Roden Albatros D.I

[GazzaS]

23 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Gaz

Looking simply fantastic - paint and masking is perfectly done.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

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!

 

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, GazzaS said:

Soon, it will join my small Jasta.

And what a nice addition this is. All the detail work combined with the interesting and not often seen paint scheme, make her a real stunner.

Cheers Rob

[GazzaS]

35 minutes ago, DocRob said:

And what a nice addition this is. All the detail work combined with the interesting and not often seen paint scheme, make her a real stunner.

Cheers Rob

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.

[Kaireckstadt]

I can only underline what Rob already stated:

The details and your work make a real stunner out of it! 
Great looking model Gaz! I personally love the prop with the skull on the spinner! 

[Peterpools]

Gaz

Awesome, simply awesome work and what a collection: museum quality.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GusMac]

Looks great Gaz 

[harv]

Don't know how, but this dropped off my radar. Gazz , it looks amazing sir !!.....harv

[GazzaS]

19 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:

I can only underline what Rob already stated:

The details and your work make a real stunner out of it! 
Great looking model Gaz! I personally love the prop with the skull on the spinner! 

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...  

[GazzaS]

19 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Gaz

Awesome, simply awesome work and what a collection: museum quality.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

 

9 hours ago, GusMac said:

Looks great Gaz 

 

9 hours ago, harv said:

Don't know how, but this dropped off my radar. Gazz , it looks amazing sir !!.....harv

Thank you, my friends!

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, GazzaS said:

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.

If there is no proof, how the skull looked and if it was there at all, then it's up to your liking.

2 hours ago, GazzaS said:

Apparently, it was known in the unit as "Der Grun Maus".

It should be 'Die grüne Maus', maybe this helps searching.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Gaz

Looking so good ..

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

On 5/14/2021 at 8:44 AM, Peterpools said:

Gaz

Looking so good ..

Keep 'em comin

Peter

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!

[Kaireckstadt]

Great and subtle weathering with the oils Gaz! Looks really convincing! 

Can you describe what you do with the oil streaks on the surface? Is it thinned or plain? Which basic colors do you use for mixing? How do you apply it and how long does it have to dry? 
 

I want to give it a try. You also used this on your beautiful 190 didn‘t  you? 

[DocRob]

The oil treatment turned out great. It results in a very realistic look. I like the little differences in the three camo colors, which enhances the realism to my eye.

Cheers Rob

[GazzaS]

2 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:

Great and subtle weathering with the oils Gaz! Looks really convincing! 

Can you describe what you do with the oil streaks on the surface? Is it thinned or plain? Which basic colors do you use for mixing? How do you apply it and how long does it have to dry? 
 

I want to give it a try. You also used this on your beautiful 190 didn‘t  you? 

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.

[GazzaS]

2 hours ago, DocRob said:

The oil treatment turned out great. It results in a very realistic look. I like the little differences in the three camo colors, which enhances the realism to my eye.

Cheers Rob

Thank you, Rob!

[Kaireckstadt]

6 minutes ago, GazzaS said:

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.

Thanks for this super tutorial Gaz.

I can print this out and use it as an instruction! 
 

And at the end it is possible to seal everything with flat varnish?

 

[GazzaS]

Just now, Kaireckstadt said:

Thanks for this super tutorial Gaz.

I can print this out and use it as an instruction! 
 

And at the end it is possible to seal everything with flat varnish?

 

You are welcome.

Yes, you can seal everything in flat varnish.  I usually give the oils a week to dry before I add any other effects or coats.  Be sure before you use the oils to place them on a piece of rough card-board and let them sit for three hours to leach out the linseed oils in the paint.  Otherwise...  it can take a very long time for the paint to dry.

[Kaireckstadt]

1 minute ago, GazzaS said:

You are welcome.

Yes, you can seal everything in flat varnish.  I usually give the oils a week to dry before I add any other effects or coats.  Be sure before you use the oils to place them on a piece of rough card-board and let them sit for three hours to leach out the linseed oils in the paint.  Otherwise...  it can take a very long time for the paint to dry.

Thanks for the additional tipp Gary!

Normally I use oil’s only thinned heavily for panel lining. Here I wait 24 hours till I spray flat varnish.

I didn’t know that until now! 

[Jeff]

Even though Phil put me in the back row, I am feverishly taking notes for my build, and this is an awesome tutorial, for me to try to expand my mediocre skills

[Peterpools]

Gaz

Outstanding results with the oil weathering - light and subtle ... it's there and for me, adds to the depth and feel of the model.

Gaz, thanks so much for the tutorial ... I've been struggling with just this weathering effect and am going to give it a whirl on the interior of my P-39 and see how it goes.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

1 hour ago, Jeff said:

Even though Phil put me in the back row, I am feverishly taking notes for my build, and this is an awesome tutorial, for me to try to expand my mediocre skills

 

51 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

Gaz

Outstanding results with the oil weathering - light and subtle ... it's there and for me, adds to the depth and feel of the model.

Gaz, thanks so much for the tutorial ... I've been struggling with just this weathering effect and am going to give it a whirl on the interior of my P-39 and see how it goes.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

Thank you, fellas!  I am glad to be of help.

[GazzaS]

G'day Comrades...   not in the Socialist sense, though.  But in styrene.

On work days, I have little time or energy for modelling.  But I did continue work on the wing.  My key goal was subtlety.  White and black have different rules from other colors, I believe.  White reflects light while black absorbs it.

And effects need consistency to be believed.  But I was very apprehensive about attacking the cross fields on the upper wing.  So...  I have no way to know how this will look once a matte coat is applied.  Here is a collage of the upper wing crosses:

 

I worked on the fuselage today, but no pics.  I'm trying to use oil paints to bring out the unique shape of the fuselage.

I have Thursday off...  I hope to accomplish something noteworthy then.

 

Happy modelling!

[Peterpools]

Gaz

On my monitor I'm seeing the black now leaning towards very dark gray and the white leaning towards a very pale gray, which both seem fine to me. 

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Kaireckstadt]

5 hours ago, GazzaS said:

G'day Comrades...   not in the Socialist sense, though.  But in styrene.

On work days, I have little time or energy for modelling.  But I did continue work on the wing.  My key goal was subtlety.  White and black have different rules from other colors, I believe.  White reflects light while black absorbs it.

And effects need consistency to be believed.  But I was very apprehensive about attacking the cross fields on the upper wing.  So...  I have no way to know how this will look once a matte coat is applied.  Here is a collage of the upper wing crosses:

 

I worked on the fuselage today, but no pics.  I'm trying to use oil paints to bring out the unique shape of the fuselage.

I have Thursday off...  I hope to accomplish something noteworthy then.

 

Happy modelling!

Gary, my comrade in the right sense ,

To my personal opinion the weathering of the black and white looks absolutely realistic! Exactly the way I like it: subtle and not exaggerated! I think this will also be visible under a matte cote.

Not far away from the finish-line, Gary! Maybe you already cross it on Thursday?