Caudron G.IV, CSM 1/48

[FAf]

The parts which you could not come up with a name for were oil drains from the nacelles. The engines were rotaries and continuously shed oil as they ran. This oil was sprayed into the cowlings and would have been pushed to the front and bottom of the cowlings - the pipes drained this oil away and dumped it below the wing so that it did not soak into the fabric. For the same reason the lower wing under the engines were covered in aluminium sheet - to protect the wing from the oil exhausted from the engines.

This is looking very convincing - I had no idea that there was an observer's hole in the upper wing when I made my model! Good recovery on the damaged wing though.

Stephen.

Thanks for trying to explains things Stephen!
I was browsing through Taurus Models website and came across these things that I have fashioned for my build - pulsometers aparently. Used to show that oil is flowing as it should, if I understand things right. But, Stephen, I will add the other copper tubes that drain oil from the cowl and the engine nacelle. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

The hole in the upper wing might have been a late addition.
/Fredrik

[FAf]

Really Amazing work overall! I am glad you were able to fix the wing disaster...That would probably resulted in a Binned Model for Me  The weathering on the engine pods is terrific as is your Interior work! Lovely added details and again, Terrific overall!
RAGIII

Thanks Rick!
I could very well have led to a binning, but it was actually quite easy to sort out. I'm sure you would have as well!

You know I wasn't happy with the colour on my wings and, after having looked at a few other builds and read you comment about ecru vs yellow periods, I am now quite pleased with what I have achieved. Pictures will come.

/Fredrik

[FAf]

I have to agree that you made a great work indeed!
the alu foil cover is a very nice addition too!
ciao
edo

Bravo Fredrik!  I'm quite astonished at the extra detail you're adding to this kit.

I highly recommend quitting the hobby.  You're making some, if not most, of us look bad.  Me for sure anyways.

Stuart

The devil is in the details , 


Alexis

Thanks for your comments Edo, Stuart, Alexis and Umlaufmotor (who reiterated Alexis statement).
Aluminium foil in different forms can be really useful, it's always useful to have a stash of aluminium foil trays at home (I've saved my wife a couple of times when she's needed them for baking).

Sorry, Stuart, no plans to quit.

Alexis and Umlaufmotor - you both prove this in your builds. I'll try to add more as we go along.

/Fredrik

[FAf]

Moving forward...
I changed the colour on the wings again. The Windsock datafile says that some Caudrons were given a protective coat of yellow paint, but I couldn't really reconcile myself with what I had. So I changed to a more CDL approach with at yellow tinge. I did, however, keep the engine nacelles in their more yellow colour. I think it makes sense if they were treated differently due to oil and such and it makes for a nice contrast.


After finally being happy with the colour of the wing, it was time to add the French roundels. There is quite a lot of structure on these wings and that is not terribly good when you want to paint your markings using vinyl masks. As you see below, there is a strong tendency for the mask to lift and leave plenty of room for colour overspray. Luckily I had sheets of Tamiya masking tape that I could use to cut new masks and this material was much easier to manipulate around the structural features.



It's always a bit nervous when you're about to remove the masks.


But I didn't need to be. Almost perfect result!


Looking at a couple of other builds of the G.IV, especially one by Xan at this very site, I decided to try and add some staining to the engine nacelles. But should castor oil be brownish of blackish? This is what it looks like right now and I could always change it.


Engine and crew compartment only placed on the wing for a quick check. I've decided to model a plane with the name Helen painted on. I made masks for that. I might have cheated a little bit when it comes to size, but no one will know...


And masks also had to be made for the engine cowlings. I've got a couple of good photos of "Helen" and from them it's quite clear that one should be left in its yellow paint and the other should probably be red. The photos show the "7" on the yellow cowling with its outline, there is no photo of the opposite side, so I guessed that the "7" should be white and that there wouldn't be and outline on that side.


This is where it stands right now. Rigging, and there is a lot of it, is just around the corner.
/Fredrik

[Umlaufmotor]

Looks really great @FAf
I like the two cowlings very much.

If you want to soften the yellow color a bit (but I would leave it like this), try fogging over with extremely diluted light sand color.

Servus
Bertl

[Jorgo]

Fredrik, very realistic chipping and weathering!

Jörg

[Alexis]

Hey Fredrik , now that is looking very sharp !



Alexis

[Edo]

it is a beauty!

[RAGIII]

Really Awesome work Fredrik! I Love the colors as well as the weathering. As always the Painted markings look Fantastic!
RAGIII

[FAf]

Thank you all for your comments and for looking in.

If you want to soften the yellow color a bit (but I would leave it like this), try fogging over with extremely diluted light sand color.

Servus
Bertl

Bertl - thought of doing that, but ended up being quite pleased with the colours as they are. It'll all be visible next time I write something here and hopefully to the liking of others too.

When I started this model I was a bit worn out and it seems to show in the build process, e.g. all those repaints of the wings. When I finally had come to a place where I was pleased with the colours I found the elevators in the box, still in the first colour version and needing a repaint.



Another repaint was done on the landing gear struts. I had already painted them blue, but with other metal parts being chipped I came to the conclusion that these struts also needed a chipping. So aluminium first and then a grey (could be RLM 75) and then blue again.



And the last thing before starting the assembly was to add decals to the rudders, but as I had decided to model a different machine than what's in the box I also had to make some modifications. Luckily there were spare numbers to allow an easy cut and replace operation. I can of course not be absolutely certain that all those other numbers and letters are 100% correct, but it looks good enough I think.



Everything is now gloss coated and I'm just debating with myself whether I should give it an oilwash or not before final matt and satin coats...
/Fredrik

[Umlaufmotor]

@FAf
Everything looks pretty neat and good in my eyes Fredrik.
If I were you, I would first seal all decals with matt varnish and only then perform weathering/oilwash. I could imagine that otherwise at the edges of the decals (at the border where the carrier film rests on the plastic) edges remain visible through the oil paint.

Servus
Bertl

[FAf]

Hi Bertl!
You're right of course about sealing the decals. I will do that.

But then I usually place my oil wash on a glossy surface. What are the the pros and cons of having a matte layer under the oil wash?
/Fredrik

[Umlaufmotor]

Hi Bertl!
You're right of course about sealing the decals. I will do that.

But then I usually place my oil wash on a glossy surface. What are the the pros and cons of having a matte layer under the oil wash?
/Fredrik

@FAf

Hi Fredrik,
With the glossy layer, the oil colors run a little easier (better) than with a layer with a matte clear coat.
You can seal with gloss varnish of course, perform the oil wash and apply matte varnish afterwards - but keep in mind that the fabric was usually sealed with a gloss varnish when the aircraft was new.
Of course, over time this became dull and somewhat weathered. In areas that came into contact with castor oil, the fabric should regain its oily sheen.
Considering the paint peeling on the two cowlings and the metal struts, I would only paint the oil-soaked fabric areas glossy. The rest then in matte and somewhat dirty/weathered.

On matte layer oil paint can sometimes form quite interesting stains, which is often very natural aging phenomenon.
On the wings of my Morane-Saulnier "Bullet" -built I applied the oilstains on a matte layer.
On the fuselage, on the other hand, I applied the oilstains on a glossy layer.
The reason - on the wings I also wanted to show the typical staining of Castor oil on fabric, which were dispersed by the airflow.
On the fuselage, however, fresh oil was distributed by the engine.
A lot of oil collects inside the engine cowling due to the rotation of the engine.
This oil is distributed by the propeller wind to the rear along the fuselage.
I can only give you the tip to try both once.

Servus
Bertl

[Alexis]

She is coming along wonderfully so far Fredrik 


Alexis

[lone modeller]

Not dropped by lately Frederik, for reasons similar to yours when you started the model.

I am truly impressed with your wing cockades - very well done indeed. I also think that you have the correct shade for the oil stains - I would not change them. The wear on the cowlings is also excellent. My only regret is that I did not have the transfers for all of the markings that you have when I made my model some years ago - one of the disadvantages of scratch building.

Stephen.