GazzaS

Although I really like the shape of the plane... I really don't want to have to deal with resin dust. I just don;t want to wear a mask.

Looks fantastic, Phil! Well done. Gonna try the pigments with water, too!

Very nice, John!

Of course we will.

So... for those of you who have built Lukgraph kits before I pose this question: What are the struts made of? I can't imagine trusting much weight on resin struts.

Resin!

IM or resin?

Thank you! I've always liked the Dornier shape.

Looking good, Rob!

Thank you, Phil. Sanding is my 'new' thing in all models. It's actually wet sanding done with very fine grit paper or micromesh. Usually about 6000 grit or above. The hoped-for results of the sanding are: Distresses the camo paint. Reduces 1/1 scale overspray. Gets rid of matte texture which can cause weathering effects to wick across the surface uncontrollably. It has to be done carefully, of course without a sanding block, and a drop of liquid soap in the water for lubrication. Truth be told, I'd rather none of my paints were matte. It would save me a step, and a layer. Tamiya acrylics are just head and shoulders above everything else. MRP lacquers spray nice... but they're not as tough as Tamiya Acrylics. Gaz

YOu must have inspired the artwork, Harv!

Hannants in the UK (love em'!) is my go to place when I can;t find it here in Australia. And they have this new Tamiya release: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/TA35372 And you can see a video review of it here:

Well... don't know if I'm competent. But I'll let you know when I start my next WNW bird.

My trouble would be having a machine that only cuts. Numbering them would have to be with a sharpie...lol

Fokker D.VII, Hannover Cl.II. ,Halberstadt Cl.II. But who knows when I'll actually get to them.

Looking forward to seeing more of this. After seeing your lozenge work, I'm tempted to try my own. I don't really care for huge decals, and I've never been totally happy with the way the decals came out. They get wrinkles near the wing tips, or even worse, blisters as you use a hair dryer to shrink them.

Welcome back, John! Err... John's mossie. Heck, you've done all of the hard work. Now you're at the fun stage. Gaz

I think there are a lot of WNW that won;t get built by the 'first' buyer. There are some guys who are 'waiting for their skillset to improve' before they build them. If I was 35, I might thing that way... but being almost 20 years past 35... I gotta build em.

I have seen a couple black model aircraft done with light colored lines. Every rivet and every line stood out. Not seeing your model, I can't comment on it. Very recently somebody over at TOS completed an ME 110 in black with lighter colored details. For a while it looked great to me... But before I had quit looking a the selection of photos I began to feel that it just looked wrong. Again, every detail stood out from every distance and every angle. We all know that panel lines are little magicians who sometimes show up brilliantly, and at other times disappear. I don't think that I would be satisfied if I went that way. Today's update... some early morning pics after pulling the masks. The white markings are 50% Tamiya white and 50% Tamiya JA Grey which also doubles as RLM 02 in many cases. I have three different mixes of RLM 02. The gray letters are MRP RLM 74. Again, another photo with a lot of black in the background. I really hate that the tailwheel isn't constructed so that it couldn't be added after painting. So, that's the next stop... and then a clear coat. Then sanding... then another clear coat. ...and hopefully a final lot of sanding. Thank you for looking! Gaz

A lot depends on where you are. If you're in the US, recommendations for England or Australia would not be as cost effective as a seller near you.

Thank you, Harv!

Thank you, Rob. That is kind of what I was hoping for. When you don't have true black around for comparison, anything close looks black. As long as you don't do something crazy like use white or blue to dilute the blackness. FYI I used Tamiya black X-1 diluted with Tamiya Red Brown XF-10 and Tamiya Green XF-5. My painting bench top is just worn wood with paint drippings on it. While I was painting, it looked as if the model was just black. And when I set the model down on my BBQ with it's black sides, the difference shocked me. I am honestly unsure of how I'll proceed from here. Originally I had planned to to the pin wash in pure black. But now, I think I will have to dilute it a bit because I don't want too much contrast. Regarding the irregularities of the paint. I honestly have no idea what will happen with the clear coat. But there are effects I will try to use to make some detail pop. Sadly, it's blowing a gale today. I don't dare do any painting, inside the house or out. But I can at least can do part of the first phase sanding. Cheers Gaz

Heh... just saying 'cool' was non-committal. I'm in.

Ok....finally... some color! Or is it... a lack of light? Now... believe it or not, there are seven shades of 'black' here. Looking at the nacelles, some of the shades are easy to see. I cleaned my airbrush last night.... I wanted a clean nozzle for painting. Notice that you can still see the panel lines. Just tell me... does it look gray to you? If it looks gray... I am failing in my mission. Notice the open panels? There are two bits of true Tamiya black there. Also around the curved leading edge of the cowl. That little light spot.... I must have dropped a drip of thinner on it. Now.... shade your eyes.... we're going outside to see what it looks like in sunlight. , Compared to the black side of the barbecue, the shade (even though it;s a bunch of shades) is highlighted. Note to self: There can be no true black on the base. At the rear of the wing root, you can see two areas where my preshading shows through. Now... There is a lot to do. Highlighting. Shadow making. Pin Wash. Spills. And the base. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for looking! Gaz

I had some reading glasses custom made just for rigging. The best you can buy off the rack is 3.5X which is what I use for every day modelling. The custom set is 4.82X. That gives me a working distance of around 8 inches and works well-enough for passing back and forth through the tubes and threading eyelets. Watchmakers use 5X glasses, but the working distance is so short that you wouldn't be able to get your head close enough without knocking your model over. Fortunately the guy who made my glasses was savvy enough to know and tell me about the working distance. When I take off my custom glasses, it takes my eyes a while to get back to normal. Gaz