Thunnus Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 Awesome reference photos everyone! Thank you! My first attempt at weathering the drop tanks. I tried a 2-layer chipping technique with lightened RLM 76 blue over silver and then black over the RLM 76. It didn't quite capture the effect that I was seeing the photos of Red 10. Drop tank weathering attempt #2... I abandoned the two-layer chipping and went with black over lightened RLM 76. Varied the paint thickness and hairspray application to emphasize removals from the front of the tanks. Difficult to replicate the exact wear patterns but I think this attempt gives a more authentic depiction. MikeA, Victor K2, Greg W and 11 others 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Definitely agree that Option 2 looks more authentic for the drop tanks. Especially their position behind the nose wheel. Matt Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 Thanks Matt! There will be a bit of detail painting and some additional weathering to be performed on the drop tanks but I am done with the hairspray chipping on the tanks. I decided to start the mottling today. Mr Hobby Aqueous RLM 76 and White at a 2:1 ratio will be the paint mix. There is no clear photo of the mottle pattern on top of the wings so I just started freehanding it, trying to consciously create mottle shapes with the dark background. My the time I got to the port engine nacelle's I started to loosen up a bit and not be so pre-deterministic about the mottle shapes. I carefully sprayed the light color around the decals. The red "10" has been protected by a mask to avoid excess overspray. The use of the mask to protect the "10" ended up biting me back as it took out a little chunk of red. A delicate repair operation ahead. I decided to take a pause at this point and take a look at my work. I'm not going to try and exactly match the archive photos but there are some noticeable features that I'll try to capture including the visible overspray on the port "10". Due to the controlled nature of the mottle spraying, I don't think I will have to mask the black undersides of the horizontal stabilizers. Any inadvertent overspray would be easy to fix too. The break will be used to repair the "10" marking. Starfighter Jock, LSP_Kevin, AlanG and 26 others 29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemi Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Wow! Looking great! Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Wow! That looks excellent! The scheme is really coming to life now. Matt Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Molitor Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Wow X 3! Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 22, 2021 Author Share Posted January 22, 2021 Thanks guys! Doing the mottle, after reverting to a more casual technique, was quite fun! A new set of masks were prepared to fix the port side red "10". It is exposing only the red portion of the numeral and masking the white border. As you can tell by the paint splatter, the red was mixed a bit thicker than normal to try to help fill in the void left by the lifted paint. Ideally, I would have used some micromesh to shave down the edges. The "10" after repair. There is still a faint edge around the repair spot but I think subsequent clear coats will take care of it. After the repair, the remainder of the mottling is completed. A quick session in the light box to document this painting stage. High quality photography is a great way to improve your modeling technique since it reveals things that you might normally miss. And by "high quality", I don't mean expensive DSLR. As long as you are working in a well-lit environment, you can get excellent photographic results with cheap point-n-shoots (I use a Canon S110 that I picked up for $80) or smartphone. I will be making minor adjustments to the camo by cleaning up the overspray and referring to the archive photos of Red 10 to see if there are any obvious visual characteristics that I want to represent. themongoose, Harrison90, Hartmann52 and 18 others 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 The wing roots have been set up for hairspray paint chipping but it didn't work out as well as expected. I should have learned from my Bf109G-14 build that mottle camo patterns and hairspray aren't a good match. You really need a uniform paint layer on top or else the chipping will just propagate around the areas where the paint is thinnest. I stopped after I started to notice this pattern. Wing crosses have been masked and painted. The fuselage crosses and tail swastikas were painted next. I'll let this dry before I paint the aircraft WN code on the tail, which will be the last painted marking. The rest of the stencil decals go on next. Kais, Harrison90, TAG and 23 others 26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hartmann52 Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaconroot Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Very inspiring! Well done sir! Jim Root Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 The rest of the stencil decals have been applied and now it is time to give the model a dirty wash. As usual, I am going to make my washes using pastel chalks and water. I am making two washes... one light beige for the undersides and a dark brown for the uppers. A drop of liquid soap is added to the mix to help the pastel particles to suspend and not sink. The undersides are done first with the beige color. The wash is brushed over all of the raised and recessed details and allowed to dry. The top sides are given a dark brown wash. I usually work in sub-sections to make sure that the wash process is complete and uniform. The brown shade was chosen to provide contrast with the light blue upper camo color and add a dirty tinge to the exterior. I thought a black wash would be too stark. Grunticus, Fanes, LSP_Kevin and 12 others 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Great work John! Is there a reason for pastel washes in comparison to enamel or acrylic washes? Is it just a simplicity thing, or is there a reason for using chalks? Matt Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 3 hours ago, scvrobeson said: Great work John! Is there a reason for pastel washes in comparison to enamel or acrylic washes? Is it just a simplicity thing, or is there a reason for using chalks? Matt Thanks Matt! No particular reason... just the way that I learned how to do washes and have never felt the need to try anything else. It's simple, easy, cheap and effective. Checks all the boxes for me. The remainder of the wash has been done. LSP_Kevin, TAG, chuck540z3 and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 24, 2021 Author Share Posted January 24, 2021 Some of the external bits temporarily placed using bits of Blue Tack... Landrotten Highlander, chukw, MikeMaben and 12 others 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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