mustang1989 Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 Been there and done that with the historic references. What I wanted and what the reference was were two different things. It's part of the reason that I enjoy custom automotive projects. In that genre............I am the "storywriter". lolol Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 Hello friends. I spent a few hours just getting the shark mouth decals on. And that wouldn't be bad if all had according to plan. First off I realized that the decals were made with no holes for the exhaust stubs. Thinking back on that, I would have had to do some modifying a long time ago in the build to be able to place the decals over the holes made for the exhaust stubs. Unlike most hollow-bodied a/c, this one actually has supports to keep the engine panels and exhaust stubs from collapsing inward. In the end I cut holes that were a little too small and had to fight the decals into place. Then, I had to use Tamiya Flat White enamel to fill in where the white had been cut out. Ingeniously, some extra red, white, and black bordered material is provided on the decal sheet. I did use some of it, for sure. The decals are deliciously thin and responded well to Mr. Mark Softer fortunately. I took the images in macro just to see how they looked closer than my eyes can see in some very bright light. Del Sol... When I started priming this build I was using a harsh thinner for the primer. This caused an unwanted textures which showed up once I had it painted. I ended up buying some fine micromesh and so at this magnification you can see where the paint has been sanded very close to the white primer underneath. Couldn't see it without the pictures, though. I spent a couple of hours researching German bomb color. In the end I settled for an RLM 73 centreline bomb (SC250) and four RLM 71(ish) wing (SC50's) bombs. While I was waiting for Mr. Mark Softer to dry, I stuck on a couple of the underwing crosses. These are actually the kit decals which are much thicker than the NG Models decals. It takes about three applications of Mr. Mark Softer to start getting a response... Which makes them a bit better than Hasegawa or Tamiya decals. Thanks for looking! Gaz CANicoll 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 I LIKE how the sanding 'wore' through the paint and creates a more natural worn effect = looks terrific and goes really well with the fading you did Excellent work!. I did that same thing on a P-51 I built years ago. Its a bit heart-stopping to be sanding a nicely painted aircraft on purpose, but the results are really nice. Back to the sharksmouth - great job and it looks painted on so I don't think you can do any better than that. What a great looking Stuka! Chris Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted September 12, 2017 Author Share Posted September 12, 2017 Chris, Thank you very much! I've got all of the decals on after a marathon session to get the remaining 52 decals on yesterday. The three decals on the prop blades are actually six. I don't understand why, but these triangles and the fuel triangles all have a separate white backing. Unfortunately in trying to find 'scale lightness' in the color scheme, I discover that the green 'A' isn't very easy to see. I'm hoping that the final matte coat will make the difference more apparent. Although the fuselage code letters come paired on the decal sheet, I did my best to remove any excess clear film by separating and trimming them. Finally I sealed up the decals with a final coat of Future. The hardest thing to do was to decal the air brakes. The decals would only conform to the airbrakes after repeated coats of Mr. Mark Softer. In the end, I'm pretty happy the way the decals came out. Thanks for looking! Gaz CANicoll 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted September 13, 2017 Author Share Posted September 13, 2017 After spending hours trying to find a shot of the Stuka's underside for some direction on how I might weather it, I came upon this image: Photo for discussion only I can only assume that the JuMo engine must have dripped a fair amount of oil which travelled back along the fuselage and was flung by the propeller wash into a broad stain under the starboard wing with a lessor stain under the port wing. I'm not sure that the D and G models looked this way underneath. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted September 20, 2017 Author Share Posted September 20, 2017 Hi Everyone! Finished this Aifrix Stuka. I kept the upper weathering to a minimum, only using a couple of very thin washes and some exhaust staining. The underside I really dirtied up. Here are the pics: It was a nice little kit with some nice innovations and options. Thanks for looking! Gaz LSP_Kevin, TorbenD, CANicoll and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardcore Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Looking at the bomb i get the impression the photo is colorized. Maybe from some magazine way back. Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Looks great Gaz! Well done. Jim Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Paul Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Very nice looking Stuka! Great Details and painting. Paul Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Great looking Stuka! Nice job all around and thanks for posting! Cool build. Chris Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Guys, Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you like it. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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