat. That's when the salt frost gremlins started appearing again and I could feel some anger boiling up. Disappointment and anger... not a good combo. Sometimes you just have to leave it behind. Just walk out before you do something drastic and regrettable. So I called it a night and not too pleased with where Black 1 stood.

It was a good move. Today, I sat at my work table and saw that it wasn't that bad. I hadn't made a big move forward as I had hoped with the 2nd application of the salt technique but I didn't go backwards either. Since the salt technique is pretty rough on the finish, a number of little nicks and scrapes had appeared on the model. So I set to work spraying the frosty areas and repairing the nicks. That positive accomplishment put me in a better mood. Another flat coat and then a move to something new: chipping.

I applied chips using a silver pencil for the dark uppers and a regular pencil (soft lead) for the lighter lower parts. I was working under the magnifiers for the early going, which resulted in a lot tiny chipping that was hard to make out. I beefed it up a bit and made my way around the entire aircraft.




I try not to rush during chipping because it is easy to get lazy and you start losing good pencil orientation, which is a perfect 90 degree from the modeling surface.




The nice thing about pencil chipping is that you can wipe out any errant chipping very easily. And it leaves a little dirty smear that I can use to add to the wear effect. You can also purposefully use the pencils to create subtle streaking effects this way.



I feel much better about where Black 1 stands. I'll probably go over the chipping again with a few different colors. I like to mix in some browns which adds a little rust or dirt accents to the model.

Looking good John, like what you've done with the pencil chipping - just the right amount.

I'm not sure what the slt treatment is meant to do. But if its fading you wanted, I think you've been very successful. The paint certainly has a very authentic look to it

Always excellent John

I am in evaluation mode right now. I've done a test of some oil filtering on a random 1/48 wing part but I'm not sure I want to do any further weathering to the uppers. I think I have a decent amount of tonal variation and wear on the upper surfaces so it might just a matter of dialing in the correct amount of flatness and maybe a little bit more chipping.




I bought a wooden model jig that I'm testing out as well. It comes a little late in this build but it should provide a better base for my future modeling projects.



A little sneak peak at some of the previously completed parts as they are dry-fit to the Dora. The beautiful Henri Daehne prop looks great. At some point, I am going to secure the spinner onto the backplate, which will hide that glorious hub detail.



Here is the previously painted drop tank in place. I have to make sure that the level of wear/weathering is consistent. You can see that the color of the drop tank is slight different than the bottom of the aircraft, although both are RLM76. This is ok, actually preferrable, as I like to show some of the variance in paint mixtures that was likely to occur during wartime.



A nice thing about the jig is that it elevates the model and allows a view of the undersides without having to flip the model upside down.


I'm almost ready to move on to the next phase, which will be the permanent attachment of all of the external doodads such as the landing gear, flaps, canopy, antenna, etc. I'll do a thorough inspection of all areas and do any necessary paint repairs before proceeding.

Fantastic! I really like the subtlenes of your paintwork. The chipping and salt technique add so much depth to the overall paintwork. Just amazing. Love the yellow tail and mask used for the werkenr. and cross.
Thanks for showing all this. I'm getting a better understanding of these techniques.