Thanks James. First of all not all modellers like the style of finishing i use. In fact over on Hyperscale there is a huge arguement about once a month or so about just this sort of thing...should panel lines be visable, should they be raised or engraved, should paint be faded etc etc. Then after a few baby- dummies have bounced off walls it all goes quiet for another month or so.

I vary the paint beause i like it. And flat even surfaces just don't look right to me- aircraft do not have nice flat panels believe it or not. Aircraft flex and as they get older you can see the structure under the skin and the skin ripples, quite a lot on some aircraft- especially pressurized aircraft. And that is why i like to vary the surface paint the way i do...it's probably over done for sure, but i like it the way i do it.

If you like the effect then there are two main ways i do it. On light coloured aircraft i still preshade using dark grey. But mostly these days, after spraying every top colour (and whilst i still have the remaining paint in the jar) i simply lighten the paint, thin it a bit more and go back over the surface to break up the colour. The airbrush is set very fine and i keep it moving very fast. I keep it random but loosely along the panel and rivet lines because as the skin deforms it DOES highlight the structural lines underneath. Most colours can be lightened by adding white, but not all. Never lighten Greens with white or you will end up with a pastel shade that looks wrong. For green use a very light tan colour...i use Gunze "Sail Colour".

I like post shading more than pre-shading because pre shading tends to darken the finish whilst post shading lightens it, and i feel that scale models tend to end up looking too dark.

Hope that helps

Andrew

Hi all,

Wow, there are some great models in progress here...




I must say I'm in the "I like it a lot" side. Can you send us some more pictures for a photo feature? Or even better a full build feature?

Jean-Luc

Andrew, I love it. It's subtle but still clearly visible.




And therein lies the truth of the matter, who are you trying to please? I build for me, for the enjoyment and relaxation, and for the history lesson that inevitably goes with the build. That's all there is to it.

Thanks a million for the painting and weathering lesson, hopefully one day one of mine will turn out as nice as yours !!

Cheers, D

Andrew, I agree with the others. Your 109 has some really nice faded paintwork. I like it a lot.
Thanks for participating - and share it like Jean-Luc suggested

I have started slowly on my 109. It is the old Airfix kit from 1978. It actually looks OK, but time will tell if it fits together. More to follow over Easter....

Andrew,
Thanks for taking the time to reply and explain your technique. To echo other's sentiments, I like it a lot both at an aesthetic and realistic level. Once my AB skills increase a bit, I will try your technique...probably would also work with Olive Drab P-40/P47s. Again, thanks for sharing such a beautiful build! cheers

Hey Terri, just finished this one today, it's the 1/48 Hasegawa BF109F (Eastern Front). BOB, finished with Lifecolor acrylics, the kit went together like a charm. The kit decals are Aeromaster and are quite good. Depicted is Gerhard Barkhorn's(301 victories) aircraft as it may have looked when he became flight leader of IV./JG52 in the spring of 1942.
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Mobious

Really great progress everyone. I'm going to try out a bit of Andrew's style on me Condor Legion 109 since these are all a single colour (but which colour is the $64 question?) RLM 63 or RLM02 or even RLM73.
I'm still siding with RLM63 but it'll take a lot of staring at b/w photos from my Reis/Ring book to decide. In the meantime all I've done is saw the canopy so it can be posed opem (phew that is delicate operation) and loose the gunsight to the carpet monster. I can make a new one with a bit of sprue and clear plastic though and I'll need to now that the canopy is open. Darn it

OK, monday update.
Glued the fuse together this weekend, made a new rear cockpit bulk head, finished off the exhaust panels, added the wings, added the oil cooler scoop, created my rudder structure and started doing the surface prep for paint.

Now on the paint, there is a long standing debate weather the aircraft was blue or red. Most sources show it as blue, but there is a newspaper reference that states it was red and red was also Udets personal color of choice....

But the blue is reaaaaly pretty and the wife likes it....Blue it Is.

Pics!

If you'd like I can check what ref's I have at home for you?

Aye sure Shaun any input is welcome. It is just one of those things that doesn't ever have a sure answer. I'll maybe ask over at hyperscale or the experten forum for ideas. Lynn Ritger helped me out with the 109 night fighter code colours, I'm sure he'll have an opinion on it too.

Great job on the toon. That really must give you a kick doing something that funky.

these little toon jobs make me remember why I build, they're straight fun!

Mobious - beautiful 109, great paint job. Nice subtle weathering, cheers

Shawn,

Nice progress on your toon......... I am still working on the nose of mine. I want that "drop" that the E versions had just behind the spinner as well as the top deck guns. Still have to sand down one side but so far it is coming out pretty good...

Have the fuselage together.... but I do like your idea of the new rear bulkhead... I think I will have to put one in mine.... makes more sense than what they have (which looks like a luggage compartment )....

Photos later, Bob

you could add some hand bags and a beer stein back there?

Hi there

Wow! Some superb builds already!

Well, I started shifting my Stash this morning to make use of the space for a new workroom, so I plundered one of the "Luftwaffe" packing cases for a kit for this Campaign:



I'll add the SBS Model resin/etch cockpit, as reviewed HERE.

It'll probably be a week or two before I get underway.

All the best

Rowan

Now where do I find a Picklehaube helmet that would fit Colonel Klink?

Bob

I though about adding one to the pilot as well...speaking of the pilot, phew what a crap job on the moulding that was!

Shawn,

Yeah, about 3 hours of work sharpening up the detail.... took me less time to create, print and mount the instruments....

Have the rear bulkhead created.... nice idea on that, thanks... It lets me put the pilot in later by doing that.... a lot of work on a cartoon. Probably would have been easier to do a "real" model....

Bob

hahaha
a "real" model may have been faster, but I love laughing when I build versus swearing and getting mad.

Some day I should build a real version of the Me-109 and Spitfire, so far I've only done toons of them.

Glad you liked the rear cockpit wall, the kit one was...well....yeah.

As you can see the gear really does hold the aircraft up on its wheels!!!

One of the things I love about the 109E is that curve on the top of the nose just behind the spinner. Well, I had to put it in along with the top guns. One idea I had was to replace the normal antenna wire with barbed wire It came out pretty good for my first attempt at making it...

Like Shawn says..... you end up laughing the entire time you are making this thing....

Bob

excellent!
The little details you can add in go a LONG way with these guys...SO much character.
Love it on her mains too! Dont forget to make a new tail wheel and strut as well...that banana thing just wont do (for me)

Shawn and Bob, you guys look like you're having SOOOO much fun with those kits, superb work so far. I can't wait to see them all painted up.

Got started on the sub-assemblies for my build, no pics yet.

Cheers, D

Thanks Damian, if this was any more fun they would arrest us both...

Oh yeah.......... that banana is going as soon as I find a wheel in the junk pile. What are you doing for the prop? I am looking at using a CD spacer as it is almost the right diameter for the prop swing....

Bob

they may arrest me anyways...

In regards to the prop I got one word.....chrome
The prop on the version Im building was polished metal!
I've seen some builds in the past that were done sans prop, filled in spinner style that looked great!

Wow . we have some excellent finished 109's already and with the live entertaiment from Bob and Shawn this is turning out to be a super campaign so far . Great builds guy's and nicely done !