Lovely work so far!
**** DONE: 1/48 Fw190 D-9 "Blue 12" - Winter War / Eastern Front WWII
Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
Love it!!!
- Thread starter
- #104
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Thanks for all of the encouragement guys!
Thanks Dave! I'm really into this particular build and feel like this work is better than my 190A-4, which was better than my I-16. In other words, I think I am learning new things with each build.
Sergio... I'm not exactly sure what your question is but I think you're asking if I considered making my own masks with a blade and ruler? No, I didn't really consider making masks myself even though German markings are probably the easiest. I had a hard enough time making a simple dash!
With the equipment I have, I have difficulty in making square 90 degree cuts in masking tape.
Totalize said:
Thanks Dave! I'm really into this particular build and feel like this work is better than my 190A-4, which was better than my I-16. In other words, I think I am learning new things with each build.
Sergio... I'm not exactly sure what your question is but I think you're asking if I considered making my own masks with a blade and ruler? No, I didn't really consider making masks myself even though German markings are probably the easiest. I had a hard enough time making a simple dash!
With the equipment I have, I have difficulty in making square 90 degree cuts in masking tape.- Thread starter
- #105
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Have you guys seen this? A short video snippet of Blue 12 in color...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4_Nsfcdx9g
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4_Nsfcdx9g
- Thread starter
- #106
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
The landing gear doors, struts and wheels have been finished and are ready to be installed. I had the most difficult time keeping the brake lines attached to the struts. They kept popping off resulting in numerous repainting efforts. Hopefully, they'll stay on for this final step.
The bulk of the finish, markings and weathering have been completed. I've left off a bunch of standard stencils based on what I was seeing (or not seeing) in the reference pictures. I wanted to added the white walk lines on the top of the wings but the thin strand of decal proved to be too difficult to lay on (they twisted upon application and I couldn't get them right). The upper wings remain a big mystery on this plane. My guess that it had its share of primer and/or rough patch jobs but without any concrete references, I'd rather not speculate. The paint chipping on the starboard gun cowling was accomplished using water and a sharp toothpick. You can also see the paint chipping on the wing roots.
The wing root paint chipping via the hairspray method came out better than expected. Instead of using a sharp toothpick, repeated brush strokes with a wetted paint brush was enough to expose the metal finish in a very realistic way. I'm quite pleased with this effect! And all that effort in boring out the exhaust stacks is now realized!
A view of the bottom after weathering. Some references say the bottom of the fuselage is a dark color, either heavily oxidized natural metal or a dark grey. I chose to use grunblau (84) and use a bit of pastel wash to darken it up.
A closer view of the bottom. I've added the little ejector chutes to block off those openings a bit.
In the homestretch now but this may take a while as I want to make sure I do everything I want to do before I call it finished.
The bulk of the finish, markings and weathering have been completed. I've left off a bunch of standard stencils based on what I was seeing (or not seeing) in the reference pictures. I wanted to added the white walk lines on the top of the wings but the thin strand of decal proved to be too difficult to lay on (they twisted upon application and I couldn't get them right). The upper wings remain a big mystery on this plane. My guess that it had its share of primer and/or rough patch jobs but without any concrete references, I'd rather not speculate. The paint chipping on the starboard gun cowling was accomplished using water and a sharp toothpick. You can also see the paint chipping on the wing roots.
The wing root paint chipping via the hairspray method came out better than expected. Instead of using a sharp toothpick, repeated brush strokes with a wetted paint brush was enough to expose the metal finish in a very realistic way. I'm quite pleased with this effect! And all that effort in boring out the exhaust stacks is now realized!
A view of the bottom after weathering. Some references say the bottom of the fuselage is a dark color, either heavily oxidized natural metal or a dark grey. I chose to use grunblau (84) and use a bit of pastel wash to darken it up.
A closer view of the bottom. I've added the little ejector chutes to block off those openings a bit.
In the homestretch now but this may take a while as I want to make sure I do everything I want to do before I call it finished.
Crimea_River
Marshal
Man, that looks amazing John. Great work!
- Thread starter
- #108
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Thank you very much Andy! I'm very pleased with my Dora now that the markings and weathering have been applied... it doesn't look as weird to me now as I originally thought after the camo first went on. I still see lots of mistakes due to the unforgiving macro view of the digital camera but I really feel that I've progressed with each of the three models I've built for this GB... thanks to all of the technical references/modeling expertise/positive encouragement that gets thrown around here on a regular basis. Thanks for introducing me to this Group Build concept!
chris brown
Senior Airman
Looking real nice, John! Great job on the weathering.
- Thread starter
- #111
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Inching closer to completion. Here's the prop and the spinner...
The oft-referred to "E9" marking above the port exhaust has been refuted satisfactorily in my opinion not to use the supplied kit decal. Using a reference by Jerry Crandall on the probable marking, I used a spare decal to create a reasonable facsimile of a more likely marking. The result is a bit over scale.
The DF loop antenna on the bottom of the aircraft is just too clunky even though I tried to trim it down.
So I cut it off and replaced it with a tiny strip cut from a Pepsi can and shaped over the end of a paintbrush handle.
Better!
After I get the aerial antenna in place, all that's left is to put on the last bits and pieces, remove the canopy mask and she's done.
The oft-referred to "E9" marking above the port exhaust has been refuted satisfactorily in my opinion not to use the supplied kit decal. Using a reference by Jerry Crandall on the probable marking, I used a spare decal to create a reasonable facsimile of a more likely marking. The result is a bit over scale.
The DF loop antenna on the bottom of the aircraft is just too clunky even though I tried to trim it down.
So I cut it off and replaced it with a tiny strip cut from a Pepsi can and shaped over the end of a paintbrush handle.
Better!
After I get the aerial antenna in place, all that's left is to put on the last bits and pieces, remove the canopy mask and she's done.
fubar57
General
Nice mod John.
Geo
Geo
Crimea_River
Marshal
Yeah, that's definitely better. I do that on most of my kits too. What a beauty John.
dneid
Staff Sergeant
John, that is breath taking Dora. Very nice job on the bird. Lovely touches on things like the gear and the DF loop.
- Thread starter
- #115
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
I think she's done.
Hopefully, I'll be able to do a proper photo shoot in the next couple of days.
Hopefully, I'll be able to do a proper photo shoot in the next couple of days.
Nicely done John! although i really think your lighter green should be darker....
- Thread starter
- #117
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Thanks for the comment Wayne! Hmmm... perhaps you're right. But it also could be the photography. The point-n-shoot that I use for construction photos can be quite inaccurate when it comes to color representation, especially under indoor lighting. I need to take a look at my Dora again and evaluate. The green in front of the windscreen is no problem to adjust but the green on the spine would be more difficult and I'd hate to muss up my nice masks! Perhaps a partial fix (touching up the green on the cowling but leaving the spine alone) would be enough to make it look "right".
Excellent job. I love the colors; at the risk of offending Mr. Little, I think the green is bang on for the scale.
One technical point: the gear angle looks right but the wheel angle is a little off. The wheels should be almost perpendicular to the ground when viewed from head on, although I'm always prepared to be proven wrong.
That finish is stellar!
One technical point: the gear angle looks right but the wheel angle is a little off. The wheels should be almost perpendicular to the ground when viewed from head on, although I'm always prepared to be proven wrong.
That finish is stellar!
- Thread starter
- #119
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
No, you are probably right. Since I glued the wheels onto the struts prior to attachment to the wheel wells, I had to deal with wheels that were toed in. I gently massaged that error as best as I could but I neglected to consider the vertical alignment of wheels in relation to the ground. I'll have another look to see if I can correct that.
Thanks for that comment and also your alternative viewpoint on the color!
- Thread starter
- #120
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
I went home for lunch today and snapped a few pics of the model with good afternoon lighting and my proper camera. Still have not decided if I want to attempt darkening the green.
