Eduard Bf 109F-4

[KevinM]

13 hours ago, CANicoll said:

I prefer to use the Uschi line for the antenna wires as it is round and comes in some incredibly thin diameters - down to .001.  I'm using their .005 line and the down wire will be .005 as well. Photographs seem to show both wires are the same size.

Looking great Chris by the way do you p/u your Uschi line stateside?I have not located any yet.

[Peterpools]

Chris

Right with martin and some mighty nice progress. Always something that seems to break or go wrong in the last stages of a build and those aileron counterbalances were just waiting for the right moment.

 

[CANicoll]

Thanks Martin!

[PanzerWomble]

+1 on the Matt ,

I swear by W&N Galleria Acrylic Matt Varnish , you can almost pour it out of the bottle and it levels flat as flat . Never had an issue with it other than it goes off a bit in the bottle after 12 months opened. 

Is it RFI / glamour shot time ?

[DocRob]

4 hours ago, PanzerWomble said:

I swear by W&N Galleria Acrylic Matt Varnish , you can almost pour it out of the bottle and it levels flat as flat . Never had an issue with it other than it goes off a bit in the bottle after 12 months opened.

Sorry for the detour, Chris.

Is this the stuff you are using, PW? How do you thin it for the airbrush? This varnish seems to be really interesting, if it is really dead flat.
Galeria Acrylic - Matt Varnish – Winsor & Newton EU (winsornewton.com)

Cheers Rob

[PanzerWomble]

24 minutes ago, DocRob said:

Sorry for the detour, Chris.

Is this the stuff you are using, PW? How do you thin it for the airbrush? This varnish seems to be really interesting, if it is really dead flat.
Galeria Acrylic - Matt Varnish – Winsor & Newton EU (winsornewton.com)

Cheers Rob

Thats the one . I normally buy the 75ml bottle, as it thickens over time . I have diluted it after a year but for the cost easier just to buy a new one. 

You can spray it from the bottle or with a couple of drops of water or X20a as a thinner. Even brushed it at a pinch on small touch up areas . 

Been using it 4+ years , really is almost impossible to get it wrong . Thin coat, thick coat , makes no odds . 

Sadly their equivalent gloss isn't as good . 

Picked up the tip from Alexander Pedan , a gifted guy 

https://www.instagram.com/a_pedan_scale_models/

 

[DocRob]

4 minutes ago, PanzerWomble said:

Thats the one . I normally buy the 75ml bottle, as it thickens over time . I have diluted it after a year but for the cost easier just to buy a new one. 

You can spray it from the bottle or with a couple of drops of water or X20a as a thinner. Even brushed it at a pinch on small touch up areas . 

Been using it 4+ years , really is almost impossible to get it wrong . Thin coat, thick coat , makes no odds . 

Sadly their equivalent gloss isn't as good . 

Picked up the tip from Alexander Pedan , a gifted guy 

https://www.instagram.com/a_pedan_scale_models/

Thanks a ton PW, I will give it a try, as real matte finish is hard to achieve. For gloss, I have other trusty options, but this will help a lot.

Cheers Rob

[CANicoll]

On 10/2/2024 at 11:15 AM, KevinM said:

Looking great Chris by the way do you p/u your Uschi line stateside?I have not located any yet.

Hey Kevin, Honestly, I think I picked it up at Scale Model World in Telford, England, which I attended for about three years.  If you need a few inches of the stuff, let me know. 👍

[CANicoll]

15 hours ago, PanzerWomble said:

+1 on the Matt ,

I swear by W&N Galleria Acrylic Matt Varnish , you can almost pour it out of the bottle and it levels flat as flat . Never had an issue with it other than it goes off a bit in the bottle after 12 months opened. 

Is it RFI / glamour shot time ?

Not yet!  Check out today's update.  Playing with some chalk.    Still have to get that antenna wire set and then position the canopy open with its own retaining wire.

 

10 hours ago, PanzerWomble said:

Thats the one . I normally buy the 75ml bottle, as it thickens over time . I have diluted it after a year but for the cost easier just to buy a new one. 

You can spray it from the bottle or with a couple of drops of water or X20a as a thinner. Even brushed it at a pinch on small touch up areas . 

Been using it 4+ years , really is almost impossible to get it wrong . Thin coat, thick coat , makes no odds . 

Sadly their equivalent gloss isn't as good . 

Picked up the tip from Alexander Pedan , a gifted guy 

https://www.instagram.com/a_pedan_scale_models/

 

Thanks for the info!  No worries on the detour.  I'm taking notes, too.

[CANicoll]

On 10/2/2024 at 12:12 PM, Peterpools said:

Chris

Right with martin and some mighty nice progress. Always something that seems to break or go wrong in the last stages of a build and those aileron counterbalances were just waiting for the right moment.

 

And I have them sitting in their own little tray until I get ready to attach them (literally it will be the LAST thing I do!).  🙂

[CANicoll]

Kept working on the antenna wires by drilling a very small hole for the down wire, then using some white glue to fill the hole, and eventually also as insulators. The ends can be hard to deal with so I usually gently tape down the other end that I'm not working with to keep the line stable.   Once everything is completely dry I'll stretch it vertically and use some CA to attach it to the horizontal line.

While waiting for the antenna glue to dry started playing with the exhaust staining (black chalk) and then also rubbed some sand-colored chalk onto the wings to see if that might also help blend in the camo. Let me know what you think.

Had this stuff for at least 20 years.  It's from "Builders for Scale"...

Used the mustard yellow chalk on the right-side wing.  The left wing in the photo has not been touched.  The chalk definitely adds to the matte/flat effect, but I think it is working to blend in the darker camo colors which is the desired effect.  Applied with a rounded thick brush, any place where it was applied too heavily, I simply wiped it off with my finger.  I figured if it was REALLY bad I would take a damp paper towel or cloth and wipe it all off.

Thoughts?

[BlrwestSiR]

That chalk looks vaguely familiar but not something I've used before. Neat to see how it works. 

The antenna is a nice touch. Something I've usually left off my builds. But your description on how to do plus PW's ( I think it was him?) from earlier helped demystify it for me. Might have to try it on a future build. 

[FullArmor]

3 hours ago, CANicoll said:

Kept working on the antenna wires by drilling a very small hole for the down wire, then using some white glue to fill the hole, and eventually also as insulators. The ends can be hard to deal with so I usually gently tape down the other end that I'm not working with to keep the line stable.   Once everything is completely dry I'll stretch it vertically and use some CA to attach it to the horizontal line.

While waiting for the antenna glue to dry started playing with the exhaust staining (black chalk) and then also rubbed some sand-colored chalk onto the wings to see if that might also help blend in the camo. Let me know what you think.

Had this stuff for at least 20 years.  It's from "Builders for Scale"...

Used the mustard yellow chalk on the right-side wing.  The left wing in the photo has not been touched.  The chalk definitely adds to the matte/flat effect, but I think it is working to blend in the darker camo colors which is the desired effect.  Applied with a rounded thick brush, any place where it was applied too heavily, I simply wiped it off with my finger.  I figured if it was REALLY bad I would take a damp paper towel or cloth and wipe it all off.

Thoughts?

Looks good to me. 👍

[FullArmor]

Can you use varnish to fix this chalk dust?

[PanzerWomble]

Ah back to the 1990's and when Tony Greenland covering everything in chalk/pigment dust , before people put it in "special magic bottles" and called it modelling pigment for 3 times the price . 

 

@FullArmor

 You can buy from art stores hard or soft pastels . Hard pastels when powdered will stick pretty well on their own , soft pastels less so . They both will dilute with water for mud effects and form a paint of sorts . you can mix them for custom colours too .

Spraying gently with a matt varnish will stop then being worn off . Tony Greenland use to insist satin was more authentic for what it's worth

His book is here, it's interesting but well dated now . I read it and sold it on TBH

 

We can move onto misting Tamiya buff next to simulate mud and dust , that'll be modelling in the early 2000's ....😆

 

Both can still produce good results though . 

[CANicoll]

3 hours ago, FullArmor said:

Can you use varnish to fix this chalk dust?

Absolutely. I haven't yet, but that is one way to keep the finish in place.

[CANicoll]

3 minutes ago, PanzerWomble said:

Ah back to the 1990's and when Tony Greenland covering everything in chalk/pigment dust , before people put it in "special magic bottles" and called it modelling pigment for 3 times the price . 

 

@FullArmor

 You can buy from art stores hard or soft pastels . Hard pastels when powdered will stick pretty well on their own , soft pastels less so . The both wil dilute with water for mud effects

And yes spraying gently with a matt varnish will stop then being worn off . Tony Greenland use to insist satin was more authentic for what it's worth

His book is here, it's interesting but well dated now . I read it and sold it on TBH

My early days of modeling were definitely covered in chalk dust!  Then I put it away for ages, but it does have its usefulness.  I didn't photographic it yet, but used some for the exhaust staining.

Along those same lines I have Doc O'Briens's Weathering Powders in a rainbow of colors...

Thanks for the link, I will definitely look it up.

[CANicoll]

7 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

That chalk looks vaguely familiar but not something I've used before. Neat to see how it works. 

The antenna is a nice touch. Something I've usually left off my builds. But your description on how to do plus PW's ( I think it was him?) from earlier helped demystify it for me. Might have to try it on a future build. 

Carl, Especially for armor and these desert builds I think the chalk adds something to the build.  If you need some line, let me know. I have a lot!

[Landlubber Mike]

Hey Chris, looks great!  I tried some of these Tamiya weathering products on my JRS-1 which I think act like your chalk.  I similarly noticed that they really help blend colors and add a bit more of a matte finish.  I read though that you can't really add a clear coat on top as the effect of the weathering product disappears.  I was thinking about getting some sand weathering pigments to add more of a dust effect on my sandbox builds as well.

Always learning something new - I've said it before, but there are so many products and applications now that it's a whole different world than when I was a kit and painted with Testor's enamels in those little glass bottles and called it a day.

[Peterpools]

Chris

Looking mighty good and I'm a firm believer in chalks. I bought my latest set at Michael's, as the first set lasted well over twenty years - I use to use them all the time and for whatever reason, just stopped but will be getting back to them.

Mike is 100% correct, that once you apply the chalks, no clear flat or gloss as they dissolved and disappear. The biggest negative is handling the model and fingerprints - extra care is needed but the effects are endless.

 

[CANicoll]

Thanks Mike and Peter,
Tamiya really does come up with EVERYTHING, don't they?

Interesting about the dullcote:  Doc suggests in his instructions to spray a dullcote over the chalk if the article is going to be handled to keep the chalk from rubbing off.  I haven't used chalk in a while but I don't usually handle my planes too much.  I still have the rest of the plane to work the chalk magic on.  

Edited October 4 by CANicoll

[Landlubber Mike]

You can always reapply the chalks after the clear coat if needed.  I think I used some of the Tamiya products on my Buffalo build for the first time prior to the final clear coat and saw that the clear muted the effect of the weathering.  So, a quick application after the clear dried and I was back in business.

You already have the chalks, but just to let you know, I found the Tamiya products very easy to apply.  You can get cheap makeup brushes to apply the different colors, but so far I've just used the same brush that comes with the packs.  I'm a big fan as they apply easily with no cleanup needed, and really help get very subtle tonal modulation.

[Peterpools]

Chris

I've used Dullcote very sparingly over the chalks and the effect was less. One method I haven't tried but will is to apply the chalks directly on top of the Dullcote while it is still drying. I'll need to test it out but over the years, especially my days as a model railroader, once I applied the chalks, I never handled the model or structure again. 

Mike's suggestion most likely is the most effective.

 

 

[CANicoll]

1 hour ago, Landlubber Mike said:

You can always reapply the chalks after the clear coat if needed.  I think I used some of the Tamiya products on my Buffalo build for the first time prior to the final clear coat and saw that the clear muted the effect of the weathering.  So, a quick application after the clear dried and I was back in business.

You already have the chalks, but just to let you know, I found the Tamiya products very easy to apply.  You can get cheap makeup brushes to apply the different colors, but so far I've just used the same brush that comes with the packs.  I'm a big fan as they apply easily with no cleanup needed, and really help get very subtle tonal modulation.

I might have to check them out esp if they have colors I don't have....  Thanks for the suggestion!!

[KevinM]

I chalked my 109 Chris with Tamyia chalks and cleared it with Testors dullcote thinned down at least 50/50 if not more applied very thin/sparse low pressure.I over applied knowing some will be lost if one is worried by that do several layers then.The chalks are best applied over a dullcote also they stick better.

Here is the He-111 going through layers