WNW Pfalz D.XII

[jeroen_R90S]

Looks good! I can't really help with the weathering... currently working on my first 1/32 WNW kit and it's really quite different from the 1/72 models I normally build. There the "overall impression" is important, and while that is also true of 1/32, I've so far found some "detailed" weathering is also important in this scale... I intend to overspray my lozenge decals with the brownish varnish to tone down the stark colours.

[Borsos]

Dave, your model looks very nice and you are doing a really great job. If you try to do a subtle weathering on silvergrey base color, I would recommend coating it with clear dull and after drying drawing all the panel lines with a sharpened soft pencil. If something goes wrong, you simply can correct it with an eraser. The strong colors of the Tarnstoff could be toned down a little by adding just one little drop of grey to the clear. At last you could dust the undercarriage and the tail with pigments - simply removable when overdone. The radiator could be the only place for a dark brown and black washing. That would be my way to realize a subtle weathering.
Best regards
Borsos

[RAGIII]

You are moving along very well! I like the markings.  Very Colorful! Applying Lozenge is certainly a learning curve. I still have occasional issues on alignment and trailing edges!
RRAGIII

[davec]

Jeroen, Rick, and Borsos,

Many thanks for your comments and encouragement.  Applying the lozenges definitely had a steep learning curve.  Fortunately, lots of opportunity to practice on the model, and I'm looking forward to the next one.  For my model ships I've had the chance to go to some workshops at meetings. The lozenge decals were different from other decals because of their size;  they definitely had the feeling of something that would have gone more smoothly if I could have watched someone do it first.

I think I am going to spray flat clear coat over the lozenges and see what it looks like after.  If that doesn't tone them down enough I can go over with some tinted clear.  I have been using alclad flat and gloss clear.  Not sure what I can tint it with- it is laquer based.  Would probably try grey first as I could try a drop of their black or grey primer.  Could potentially try some Tamiya brown - hopefully wouldn't gunk up the airbrush with the experiment.  Tamiya seems to cut OK with laquer thinner.

I got some Vallejo sand and mud pigments at the local hobby shop yesterday.  Will add pigments to the list of new things tried on the model.  Overall goal for the weathering is to make the plane look like it would after a couple of flights in good weather.  Not sure what do to about panel lines.  The fuselage was plywood, and there don't seem to be many places where joints are visible.  I may just use some light panel line wash around the few bolt heads and other details on the pretty much otherwise smooth surface.

Added a few more decals overnight.  Have been working on the propeller and wheels.

Dave

[lcarroll]

Dave,
    I had good results using a wash with just a few drops of Tamiya Deck Tan in their regular X-20A Thinner. In your case given a base of Alclad Lacquer based product you should be OK with a lacquer based wash although I believe the X-20A base would work just as well. Tamiya paints thin and spray beautifully with their lacquer thinner (Product Item 87077) and have become my most used spray medium.
    I found the secret to sprayed washes is very light coats; it's very easy to over do the effect. You can see my results here:

http://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=7289.msg140257#msg140257

Hope this is of help.
Cheers,
Lance

[davec]

wow Lance - loved the effect.  the texture on the aviation lozenges looks great, and your wash did a great job toning the color.  your model came out awesome.   hadn't seen your log before.  really liked the carved laminated propeller.  I have some of the x20 thinner from when I was using Tamiya's lacquer based thinner and will try it next time I spray more tamiya paint.  I have my spray booth vented to the outside now, and between that and a vapor filter mask, am much more comfortable spraying solved based paint.

thanks!

Dave

[davec]

It's been a few weeks. Went on some business trips, and to the Nautical Research Guild meeting in Florida, which got me spending some time on my ship model.  I have been picking away at the Pfalz, mostly doing things like gluing in the rigging attachments and things that don't make great pictures.  I did get a silhouette contour for cutting stencils, and set it up last night.  The test was a .231" circle to mask the propeller hub.  What an amazing piece of technology.  I hate cutting circles with a scalpel, and never get it right.  45 minutes from opening a box of a machine I had never used before I had a perfect mask.  Both effective and easy to use - it doesn't get any better than that!



Very happy with the result for the painted hub.  Not so happy with the laminated wood effect.  Had a hard time judging how to mask, and ended up with differing thicknesses in the laminate.  Any tips?  I realize I could also just laminate some real wood and carve the propeller.  I have enough fine grained kinds from my model ships, but I've been trying to keep the scratchbuilding limited to the ships.

Dave

[lone modeller]

Personally I would carve the propellor from wood - in that scale the lamminations would look very good indeed. Just an opinion.

Stephen.

[RAGIII]

I like the prop. Far better than my latest efforts 
RAGIII

[Borsos]

Very happy with the result for the painted hub.  Not so happy with the laminated wood effect.  Had a hard time judging how to mask, and ended up with differing thicknesses in the laminate.  Any tips?  I realize I could also just laminate some real wood and carve the propeller.  I have enough fine grained kinds from my model ships, but I've been trying to keep the scratchbuilding limited to the ships.

Dave

I must say that I once started to carve my own wooden props just because I wasn't happy with my painting efforts on plastic props. And I never regretted carving wooden props. Yes, it takes its time, but it is much simplier then painting the laminated wood imho and it just makes fun. in fact meanwhile it's one of the most pleasant parts pf a build for me.
Borsos

[davec]

Stephen, Borsos, and RAGIII,

Many thanks!

RAGIII- I looked at your finished model, which came out AWESOME, including the propeller. I think you and I are struggling with the same problem in terms of figuring out how to mark out the laminates.

I'm trying to resist replacing plastic parts with scratchbuilt.  I already slid down this slippery slope with my model ships, where I went from kits to complete scratchbuilding.  I spent yesterday making  80 .02" copper bolts for my ship project. For me, starting model airplanes in parallel with the shipbuilding different was the chance to work with different materials and do something different, and I've really enjoyed doing it.  I would really like to figure out how to paint correctly the beautifully molded plastic prop.

I can't help thinking that figuring out how to mark out where the laminates go will help me with other projects as well.  On the ships, getting everything marked out, including cutting curves that compound in multiple directions, is one of the big challenges.  I spent the last few days making the knees to support the lower deck, which need to conform to the curved inner hull planking, which changes in shape along the length of the ship, and where the individual planks vary in thickness.  It took a bunch of pattern making and trial and error.  Trying to mark out closely spaced parallel lines on the sides of the propeller turned out to be really hard to do, but I'm sure there is some trick to doing it well that would translate into doing some of the other things I'm trying to do better.

Dave

[davec]

Hope everyone is having the same great Thanksgiving break as I’ve been having.  I’ve spend more time in the workshop the last few days than the last few months combined.  I bounced back and forth between the Pfalz and my model ship while glue and finishes were drying, and made progress on both (first tangible progress on the ship in months). 

I sprayed clear flat over the paint and decals, which helped a lot.  Not sure about weathering still.  I don’t have much experience with it, and prefer a relatively new appearance.  My vision is having the plane look like it has taken a few flights in good weather.  I have some weathering powders and my try a light dust on the wheels and undercarriage.



 I also installed guns, windshield, rudder, stabilizer, windshield and exhaust.



Biggest challenge was rigging the tail.  I didn’t install eyebolts as they were supposed to be uninterrupted cables, and I didn’t have a small enough bit to drill through the links on the rudder and stabilizer (.3 mm was too big).  I had read about attaching ez-line with a dab of superglue, which didn’t work well for me.  The first end was easy, but if the line was under any tension at all, I had a lot of trouble with the second attachment point.   There are two very short lengths for the stabilizer lift that go from the fuselage to an opening in the lower tail near the leading edge that I couldn’t do with the ez-line at all.  I had never tried heat stretched sprue before, and that seemed to work really well.  Unfortunately all the experimenting left a bunch of glue stains that I’ve mostly touched up.



Dave

[RUREDI]

Thanks for sharing your progress.  Enjoy learning from your skills.

[RAGIII]

The tail control rigging came out nicely. I use stretched sprue for most of my models on these lines 
RAGIII

[Juan]

She is looking gorgeous