WnW 1/32 Albatros B.II finished

[gedmundson]

My thanks to all who took the time to write a comment on my wings - glad you liked them!

The results look great in the photos, Gary. If there was silvering, now I do not see any traces of it.
But I understand fully your problems with application of decals and preshading. I was through the same. And I can only say, Airbrushing is so much simpler... Yet, sometimes it is necessary to apply the large decal sheets, as in the losenge case.
BTW, could you tell us if you anyhow polished the wings before applying the gloss undercoat paint?

Thanks Prze - I made sure there was no silvering on the tops of the wings...but the tail section and underside of the main wings has a bit that I'll disguise with weathering touches. I also re-did some of the under-wing decals by cutting sections out, then spraying glossier, then adding more expensive CDL decal. I think that the lozenge patterns don't show silvering as much as the CDL - this is my first time working with large sections of CDL. I did no pre-polishing of the wings before applying gloss coat. To economize on the gloss coat, I went out and bought a fresh bottle of Pledge floor acrylic (Future). I'd abandoned this a while ago only to use Tamiya X-22, since I'd had "cracking" of the finish on a couple of other projects using floor acrylic...perhaps applying it too thick in one go (not sure). But to eliminate the silvering I applied the Pledge in thin layers, and lots of it, so my surface was very shiny.

Cheers,
Gary

[pepperman42]

Quick question Gary, spray Future or brush?

Steve

[gedmundson]

Quick question Gary, spray Future or brush?

Steve

Hi Steve, I airbrush the Future on. Straight from the bottle, with no dilutant. Numerous passes with a fine setting.
Cheers,
Gary

[PrzemoL]

Thank you very much, Gary for the explanation and hints. I will try Future next time when I will apply Aviattic decals on WNW wings.
Good luck with the rest of this gorgeous build!

[Rookie]

I see I have some catching up to do on all these builds here in “Under construction”.

The woodgrain is wonderful, so realistic, thanks for sharing you technique! And the nails come out beautifully in the paneling. The wings with CDL decals look great, especially with the subtle rib and spar accents.

I will follow this build closely from now on Gary!

Willem

[gedmundson]

Here's a couple of photos of the engine sitting in it's mount before I button the cowling on. At least a fair bit of it is seen afterward.

The windscreen in this kit is quite a big one. I like to give windscreen glazing a slightly "smoked" look, since that's how it appears to me in photos and generally when looking at glass from a distance. I took Tamiya X-19 Smoke, and tinted it slightly with clear blue X-23. Rather than airbrushing it on (which creates a foggy, grainy flat look) I carefully brushed it on the inside of the windscreen, working quickly. It dries fairly fast, so the odds of making a mess are high. The instructions asked for a silver frame, which I painted with ModelMaster chrome enamel with a touch of black oil paint to take the stark appearance out of it.

Cheers,
Gary

[Alexis]

Beautiful so far Gary and I will have to remember that trick with the glass .


Alexis

[kensar]

Marvelous looking work, Gary.  The metal tones on the engine really make it pop!

[ondra]

Wow, this looks gorgeous! Excellent job!

Ondra

[RAGIII]

Gorgeous work! That windscreen looks Fantastic.
RAGIII

[KiwiZac]

The windscreen is inspired, it looks just right. Excellent work Gary - I'll have to get some Smoke on my next trip to the LHS!

[GazzaS]

Gary, lovely and crisp looking work so far.  That windscreen looks amazing.

[PrzemoL]

Great, the engine does the job!
However, why not leave the upper engine covers off - you will have that jewel better exposed for curious eyes! I have done so on my B.II some time ago and I do not regret it

[Alexis]

Great, the engine does the job!
However, why not leave the upper engine covers off - you will have that jewel better exposed for curious eyes! I have done so on my B.II some time ago and I do not regret it

Agree with Prze , why hind the engine detail , it is spectacular


Alexis

[gedmundson]

Great, the engine does the job!
However, why not leave the upper engine covers off - you will have that jewel better exposed for curious eyes! I have done so on my B.II some time ago and I do not regret it

Great, the engine does the job!
However, why not leave the upper engine covers off - you will have that jewel better exposed for curious eyes! I have done so on my B.II some time ago and I do not regret it

Agree with Prze , why hind the engine detail , it is spectacular


Alexis

Thanks for that Alexis and Prze - I appreciate the feedback. This is the one build that I seriously considered doing just that - leaving off the engine cowlings. My builds have always had the cowlings buttoned up no matter how much work went into the engine. I like making the engine look good....it's fun. However I like to display my models as they would have looked when they flew. My favourite example (although not WW1 related) is a Spitfire, which has such a nice look with everything fastened up for flight (landing gear aside). I wouldn't even open the canopy, since I like the "ready for flight" configuration.
Cheers,
Gary