I am considering using the Aeromaster D.I-D.III Woodgrain Decal set on a Roden Albatros DIII build. Anyone got any advice/ experience to share on this product/technique? (Can't find any comments on the forum, any feed back would be much appreciated.) I am new to "woodgraining; tried the acryic over wood/tan enamel (plus Future) thing on the forward fuselage formers and results are encouraging however I'm not sure this would come off well on the exterior fuselage.
Any comments/suggestions would be most welcome.

Lance

Hi Lance:

I used that set of decals on the Encore Albatros D-II to good effect. I would highly recommend that the paint be high gloss for good adhesion and no silvering. They go on real well, are a good fit, and overall look good. I used Solvaset to set the decals. Be careful as it is pretty strong stuff, albeit I think they cut the solution a bit. Another good source for wood grain is Mike Taylor at Mister Kit USA. He has a selection of wood grain that I used to good effect on the WNW LVG. Naturally, you have to cut to fit on these.

I did do a build blog here on Aeroscale back in March - April on the Encore D-II using those decals.

seen here.

Good luck.

Mark

Mark,
Many thanks for the info and advice; I'll try them on the D.III. I reviewed your Blog on the D.II, lots of great tips and a belated compliment on your excellent results. Two questions if I may:
- How did you do the shading on the panel divisions on your DII ? and
- Did you acquire the Optivisor and, if so, how's it working out for you ?(we have age and " old eyes " in common)
I recently picked up a magnifier /lamp combo from Ikea, working very well but there's always better.

Again, many Thanks,
Lance

Hi Lance: On the shading, I used the airbrush and just highlighted the panel lines to break up the wood grain a bit. I think I used a mixture of Tamiya Orange and yellow. I got a little heavy in one area. If I were to do it again, which I will, I will preshade all the ribs in the wings both upper and lower to give it depth, and break up the cammo.
No, I haven't gotten the optivisor as of yet. The D-II was my last build and with the house in disarray, the riding season, haven't really done anything with models. There is an IKEA next to the Mall of America, I will have to scope it out and look at optivisors. Otherwise I use a #3 pair of reading glasses for the close up, which works good and isn't cumbersome. But I think an optivisor is in the works.
Thanks for the compliment on the D-II. I think it is my best effort to date.

Take care and good luck

Mark

FYI:
http://www.misterkitusa.com/Page18.html
Cottage AfterMarket Industry, SPADA Laser Line Decals are finally back in re-production.

They make a free Solid sheet of a Clear Wood Pattern which is placed over a Painted Wood color base on the model.

It allows for an infinate number of varitions ot the final effect based on the color of the base coat chosen to be used and Pre and Post shading effects.

They also offer up to seven other different types of Wood grains for other applications for you to find.

I used a humbrol 61 Satin Oak thinned with white and post shaded with a Clear Future mix with Tamyia Clear yellow. And also applied each panel seperately which I measured and cut during the application.

Mark,
Thanks for the info, It'll be useful for sure.
On the subject of the magnifier lamp this "old fella" gave you a bum steer; I got it from Lee Valley Tools, a Canadian fine tool and work working store. You can shop and order at www.leevalley .com It's the third one I've had and by far the best...............however an Optivisor is probably in my future as well.

Cheers,
Lance

Michael,
Thanks for the reply and especially the information. The Albatros is impressive, the wood grain looks great and the exhaust stack is about as good as it gets!
I'll try the Spada/Misterkits Site, been a while since I've been there but the product sounds great. Think it may surface on the DVa I have stashed.

Cheers,
Lance

Lance, I ordered some woodgrain decals and the grain was too large---even for 1/32. I elected to not use them, but instead duplicate the look with paint, and use a finer look on the grain. This was on a Camel fuselage. It's amazing how sometimes you think you've messed up something, and when you try to repair it, it turns out looking great. This was an experimental plane, because I just switch from using enamel to acrylic. The wood grain decals had a mahoghany look so to duplicate that look, I used Tamiya Red Brown mixed with Tamiya Red---don't remember the ratio---just mixed until I got the look I was looking for. I didn't have any oil paint, so I used again Tamiya Red Brown applying with rack brush, and also Tamiya Earth Brown again using a rack brush. Then, here's the 'clincher'---the last coat I applied, I waited awhile, and before the paint was dry, I wiped over it with a paper towel, and it left a pretty fascinating look. I wiped over the paint many times with the towel and it gave it a very realistic look for wood thats been exposed to the elements. It had spots that were semi-glossy looking and spots of a more dull look, with light amount of streaking (grain), which too me looks more real, because even on 1/32 kits the grain is not that noticible. The effect looks more like real leather than wood, but looks like authentic wood on the kit.

Charley

I have used those decals, and they do look good. I did notice a few shortcomings. First, the pattern repeats a lot. This gives it a fake look. Secondly, the grain pattern looks like quarter sawn wood, not like plywood. Great for parts of the aircraft that are made of quarter sawn wood, too busy for parts that are plywood. If you are OK with these two things, use the decals. Be sure to put a little white glue in the decal water to help them stick a little better, or masking tape will pull them off.

Charlie/Carl,
Everything you mention has come to mind over the past several weeks; "repeated pattern", scale appearance ie too large, too "busy" for a plywood effect etc. as I get closer to the exterior finish stage. (I'm a slow worker and work/holiday stuff makes it even slower!)
I had a lot of success with the interior woodgrain effect using water colors over enamels and overcoat of acrylic satin; leaning towards that for the exterior as well. The beauty of using water paint for the grain is, if you don't get it right, you just wet, wipe off, and try again. Got the technique from an article somewhere on this site, believe it was authored by Merlin. Really sold on it.
Thanks for the advice and detail; looks like I've arrived at "full circle"and will relegate the decals to the spares box.

Cheers!

If you want to see some real nice woodgrain, check out some of Brad Cancians builds. His Albatros builds are stunning.

Carl,
Already been there and done that! Brad's stuff is amazing; also got some direct advice from him regarding SPADA Woodgrain Decals. His results on brushed woodgrain are truly sensational. I'm hoping to at least come close......... thanks for the info.