WnW Sopwith Pup RNAS - "Betty"

[lawman56]

So far, this is looking really good! As for your chipping effect, it's really hard to say how much is too much. Once you've applied your weathering, you may find it dulled down enough to your eye. Given the amount of maintenance on those engines, rough nature of the airfileds, swirling debris, and I'm pretty sure the mechanics weren't too gentle with their tools. Those factors alone, lead me to believe you've done a pretty good depiction of the abuse some of those metal parts took.

[Moses Prahn]

So far, this is looking really good! As for your chipping effect, it's really hard to say how much is too much. Once you've applied your weathering, you may find it dulled down enough to your eye. Given the amount of maintenance on those engines, rough nature of the airfileds, swirling debris, and I'm pretty sure the mechanics weren't too gentle with their tools. Those factors alone, lead me to believe you've done a pretty good depiction of the abuse some of those metal parts took.

 

Thanks Lawman,

 

I decided for me it was too much. I stripped the red, and started fresh. In addition to the chipping, I was not happy with the Tamiya red. Decided to switch to a Gunze color and am much happier with the results.

[Moses Prahn]

Finished up the rear horizontal stabilizer today. It has been a companion to the work completed on the wings, with the only difference coming in the rear elevators being white. With that, I set off to masking and spraying the elevator once the top and bottom of the horizontal stabilizer had been completed.

 

Once masked I sprayed Gunze off-white on top of a primer coat of black Mr. Surfacer 1500, focusing on a good coat over the ribs, but letting the valleys between let some of the black show through.

 

 

With the white down I masked the ribs and sprayed a thin coat of Tamiya smoke (same as the process for the wings). Removing the masking you can see the stark effect below.

 

 

To reduce the contrast I went back with a thinned coat of the off-white and brought things back to the effect I was looking for. With the white completed for the elevators I removed all of the masking and have the below to show for it.

 

 

 

Now it is ready for some final weathering and it will be ready to be attached to the fuselage.

[Moses Prahn]

With the chipping and the red not working out for me the way I wanted, I pulled out some denatured alcohol and removed the red. This was my first time using this method to remove paint. It was a good learning experience, especially compared to using the much hotter Lacquer thinner I had as an alternate option. It lifted a small amount of the alclad aluminum I had as a base, but overall, left a nice worn effect that worked as a good base to start with.

 

With the red off, I decided it was back to selecting which red to use - and I landed on the Gunze C327 - Insignia Red. I think part of what was throwing me off with the Tamiya red was that it was flat. Combine that with the over chipping and it just didn't lay down smoothly for me. The Gunze on the other hand was gloss, and in an effort to knock the gloss back a little I added some Tamyia flat base to bring it back a step or two. With the second round of liquid frisket applied in a more conservative approach, I layed down a very nice coat of red with the Gunze. Much happier with this result. In the previous picture it might have been observed that there was masking over the opening of the cowl ring. This wasn't in place to protect the internals of the cowl - but as a mask for the ring around the front of the cowl. Looking closely at the profile picture in the instruction book it became apparent to me that the ring around this opening was actually bare metal. Now, I am far from any type of expert, and I have no idea if this is correct, but, I like the look of that ring remaining bare metal. So, with that, I masked the ring, and the bottom of the cowl that was not painted red. Once the mask came off, I was quite pleased with the results! The chipping is still present, and maybe a little heavy for some, but I think the impact will be subdued with some weathering to help blend everything in. But for now, these pieces are all set!

 

[Moses Prahn]

With the cowl pieces and the horizontal stabilizer ready for weathering, I decided it was time for a quick test fit, and I snapped a picture of how things are starting to come together. Not wanting to re-mask the cockpit I didn't remove the masking I have to protect it from the gloss coat that will go down in prep for the decals. But, it is nice to start to get an idea of how everything will come together!

 

 

Was able to get the decal on one side of the rudder tonight, I am looking forward to making progress on the rest of the decals on the Pup this weekend!

[Moses Prahn]

I was all set to move onto the gloss coat and the decals, but the cowl pieces still didn't sit right with me. Seeing a post about salt chipping/weathering (thanks Doogs & Martin), I decided I should give it a shot on the cowl pieces to see if that would get them right for me. I set out by putting the salt on, and letting it dry. For the first pass I used a thinned mix of red with a drop of off white. Once dried enough I knocked some of the salt off with a toothbrush and a toothpick (letting the salt dry overnight resulted in some stubborn areas), and I set out with my next coat, which added a little thinner to the rest of the cup (red/white) as well as a light grey blue. Sprayed a thin coat, let dry, knocked off some salt, next coat - which was just the thinned grey blue. Last coat was of thinned Tamiya smoke. About halfway through I had noticed a couple of things:

 

1 - if I sprayed a thicker coat of the thinned paint, the thinner would break up the smaller salt pieces and set them "afloat" on the piece.

2 - as thinner would seek out the floating salt pieces (capillary action?), more volume accumulated around the edges of a salt piece and took longer to evaporate than the thinner in an open area away from any salt.

3 - pieces that had a bath in the thinner, were more likely to attach to paint that was down a layer or two (more time for the thinner to eat through the layers of paint).

4 - when these pieces were chipped off in the end, they revealed layers down to the base primer coat, resulting in black chipped areas on the pieces.

 

Now, this isn't entirely a bad thing. In fact, it was quite useful to learn, and I am sure I will incorporate this in future salt chipping/weathering sessions. However, this does result in a more worn look than what I was aiming to achieve. Result of this learning opportunity is below.

 

 

Verdict? I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

For me, and what I am trying to achieve, we are a little overdone in the weathering department. Really like what I was able to learn, and I feel a lot more confident using this technique going forward, but it just won't work for me on this build. The last thing I will say to support my decision is that because I painted all of the pieces independent of the final assembly, the chipping, fading, and weathering simply doesn't line up. For example, if you take the side cowl pieces, and line the straight side up with the top piece, none of the chipping effects align, in fact, they don't even look plausible. Ultimately, it was back to the drawing board.

 

Then I had an idea. The kit comes with two sets of fuselage halves - depending on which variant you are constructing. I decided, to use the extra set as my frame to hold all of the pieces together. This would allow me to work on the cowling, and the gloss coat and decals in tandem, without either interrupting the others workflow. Excellent!

 

I stripped the cowl pieces to the plastic, and attached them to the extra fuselage. Without the internals the fit isn't perfect (my masking to protect the wood finish didn't help either), but it will help me to achieve the finish I am after.

 

 

Gloss coat has been applied to the rest of the plane and is drying. Primer and aluminum coats have been sprayed on the cowl pieces. Once dry enough I buffed the cowl pieces for a super smooth finish. Next step will be some very light and strategically placed salt for chipping in preparation for the red. I am aiming to keep up the good progress this weekend and be a couple of steps closer to rigging!

[JonathanReed]

I have to commend you for your tenacity.  This is fantastic and very useful information.

 

Thank you for sharing!  I know your hard work will pay off...if not now definitly in the future.  Definitely looking good! 

[lawman56]

Very impressive! IMHO, the last effect, although the red and chipping look good, the rough texture from the salt gives the impression more of a derelict than a worn aircraft cowling. It reminds me of how an old car would rust out in NY from the road salt. or an abandoned car in a farmers field.

 

I love how you keep trying! My standards for my own work are just as high. It's not uncommon for me to paint, strip, and paint again, as many times as it takes until I'm satisfied. My Tamiya Spitfire was painted and stripped 3 times before I was happy with it.

 

[dolly15]

I think that you have made a great choice Moses.

[One-Oh-Four]

Hi Moses,

 

Sorry, haven't been to your build in a while.... But I still very much like what I see. Can I give some constructive feedback?

 

-I really DO like the post-linen-colour woodwork in your cockpit. On the photo's I can't see that it isn't sharply defined. It would've been nicer IMHO if you could've brought in some shading in the linen colour. That would break up the recatngles somewhat. And I imagine that richt underneath a wooden spar there could be a hint of shade? In walk-around photos it would be difficult to see as we usually use flash in cockpits because of the abominable lighting conditions in most museums... Secondly, if you should employ a pin-wash around those wooden structures, that also gives a sense of depth and camouflages if the masking wasn't spot-on everywhere! If you can't reach it anymore, no sweat, it DOES look good as is!

 

-I'm glad you decided to re-do the cowl chipping! Instead of using the salt-technique you could try the hairspray technique? AK Interactive has a dedicated product for it, although you could use the cheapest, weakest hairspray you can find in the supermarket... Imagine yourself asking the girl at the counter for the worst hairspray they carry in the store...

 

 

 

 

[One-Oh-Four]

BTW, I almost broke down when I saw the table-lamp with the Afro!!!

 

[Moses Prahn]

I have to commend you for your tenacity.  This is fantastic and very useful information.

 

Thank you for sharing!  I know your hard work will pay off...if not now definitly in the future.  Definitely looking good! 

 

Thanks Jonathan. I have learned a lot from the members of this forum, so I am happy to give back in a small way. If anything I hope to bridge the gap between the excellent modellers on here and those who may be similar to me by posting about my humble attempts at achieving the basic skills others have already mastered.

 

 

Very impressive! IMHO, the last effect, although the red and chipping look good, the rough texture from the salt gives the impression more of a derelict than a worn aircraft cowling. It reminds me of how an old car would rust out in NY from the road salt. or an abandoned car in a farmers field.

 

I love how you keep trying! My standards for my own work are just as high. It's not uncommon for me to paint, strip, and paint again, as many times as it takes until I'm satisfied. My Tamiya Spitfire was painted and stripped 3 times before I was happy with it.

 

Thanks for the continued support Lawman! I appreciate your positive support, despite my self-inflicted setbacks!

 

I think that you have made a great choice Moses.

 

Thanks Dolly - sometimes you learn and start over again knowing what not to do!

 

Hi Moses,

 

Sorry, haven't been to your build in a while.... But I still very much like what I see. Can I give some constructive feedback?

 

-I really DO like the post-linen-colour woodwork in your cockpit. On the photo's I can't see that it isn't sharply defined. It would've been nicer IMHO if you could've brought in some shading in the linen colour. That would break up the recatngles somewhat. And I imagine that richt underneath a wooden spar there could be a hint of shade? In walk-around photos it would be difficult to see as we usually use flash in cockpits because of the abominable lighting conditions in most museums... Secondly, if you should employ a pin-wash around those wooden structures, that also gives a sense of depth and camouflages if the masking wasn't spot-on everywhere! If you can't reach it anymore, no sweat, it DOES look good as is!

 

-I'm glad you decided to re-do the cowl chipping! Instead of using the salt-technique you could try the hairspray technique? AK Interactive has a dedicated product for it, although you could use the cheapest, weakest hairspray you can find in the supermarket... Imagine yourself asking the girl at the counter for the worst hairspray they carry in the store...

 

Erik, thanks for your feedback - it is always welcome! I agree I should have done some additional weathering to the interior canvas walls of the cockpit. Not sure why I skipped it, as I normally do on my WWII era builds. Oh well, more to look forward to in the next WWI build. I will have to try that AK interactive worn effects you recommended. I have seen a handful of their items that look fantastic. It has been added to the birthday list! Thanks!

[Moses Prahn]

Quick update after the weekend and a little time at the bench today. I was able to get the cowling pieces wrapped up tonight. Very happy with the results compared to my first, second, and third attempts! It is hard to capture the subtly in the color variation, but it worked out to be exactly the effect I was going for. Now, I will also state that I have no historically accurate idea of how these parts would have worn and appeared, but I will take some artistic license here and go with what I've got.

 

Started this round off with the black primer, and then a coat of the alclad aluminum. It didn't lay down as smooth as I normally get, so I broke out the 6000 grit and went to work. Once satisfied I buffed it with the dremmel to get a super sleek finish. I also used this to thin some areas on the cowl to let a little more of the base black primer to show through. Working with red I knew this would add some variation, and I am glad for the effect.

 

With the aluminum base down I added a very sparse amount of salt in preparation for the red coat. Once it dried I came back and knocked half of the salt off. I sprayed the red coat and took a look with the salt removed. I had some longer scratches masked with liquid frisket that I decided to remove. Once satisfied with my red base I let it dry, and then came back with the dremmel again to buff it up.

 

 

At this point I salted the entire area. Using a mix ratio of 3:1 red:white, I sprayed a very thin coat over everything. Once dry, I removed the salt, and then applied a new layer of salt. Once that had dried I mixed a very thin cup of grey blue. This was sprayed very very lightly. As I started removing the salt I wasn't as happy with the effect. So I added a drop of red to the rest of the cup to get a slightly light purple hue and sprayed that on the more exposed area. This gave a fantastic worn look in comparison to the red base. I then removed and wiped all of the salt off and finished up with a final coat of a very thin mix of the original base red color. This worked to bring everything back in line, and to soften some of the contrast with the lighter coats.

 

 

The result is tricky to photograph, and like most finishes, is best appreciated in person. I realize looking at my photos that I didn't take a shot with the front of the ring that I masked to preserve the bare metal. I will add a picture of this tomorrow.

 

Once this gets on the rest of the plane I will finish it off with some final weathering touches including the exhaust, but for now, I am calling this done. No more stripping back to the plastic and starting over on this one!

[Dave J]

That cowl looks a ton better!

[lawman56]

Buffing with a Dremel....I'll be damned....never, even once, thought of that! Really like how the cowl turned out. Just the right fade to the paint from temp extremes and sun.

 

As for self-inflicted set backs, if my builds could only talk.....

 

Now that my garage re-model has neared completion, and the weather is starting to co-operate a little more, I've dusted off my Albatros and prepped the wings for painting. Now it's my turn to glue my fingers together and paint my workbench, (hopefully some of that paint will adhere to the wings too)

[JonathanReed]

Awesome!  Looks great.  You have great patience young grasshopper  You didnt let it 

[Moses Prahn]

Dave, Lawman, Jon - thanks for your comments and support. It is definitely encouraging to have a group that encourages you to continue on and helps you want to share your progress.

 

I was also able to get a start on the decals over the weekend. Great decals that go down with very little fuss. I also like that there are far fewer to put on than later WWII era and modern jet aircraft! With a little setting solution and a touch of heat they settle in nicely over the ribbing on the wings and the stitching details on the fuselage. I poked holes in each ring in the stitching to allow them to fully settle in. With the weathering these will look more normal as the small holes will pick up the sludge wash and add to the effect (that is my plan at least!).

 

 

 

With this progress I finally feel that I am getting close to the home stretch! As odd as it may sound, I am really looking forward to tackling the rigging! I reserve the right to retract that statement!

[mammut08]

Hi Moses,

 

Your Pup looks great. I think you will find rigging to be easy. Keep up the good work.

 

Dave

[Moses Prahn]

Unfortunately my efforts to strip the paint not the top deck made its way past the tape and ruined my wood grain. While not ideal, I am trying to be positive about this opportunity to re-do the wood grain, and decided that with this opportunity I should try to add a little wear and fading to the lacquer/finish on the wood grain. Any suggestions on how to achieve these type of results? I am open to any suggestions or advice on what has worked for anyone else would be welcome.

[rkranias]

great work on this....

[lawman56]

I guess it would depend on what kind of wear and tear. You could simulate rubbed off laquer with a few dabs of dullcote or dry brushing a flat powder or pigment a lighter shade of the wood color.

 

Just an idea that came to mind.

[Moses Prahn]

It has been too long since my last update. Things have been quite busy here, but I am finally getting back to the bench here and there and making more progress on the Pup. Most recent news is that rigging is underway! While redoing the wood grain on the cockpit deck, I started some prep work and testing out the rigging. So far so good - slow, tedious work - but it is coming along and it finally feels like I am in the home stretch! Will post more quality pictures with the real camera once I am able to get this on the photo table.

 

 

[JonathanReed]

Looking very good!  Keep up the good work!!

[Moses Prahn]

Finally on the home stretch with this build! A little more progress and some better photos to post up today. I will be the first to say the Pup isn't perfect, but it has been a lot of fun, and a great learning experience. I am already looking forward to my next WnW build! That said, I do think there were a number of items in this build where the first attempt was unsatisfactory and I worked at it until I was satisfied with the results. Developing these skills has been very rewarding, and I know it will pay off in future builds as well.

 

On to the good stuff! When I last left off I was wrapping up the red cowl, only to find that in my attempt to protect my wood grain finish on the cockpit deck had not been successful. Oh well, there are worse things I could need to redo (puttying and sanding come to mind!), so I set off on that while applying the coat of alclad light sheen to the rest of the plane, and fighting the dust that is everywhere in my work area. Definitely building a paint booth before I lay down my next finishing coat that has any degree of gloss in it! Once cured, I attached the cowl pieces to the fuselage, and closed the cockpit up. Next I installed the Rhone, and test fit the front cowl and then secured with the handy touch 'n flow. To wrap up the final bit of assembly on the front end I secured the vickers and shifted focus to the undercarriage. While working through these items I wrapped up assembly and the weathering for the undercarriage and wheels. Fairly straightforward, the only challenge seemed to be finding where the anchor points for the three lines of rigging should be attached on the undercarriage structure. I made an educated guess based on the reference photos I could find, but ultimately, it was a minor detail that I didn't want to get hung up on.

 

 

 

 

Which takes us to rigging. Oh the joy! Ultimately it is tedious, tiny, slow work (at least for me), but incredibly rewarding when it starts to take shape. I feel that I was fairly well prepared, in that I planned ahead for how I was going to tackle the rigging. I have finished the rigging for the tail, and will tackle the front wings next, which I estimate I will finish up in the coming weeks. For now, I have the following progress to report:

 

 

 

[mammut08]

lookin' good!