DocRob

Since I can't source Tamiya's rattle can primer anymore, which was my go-to primer for some years, directly from the can, I switched to Mr. Surfacer 1200, thinned with Levelling thinner, with the ratio 2,5 parts thinner and 1 part primer, setting the AB to 1 bar. Works perfect with supersmooth results. I used it for some builds now, using acrylics, lacquers and oils on to it without any issues. I masked over it and had no lifts at all. I clean all my kits with alcohol, before I prime. I have a jar of Tamiya primer as well, but haven't tried it, as I like to have good working constants in my sometimes adventurous experiments with colors and the way to applicate them. Cheers Rob

Thanks Harv I'm glad you like it, thank you. Maybe my 1/16 Chinese Tankette will be next with an oil paint job. I remember yours and liked it a lot. Thanks Gaz, the actual color tends a little more to the brown side and looks ok to me. If I don't like it after varnishing, I may put a filter on, let's see. Also thank you for trying to force me into a dio build . No way with this one, where I haven't even a pilot figure. Cheers Rob

I visited their website, just to know if I'm stupid or not. 1ManArmy says, that the sets include basic markings, stencils and group numbers. There is no placement manual to be seen or explained which airplanes or schemes are covered in the sets. I think, 1ManArmy should recruit a second man for marketing and maybe better product shots on their site. I don't buy high priced products, when I'm not sure what I get . Cheers Rob

Thanks for showing Phil. I saw these for a month or so, but thought the pricing ridiculous, for what I thought, I get in these sets. The package claims to only include the stenciling, but the Modelling News review shows, that national insignia are also covered in the sets, which sounds way more interesting. Cheers Rob

Thanks Peter, I'm shooting JPEG, I generally hate post processing pictures, but may have to go that route more frequent in the future. My dogma in photography is, I make the the picture, the moment I capture it and that's it. It's the old analog thinking (of course there was post processing too), but digital possibilities has changed the game. Nearly everything is possible with post processing, except, taking the right picture at the right moment, with the good focal angle, with the actual metering. No picture is objective, but capturing them in one moment, while pressing the trigger makes them authentic. You might argue against my thinking, pointing out, JPEG algorithms are post processing itself and you are right, but that's the Compromise I found for myself, after working with analogue material seemed no more appropriate. For the pictures above, I used the correct custom WB-setting for the LED lighting, which is given. The hue, a slightly greenish tint, is caused by the micro 4/3 chip on my Lumix camera, it's not true to real colors. I know, I can correct the hue in the camera, but I don't want to, as it's only visible under some extreme conditions, macroing models unfortunately, is one of them. It doesn't miss by a lot, but it's distinctive, I can tell you, as I work with that color for days now . When using the Lumix, I try to get all the variables right, which I'm not doing with my Iphone. I use the Pro Cam App for the phone, which allows to adjust many parameters. With that, I use a different approach. I adjust the pic on the screen as long, till it looks right. Impossible with the Iphone, but close enough for most purposes. Cheers Rob

Great work with the engine wiring. The steering arm looks precious with it's complicated geometry, you seem to have a very good spatial sense. Cheers Rob

Great progress on your interesting project. The interior of the cabin looks very realistic, only the cabin light may need to be filtered a bit to the warm side, with a touch of clear orange. The running gear is also very beautiful and is a pleasure to see in working mode. When I was young, I build a steam machine from scratch and it was always very satisfying to see the mechanic gear work with precision. Please keep us in the loop with your locomotive build. Cheers Rob

After another zillion brushstrokes, which barely touched the surface, I think, I got where I wanted to be, more or less. I will let the oils dry for some days and re-evaluate, before I seal the oil color with varnish. It's really hard to get the color show on the photo as in real live. For the following pics, I used my Lumix camera instead of the Iphone and tried to get the lighting and white balance right (Idid that with the Iphone as well). It came closer to the applied color, but still has a hue in it. My interpretation of the Polish brown, seems hard to capture. Cheers Rob

Muchas gracias Amigos, I'm not completely satisfied with the outcome in the moment, I want to spread the color more even onto the fuselage, but decided to let it dry overnight, as it is easy to abrase too much of the color. Working with oils is not always about applying color, its about removing applied colors as well. Hard to explain, but sometimes I work with a color free brush and after half a minute, I remove the accumulated paint from some strokes with a paper towel. @GazzaS I don't have a Tante Ju in my stash and don't plan to purchase one, albeit it's a fascinating airframe. I may go back to the roots with a Junkers D.1 build. My D.1 will be finished in NMF and since a long time, I thought about trying AK's True Metal waxes rubbed into the surface for painting. Cheers Rob

How can you build so fast and paint so good John? Is there a secret, are you a team in reality ? Your Kittyhawk looks the usual great, thanks for showing. Cheers Rob

The second layer of oil colors is applied, I used the oils in a darker and almost paste like consistence. It was dabbed on and spread with a flat brush in different directions. It is not so easy to maintain a relatively even distribution of the color, one brush stroke with too much force and you have to restart the area. The paste like color needs to be spread further, but this will be done after an overnight drying time.. For the wings, I used a thinner mix of color and accentuated the tin fairings panels with targeted flat brush strokes. Cheers Rob

Am I Kai or do you push all of us lately Hubert? Thank you for the information about the different models, there was quite an evolution to the -C model to be seen. Same with me here, I'm learning a lot with using the oils. It's quite essential to use larger brushes and work with very fine brushstrokes as to not remove paint, unwanted. Light stokes also ensure, that the oil colors are spread fine and equally. I dab on the oils and then start to spread them in different directions, finally with the airflow. You can accentuate panels with defined strokes of a flat brush. Cheers Rob

Good news Peter, if they ever release it. So many times, I thought about building a Tamiya 48 scale Beau, but resisted, as I hoped, somebody would release an adequate one in LS, better than the good ole' Revell Beaufighter. Cheers Rob

Like Gaz said, the corroded exhaust look great and contrast nicely to the engine. Cheers Rob

Thank you Martin, I love my airbrush and the results, I can achieve with it. I started using an airbrush long before I reentered modelling to work on paper for posters or stop motion animations, but it's like with all the techniques, all have their pros and cons and if you have a wide palette at hand, you can use them in very creative ways. I love to explore new techniques and skills and sometimes, I choose my subjects only to learn new stuff. You are absolutely right about, how underrated brush painting is, maybe because of bad memories in the teens, while ruining heaps of plastic and glue with bad paintjobs. I started to be more interested into brush painting, when I saw some videos in the net, about sci-fi model painting and stored what I had seen for later. I lately started a build, which was only brush painted on the outside, to achieve a nice layering and weathering effect, but the Ammo Knight was painted with acrylics. With brush painting, it's about to learn it's limitations and to use it to maximum benefits. It pays, to take an unconventional look at, how to achieve a certain result. BTW. Thanks for the pic Martin. Interesting to see, that the spine, behind the cockpit is much shorter than on mine. Cheers Rob

Muchas gracias Amigos, this is only the beginning, but it's interesting to see, how different the surfaces have to be treated. The corrugated wings cry for more thinned laers, where the fuselage painting needs a dryer mix, which has to thoroughly work into the surface, to spread the oil color in very fine layers. The good thing with the oils is, you can easily remove unwanted results with thinner, but this can also happen to a finished layer, which can be ruined by a second coat with too much thinning. It's trail and error and lots to learn . Cheers Rob

I really like what I see, soldered metal, great, a WIP would be great. Cheers Rob

Thanks for the link, which I have not seen before. Mine will be strictly MK.I, as I will go for a silver dope finish and like the wooden IP. Cheers Rob

Great work Peter. can remember the flap/wing assembly was a bit fiddly, with all the options, but as you said, following the manual is essential. The pictures show, everything is aligning cleanly, good job. Cheers Rob

Thank you Phil, I didn't know before either, but this result is what I hoped for and expected. Cheers Rob

The first layer of Polish brown is applied. Opposite to the corrugated wings, I used slightly thicker color and worked it into the surface step by step with dabbing moves, followed by streaking brushes, very lightly along the fuselage. I used a mix of Abteilung basic earth and olive green for the mix, which will be varied for other layers, which will be applied after drying. The result looks a bit streaky, but this will become finer and finer with every pass of the brush. The application method needs some patience. Cheers Rob

De nada Gaz, it's always easier too adopt a new technique, when others shared their experiences. I have often profited from you all, this way. Cheers Rob

Nice detail work and great explanation about what you did. These open hull tanks are full of detail and not easy to build and paint. Cheers Rob

Thank you Peter, oil painting works as expected, it has it's positive aspects, like very fine layering, perfect ability to blend colors, like you mentioned, painting and primary weathering in one stage, ... But it has limitations as well. Masking would not be recommended as the very heavy thinned oil color will go under the masks and if masking material sticks onto oil painted surfaces without destroying them is also a question. I guess, oil painting is limited to monochrome (maybe two color) subjects, which shouldn't look new. I can imagine using oils for ships, specially for the hull, where you can accentuate the different panels, easy made with a flat brush. Tanks are also a possibility and If everything works out with the PZL, there is a ready build 1/16 Chinese Tanquette waiting for an interesting monochrome paint job, including the commander. In the moment, MR. Surfacer and levelling thinner works good for me and if I've found a combo like this, I use it exclusively, as I know all the pros and cons. I try to learn new techniques with every build, some builds, I only started because of new techniques to conquer. This is made easier, if you have some trusty elements in a build and primer is so important. Cheers Rob

If you ask me now, I would say immediately, but then I look at my stash and find so many temptations. Honestly I can't tell. For now, I have the excuse, that I wait for my Brassin MG's. I'm also not sure about the camo and tend to a North African scheme. Cheers Rob