I'm starting Tamiya's 1/48 heavily armed version of the Do 335. This will make aircraft model number 2 for me.

All I've gotten done so far is the cockpit. I thought I'd try my hand at putting a little bit of detail into it since the decal for it is pretty bland with no color. And I also see all the pics of cockpits that people do with all kinds of hand painted details that just look unbelievable.

Well mine's not one of those.

But I do want it to look like something's going on in there, since I'm gonna do it with the glass closed to practice my masking. So a little bit of something, but nothing like some other people's.

Anyway, tell me what you think so far. And remember, I'm a rookie so don't be too rough.

Really great cockpit so far - and this is only your second airplane! Looking forward to see more.

Thanks for sharing

She's all masked off and ready for some paint. How does the masking on my canopy look?

Fantastic detail work on the cockpit, can't wait to see what you do with the rest of it.
Your second aircraft ? Wow What do you "normally" build ?

28mm fantasy miniatures and N-scale mecha.

Here it is with a coat of Lichtblau on the bottom. I'll let it set for a day or so then mask it off to start the start the splinter camo on top. There's a couple of oopses to fix where I accidentally scratched the paint on the bottom, but not too big.



And you can't really tell from the pic, but I don't think I'll even have to worry about any panel line shading on the bottom. The panel lines are nice and deep and show up really well against the light blue.

Looks really good so far. Great interior.

As a personal note, I really don't like those decal seatbelts. That is not a dig on you. I just refuse to use them myself. I prefer photoetch or scratch built ones. But your build and your choice.

Your skills don't give us much to nit-pick about. You have a nice build going on there. Please continue posting pics.

Thanks. So far I'm an out of the box builder, til I get the basics down, like getting a decent paintjob. I'll probably start masking off the blue this evening and hopefully get started on the top colors. We'll see how it goes. I'm a little concerned with removing masks and if it'll peel the paint or not.

Good job. That looks like it is going well and what a great subject! The Do 335 Arrow is an impressive aircraft. Glad it didn't get into service. Although it's top speed was close to that of the TA-152H I believe. Both fast birds. Can't wait to see more. Russell

I'm gonna go to bed and cry myself to sleep now.

I was masking off the light blue on the bottom to get ready to start the greens on top and got one wings worth done. I used Tamiya tape to get up to the edges and filled in the middle with blue painter's tape. I thought I should test it now before I go any further, and removed a bit of tape to see if it was gonna peel.

Like I said, I'm gonna go to bed and cry myself to sleep now.

I'll put up a pic tomorrow. I just don't have the heart to take a picture of it right now.

After a little searching, it sounds like primer is a good idea.

Sorry to hear that, Bruce.

I will follow your progress even though it will probably be painful to see your picture.

Hope you will be able to save the aircraft.

Here it is.

Actually it looks like a nice job of weathering

I use "Freezer Tape" seems to be of lower tack.

Bruce, I feel your pain. That does not look good.

I have no experience how to save something that bad. The thing I would do is to start all over again using a solid base coat. However, some more experienced aircraft builders might have other tricks.

Hope it works out well. Good luck

Hi Bruce.
Ouch!,,I feel your pain but the damage is not irreversable by any means.
Im guessing from the paint visible in your photos that youve used acrylics?
Get yourself a supply of Q-tips and some Tamiya thinners or Isopropyl alcohol from the chemist. Dip the Q-tip in the thinners and gently rub the remaining paint off.You wont need to to any scraping or sanding and the paint will come off quite easily.
Primer is a good idea as it gives a nice base coat for the other paint and also acts as a key for better adhesion. Also,dont forget to wash the sprues of a new kit before you start to clean off any remaining release agent (oil) which will stop paint adhering to plastic as well as it should.
Chucks right about it looking like a good weathering job. Some modellers use the method youve inadvertantly "discovered" to simulate paint chipping.
Hope this helos.
Nige

Thanks everybody. That's the second recommendation I've gotten for using isopropyl to strip it with. I'm gonna try that and then prime and start over. What's everyone think of Model Master Acryl primer? I already have some.

I have had good success with them. It is important to wash before painting, regardless of the type of paint. Paint is easy to correct. You got a good build going on, dont get discouraged.

I got one of these in my stash, so I am following your build.

Where to start?

I'll probably be expelled from The Order for this, but I willingly allowed, and actually caused harm to come to a model.

I was ready to go to our local model club meeting, The Dallas Platoon from Kitmaker, today and had all my stuff sitting next to my paint table ready to go out the door. My wife told me she wanted me to stay home with her today, so okay, I'll stay home. So I get on the computer to tell my fellow club members I won't be making it today, and when I get done, my dog is laying on the floor right next to my chair. Swivel around him a bit so as to not step on him and put my foot down, paying attention to where the dog is, and CRUNCH.

My Do 335, sitting upside down in its' box on the floor right next to my paint box, had a good chunk of my 200 pounds right on top of it. A wing broken off, landing gear and bay door covers ruined and in pieces.

Expletives. Very colorful ones.

After picking it up to look at it, I was lost to the Dark Side for a second and it was introduced to the wall about 5 feet away at a fairly high velocity.

I was a little pissed after the trouble I'd had with this model. Some of it, the really bad freehand camo that I think may have been caused by moisture in my AB line, I was going to fix today at the meeting.

Anyway, I feel a bit childish after destroying a piece of plastic in a fit of rage, especially considering I'm 35 years old. Not my usual behavior, and not the way I usually handle obstacles and complications during a task, something I've learned in 16 years as an electrician.

I'll show you some pics in a bit.

The pieces I've found-





And since I had nothing else to lose, I thought I'd at least peel the masking off my first proper canopy and see how it turned out. Pretty good I think.

Again, I feel really childish for the whole thing, but just one of those lapses of good judgement that happens sometimes I guess.

But if nothing else, I have a test model for weathering and finishing techniques, and I know I'm on the right track with canopies.

And I have the 335A in my stash too [;)]

Oh yeah, and this was after I had fixed the peeled paint from before and the only parts I had left to put on were I think the tires and propellers, and then it was on to a second coat of Future then weathering and finishing.

I was gonna try oil washes again, with a respirator this time after my previous bad experience.

Oh well, back to that Panther I started a while back.

Hi Bruce!

See it that way: this kit just don't wanted to be build! It was probably one of those which wanted to sit on a shelve, between 1000 other kits in a big collector's stash, never to be touched again. Now I wonder were that Do335B-2 kit is, which wanted to be build by you?

Jean-Luc

I saw it on the shelf at the model shop a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks for the encouragement, Jean-Luc.

You just never know what is going to happen next in this sport. I woke up the other night when my wife was yelling at one of the cats. The cat was trying to swat my latest WIP off the shelf. It is a good thing SWMBO is a light sleeper, or my F-84 would have looked like your Do 335 with a NMF.

Sorry to hear that, Bruce. Well, at least the dog is alright. I bet he is more fun to play with anyway. But only a little

I guess it is just to move on to the next model and hope it turns out better. I know how it feels to have models that do want to go right no matter what.

Hope there is more luck with the next one