Effects of normal usage on finish of TVAL's WWI aircraft

[Jamo]

Some of these images have appeared before but I have updated the series and posted them again now that we have so many new members. The Vintage Aviator Ltd have a superb collection of reproduction and restored WWI aircraft with original engines that are regularly flown. It is instructive for modellers striving to reproduce authentic weathering effects to see how normal usage affects the original finishes.

RE8 after a short flying season in NZ before being exported to the UK:







Bristol F2B



Scuffing on the lower wing



Wheel covers





Aging of the CDL under the centre section:





Biff exhaust



Fuel spills seeping through the lower wing centre section





SE5a mud splashes











Exhaust



Note the irregular finish of the PC10 on the RAF BE2f:



Oil and fuel spills seeping through to the fabric underneath



Avro 504K





Sopwith Pup after a short season of flying





Note the colour of the castor oil seepage





Sopwith Snipe straight after a flight, absolutely dripping with castor oilo









Fokker D.VIII showing seepage of fuel/oil down the inside of the fuselage



Albatros DVa exhaust





Fuel and oil spills running down the fuselage keel







Nieuport 11 Bebe



Beardmore 160hp engine of the RAF FE2b (wow that is one grubby engine):



Exhaust





FE2b tailplane







Sopwith Camel (which seen quite of a bit of service)









BE2c exhaust stains



Cheers
James

[Jamo]

Here are a few more

BE2f exhaust



The brass pipe vents oil spray over the valve gear of the engine



BE2c exhausts









CDL is not a uniform colour

[Des]

Thanks James for posting these beautiful photos, this is fantasic reference material for the modeler.

Des.

[Zabu]

This is really great stuff!!

So many details that one can take out of this photos.

Thx for sharing!

Cheers

[lcarroll]

Tremendous work Jamo!  Thanks for providing this, a lot of it is sheer Gold!
Cheers,
Lance

[AROTH]

Top-notch work, as usual!

I know I may have asked this before, but what type of camera/lens combo are you using and are you also using any kind of tripod or support system for the indoor shots?

Your picture sharpness and depth of field are astounding.

[Jamo]

Thanks Aroth. I don't have a DSLR. Some of these photos were taken on a little Canon Powershot A2000 10mp 6x zoom, and more recently I upgraded to a Panasonic Lumix FZ150 12mp 24x zoom. No tripod. I mostly use the auto exposure setting.

[Zabu]

I know I may have asked this before, but what type of camera/lens combo are you using and are you also using any kind of tripod or support system for the indoor shots?

Your picture sharpness and depth of field are astounding.

Aroth normaly you don't need a tripod to indoors shots. Tripods are great if you want to take long exposures photos (lets say something about 1/60 seconds or slower). As more time the obturator stays open more you need to keep the camera steady.

But you can defend yourself with ISO before buying a tripod. As higher the ISO is, more sensible to light the photo will be. Let's say that you take a photo and it comes out a little dark. Go to next ISO (higher) take the photo again and you'll see that the photo it's brighter. But please note that as higher the ISO is, more "noise" the photo will have.
Some cameras have A-Deep (nikon as example), so what this makes is to focus everything from foregroung to backgroung.

[ALBATROS1234]

great stuff james. it shows us that what we sometime worry/think is over weathered really isnt. thanks again for taking time to enlighten us.

[Jacek]

Very cool pictures, definitely a useful modeling. Thanks James for posting .

[uncletony]

Fantastic as always, thanks so much for sharing these!

[LindsayT]

What a thrill it must be to get to crawl around those beauties. Some guys would give anything to be a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition photographer. Me, I'd give anything to shoot those birds like James gets to. Not saying I'd give up the former job if someone asked me, but it would take a lot of convincing. 

Thanks for sharing James,

LT

[Vickers]

Thanks for posting these excellent images! It's not easy to find Great War period images that clearly define the staining and streaking patterns for various types of aircraft.  These take some of the mystery and speculation out of the weathering decision.

[Jamo]

What a thrill it must be to get to crawl around those beauties. Some guys would give anything to be a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition photographer. Me, I'd give anything to shoot those birds like James gets to. Not saying I'd give up the former job if someone asked me, but it would take a lot of convincing. 

Thanks for sharing James,

LT

Hi Lindsay
Why don't you come over to EnZed on a holiday during the Summer? TVAL have an open hangar every weekend between November and April, plus three airshows over that time. You could lie on you back under a Bristol F2B or Albatros DVa and take all the photos you feel like. Heaps of other great wining & dining, hiking, art & craft, cheesemaking, bird sanctuaries, sight seeing and other fun activities are on offer (for the non-modelling wife as well). You only live once!
Cheers
James

[rhallinger]

That sounds very appealing James!  I'll have to put that on the list. 

Regards,

Bob