Gazzas Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 Hi Everyone, After three days of letting the oils harden, I broke out the Tamiya clears and began to spray the albatros' wood jacket. My first coats were a mixture (all in drops) of 6-yellow, 3-orange, and 1-green(the only Tamiya clears I have). After a few coats it became apparent to me that it was way too yellow. The next few coats were a mixture of 6-orange and 3-green. Once I realized (with alarm!) that it was beginning to turn greenish, I stopped. I also realized I had failed to accent the panel lines. So, using just burnt umber chalk and water, I lined the panel lines and let them dry. Then I used a dry sponge to wipe away the excess. Finally I used straight Tamiya clear orange for the final coats of "wood stain and varnish". Here's the result: Although it's a bit darker than my original intent, I'm pleased with the rich honey color, and consider it a decent first attempt. I think what I really need to do is to buy the full Tamiya clear range: Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue, and Green, and learn how to make brown. Thanks for looking! Gaz Gigant, CANicoll, MikeMaben and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Looks great, Gaz! Kev Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobs Buckles Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Wood-tastic, Gazz! vB Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monthebiff Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Excellent progress on the wood Gaz, looks very very nice. Regards. Andy Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bstarr3 Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Very nice work on the wood, Gaz. It's interesting to see someone try a new technique. I like the results of your squiggles over a very light base. Despite your concerns, I think it looks spot on with the various shades of Tamiya clear. Looks just like varnished pine plywood. Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted February 11, 2018 Author Share Posted February 11, 2018 (edited) Hi Everyone, In this update I pit some of my more obvious weaknesses against the kit. After succeeding in the wood detail, I had to use a paintbrush. Now, I was tempted to mask the various vents and access hatches, but the primer I used didn't stick to the plastic very well. Mr. Paint White Acrylic Primer gave me the biggest paint lift-off I've ever had. And there were a couple places I needed to add parts... The paint chipped off very easily, showing no overt desire to stay attached to the plastic. I think I'll stick to lacquer primers from now on. How do you mask a straight line? I've yet to paint a fuselage band that came out perfectly straight. ON this A/C I had to paint a 5-stripe band, on a paint surface that had already lifted on me. For the entire process, I was peeling my various masking tapes very slowly and gingerly. Here are the results: Thanks for looking! Gaz Edited February 11, 2018 by Gazzas themongoose, CANicoll, Spads57 and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Looks great, Gaz! And it's entirely possible that the fuselage bands on the real aircraft weren't perfectly straight, either. I think the result you've achieved looks in keeping with the agricultural nature of these old planes. It looks like flying furniture! Kev MikeMaben and Gazzas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 A couple of things for me I'm with Kev on this, the plane would have been hand painted on an airfield, not set out perfectly in a paint shop, so they are unlikely to have been perfect And, I'm taking a slightly more philosophical approach to modelling these days. No model is perfect, and every aeroplane is made by fallible humans. I've learned to accept that some imperfections are inevitable and show the hand of the modeller at work. It's in my mind this is a Japanese philosophy. Whatever it is, it helps me to keep making models which is how I improve my skills Richard CANicoll and Gazzas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted February 20, 2018 Author Share Posted February 20, 2018 Hey everyone, I've gotten the flamboyant Albatros elevator and vertical stab painted. I guess it's time to talk about the scheme. Our pilot is Karl Bolle. He served with Jasta 28 in the above scheme, eventually being credited with 36 aerial victories. Like many German pilots from WWI, he started the war as a cavalryman. The colors on this Albatros are the colors of his cavalry regiment which he was to carry on his aircraft throughout the war. He lived until 1955, passing away in his native Berlin. Recent work has been to reattach the exhaust, add the Spandau's, and paint the tail in colors I found on a website. In addition to other lessons, I learned I should attach the tail before wood-graining than after. Trying to get the tail halves to join cleanly after painting has proved irritating and time-consuming. A while back I learned that painting fuselage bands was So much easier with the tail un-assembled. With WWII birds, it didn't make much difference when I blended the empennage parts. I don't really know if I'll get a perfect join. With my skills/luck, I'm in doubt. Special shout out to Bob's Buckles! They arrived today. Without my glasses on, they look like tiny slivers of metal. Thank you for the speedy despatch! OK...now to why I hate this kit. BTW, I'm sure some of this is brought on by my own inexperience. I took pictures that highlighted the problem, but seeing them and trying to edit them made me feel sick to my stomach. SO... To make things easier, I'm going to look on it as more lessons learned and deleted the offending photos. The front end of this kit has issues. None of the interior framing fits the inside of the fuselage. Some of the framing is held in only by bluetack at this point because it doesn't touch the sides. The end result is that the engine and Spandaus are out of alignment. I should have dry-fitted the Spandaus before I started detail painting. Then I could have made changes without having to fear destroying the paint job. I was really in a rush to make the wood-grain. Thanks for looking, Gaz BiggTim and LSP_Kevin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobs Buckles Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Keep the Carpet Monster hungry, Gaz! Double back some Tamiya tape to create a finger station for the weeeeee eyelets to nest on. It will save you a whole heap of grief! Good luck & Happy Buckling Von B Gazzas, BiggTim, RLWP and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 SO... To make things easier, I'm going to look on it as more lessons learned and deleted the offending photos. Thanks for looking, Gaz You are learning Gaz! Remember, you see these 'huge problems', we see a very nicely painted aeroplane. I really like your subtle wood graining Richard Gazzas and CANicoll 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted February 20, 2018 Author Share Posted February 20, 2018 Thanks for the tape tip! I think I'm going to tape them all to a firm structure before I use a single one. Still...glad I bought extras. Gaz Bobs Buckles 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Thanks for the tape tip! I think I'm going to tape them all to a firm structure before I use a single one. Still...glad I bought extras. Gaz You need them for the next 'plane anyway Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted February 20, 2018 Author Share Posted February 20, 2018 Richard, Thanks! Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiggTim Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Fun to watch this. I have the same kit up to the "ready-for-woodgrain" stage, and have been putting it off. My plan is to try the HGW decals, but I'm not sure I can pull it off on those curves. If not, then I will be following your example, and painting it on. Tim Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now