Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin 1/32 Wingnut Wings

[Umlaufmotor]

Crumbling decals?
Oh dear.
I know this well enough from the Roden kits, but I was of the opinion that the Wingnut Wings decals are of excellent quality?
However, I also notice that the decals stick to the backing paper - as @PrzemoL describes - on my current Roland C.II kit.
So far I have only used the instrument decals - I have not yet used the large decals such as the white squares with the iron crosses.

Did the quality of the wingnut decals deteriorate with the later kits - or are previously good decals now unusable after a few years in their box?

Servus
Bertl

[Umlaufmotor]

@AngryJazz
That looks quite interesting your approach with shading etc.
Can you tell us a bit about your technique and the colors, shades etc. you used?

The model looks, as far as I can tell, very clean, superb and accurately built.

Servus
Bertl

Thank you Bertl, means a lot - I really like you build log - learning a lot 

I tried to put a few words into why im doing the shading as I am in the post above. Its mainly about control of the end result.
I'm still a novice in the modeling world, so trying a lot of stuff and hope I will build up some skills and experience along the way.
I could save myself lots of work by "just" using a black base technique, but I don't have than confidence in my airbrush skills.

The white I mottle is just to create variation in the base color.
The Sand is more to create a bit of color variance in the color - also a small experiment to see if I could make a little linen staining / weathering. I worked best on the underside with the lighter color.
I should have used another color on the top for color variation that would show through a bit better. Maybe yellow or orange.

On my Viper build I added a bit of blue and tans in the pre shading process - it worked really well.
Also showcase how things blend together better after weathering / oils.

Example (sorry know its not WW1, but don't know else to show the process)

Thank you for the detailed explanation.
The result with the helicopter is convincing.
Up to now I have always painted large surfaces (wings, fuselage, etc.) without any previous shading.
But I will try that too.
Thanks again.

Servus
Bertl

[Dutch522]

Ben writes:Thank you Dutch! And I think your term of underpainting explains it very well 

You're welcome! But I can't take credit for the term, as an easel painter I tend to use traditional artist's terminology, and underpainting is exactly what you're doing; when, for example, you start a landscape that's going to have predominately cool tones you usually do an initial underpainting in a warm color like Burnt Sienna, which then gets painted over with the "real" colors:



... the idea being that the warm shows through breaks in the "topcoat" and keeps the key of the painting from being too gloomy. Sorry, don't mean to steer the thread too far off-topic, but this is something I've been thinking of applying to modeling for a while now, and I'm happy to see you beat me to it (and that it works in practice)!!

Dutch

[AngryJazz]

Wow thats a neat example Dutch! Did not know it worked for painting art like that 

@Przemol - yes heat definitely helped. Think I need something to keep my water warm... Maybe a usb coffee mug heater or similar.


So my adventure into the decals was not fun at all. Decals started cracking and were very brittle. The white / blue parts on the decals were the worst.
Stealing my wife's hairdryer and heating them on the model made them more workable.

One more issues was my own fault.

I had forgotten to install the clear parts over the inspection doors... I usually always do clear parts at the very end. I had seen a cutout in the decals and thought - Fine they thought about the ease of installing the clear parts later.... Well imagine my horror when i found out the decals goes partly over the clear part "frame"... I found out the second the decals was on the wing... Panic moment, but managed to cut the part of the sprue fast... lift the decal and slide the part into place... I was lucky this 1 decal didn't crack on me.

Well here's the result. Mostly OK and I will hopefully be able to touch up the troublesome areas with a paintbrush.
Wrinkles will get a slight sanding be okay (I hope).

The position of the mouth could have been better, but the delicate decals(starting to tear) made me not wanting to push my luck. Also the overlap on the bottom... But could not see how to avoid this one since they could not be placed higher.








Small wrinkles and some damage on the black.


Overlap


Cracks along edges and surface details


//Ben

[NigelR]

This is looking really good, I really like the way the rib tapes stand out on the upper surfaces without having "zebra stripes" down either side of them, very effective. You fared much better than I did with the decals, my roundels shattered completely into several pieces and I couldn't really hide the joins.

I know this well enough from the Roden kits, but I was of the opinion that the Wingnut Wings decals are of excellent quality?

No, most of the later kits suffered from problems with the decals. Apparently the decal manufacturer left out the plasticizer when producing the decals which meant they are very brittle and hard to work with. I would always recommending testing the decals first if you have a later boxing of a WNW kit. I also found using hot water and a hair dryer helps (although only after the decal disaster ruined my Dolphin build).

I always use very hot water for all decal application now just in case.

[AngryJazz]

Thanks Nigel, Bertl and Dutch 

I finally finished the repair work and weathering. I went a bit further on the grime and used look this time. Wanted to try and see what would happen.
So far i'm happy with it - trying to improve my techniques with oil paints. The blending and fading is still giving me some trouble.
Some pigments etc will be added at the very end.

The engine cowling and mg's were added.
As many of you experienced WNW builders warned be about... The fit was troublesome. I did take some some steps to improve this before painting, but I should maybe have done more.

It did take some CA glue and working on one corner at the time with a lot of pressure to get it into place. I was sure i would pop off at some point, but luckily it stayed in place 









Some close ups

[NigelR]

Well done, you managed to get this one further than me. It's looking very good, that cowling fit is probably as good as you can get it. Fingers crossed you make it to the finish line.....

[AngryJazz]

Thank you Nigel! 

Hopefully I will be able to finish this project in a few weeks. All other parts are painted and ready to be put on. Just this little thing called rigging before I can do that 
I plan on using some  Modelkasten elastic rigging I purchased for this project. Since there's not really any turnbuckles on the Dolphin, maybe i'll have less trouble this time around.

But I must admit I have to keep reminding myself not to start that new kit... So tempting... But need to finish this one first 

[AngryJazz]

Just a little update... Slow and steady.
The CA glue way was maybe not the best idea, but did figure out how it sorta works 

I'm doing eyelets next time. Accurate or not, it's just easier and less messy.

Learning point if I'll do CA glue another time. Start with the topside of the bottom wing - any small glue marks from the CA would be less visible.

The imitation of RAF fasteners does not quite look right, but i'm not feeling like redoing them all. They would be better if they were made smaller and got closer to the wing...Maybe on another build....

[macsporran]

Great progress on this marvellous beast. I wasn't sure about the rib tape colours at first but now they're in place and weathered a little they look absolutely right.
Sandy

[NigelR]

Good progress here, you got further than me!

The CA glue way was maybe not the best idea, but did figure out how it sorta works 

Learning point if I'll do CA glue another time. Start with the topside of the bottom wing - any small glue marks from the CA would be less visible.

The imitation of RAF fasteners does not quite look right, but i'm not feeling like redoing them all. They would be better if they were made smaller and got closer to the wing...Maybe on another build....

As they say, every day is a school day.... I find the type of CA glue does make a difference, and also the quantity you place in the attachment point also makes a difference. I use pieces of heat stretched sprue to apply the CA because it allows really precise placement in confined spaces. I like the VMS CA glues myself.

Personally I'm not a fan of those brass tubes for any type of plane. They always look overscale IMO and unless they are dulled down or painted, you end up with a model covered in bright shiny bits of brass which really catch the eye and distract from the rest of the model. On a British plane, you need those to be blackened before you use them. 

[AngryJazz]

Thank you Sandy and Nigel 

I agree Nigel - tried to paint a few in gunmetal color, but dropped it again. Just too risky to brushpaint now. Your advice on the blackened tubes are a great idea! I think i'll get some of that Metal Burnishing fluid for my next RAF build.
I used my vms ca glue for this rigging also. Its my favorite ca(flexy 5k ca) - very strong and a little flexible. Just sometimes it takes a while to set before you can let go.

I really appreciate the tips and tricks 

Most of the rigging is done now - working on undercarriage and about to paint the propeller. The end of the build is near 

[Dubar]

You've done a marvelous job on that Dolphin!!!  I don't have the skill or the patience these days.

I've been told that you can take old decals and spray gloss clear coat on them to make them less brittle BEFORE you apply them to a model.  I've done that, mainly on O-scale trains, and it worked.  I did it because the decals I had are no longer being made and are not made by any other manufacturer.

It may make them thicker, but it's worth a try.

[NigelR]

I used my vms ca glue for this rigging also. Its my favorite ca(flexy 5k ca) - very strong and a little flexible. Just sometimes it takes a while to set before you can let go.

Ah, you're already there with the VMS. I tried the Modelkasten line but I did find it was harder to attach with CA than EZ Line. But you've got there and this is coming together nicely.

[AngryJazz]

Thank you Dubar - its worth a shot if I experience problems on my next project 

Thanks Nigel! I had trouble threading with my Ez line from Uschi through tubes. The Modelkasten is a bit more "rigid" and holds its shape. Only downside I found is the need to use bigger tubes.
When using the fishing line (0.125mm) I can loop it through the 0.5/0.3mm (outer / inner) Albion tubes - the Modelkasten(0.13mm) have to be 0.6 /0.4mm. In theory I should be able to loop the Modelkasten, but it just does not work.

Doesn't seem like a big difference on paper, but its noticeably larger on the model.