Revell Fw 190D-9

[LSP_Kevin]

Things haven't moved on that much, but I'm pleased enough with what I have achieved since the last update, so I thought I'd share it.

 

Firstly, the finished propeller unit (just lacking a flat coat):

 

 

This represented my first-ever attempt at masking and painting a spinner spiral.

 

Secondly, the finished undercarriage legs (had a hellavu time getting a decent shot of them):

 

 

These represented my first-ever attempt to weather landing gear with an oil wash and pastels, not to mention one of my few attempts to add brake lines. Unfortunately the camera has all but obliterated my weathering attempts.

 

Lastly, the whole bird preshaded, ready and waiting for me to stop prevaricating over the final scheme:

 

 

I've decided (for now) to ditch 'Blue 10' based on some info from Jerry Crandall, and instead do Barkhorn's aircraft around February 1945. As you can see from the photo, I've made no attempt to fix the kit's rendition of the area underneath the sliding portion of the canopy, or address the fact that the seat is too far forward (or is the rear edge of the cockpit too far back?). This is also my first serious attempt at preshading (I used RLM 66 instead of black - possibly not heavy enough?).

 

Boy do I sound like a newbie!

 

Kev

[Derek B]

Hi Kev,

 

Sorry that I didn't pick up on this thread earlier. Welcome to LSP. For someone who is is returning to modelling, and developing new techniques at the same time, this is one very impressive kit build, and is the epitome of what model making is all about. Brilliant work so far Kev - keep it up.

 

Best regards

 

Derek

[bcauchi]

Fantastic work Kev. Doing that spinner spiral was no joke and you really did an excellent job. you might consider spraying the spinner with multiple coats of gloss varnish and sanding in between to remove the 'step' in the paint caused by the masking. You have to repeat the procedure till it is gone when you look at it against the light. Use a good transparent varnich like the Revell varnish which is fantastically transparent.

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks for the feedback guys - you're all too kind. I'm really pleased with how it's coming along, and my newfound willingness to do things over is certainly paying off. This build's never going to win any prizes, but I feel it's serving its purpose admirably, allowing me to experiment with new techniques and try a few things on without feeling like I'm risking an expensive kit. Now let's see if I can avoid screwing up the paint job!

 

Brian - your solution for the spinner sounds interesting. I think I'll let it slide for now though, as I've been around the block twice with it already, and I don't want to risk taking a step back in attempting to take a step forward (if you know what I mean!).

 

I'm hoping to get some paint on it this weekend (blue 10...Barkhorn...blue 10...Barkhorn...), so more updates as I progress. Now I've just got to decide if I'm brave enough to try painting (at least some of) the national markings...

 

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

I wasn't going to post another update until I'd made substantial enough progress to warrant it, but I thought I'd comment about a minor hiccup I've had with Gunze and Future. Some of you will be aware that using Future over Gunze can be a dodgy proposition. Here's why:

 

 

Unfortunately the photo's really poor, but I've highlighted where the problem is. It looked much worse in reality than the blurry photo indicates. This happened within seconds of brush-painting some topical Future in preparation for the warning decal. The paint had been on at least a few days, and should have cured enough to avoid problems. It was definitely the underlying paint that had the problem too, not the overcoat of Future.

 

Since I've used Future over Gunze acrylics once before (my first model back) without any issues, I've come to the following conclusions about using this combination:

 

- The main problem appears to be too thin a coat of paint (impossible to do otherwise if airbrushing), followed by too thick a coat of Future (this second point seems the more critical);

 

- Length of paint curing time seems irrelevant under the above conditions, but may be more relevant if you can get the coat of Future thin enough;

 

- If using the Gunze/Future combination, let the paint dry and cure as long as possible, and then apply the thinnest possible coat of Future over the top, preferably with an airbrush, and then build up multiple coats once the first coat has hardened.

 

The idea is to have the first coat of Future thin enough to dry before reacting with the underlying paint, which then forms a protective barrier between the paint and subsequent coats of Future. Obviously I wouldn't go to all that trouble in this particular case, but it would seem imperative when preparing a model for decalling.

 

Anyway, I managed to salvage the situation. It's still a bit ugly, but I don't think anyone will notice:

 

 

I'm sure old hands have this little conundrum down pat, but hopefully someone will find my conclusions - untested as they are - useful.

 

Kev

 

PS I've decided on Barkhorn's machine now, after a nice email from Ed Heck clearing some things up about Blue 10 for me.

[D Bellis]

Looks really great, Kev!

 

I've made no attempt to fix the kit's rendition of the area underneath the sliding portion of the canopy, or address the fact that the seat is too far forward (or is the rear edge of the cockpit too far back?).

 

Kev

 

This is a strange area on this kit. The seat is positioned properly in relation to the structure inside the canopy, but there's no rear shelf to attach seat belts to or deck details. I'm struggling with this area right now as well, and I'm not sure if I'll address it either. The Eduard PE set does include a piece for the deck area, but it doesn't fit at all with wide gaps at the front and it is too wide at the rear.

 

As I see it, there are only two reasons to try fixing this area: 1) To add seat belts. 2) To display it with the canopy open. Only you can decide if the hassle is worth it to achieve either or both of those goals.

 

One fairly easy option might be to add a small slab of 1/16" thick balsa recessed to sit flush with the deck between the walls behind the seat just to create a shelf for the seat belts to attach to, then leave the canopy closed. If I do fix mine, this is what I plan to do.

 

D

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks D. I've already added seatbelts to the cockpit, but I just draped them over the back of the seat. Terribly inaccurate I know, but accuracy isn't the highest priority with this build (I'd go insane if it was!). It should all look OK with the canopy in the closed position, but of course the front and rear canopy profiles really only approximate each other, so you'd have to have it open slightly to avoid that being obvious. I'm looking forward to seeing yours come to fruition D - better than mine I'm sure!

 

I managed to get the underside painted last weekend, but the Gunze RLM 76 has remained slightly soft ever since. I've been experimenting with using Windex (ammonia-based window & glass cleaner) as a thinner for Gunze acrylics, and I suspect that's got something to do with it. It sprays OK, and smells much better than regular thinners, but I'm not quite convinced yet.

 

 

Any opinions on the preshading post-painting? Am I close? You'll also notice in the shot above that I've not scribed some fairly prominent panels - part poor planning, part cop out. Either way, definitely time to move on.

 

Here's a close shot of the cowling underside, complete with running repairs:

 

 

You can see I've also bailed on doing anything with the wheel wells, other than remove the spurious moulded cross-bracing. What are you doing in that area D?

 

The definitive direction on the scheme has changed once again, this time for keeps! After discussions with Jerry Crandall, I've ordered Eagle Editions sheet #60, and will be doing Dortenmann's aircraft (at the risk of being compared to Chris Wauchop's impossibly good rendition on the page I linked to). Apologies for the suspense Larry! There'll be more progress when they arrive, hopefully by the end of the week.

 

Given that I've publicly stated that I'm not a rivet counter (eg the cavalier approach to panel lines, wheel wells and seatbelt attachments), I really surprised myself with how strung out I got about the paint scheme. Weird.

 

Kev

[RWKennard]

Hey there Kev

 

You are doing a fantastic job on this old bird! Paint job looks fine too!

 

Great to see these old kits getting the treatment. I think if you do a modern release kit next it will turn out a show stoppa!

 

Thanks for sharing,

 

Richard.

[D Bellis]

I've already added seatbelts to the cockpit, but I just draped them over the back of the seat. Terribly inaccurate I know, but accuracy isn't the highest priority with this build (I'd go insane if it was!). It should all look OK with the canopy in the closed position...

 

Should be fine like that. Like you said, one must proceed within the limits of sanity on this kit.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing yours come to fruition D - better than mine I'm sure!

 

Looking at your pics, I doubt it! But, thanks for the vote of confidence!

 

You can see I've also bailed on doing anything with the wheel wells, other than remove the spurious moulded cross-bracing. What are you doing in that area D?

 

Ancient Chinese secret! Seriously though, I opened the wells on mine all up and added some goodies. I'll post a thread when it is done explaining everything because God only knows when it will get done - with summer here my modeling pace is glacial to say the least...

 

Once agin, your's is looking great! Dortenmann's scheme will be a real looker, too.

D

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks once again D for your kind words. No photos in this update, but my EagleCals from Jerry Crandall's Eagle Editions arrived today, and all I can say is "wow". They are literally too good to use on my humble build, but use them I will.

 

Unfortunately the Gunze RLM 76 I used for the undersides still hasn't yet cured fully after 10 days, and I'm getting a little anxious about it. I'm guessing it'll cure eventually, but I don't want to wait too long, nor do I want to risk damaging the fragile finish by handling it heavily too early. Would using a hair dryer on gentle heat help at all? I think for the other colours (for which I've also got Gunze acrylics) I'll switch back to metho or Tamiya X-20A for thinning.

 

Kev

[Ads]

Good work Kev!

 

My model the sam is now a testbed for painting after me failing to give a **** any more about the work and extra needing to be done with it!!!

 

Keep it up fella

[LSP_Kevin]

Good work Kev!

 

My model the sam is now a testbed for painting after me failing to give a **** any more about the work and extra needing to be done with it!!!

 

Keep it up fella

 

Thanks Ads - I can certainly understand why you'd choose to do that! After talking with a few people it seems that Windex is the likely cause of the problem with my slow-curing Gunze, so I guess that experiment is over! I'm hoping to do some more work on it over the weekend, so more updates to follow soon.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Unfortunately nowhere near as much work done on it over the weekend as I'd hoped, but I did take a couple of steps forward (combined with one step back).

 

After doing some test painting, I decided to fit all the sub-assemblies together to see if it still looked like a Dora:

 

 

The macro mode on my digital camera has weirdly foreshortened the rear fuselage. One problem I noticed was that the propeller assembly sits too far out of the cowling, and I'm not sure I can fix it. It's a problem of my own making in that I modified the way the hub sits over the mounting rod, and now it fouls slightly before it can be fully seated. Oh well.

 

A question though if I may. The aircraft I'm modelling has black and white tail bands, which I'll have to paint. Should I apply them now and mask them prior to full camouflage painting, or do the camo first and then mask and spray the bands? I'm guessing either way works, and it comes down to personal preference, but I'd still like to hear your (collective) thoughts.

 

The other fubar is the canopy:

 

 

I outlined the area to be masked with Tamiya tape, and then filled it in with a liquid masking agent. For whatever reason, coverage wasn't perfect and I've got paint on the effing canopy! To make matters worse, I thought I could fix it with a cotton bud and some toothpaste - which in fact worked quite well on the other side. In the process however I failed to take into account that the Gunze was still relatively soft, and the area that looks like weathering on the sliding portion behind the canopy itself is in fact the result of my trying to smooth out a fingerprint! So I've left it for now to cure properly for a day or so before tackling it again.

 

Kev

[D Bellis]

Again, nice work Kev! If you don't mind, I'd like to chime in on a few things:

 

One problem I noticed was that the propeller assembly sits too far out of the cowling, and I'm not sure I can fix it.

Carefully drill out the spinner back plate to slide over the largest part of the shaft, and the rear of the prop to slide over the next step on the shaft. Leave the front hole in the prop alone and the prop & spinner should seat just right. I had to do this on mine just the other day because I glued the gearbox/shaft piece (no engine installed in mine) directly to the back of the radiator before properly checking how it affected the fit of the prop. It only took a few minutes and will really affect the look of your model.

 

Should I apply them now and mask them prior to full camouflage painting, or do the camo first and then mask and spray the bands?

Paint the bands first, then mask them and spray the camo. You could do it the other way around, but spraying white over the camo will require a lot more paint.

 

So I've left it for now to cure properly for a day or so before tackling it again.

Hit that area with alcohol to remove the paint, then a little polishing with toothpaste.

 

HTH,

D

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks once again for your advice D.

 

Again, nice work Kev! If you don't mind, I'd like to chime in on a few things:

Carefully drill out the spinner back plate to slide over the largest part of the shaft, and the rear of the prop to slide over the next step on the shaft. Leave the front hole in the prop alone and the prop & spinner should seat just right. I had to do this on mine just the other day because I glued the gearbox/shaft piece (no engine installed in mine) directly to the back of the radiator before properly checking how it affected the fit of the prop. It only took a few minutes and will really affect the look of your model.

 

I'll have to see what I can do. I actually inserted a piece of styrene tube into the propeller boss opening, as the whole assembly seemed super sloppy without it. Of course, I've misaligned it slightly as it wasn't a perfect fit, and it seems to sit too far to the rear, and butts up against the larger portion of the engine shaft (I hope that makes sense!).

 

Paint the bands first, then mask them and spray the camo. You could do it the other way around, but spraying white over the camo will require a lot more paint.

 

Of course! Makes perfect sense. Thanks D!

 

Hit that area with alcohol to remove the paint, then a little polishing with toothpaste.

 

Products like rubbing or isopropyl alcohol don't seem to be as readily available downunder as they appear to be stateside, so I usually use metho (methylated spirits) as a substitute - I'm guessing it would work well here too, but will it affect the layer of Future on the canopy as well?

 

Kev