forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Topic started by: davec on July 30, 2017, 09:02:27 AM
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I started drafting this a few weeks ago, before all the photobucket problems. This is a little bit of an experiment- I’m trying to see if I can use dropbox as my photo sharer.
I started the WNW Pfalz D.XII back in March. I am a slow builder. This will probably be like my log on modelshipworld, where there a long gaps in posting, which reflect things getting busy at work.
This is my third WNW kit, and my fifth airplane since returning to plastic modelling two years ago. Please feel free to offer any advice or criticism you want. I am a complete novice, and would really like to take advantage of all your incredible skills and knowledge.
I had planned building out of the box, but have been adding things. The control wires are Uschi rigging, the yellow spark plug wires are detail master wiring, and the black wires are ez-line. I used the HGW seatbelts instead of the photoetched ones that came with the kit. I am planning on following color scheme B jasta 49 with the red tail and Pfalz silber grau fuselage.
So far I have built the cockpit and engine. I realize the magneto is upside down. I caught it after I buttoned up the fuselage. Fortunately, I don’t think it will be visible. I’m not into heavy weathering, and plan to go really lightly. I’m aiming for it looking like after a few flights.
The only problem I have had so far was the yellow detail master wires. Whatever plastic coating is on them seems to be related to the plastic in the bottles super glue comes in. It took a long time to dry, so getting them on right was really tedious. It was a sharp contrast to the ez-line, where the glue dried really quickly and was easy to work with.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/48mcwp22f5vri9s/IMG_1755.JPG?dl=0)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/nnwh5cmax1gjwkh/IMG_1769.JPG?dl=0)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/1ovkt0nscgi2ijl/IMG_1770.JPG?dl=0)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7qkgk6c2frkv5jw/IMG_1775.JPG?dl=0)
I’ve made some additional progress since writing this. If I’ve worked out posting images correctly, I’ll do another post with the images since this one, then try to keep up to date.
Dave
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Beautiful work on the interior, Dave! How did you make Dropbox work for you?
Cheers,
Bud
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Thanks Bud
I posted in the comments forum with brief instructions re dropbox. Can post more detail if it isn't enough:
http://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8745.0
Dave
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Well, you might be new to the Aircraft side of the Hobby, Dave, but your skills from the Ship side have blended into the new genre very nicely. Your engine and cockpit module look excellent; nice clean well controlled results and a wonderful start to what promises to be a great Build! This is one of their better kits IMHO, and I'm looking forward to following your progress.
Cheers,
Lance
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I agree with the lads above.
You may be new to this genre, but you're not new to modelling and it shows in your work.
Thanks for the dropbox info. I'm sure this will help many of the members on here who are struggling to post their builds. Cheers!
Von B :)
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Incredible craftsmanship! I look forward to seeing the next instalment.
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Image linked to my dropbox.
Cheers.
Von B
(https://photos-5.dropbox.com/t/2/AAAZTkK6AvxblUEuSpKxg2pP9SEmOgta7QIuzVGXvKYyQA/12/4996024/jpeg/32x32/1/_/1/2/BVB.jpg/EN3q3gMYgzEgAigC/84mTl-zJt_IV6xI_L4zhWQcSJ4Qb7h4aXOpdx2VvWpE?size=1280x960&size_mode=3)
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Lance, Von B, and alpha delta. Thanks for the kind comments.
The model ships feel like a completely different skill set. Everything from having photo reference material (guessing color from black and white much easier than reconstructing everything from limited 200 year old texts) to painting (I use different colored woods and chemically blacken brass on my ships -no paint) is new. I may be more building WNW kits than WW1 modelling. I really like the quality of their parts and the fit. Removes my temptation to scratch build anything. The build pace is also really (relatively) fast. Even though it doesn't look like much progress for 4 months, it is light speed compared to my ship model. I did some of these things 25 years ago, but the better molded kits and materials like new acrylic paints, airbrush ready lacquers, weathering paints, and extra thin cement make it very different.
Von B - I see that the image you tried to post from dropbox didn't work. Did you remember to change 'www.dropbox.com' to 'dl.dropboxusercontent.com' in the link after you pasted?
I have buttoned up the fuselage and sprayed it Pfalz silbergrau with drooling bulldog paint. Will take some pictures and post later today.
Dave
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Dave,
Do you use a business Dropbox account?
I have the bog standard 5gb limit account and I'm unsure as to whether the linking of images applies or is allowed from my limited dropbox.
Cheers,
Bob Von Buckle :)
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Hi Bob,
I have the lowest upgrade from the free version ("plus"). I needed more storage. Dropbox doesn't talk about any limitations on shared links with different versions on their website. They made some changes 7/17, but it was the removal of being able to share entire albums, not individual images.
Do you want to send me the dropbox shared link to the image you are trying to post as a PM and I can see if I can figure out what I did differently, or if it isn't a feature of free dropbox?
thanks!
Dave
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Dave,
I wholly agree with Lance - your modelling skills are really very good indeed and clearly transferable to aircraft. The engine looks incredibly realistic and the cockpit detail is excellent too.. I cannot offer any constructive criticism - indeed I am learning from you.
Stephen.
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Hi Dave
We are from the same place. I've switched to plastic after several years of wooden ship modelling. My reasoning similar too - it just takes too long. I've just finished my Mercedes DIII engine for the WNW Fokker DVII. Will try to post it along with the cockpit soon. I thought about wiring the plugs as you have done but it just seems to be down the same path of extremely hard modelling, maybe next time.
Your work looks really great. Plastic is unforgiving and the wooden model makers who berate it have no idea how hard it actually is...
Best
Alistair
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Looking outstanding! Lovely interior!
RAGIII
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Great start, looking forward to your progress.
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Lovely neat finish!
Really nice
Guy
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Hi Dave:
This is one of my favorite German A/C. It has some colorful schemes, is menacing looking and a fun build. Once you get the engine in place, it can hardly be seen, so no worries about the magneto's.
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Oh, I missed that for quite a while... Very nice start on this Pfalz, the cockpit and the engine are looking great.
Borsos
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Many thanks for all your kind words.
I appreciate the compliments, but my newbie status was completely reinforced with one of my more disastrous work sessions Tuesday night.
I didn’t like some of the chemical blackening I had done on some eyebolts I made for my ship. I put them back in the blackening solution. Still can’t figure out exactly what happened. I got a lot of bubbles when I first put them in. They looked good when they came out, but once they were dry and I started to buff them, both the new and old blackening came off and I had dingy looking brass. I wasn’t too upset – they were largely an experiment, and I had finally gotten my resistance soldering working the way I wanted.
Then I started sanding where I had filled the wing root joints on the Pfalz. I thought I had things filled pretty well, but when I put a coat of primer over on, it still had defects. Not a big problem, but just disappointing. I think the filler shrank while it dried. Just needs some more. I knocked off a spark plug wire. Also not a huge problem. Will check to see if they will even be visible once the cowl is closed up before I worry too much about that.
Should have probably quit at that point as it was getting late, I was tired, and I had a 7AM meeting and flight out of town the next morning. Decided I would airbrush the rudder and stabilizer. The flat white had a small area where the paint collected at the edge, but the red went on terribly on the stabilizer. I was using Tamiya acrylic with Tamiya acrylic thinner, and it looked like I had stirred it well. When I sprayed it, it looked like red droplets suspended in the thinner, and it didn’t cover and I got some small runs.
Was definitely time to quit. Two hours with only backward progress. I’m travelling for a few days and looking forward to adding more filler, stripping the paint (I’m told windex will take off Tamiya acrylic), and making new eyebolts when I get back home on Saturday.
Aliluke –I haven’t given up the ship modelling. I’m just celebrating my new expanded workshop and the ability to have two projects going at the same time. I never had anything but respect for plastic – I started with plastic cars, but got way too frustrated trying to paint in my old house. I was sharing my workshop (small table in the corner of the basement) with the cat litter box and dryer. Lint and cat hair are bad for car finishes. I hope you get back to your HMS Fly build.
Dave
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Many thanks for all your kind words.
I appreciate the compliments, but my newbie status was completely reinforced with one of my more disastrous work sessions Tuesday night.
I didn’t like some of the chemical blackening I had done on some eyebolts I made for my ship. I put them back in the blackening solution. Still can’t figure out exactly what happened. I got a lot of bubbles when I first put them in. They looked good when they came out, but once they were dry and I started to buff them, both the new and old blackening came off and I had dingy looking brass. I wasn’t too upset – they were largely an experiment, and I had finally gotten my resistance soldering working the way I wanted.
Then I started sanding where I had filled the wing root joints on the Pfalz. I thought I had things filled pretty well, but when I put a coat of primer over on, it still had defects. Not a big problem, but just disappointing. I think the filler shrank while it dried. Just needs some more. I knocked off a spark plug wire. Also not a huge problem. Will check to see if they will even be visible once the cowl is closed up before I worry too much about that.
Should have probably quit at that point as it was getting late, I was tired, and I had a 7AM meeting and flight out of town the next morning. Decided I would airbrush the rudder and stabilizer. The flat white had a small area where the paint collected at the edge, but the red went on terribly on the stabilizer. I was using Tamiya acrylic with Tamiya acrylic thinner, and it looked like I had stirred it well. When I sprayed it, it looked like red droplets suspended in the thinner, and it didn’t cover and I got some small runs.
Was definitely time to quit. Two hours with only backward progress. I’m travelling for a few days and looking forward to adding more filler, stripping the paint (I’m told windex will take off Tamiya acrylic), and making new eyebolts when I get back home on Saturday.
Aliluke –I haven’t given up the ship modelling. I’m just celebrating my new expanded workshop and the ability to have two projects going at the same time. I never had anything but respect for plastic – I started with plastic cars, but got way too frustrated trying to paint in my old house. I was sharing my workshop (small table in the corner of the basement) with the cat litter box and dryer. Lint and cat hair are bad for car finishes. I hope you get back to your HMS Fly build.
Dave
So it sounds s though you have had one of those sessions that require re- doing a bit. Not completely a NEWBIE thing, it happens to me all of the time ::) Just read some of my build logs and you will know this to be true. I am sure you will overcome these small obstacle as do I on every model!
RAGIII
RAGIII
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If Windex doesn't work, Easy Off oven cleaner works great - just be sure to wear rubber gloves because it will burn your skin. For airbrushing Tamiya paints, I much prefer their lacquer thinner to their acrylic thinner. The paint seems adhere better. Apparently Tamiya paint is an acrylic lacquer, whatever that is. I know they had lots of problems several years back importing into the US due to product labeling issues. Spruebrothers.com now has it listed under the lacquer paint category. It is definitely my favorite paint to airbrush.
Bill
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Bad news really. I cross my fingers for you, you surely will fix the issues.
I always use isopropanol to thin Tamiya and Gunze paint. For cleaning the Airbrush or stripping off paint from the model I'd recommend methoxypropanol. That stuff is sold here in 3 liter cans and is much cheaper than every thinner.
Borsos
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Thanks for the suggestions. I will try the Tamiya lacquer thinner. I have some on the shelf from when I used to use their primer. Would have thought that their regular thinner would have worked, but it clearly didn't. There was definitely something weird about the red paint. Usually, Tamiya paint cleans off with soap and water. I needed lacquer thinner to get the red off my hands.
Will start with windex for the stripping and get more caustic as necessary. I'm hoping the windex will take off the acrylic without removing the lacquer based primer underneath. We will see. Hope to get into the workshop later today.
thanks!
Dave
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Also you can try Mr. Levelling Thinner by Gunze - works like a charm for any acrylic and cellulose based paint I know. Even Pactra seems a better paint with few drops of it ;)
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Thanks everyone for their suggestions. I just got back to town after a week and a half travelling. I did a little experimenting prior to my trips. Windex easily removes Tamiya paint without harming the underlying primer. I poured enough into a small container to just cover the part, let it soak for a few minutes, then rubbed it with a cloth. The paint came right off.
I tried the lacquer thinner. Got much better flow, but lots of tip dry. I think I overthinned with the acrylic thinner the first time. I'm still experimenting. I usually spray flats, but this was my first try with acrylic gloss. I'm trying to get it to flow more smoothly.
Anyways, as soon as I dig out of all the work that piled up, I will get back into the workshop.
Dave
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Made it back into the workshop yesterday. Nothing to take pictures of yet. Got the seams between the lower wing and bottom of the fuselage filled. Not sure why I had a little misalignment. It took me a few rounds of filling, sanding, and repriming. Final trick was cutting little pieces of sandpaper instead of using the sanding sticks. Was much easier to follow the curves and get into the tight areas. I'm working overnight tonight. Will hopefully spend tomorrow making the 30 wire loop rigging anchors.
Dave
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Still nothing to post pictures of. I had airbrushed the fuselage with the drooling bulldog pfalz silbergrau (awesome paint). After I attached the lower wing, I filled the gaps (mostly happy with result). I tried out an Iwata RG3 for spraying the upper and lower wings with white primer for under the lozenge decals. The RG3 had been sitting new in its box for a while, and I wanted to try it. I thought it would be good for getting a smooth primer coat on the large surfaces. Moderately steep learning curve. It does put the paint on smoother, but is a little harder to clean. It uses a lot more paint. The layer on the model is thin- most of it ended up in the spray booth filter.
I went back to touch up the silvergrey. I had masked the cockpit and engine. I can see a slight difference in color and really fine line between the masked original paint and the touched up area that I will need to fix.
Biggest challenge is that I have had my daughter home from college this summer, and she has been doing her quilting in the workshop with me. Spending time together has been great, but from the airbrushing perspective, it has been more "linting" than "quilting". I'm getting good at rubbing out dust from the finish and touching up. She heads back to school this weekend.
Pictures when I get something I'm satisfied with. Hopefully soon.
Dave
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The last few weeks have been spent “learning” (also known as redoing the same thing over and over again). Ran into a few problems. If anyone has some advice for avoiding them in the future, I’d be very appreciative.
I glued the fuselage halves together. I had some problems with the joint between the two halves. There is a raised strip running down the joint, and I was careful not to sand it off. In the end it probably would have been easier to sand it flat and replace it with a strip of styrene that also would have covered the seam. I painted the silver grey with drooling bulldog paint, and was very happy with the result- great paint.
Then test I fit the lower wing. At that point I saw that I was going to have a significant joint visible on the bottom where the wing met the fuselage in front and back. As best I could tell, this was not a place where there was supposed to be a visible seam. This led to a multiple rounds of filling and sanding. I had taken off the masking over the engine and cockpit, but thought I could just generally mask over the area as the paint in the general vicinity hadn’t been affected by the sanding and priming. When I finally got the area adequately filled and repainted, I discovered there had been enough paint buildup at the edge of the masking that I had a visible line. It took a few repetitions of sanding with 1000+ paper and repainting to get rid of it.
There was also a big dust problem (lint from my daughter’s quilt stuffing) that took a fair amount of touching up. She went back to college today. I spent a while vacuuming. Dust should be back under control until school vacation.
When I took my pictures I found an area where I didn’t sand well enough, but it is time to move on. (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lduc6omnyuhcb3z/IMG_1849.JPG?dl=0)
I’m hoping the white primer works well under the lozenges. I just realized it will be very visible if I get a gap between the decals, so I hope they fit well. I still have time to repaint another color if anyone has a better suggestion. I had thought it would work well to not change the decal colors.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/chhaly88fusvd3b/IMG_1845.JPG?dl=0)
I knocked one of my spark plug wires loose when I was painting. When I first put them on, I had a terrible time with super glue, which didn’t want to adhere to the wire coating. I tried gator grip acrylic, which worked great. Would have saved me a lot of tedium the first time around.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/kvtqmakw80u5wyk/IMG_1846.JPG?dl=0)
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making good progress, await next postings !
Ed
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Looking great! I too sometimes struggle with super glue. I will have to give the Gator glue a try!
RAGIII
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Very nice and clean build. You do everything right! The glossy white would be the perfect base for preshading the Tarnstoff Decals, if you like that.
Borsos
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Ed - thanks - I'll post some more pictures tonight. I plan to do a little more work before the long weekend ends. I've painted the areas visible through the lozenge decals (access hatches, strut attachments), and sprayed some gloss where the fuselage decals are going. I was careless pulling some of the masking tape off the wings and flexed one of the wing root joints making a visible thin crack along the seam. Need to use more glue next time. Will touch that area up and start applying the decals.
RAGIII- I liked the acrylic glue. I won't use it first line because of the significantly longer drying time than alpha-c. I will use it for hard to place parts where the long drying time is helpful, and for the detail master wires, where the superglue adhesion was weird. It dried clear, and was tacky enough that the wires didn't move while the glue dried.
Borsos - would appreciate your (and anyone else's) thoughts re preshading here. I was not going to do it. On some planes like the Fokker EIII I just finished, the painted canvas appears partially translucent and the preshading is really important. I looked at Pfalz pictures in the datafile book and museum photos on the internet. I saw the one at the Museum of Flight in Seattle last summer. The lozenges look like opaque paint - I didn't see any tonal variation between ribs, so was going for a mostly uniform finish.
Thanks!
Dave
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It's good to see you making progress on this model, it isn't one of the more popular kits out there, but a very neat model none the less. As to preshading, do your thing, it's your model and it certainly won't detract from the overall appearance of it. This aircraft had some really neat color schemes. I want to do another one in the markings at the Australian War Memorial, which I saw and actually touched, in 1979. Quite an experience. Keep up the good work and keep us posted. You have an appreciative audience.
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Dear Dave,
regarding the preshading question that's another of these many questions I think where there can't be a definite answer - and that's quite fine.... It always depends on your individual taste. I have seen many replicas covered in Tarnstoff that actually look quite opaque seen from the upper side and standing on the ground. When they were up in the air the light came through the printed canvas and the ribs were clearly visible. I think (and again: that's just my personal philosophy mainly based on what I like in this hobby) there are two reasons for shaded ribs: 1) Planes in service quickly accumulated dirt (Oil, fuel, dust, mud,...) and were frequently washed (yes, washed - brushed with water and soap) by the ground personnel. When you clean a wing, you brush over the ribs that become lighter, the sacking canvas between staying darker (dirtier). 2) It looks just fine :) . Accentuated ribs make a scale model look better (in my taste!) That's all ;) . So if 1) is not interesting for you ( yes these planes often had only weeks at the front before being crashed/shot down, no time for weathering) and 2) you prefer clean wings, then don't preshade (or postshade). Depending on your personal taste. That's the reason I think why AVIATTIC offers Tarnstoff on white Decal film (no shading) and clear decal film (preshading possible).
Kind regards
Borsos
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That looks really sharp and clean to me Dave. Everyone one knows that the photos show what the eye can hardly see and your photos portray none of those unseeable faults as far as i can tell.
Since I'm next moving on to the lozenge decals on the DVII I'll await your experiments ;). Weathering and shading are thoughts for my next model at the moment. I'm inclined to keep both very light and subtle having respect to scale.
I'm intrigued about your support rig for the plane - what is that? It looks ideal.
Thanks,
Alistair
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Hi Mark and Borsos,
Thanks for the thoughts about preshading. I think on this one I'm going to go without and see how it turns out. I'm into light weathering (a major shift for me from no weathering). I have a few more models with lozenge decals on the shelf, and if I'm not happy with the effect on this one, will try preshading the next.
Alistair
The stand is from Tamiya
https://www.tamiyausa.com/items/paints-finishes-60/airbrushes-accessories-57000/spray-work-painting-stand-set-74522
So far it has been pretty helpful. Only issue is that the plane is not fixed to the stand, so it can slide while being worked on. I don't have any of the fancier stands or jigs that people use on this site, but some of them look like they hold the model more securely.
I didn't post any more pictures. It looks the same as before with some touch up to the silver grey and spots of black and grey on the wings where the decals don't cover. Will be applying the lozenges next. Plan is to put the rigging anchor loops on after the decals. On my last plane I put them on prior to painting (no lozenges) so they were the same color as the wings and fuselage. I have some black wire, so hopefully they will look OK.
Dave
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I’ve started applying the lozenge decals, which is another on the long list of things that I haven’t tried before. I prepared the wings with white alclad primer, which I covered with alclad clear coat. Areas visible between the decals (access hatches, strut attachments) were picked out in the appropriate colors.
I have been running into some problems with the decals, and am looking for suggestions. I will post the question separately as the answers might be useful to other people, and it may be easier to find with the search function if anyone in the future is looking:
http://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=8875.0
Anyways, lower wing lozenges applied:
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0hfutoeluthimmk/IMG_1859.JPG?dl=0)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rqtljpo337b3yv5/IMG_1860.JPG?dl=0)
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I put one suggestion on the supplied link. Now I could be wrong here but to me it looks as though the primer coat was bubbly and transferred to the decals. The good news is that it is really only very noticeable on the VERY LARGE images in Macro.
RAGIII
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RAGIII - Many thanks for your response here and to the primary post about my decal problem. Agree that it fortunately isn't as obvious as it could have been, and I'm hoping the clear flat will tone it down even more. However, would like to avoid the problem, especially on the more visible upper wing surfaces, and really appreciate the suggestions in your other post.
When you say "primer coat was bubbly and transferred to the decals" do you mean you think I had bubbles in my primer, or bubbles between the primer and decal?
thanks!
Dave
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RAGIII - Many thanks for your response here and to the primary post about my decal problem. Agree that it fortunately isn't as obvious as it could have been, and I'm hoping the clear flat will tone it down even more. However, would like to avoid the problem, especially on the more visible upper wing surfaces, and really appreciate the suggestions in your other post.
When you say "primer coat was bubbly and transferred to the decals" do you mean you think I had bubbles in my primer, or bubbles between the primer and decal?
thanks!
Dave
I was saying that it looked to me as though the "Actual Paint may have been bubbly? Hard to tell even in the large format!
RAGIII
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Hi Dave
A trick I have tried for surface finishing prior to decals going on is to polish the surface with a glasses (spectacles) cleaning cloth. I just use the cloth with no other additives and rub it really hard. Matt finishes come up gloss and all the dust and lint gets gone. I also use it, gently, to expel decal bubbles and wrinkles during application. They are easy and cheap to get and last.
It seems to work so far but I haven't got to the bigger lozenge decals yet - that's for this weekend...and here is hoping - a new venture for me too.
Cheers,
Alistair
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RAGIII- Lots of problems with my airbrushing, but I'm pretty comfortable that bubbles aren't one of them. I'm working on the others - getting gloss finishes to lay down glossy, dust control, etc.
Alistair - I will try a polishing cloth. I did some rubbing out of areas with fine sandpaper where some lint got in the primer, but this was remote from applying the decals. I can try the polishing cloth right before to make sure there isn't any dust on the surface. I have been using compressed air, but there might be stuff that it isn't blowing off.
Looking forward to seeing your decals.
thanks!
Dave
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RAGIII- Lots of problems with my airbrushing, but I'm pretty comfortable that bubbles aren't one of them. I'm working on the others - getting gloss finishes to lay down glossy, dust control, etc.
Dave
Dave,
No insult or criticism was intended. Obviously it was a misinterpretation on my part looking at the enlarged Macro photo. My apologies.
RAGIII
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RAGIII- I am so sorry if the tone of my response was different than intended- I'm trying to get better at posting, and was attempting to be humorous (my wife tells me that I should not try to be funny). I did not take any offense, and am open to any criticism that makes my work better. I have really appreciated your comments- they have been tremendously helpful. I have probably been more frustrated by trying to get the results I want out of my airbrush than anything else I have tried (except for my recent decal issues). I just got back from another road trip, and am anxious to try out some of the things you and others have suggested when I put the decals on the upper wings, where they will be more visible.
Please don't stop making your suggestions- I'm trying to get my work to the level of yours and others here, and won't be able to get there without your help.
Best,
Dave
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Made some progress and almost finished the lozenges. I took the pictures before going to work this morning. I was in a little bit of a rush, so the lighting isn’t great. I’m working overnight and wanted to have them in case I had some quiet time to post. I haven’t done any clean up yet. The upper surfaces need some bubbles popped and microsol applied to get the decals to settle down.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/w5bvo1j451p66ii/IMG_1873.JPG?dl=0)
I’m pleased because the before cleanup pictures of the upper wings look better than the lower surfaces after clean up.
I’m appreciative to the suggestions people made- they were really helpful. RAGIII was correct that surface prep was a big problem. When I sprayed the wings, there were two issues. First, I had tried my new Iwata RG3 airbrush, which in youtube videos looks great at painting large surfaces like wings and ship hulls. My transition from practicing on cardboard to spraying my model didn’t work so well. Definitely need some more practice. I finished with the eclipse I usually use, and got better results. I also had issues with lint from some quilting that was going on in the workshop. I thought I had rubbed it all out, but didn’t start with coarse enough sandpaper. I started with 1000 or 1200, which smoothed it out but didn’t level it. On the top surfaces, I started with 4-600. I smoothed out mostly between the ribs, but didn’t want to take out the detail. I tried polishing and compressing the air and water from under the decal with a clean cloth, which also helped a lot. Also learned some about aligning the decals. I was using the strut holes, and should have focused more on the overlap on the leading and trailing edges. Anyways, it has been a learning experience, and the last decal went on worlds better than the first. Next model will be much better.
I’m getting ready to put on the crosses over the decals. When you apply decal over decal, do you reapply gloss, or is the decal surface adequately glossy to prevent silvering?
Some more decals and rigging anchors next. Also getting ready to put primer on the last 20 or so parts.
Thanks!!
Dave
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/f89uhb8syggwpe8/IMG_1866.JPG?dl=0)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/lngx1jvjmfqhysj/IMG_1869.JPG?dl=0)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8q4o496tbpmhz8f/IMG_1872.JPG?dl=0)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/oybc6jz335m326o/IMG_1877.JPG?dl=0)
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I’ve done more decaling and assembled some more parts. It’s been slow with a few minutes at a time between work and travel. I also needed start a project for a workshop I’ll be going to at the upcoming Nautical Research Guild meeting in a couple weeks.
The decals are going on better, particularly on the fuselage where the alclad primer and drooling bulldog paint airbrushed really well. Not seen in the pictures are the rest of the parts, which are painted, and 60 wire loops for the rigging, which turn out to be a great thing to work on after working overnight.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/rct448h4nv6vsfl/IMG_1914.JPG?dl=0)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/bqc79zfzotp06oa/IMG_1916.JPG?dl=0)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jwthkl1et1y4cm3/IMG_1919.JPG?dl=0)
I can’t help being amazed at the WNW kit engineering and how well everything goes together. Despite things I’m wasn’t happy about (issues with decals above, and never got the red paint coating the way I wanted despite stripping and repainting the wheels twice), the overall effect looks OK. I was sorry to put the cowl panels on- one of the things I was really happy with was the engine, which is now mostly covered.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ewmoxkz6ox697jn/IMG_1922.JPG?dl=0)
I’m also thinking about weathering. My preferences is light to no weathering. I tried a little on the engine with a panel wash and some oil and grime. Right now with all the gloss for decals it looks a little toy-like. I’m hoping that a clear flat coat will make that go away. I got some books on weathering, but they seem to be written by people who build armor and are into heavy weathering. If I weather it, I would aim for what it looked after a couple flights, not months in the field and multiple repairs. It’s a beautiful airplane with attractive colored paint, and I don’t want to lose that.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/0dsa2zwwwyicolz/IMG_1924.JPG?dl=0)
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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!
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/67zvhba0jssspsi/propeller.JPG?dl=0)
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
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Personally I would carve the propellor from wood - in that scale the lamminations would look very good indeed. Just an opinion.
Stephen.
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I like the prop. Far better than my latest efforts 8)
RAGIII
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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
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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
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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.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vd1h448f1tz2tj6/IMG_1958.JPG?dl=0)
I also installed guns, windshield, rudder, stabilizer, windshield and exhaust.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/d7n1bip6qx3i6ai/IMG_1960.JPG?dl=0)
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.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/wli2wl2pwccy5pp/IMG_1972.JPG?dl=0)
Dave
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Thanks for sharing your progress. Enjoy learning from your skills.
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The tail control rigging came out nicely. I use stretched sprue for most of my models on these lines 8)
RAGIII
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She is looking gorgeous 8)
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Brilliant work Dave. I can't get that level of cleanness on my Wingnut kits yet so I weather a little bit to conceal the defects!
Alistair
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Looks good -strange people at the Pfalz factory, to put a decal on the exhaust pipe!
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Thanks everyone for their comments. Not sure what happened, but I had this pile of painted parts, started rigging, and all of a sudden, the model was done. I didn’t take pictures along the way. It looked terrible with loose rigging all over the place, and the stabilizer and ailerons knocked off.
Finished pictures at:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9143.0
I’m very appreciative to everyone for their help, advice, and encouragement. I went way outside of my comfort zone - lots of first for me on this: wiring the engine, lozenge decals, silhouette stencil cutter (only made the mask for the plate on the front of the propeller, but had to start someplace), filling, masking the laminated propeller, using RG-3 airbrush, stripping paint, heat stretched sprue – can’t even list them all.
Lots of lessons learned as well. Will be paying much better attention to dust control when painting, and one of my first steps will be inserting reinforcing brass rods where the rudder, stabilizer, and aileron’s attach.
Next up – DH-9 from the WNW damaged merchandise sale. The $29.99 purchase price means the chance to try more drooling bulldog paint, HGW photoetch, and gaspatch guns.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/nr9r96sf3lamss9/IMG_2001.JPG?dl=0)
I’m going to do the “Lobster:”
http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/v16B75742/www/products/model_kitsets/32035/colour_schemes/DH.9%20D2989%20Lobster,%2049%20TDS,%20February%201919.jpg
Plan is to scan the decals and use the silhouette cutter to make masks so I can paint the stripes instead of decal.
Best wishes for the coming New Year.
Dave
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Hi Dave:
I like the DH9. I built one back in September, it's a fun build. I will be following your build as the Lobster is on my to do list as well.
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Mark - many thanks - I checked out your DH9 in the completed models section - came out beautifully.
Dave
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Hi Dave
Your Pfalz came out brilliantly. Bravo. You have tested more methods than I have - all great learning and great results. I don't have a DH9 in mind but will watch it unfold with interest.
Cheers,
Alistair
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Top work, Dave!
I am looking forward your next build, because it is exact what I have in mind for my next build.
Bye,
Manni