Whitey

Alclad Dull Aluminium seems to ok.It is very grainy but smooths out well with a quick rub with 3600 micro mesh. Cowl and Gun cover are Alclad Aluminium. This is the sort of contrasts I was after. I will give the wooden side panels a gloss or semi gloss coat and the rest matt when ready. Thanks for the hint Mike. The French Roundels go onto the top wing, but then get painted over with silver again. Hopefully they will just show through. Going to try Alclad's Aqua Gloss next. Fingers crossed.

Just tried the Alclad Dull Aluminium and although it looks a bit dark, I think it will be ok. I'll let it dry for a few hours and give it a rub and see how she comes up. Pics then.

Cudos for your rigging patience. The whole aircraft looks fantastic.

I'll give it a go on a paint mule. Thanks.

Thanks Mike, but I don't want it to look like metal because it is fabric. But it is one my options. Just starting to think about mixing something or playing with the surface to make it not so smooth.

I've looked at AS12 but not convinced yet. Might end up being the best option though. Thanks mate.

A strange week of working from home and busier than usual. Should settle down a bit after this weekend. Spent most of today, Saturday, getting the Nieuport assembled. Lots of scraping and chiselling to get the side panels fitted and aligned so that the top cover and the cowl all line up. I am undecided as to what paint to use for the fabric covered parts - should be Silver Dope but might settle for Dull Aluminium. I've painted the wooden side panels black to give it a bit of a different texture to the fabric surfaces and will use an Aluminium metallic paint for the top cockpit cover and the cowl. She should be a colourful little jigger when finished. Any suggestions for silver dope will be most welcome.

Fiddly cockpit almost completed. Goes together really nicely but lots of little bits to trim, paint and add to the frames, whilst keeping it all aligned. Rigged with easy line. All painting so far is Tamiya acrylics covered with either Clear Orange for the darker wood or Clear Yellow for the lighter wood. It fits into the fuselage but that will be all on the cockpit until I fettle away at the rear fuselage and side panels to ensure everything fits and is aligned.

Off and running on a WWI beauty - a lovely little "Bebe" from Copper State. Got a fair bit accomplished in the cockpit and with the engine today. Lots of wood grain painting - my usual way with Tamiya Acrylics and clear yellow and orange. Undercoat with Dark Yellow, streak with various shades of brown and then coat with clear colour - yellow for lighter wood and orange for darker wood. Using a darker undercoat also provides different wood colours. I have replaced the carburettor intakes with aluminium tube so have cut off the plastic bits, drilled through the housing and inserted brass rod and will add the tubes once the fuselage is all put together and painted. Medium blue colours for metal parts as per instructions. You can see the difference that the clear orange makes, compared to the clear yellow lighter parts. Still lots to do but it fits nicely so far and with an Italian Red, White and Green colouring to the undersides of the wing and silver overall, she should look nicely different to the usual WWI camouflaged aircraft.

Looking forward to seeing your progress Rob. I have the RAF version with lots of bits to add so I will be watching with interest. Have fun with it.

Best wishes Kev. Great job buddy and hope all goes well. Cya at a local meet soon. Peter

After starting, and nearly finishing this kit about 4 years ago, I dragged it back to the bench, cleaned it up, repainted her with lovely MRP colours and finished her off this afternoon. Sealed with a mix of SMS clears to get a matt but not nearly flat finish. Tamiya's 1/32 F-16CJ Aires Seat, some Eduard bits in the cockpit and exterior, Master pitot and Angle of Attack probes, Wolfpack WAR HUD and Crossdelta stiffener plates. It seems to be a popular kit on LSP lately. Not much needs to be said about the kit, it is very good. Spot the missing part that is now installed. Minimal fading and weathering. Some Eduard bits in the kit jetpipes to add interest. Ready for the shelf. I hope you like her.

Coming on nicely Kev.

"I have been experimenting with oil paints to add extra effects to the paint work. I added some blue spots to the uppermost panels of the burnt section, to simulate the reflection of the blue sky." What if there's a thundercruncher overhead mate and the sky is black? Seriously, looks really good.

Wow, that's different, very interesting and well done.