If you were scared off from building an Early Aviation subject simply because you were insecure about how to reproduce all exposed timber in various shades and wood grains, than Radu Brinzan of RB productions may have just the right solution for your problem – a wood grain airbrush stencil.

Radu’s latest product is basically an etch stencil with a wood grain pattern. I had my own doubts and concerns when I first saw it announced on his site, and these were mostly related to foreseen fragility of such a complex-patterned fret. However, I decided to take my chances based on my previous experiences with Radu’s products, which count among the finest tool designs on the market.

I was, again, let down by my own short-sightedness. From the moment I laid my fingers on this beautifully produced piece of brass, I was aware that the fragility of this fret is minimized by fair amount of flexibility. I was so suspicious that my first thought was: “This cannot be. There must be a plastic backing that I am not able to see”. To my surprise, there was no backing film. The flexibility of the fret will prove advantageous for complex or curved surfaces, especially when painting concave internal frames. The stencil, however, is very thin, and you are expected to threat it carefully so to avoid breaking.

The use of the stencil is rather straightforward. It comes packed within a small zippy bag with small instruction sheet. The instruction contains some of Radu’s very useful application tips and cleaning directions – after you finish with the application, rinse the fret gently, no rubbing, scrubbing or brushing off the paint!

If you want to achieve nice wood grain simulation, first apply a light shade of base colour tone. Then mask off individual panels with strips of masking tape or other convenient material, and apply a contrasting shade with your airbrush to simulate the wood grain. The best results (feathered edges) are achieved by slightly raising the stencil from the surface. This should be done with thinner mixture and at a lower psi in order to achieve very light overspray of contrasting colour. Once you practice more and become accustomed to this tool, I believe that the application opportunities are endless.

Conclusion

I acquired this tool for my upcoming adventure into the world of early aviation subject, but I am most convinced that it will give you a pleasure of many successful builds if you treat it with care and diligence. This is a versatile and superbly manufactured tool that will save your time and yield very convincing finishing touches for your build.

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