DocRob

If you'd like to go subtle on the weathering, you are on the right way, Gaz. Chipping is barely visible on the hull and I think, the result of the pin wash, doesn't look too prominent. To me, the scale reduction by 35 needs a bit of 'overscale' pronounciacion to look right. All in all your Marder looks great, but I've never seen tracks so clean on a used tank. Cheers Rob

Love the exhaust stains, but only after the dabbed on oil color which made it look right. The exhausts are also looking perfect. Cheers Rob

This is a really beautiful engine Mark, it's impressive to see how the details pop out with some paint on it, where the cast itself looks a bit more dull. Cheers Rob

That pit looks sweet, John. Nice painting and weathering, a very believable rendition. Cheers Rob

Do yourself a favor and buy one, Martin. It's a great and complete kit, where there is no real need for AM. Interior and surface detail is exceptional oob. It's a beautiful plane at least to me with the elegantly shaped gullwings, and nice proportions. Cheers Rob

More detailing was prepared, as I assembled the only really essential AM for the PZL, the Master weapon set, which includes not only the nicely done brass barrels, but also the Venturi horn and the aiming devices. I used my usual method of burnishing the brass parts, moving them rapidly in the chemical solution, to hinder air bubbles and when the shade is right, I rinse the parts in clear water and put them on a paper towel. There is still some brass showing, where there was contact with the CA, but that will be corrected later after gluing the parts to the model. I glued the plastic bodies of the MG's, after some pigment treatment, into the open hatches, which was a bit fiddly and should have done before. The barrels will be added tomorrow. Cheers Rob

Thanks Phil, I love experimenting, but sometimes fear the outcome as well, but hey, we are not performing heart transplants. If something goes wrong it can be stripped and repaired or, ultima ratio, binned. Failure is only bad for the ego, but that can be healed with some Martinis . Cheers Rob

Thank you Ernie, I followed your great build by the time and referenced sometimes during my build. Like you, I absolutely enjoyed all aspects of the build and the kit itself is a gem, design-, detail- and fit wise. I had no issues with the fuselage seam and the fuselage openings fitted perfectly, when I glued them in temporally for painting. The only weak part of the kit are the tiny spots, which are supposed to hold the wheels. If they hold, good, if not, I have to somehow insert some brass rod for enforcement. Normally, I prefer to build my birds closed as well, because all these opened hatches disturb the pureness of the design. With the PZL, I liked the opened panels a lot, as they do not alter the sleek elegance of the plane and add some detail to catch the eye in all that Polish khaki. Speaking of the wheels, I used resin wheels from Aires. They were nicely detailed, but the flattened part was at the same place for both wheels, but the mounting rectangles are angled, therefore, one flattened area is in the right spot, the other is somewhere . The masks were equally bad, so I cut my own. Getting some type of modulation was the main idea for using brushed oil paints for the finish. It was a tedious process, but I like the result. I'm not sure, if I go any farther with weathering, using panel liners and pigments or not. Cheers Rob

Thank you fellas, I'm blushing. The PZL is slowly closing in at the closing line and I had so much fun with the kit, I nearly couldn't wait for the oils to dry properly. Cheers Rob

Today I've done all the little things. First I added the exhaust collector and the fairing behind the engine, which I had forgotten to insert, before gluing in the engine. Luckily the plastic is really flexible and I managed to get the part in place. Then it was time for the cowlings, which were not so easy to install, without ruining the paintjob with glue. Next were the wheels, which received some pigments and were painted in different black shades before. I opened the hatches then, which were glued in place temporally for painting with a drop of white glue. I added tine PE brackets and silver nickel rods for the rudder horns. The cockpit is opened again and I added the seat belts and the leather headrest. The equally made from leather paddings around the cockpit will be painted later. The whole thing does look like this now. Cheers Rob

Nice surgery Carl. Like Kai said, this will be BIG. I always liked the Coastal Command schemes best and I really like to see the big Lib in these colors. Cheers Rob

Great work on the interior, Peter. These Quinta 'decals' do look good, better than most of the color PE, except maybe these made by Yahu. I hope you won't have too many negative sensations with the kit. It's somehow interesting to see, how big market companies, like Revell or Italerie can shoot you in the foot with so many different type of quirks. While building the PZL, I have to say, I'm amazed, how a relatively small company like IBG made a great kit, without any issues and good buildability. With this start though, I'm sure, you will build another masterpiece out of whatever Revell gives you. Cheers Rob

Fantastic Peter a clean built Corsair is a thing of beauty. I'm very pleased to see, that you will paint her in tri tone scheme. I always preferred the earlier multi color camos to the boring and detail eating 'GSB'. To quote a very kind member of the forum, whose name starts with 'P', 'keep 'em comin. Cheers Rob

He He, seems, I got it right, because I haven't seen the first threads section . A build thread, great. I will follow, as I browsed my Russian armor stash recently and found some intriguing boxes. I bought some nice Russian figures three days ago, to accompany the tanks, so maybe this will be one of my next builds. I really like your scratch work Gaz, but what's the idea behind? Why did you strip the rubber off the rims. You mentioned ash, will this be a burned out tank? What's the meaning behind the Cyrillic title, which translates to Frankentank? So many questions . Cheers Rob

Muchas gracias Amigos, in all, I'm relatively satisfied with the outcome of the oils experiment. It proved that it is possible to paint monochrome and used airframes with the medium. The hardest part is equal color distribution. I have no idea, how many brush strokes I made, first stronger and to the end barely touching the surface. Panel emphasize and a first grade weathering are possible with the oils. I sprayed some smaller parts, like the canopy framing and you have to find matching colors. To me the most attractive aspect of this build was the challenge itself. I try to learn something new with every build, just to fire me up. Cheers Rob

Cool, engineering at it's best and all visible. You built a very decorative beauty there. I would never put one of my car/plane/armor builds in our living rooms, but a wooden sailing boat or a steam locomotive like yours, would make me thinking... Cheers Rob

Good to hear, that your wife is back home and is on a good way. The Viggen is developing great Mark. Cheers Rob

Today, after the decal solutions dried over night, I sprayed a semi matte clear coat on. First only misting onto the decals, as the Levelling thinner, which I used for the semi matte Tamiya LP varnish, can be aggressive to decals. After drying of the first coat, the whole plane was sealed. For Huberts (and mine) well being, I painted at least the push rod fairings black , to be a bit more on the authentic side. Cheers Rob

Thank you @GazzaS and @Kaireckstadt. The angular insignia do look different. I'm glad, the decals went on well. Masking and spraying would have been equally difficult, given the corrugated surface. The Polish Khaki is not an utterly attractive color, but it was the cause, why I chose the PZL for my oil color experiment. I wouldn't try it on a splinter camoed Viggen . Cheers Rob

That sharkmouth enhances the meanness factor of the Kittyhawk to badass heights. Great work on the masking and spraying. Cheers Rob

Nice work Kevin. Regarding the tools, I don't have a correct answer, but on my tanks, I paint them in wood and metal for esthetical reasons. They add more detail and attract the eye, by giving some contrast. Cheers Rob

Filters can do some magic and that's what happened here. The binding effect takes the paintjob to the next level Gaz. Cheers Rob

After a looooong drying time of more than a week, I gloss coated the PZL with Tamiya LP clear. The first coat was just misted onto the oil color, to reduce the possibility of unwanted reactions between the oil colors and the varnish. Then I sprayed two liberal coats of gloss coat, to finally seal the oil colors and let, guess what, dry for some time. Up to the decals now, which performed good, given the problematic surface with the corrugated texture. I used Micro Set to apply the decals and then half a litre of Micro Sol, to let them settle into the surface, accompanied by a hairdryer. The lower national insignia are really large and took some time to apply correctly. Then the wings were mounted onto the fuselage with the struts. That's where I am right now. I then refined the exhaust ring with various dabbed on pigments and will let it be until the final assembly, where it will be evaluated. Cheers Rob

Nice choice. I'm very eager to see what this will look like in the end. My Cyrillic knowledge is more than a bit shaky, but shouldn't it read 'Suvorov' on the tower, maybe called after General Alexander Suvorov (1729-1800). Cheers Rob

I built the Hasegawa carnation of the -D as Eduards Dottie Mae and should have the decals for the following version left. If you are interested, I look for the spares and if they are complete. Cheers Rob