Landlubber Mike Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Wow, great work Rob. The decal work is fantastic! Nice pickup of the Rexx exhausts. Not that the kit parts are terrible, but man, those aftermarket exhausts are really nice! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 17 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said: Wow, great work Rob. The decal work is fantastic! Nice pickup of the Rexx exhausts. Not that the kit parts are terrible, but man, those aftermarket exhausts are really nice! Thank you Mike, decaling is definitely testing my patience, but the quality of the decals helps. Nonetheless, it´s hard to do something in between, I permanently visit my bench, to do some adjusting here, some decal softener application, ... . I hope to start with the engines soon and will develop a plan for my weathering approach. I´m a bit lost here, because the opaque character of the decals robs me of my favorite methods of pre shading for WWI planes, I built before. The Rexx exhausts are a treat, not necessarily needed, as the kit parts are not too bad either, but they will look fantastic. I will build one engine with and the other without cowlings or maybe scratch a bit and make one half open. Cheers Rob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Rob Lucky man and so glad you received your order. The exhausts look awesome. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 7 Author Share Posted March 7 12 hours ago, Peterpools said: Lucky man and so glad you received your order. The exhausts look awesome. Indeed Peter, a few days, after I made the purchase, I received the mail, that the homepage of the company will be shut down and maybe reopened under another name later in the year. Glad, that my parcel was on it´s way then. Cheers Rob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 7 Author Share Posted March 7 The creature got it´s tail, but without the rudder and elevator for now. The joints are fragile and therefore they will be added later. The intersecting tail parts are pure genius, they hold all three parts exactly in place with perfect fit, I only glued for security. As a break from decaling, I decided to start the engines. One will be covered with cowls and less detailed, the other will be without cowls and receive some updates, to enhance detail level. First, I scratched the top rocker springs for a more coiled look with a sharp scribing needle. Next, I drilled out the holes for the spark plugs with a 0,5 mm drill bit, to accept 1,5 mm long pieces of brass tube with an outer diameter of 0,5 mm and an inner diameter of 0,3 mm. Said tube pieces were cut with a sharp blade, only rolling them on a flat surface with only slight pressure. This way, you cut easily without leaving burr in the hole. These spark plugs will be CA-ed into the holes and will become 0,2 mm lead wire inserted for the ignition cables. Then I prepared the ignition harness, using the kit part and gluing a six pack of 0,2 mm lead wires to the end of the tubes, which will later be connected with the magnetos and glued a pair of lead wires for every cylinder to the plastic part, which will later be inserted into the spark plugs. Cheers Rob 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 Tedious but the end result will be well worth it. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 Rob Right with Martin and the fruits of your patience and critical eye is so very apparent. Looking brilliant. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 On 3/8/2024 at 2:37 PM, Martinnfb said: Tedious but the end result will be well worth it. On 3/9/2024 at 2:15 PM, Peterpools said: Right with Martin and the fruits of your patience and critical eye is so very apparent. Looking brilliant. Thank you Martin and Peter, some of my efforts didn´t play out as wanted, but I got it done anyway. the CA capillared into the brass tubes and I had to glue the ignition wires flat on top of the ´spark plugs´. The fantastic Colle 21 CA did it´s job here again. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 I finished the engines today, which were fun to build, but a ton of work. I wired only the left engine, as the right one will be hidden under cowlings. After priming all the parts with Tamiya LP-5 semi gloss black, the aluminum parts were sprayed with AK´s Extreme metals matte aluminum, the ignition harness in copper and the tiny ´golden´ parts in brass, all from AK. I wanted a blotchy look for the lower aluminum parts and used the salt technique again, spraying dark aluminum on top. After that, I used AK´s true metal wax aluminum, dark aluminum and steel, dabbed on with a stiff old brush and then worked into the surface with a flat brush. The result looks more dotted to the real eye. The tubing received my usual treatment of steel pigment rubbed in only slightly for a tiny bit of sheen, followed by some dark brown pigments on the intake manifold and cylinders. The oil tanks were sprayed brass, salted and followed by pale brass, later waxes of brass and bronze for a worn, but shiny metal look. I applied a self mixed black oil wash, thinned with matte thinner, to enhance the details. Wiring was next, I but glued the ignition cables to the spark plugs with CA and cut the overlap with a fresh blade, easy with 0,2 mm lead wire. The ´bushes´ of 6 cables for each magneto were sorted out and glued into place. Finally, I dabbed some semi matte black onto CA residues. Per my usual practice, I used CA for mounting painted parts, which is more comfortable to me. I use a toothpick to add the CA, a less potential messy affair than using Extra thin, eating through the paint and running into unwanted places. Cheers Rob 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Cast metal looks spot on! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Wow, really nice looking pair of engines. Very tidy work on drilling and mounting the ignition wires. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 17 hours ago, Martinnfb said: Cast metal looks spot on! 13 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said: Wow, really nice looking pair of engines. Very tidy work on drilling and mounting the ignition wires. Muchas gracias amigos, I have a huge box in my workshop containing all metal colors, waxes and pigments. When I start WWI engines, I open it, like the make- up kit a Grace Kelly would have done and let the contents speak to me . It´s an iterative process, only partly planned. The drilling was partly superfluous, as the CA got soaked into the tubes and I had to but glue the wires, which works good with that easy to bend lead wire, luckily. Cheers Rob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Running out of superlatives here Rob - but amazing work! Love the work on the engines. I need to look into the AK wax products. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 23 minutes ago, Landlubber Mike said: Running out of superlatives here Rob - but amazing work! Love the work on the engines. I need to look into the AK wax products. Thank you Mike, I use the AK waxes frequently, but only on surfaces, I do not plan to cover them with paint or varnish later. It might work, but I haven´t tried yet. They are a good addition to base paint and pigments and spread thin and even, with great coverage. Cheers Rob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Rob Right with the Guys as your engine work is brilliant - detailing, colors and weathering is spot on the money and looks so good. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 16 hours ago, Peterpools said: Right with the Guys as your engine work is brilliant - detailing, colors and weathering is spot on the money and looks so good. Thank you Peter, I´m looking for a used, weathered look with the AEG. For the engines it´s relatively easy to achieve, with the fuselage not so much. I need a plan for this, as the decals are fragile and I have to think about, which products I can use onto them. Because they were opaque there was no way of preshading, which I normally prefer. Cheers Rob 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Rob Good point. What if you seal the deals first and then do the weathering, would that offer enough 'protection? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 After I figured out, which parts were needed for the nacelles and radiators, I started to paint them. The left engine will be displayed un-cowled, the right one with cowlings. All parts were sprayed with AK matte aluminum, which is not that matte, but covers great and has a nice metallic sheen. It will be only the base layer for weathering and was followed by two coats of horrible smelly hairspray for later chipping. Then the parts were sprayed with Tamiya XF-22 (RLM 22) for the engine bearers and XF-17 sea blue for the outside of the cowlings and radiators. The sea blue was highlighted then, with some drops of sand color added, highlighting the upper sides and the panel borders. The effect is hard to see on the pic, but it´s there. Later, the cowling outsides will be dampened to activate the hairspray and scratched with a variety of tools for chipping. Airbrushing slightly lighted sea blue onto the dark surfaces proved difficult, but I remembered that with my H&S Infinity Giraldez edition airbrush came three different nozzle guide horns (the mounted one is the longest), which were very helpful, placing the slightly lighter dots and will come handy with free hand squiggle camo, as you keep the same distance to the kit and it makes aiming easier. Cheers Rob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 20 minutes ago, Peterpools said: Good point. What if you seal the deals first and then do the weathering, would that offer enough 'protection? Sealing them will be the first step, Peter, but with several weathering steps planned, I would have liked to use a durable varnish. On the inner fuselage decals, I tried AK real color matte with leveling thinner, which slightly attacked the decals. I will have to experiment with Tamiya clear matte and the Tamiya X-thinner or worst case with Future and added flat base. Cheers Rob 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Nice start to the paintwork. That airbrush tip looks interesting and is a great idea to help get consistent results. For sealing over the decals, maybe try a few most coats first before a slightly heavier one to prevent the clear from melting the decals. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Rob AB work looks awesome, and I really like the additional tips for the H&S air brushes. I'm going to see if H&S makes them for their Infinity CR Plus air brushes. I've always been a big fan of Tamiya X-22 Clear Gloss as it is being an acrylic, is super safe to use over any paint or decals. I also have been using a lot of Tamiya LP9 Lacquer Clear Gloss as it's virtue, once down and dry, is imperious to anything being applied on top of it. Both are my go-to clears and have never let me down. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 1 hour ago, BlrwestSiR said: Nice start to the paintwork. That airbrush tip looks interesting and is a great idea to help get consistent results. For sealing over the decals, maybe try a few most coats first before a slightly heavier one to prevent the clear from melting the decals. Thanks Carl, misting over a very thin protective layer could really help. I haven´t used the airbrush tips before, but they seem very good for certain airbrushing tasks. It helps to get lines with the same width over a model and like I said, helps aiming. Fine airbrush work, like skin tones or similar on figures will benefit too. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 5 minutes ago, Peterpools said: AB work looks awesome, and I really like the additional tips for the H&S air brushes. I'm going to see if H&S makes them for their Infinity CR Plus air brushes. I don´t know, if H&S sell them separately, but they should fit onto other Infinity muzzles as well. They replace the needle protector cap, which I don´t use normally. X-22 with some added flat base came to mind Peter, thinned with normal Tamiya thinner, which shouldn´t be too aggressive. Applied, like Carl said, a misted, fast drying coat and then more. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Rob Sound like the way to go. I tend to thin my X22 1 pt X22 to 2 pts Self Leveling thinner and after a few coats, a smooth glossy surface starts to come into play. I'll take a look at their website and the vendor I use here in the starts for parts and maybe I'll get lucky. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Rob, lately I have been looking at this site on my phone, I check this build two or three times a day ( for updates ) and I think, when I see one , “ oh that’s typical Rob, very precise and really well done” …… until, the other day… I was on the ‘big’ computer and checked in ……… a hand held phone does NO justice to this build. When looked at closely with large photos…. This build is jaw dropping to me. Your attention to the details is fabulous and the fuselage decals are EXCELLENTLY done. This build begs to be on the home computer not a shitty hand held phone. I LOVE how this is coming together, your efforts are well worth it. This is going to be a fantastic display piece. Looking forward to the next update. I’m taking note for my first WNW build. Not this kit but a WNW kit. Jeff 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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