GazzaS

Thank you, Rob!

Thank you, Kai! This work was done without applying a clear coat, and the paints are MRP lacquers. A gloss coat will make the oil paints spread too quickly as they won;t have anything to grab. I suppose you could use a satin coat, but why add another layer of paint? The initial streaks are thinned to a creamy consistency. If you find yourself having trouble spreading the paint with a dry brush, just wipe it off with a clean paper towel and thin your paint more and do it again. I use odorless turpentine as my thinner. I applied the paint with a paint brush dedicated to the job of solely applying paint. Then I used a flat (7mm-8mm), dry, synthetic brush to spread the paint where I wanted. If I found I had too much paint, then I used another brush dipped in mineral spirits to remove some paint. The moral of this part of the story is that you really don't know how much paint you want until you see how it is spreading. Occasionally you need to clean out your dry brush with mineral spirits... or your thinner of choice. Mineral spirits dry fast, so that is what I prefer. Using your dry brush while it is damp will cause you to remove paint instead of spreading it. AS far as colors go, you have to determine your goal. If, like on a metal-skinned aircraft, you are trying to modulate the color, you can use any variety of colors really as you are spreading that paint so thin as to make the color you've applied disappear. But on this occasion I was trying to effect a shape change with three different base colors on a fabric skinned aircraft, with colors that specifically had to be darker versions of the colors already applied. For the grey-green, I just mixed black, white, and green. For the green I mixed green, blue, and yellow ocher. And for the brown, I mixed dark brown, red, and blue until I got a deep chestnut color. With oils, you can afford some experimentation as long as you try to find the right mix as long as your colors aren't too different from each other. For instance, if you used red over white, no amount of cleaning afterward is going to remove a pink stain. Do they have chestnuts in Germany? Finally... if you go out of the area you want your color to be in, you can use a brush dipped in white spirits to try to remove it. I actually got some red into the white around the kreuzen and will have to use paint to cover it. Regarding the FW 190 there was more to it as I modulate both with the airbrush by changing the base color a few times by tinting with complimentary colors of the same brand of paint.... and then I wet sand afterwards to make it smooth which also stresses the paint scheme and randomizes the finish. And all of this before I was even thinking about what I would be doing with oils.

Isn't that just about how long it took the US Army Corps of engineers to dig the Panama Canal?

So cool! Well done!

Thank you very much, my friends! Today's effort was with oils... almost all day long. This crappy phone shot shows the beginning of the technique. I laid oil paints, lightly thinned, between the raised ribs of the flying surfaces. Now... I have tried to get this effect with pre-shading, and I've never been happy with it. Maybe I just lack the knack. Anyway.... And I had to mix a separate color for each of the colors on the fabric surfaces. And now we can jump to the results: I wanted the effects to be subtle, yet not too even. In pics, you can barely see what I've done with the rudder. The large pattee cross gives little room for messing around. I still have to attack the area of the wing crosses. Happy modelling!

Even better, Kai! Do you find it difficult to find pledge/Future in Germany?

I can only echo what Kai says. Really great progress!

Thank you, Peter!

Thank you, my friends!

Thank you, Kai. I'm still unsure about what to do with the spinner. It just seems silly to have the skull on a rectangular background. And I have seen no real pictures of it. It would be far easier to have the skull on a circular background, and must have been difficult to do IRL. Here is another modellers take on it. Apparently, it was known in the unit as "Der Grun Maus". A new photo I just discovered, but it doesn't help with the prop: Perhaps my skull is too large and or on the wrong background.... Of course there is speculation about the wings, whether they were left in factory standard as I have painted them, or all-green as others have. So... whatever happens...

Those LG look damn nice, Kai!

Thank you, Rob! The monochrome fuselage is demanding some better effort than a pin wash. I'm hoping I can find the right colors in my head to get it right.

Thank you, Peter! If you don;t mind, I'll use your quote to segue into another update. Hello friends, although I keep preparing to start weathering with the oils, I find more and more stuff I need to get done first. Hopefully this update will put in the no-more-excuses/delays position. Whilst I'd attached the guns last weekend, there were still things to take care of... most of which were partially weathered, like the exhaust pipe. You can see from this front shot that it's a crowded area under the A-frame. The ear radiators are a feature unique to the type but were quickly replaced by the Teeves und Braun wing radiator. Atop the engine is a strange triangular contraption that is also common to the Roland C.II that I can only guess is the filler cap and coolant reserve/steam expansion area. Finally the tail skid. I think that puts me out-of-parts. Soon, it will join my small Jasta. Happy modelling!

Ah, this iwll be great to see come together! Nice start on the PE parts.... they look awesome!

Looks interesting.

Very nice work, Phil!

Looks great so far! The nice thing about going a little light on the color is that it helps you from going too dark after weathering, and allows you to darken areas and play with shadows.

Very nice looking work! Love the leather bag! That looks like Tamiya 02 to me. What 02 do you use? I usually lighten it quite a bit.

Thank you, Sir!

Coming together nicely, Kai! The cockpit and ejector sat look spectacular.

Fantastic job John!

Thanks for coming by, Ern. I've noticed you seem rather busy lately. No big deal. The wing struts are relatively thick and lacking in details. So I used .5mm rod. But I think it will be tougher on thinner struts. For instance, I don't think the cabanes on the D.II-D.Va would be thick enough to even mess with. I do have some .2mm copper wire which can be straightened by twisting. So, I'll try it on my other Roden kits when I can. I have a Roden D.III OAW built kit in the stash, and I'm going to save the D.III struts included in this kit for spares. Re: The prop... this was probably the quickest one I had ever done if you subtract the time I spent mixing the Tamiya clears. Full scratch is cool... but like you I don't want to spend too much time on it.

Thank you, Kai. I still haven't resolved how to clean up the spinner.

Thank you, Kai!