Hi all,
I'm a newbie round here but everyone seems really friendly so I thought I'd take the plunge and share my newly-completed (like, today) Do335 A-2 with you. This has been a really steep learning curve for me as I haven't made a model for twenty years, but the articles on Armorama have been invaluable.

Anyway, the kit: The Tamiya 1/48 version, built pretty much OOB except for some PE belts and resin tyres. Used Edourd masks, Tamiya paints for the undersides and interiors, Hannats Xtracrylics for the camo. Used Mal's preshading technique which worked well on the undersides (not very hard to get right) but I over did it when I sprayed on the camo, so it was invisible. All paints were lightened 5:1 with white for scale.

Applied a brown oil wash, then lightly dusted the upper surface panel lines with Mig 'Black Smoke' powder. Some drybrushing and silver pencil work then flat varnish.

All in all, a very enjoyable few weeks, despite the cock-ups
All comments welcome.
Oh, my apologies in advance for the pics, that's a skill I need to learn too...





More pics at: http://photos.kitmaker.net/showgallery.php/ppuser/7029/cat/500

Steve first of all a big welcome to the Big A

Second that is one nice looking bird you have there I would be proud to have that in my collection.

Ciao
Luciano

I like it too!!Welcome to the big A!
Great camouflage!

WELCOME TO ARMORAMA!!!!
You are going to love it here!

That Do-335 is amazing! I wish i was that good when i first joined .....now i want to build one! :-)
What did you use for the smoke stains and what RLM colours did you use for the camo?

cheers

Philip

Hi Steve

Welcome to Armorama! It's great to have you with us!

I don't know what you're apologising for with those pics... really nice shots of a fine build!

I was looking at some MIG pigments in Model Zone the other day... what are they like to work with and how do they compare with standard pastels?

All the best

Rowan

Hi Steve. Welcome to the best site for modelers on the web! Your build looks great. Like the weathering. Wingman out.

Hi Steve, welcome to Armorama, have no fear posting questions or pics.
A very nice 335, you may have made up my mind as the next online build to start
Painting looks spot on, nice job on the masking and cockpit masking, never easy. Decals look good and a good clean build.
Very brave to have a go at pre-shading, did you primer with white or grey? Getting pre-shading to show through darker colours is posible, but very difficult to achieve consistancey. Phil (Almonkey) and I are working on other methods to achieve this, so stay tuned. I will probably be attempting my idea on my FW 190D-9 online build.
Nice to have you with us and keep the models coming. Check out the Model of the Month MOM and consider entering this next month
Mal

Steve,
Welcome to Armorama and back to the hobby.
That kit is quite an entrance and a good comeback.

Your photos are nothing to be ashamed of. Clear, focused, centered, and good overall view of the subject with a detail shot. A pic of the cockpit would have been nice. The only problem is a slight color change in the middle shot. Due to flash? Indoor/Auto setting?

So, what else have you got for us?

What is next on your workbench?

Again, welcome and model on!

Good show buddy!

335s are wicked!

Thanks for the kind words, Philip. Judging by the welcome I have received, I already love it here

To answer your questions, I used a Mig powder called 'Black Smoke' which I picked up from my nearest Modelzone. I applied it with a 4-5mm wide flat brush, then darkened the centre area with a cotton bud dipped into the powder, which gets you a heavier application.

I used RLM 81/82 over 76, lightened 20% for scale, then washed with a raw umber/ivory black oil wash, lightly wiped back almost immediately.
Hope that helps!

Steve

Thanks to everyone for the kind and friendly responses. It is fantastic to find a corner of the net thats so good to be around

I started answering the posts individually until I realised there a few, so to save everyone's sanity, I'll reply to you all in one go.

Rowan, you said:



I found the mig pigments really easy to use on the whole, and very easy to remove post shag-ups
I used them for the panel line shading and the exhausts and general dirtying, but can't compare them to pastels - when I last modelled, I'd never heard of the technique so this is the first time I've tried it with any medium. Sorry I can't compare for you

Mal,
Thanks very much for the comments. I've found all this wonderful positive feedback very encouraging and can't wait to get going on another project. The masking was quite a interesting experience, I've never used an airbrush on aircraft camo before - one of the reasons I chose the Do335, splinter camo is a bit of a cop-out really, no freehand work :-) but I gots to walk before run, hey?




I primed with white to get the max contrast, but used humbrol metal coat at the wing roots and a couple of other strategic places as I then rubbed the topcoat down with 00000 wirewool to get the metal to show through for wear at the root et al - this didn't quite come off as I hoped, but I'll be trying again on the next project with what I have learnt on this one.

I'll look forward to your update on the pre-shading. Where it did work, I really liked the effect but as you said I couldn't get any consitency (need to improve my airbrush technique first )

Keith, you wrote:




Thanks for that. The middle pic was with flash, as the light had gone too dull by then (yesterday evening wasn't very bright here).
Huuum the cockpit - bit of a shag up with the canopy, I'm afraid - I accidentally sprayed it with flat varnish and have been unable to get the full transparency back despite careful polishing and several coats of Klear (Future). Oh, well.. wot a dipstik I can be, sometimes

Next on the bench a nice easy one - Tamiya 1/48 RAF Mustang III with Hi-Tech resin detail kit, Eduard masks and Techmod decals. Should be fun...

Thanks again to you all for all the help and encouragement.

Steve

ooo, I really like this one! Good job mate!