WiP - Eduard 1/48 Albatros D.III

[WD]

Seems we now have an Official Cocktail of the WW1 Aircraft Models Forum :-D

As I mentioned I read about them in Maj. Warren "Warnie" Lewis's diary, he said that the gin & French was the usual pre-dinner cocktail in his mess. I've often wondered whether they originally started mixing in the local stuff during the Great War as a method of extending their gin-supply...

Dutch

No doubt!  I bet is was done to spread it out.

Brad, this is a beautiful and inspiring build, and a very nice choice in modeling fluid.

Warren

[Brad Cancian]

Thanks all - I wholeheartedly agree that the Gin & French be endorsed as the forum tipple of choice!

I have slowly been making some progress, not helped by a couple of weeks overseas with work... but she now has some colours applied.

Firstly, I pre-shaded as shown previously.




The camo colours were then painted on the wings (unfortunately I have no progress pics of this stage). Colours were custom mixes using SMS acrylic lacquers. Then, I masked the wings and sprayed the fuselage a light cream colour, on top of which I added the oils for the wood fuselage. At this stage, the contrast is deliberately exaggerated.




While this was drying, I created some masks for the markings:



Once the oils were thoroughly dry, I applied a clear yellow coat. This helps to 'tie' the wood panels together visually by reducing some of that contrast.




Next, I masked and sprayed the markings and personal colours. I did have to play around with the masks slightly to get the curved white edges to the green personal colours. Don't look too close, but I did have some problems with paint lifting here and there, probably a result of too much handling and some skin oils working against me. Oh well. I went with a green that looked a little less bright in the bottle (SMS acrylic lacquer RLM 83) but it came out reasonably bright in practice. I still like the contrast, none the less.




I also made some custom decals for the tail serial number, which are the only decals applied to the model.

Next the various hatches were added, some further details painted, a clear coat, and an oil wash. Here's where she stands at the moment.









I also painted the kit prop; I think this one came out ok.



There's still a little more weathering to do, but I am happy with the results so far. In particular, I am reasonably happy with the balance of subtelty in the wood grain. It is probably too much or not enough for some, but artistic licence in 1/48 scale is always a matter of taste!

I am going to be hard up against the deadline for completion, I think.... but I am determined, so we shall see...!

Cheers as always,

Brad

[FAf]

Great work! I must say that I am most impressed by your skills with the oil colours and getting them to look like plywood. Do you describe your process anywhere else on this forum, or could you perhaps be persuaded to do a step by step depiction of it?

Take care!
/Fredrik

[PrzemoL]

Thanks all - I wholeheartedly agree that the Gin & French be endorsed as the forum tipple of choice!

In this aspect I beg your mercy to accept me to the noble company with a cup of good red dry wine, Barossa Valley Shiraz if I may make my choice more specific.

And as for the modeling progress in this thread, I am amazed by the great wood effects, you are getting, Brad. I will be overly happy if i get half as great results on my currently built RWDs and the said planned Alb D.III.
Needless to say, I am watching this thread with highest possible interest.

[Dutch522]

Brad, your posts remind me of watching a truly skilled painter at work; all of a sudden a thing of beauty emerging from a random collection of brushstrokes. I may have said this before, but it's almost magical, like watching someone pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

And it's inspiring, between your D.III and Sandy's recommendations you've got me convinced I should get the Roden D.I and D.III and have a whack at them.

Dutch

[Berman]

 Brad. I would also like to see a step by step tutorial on your woodgrain process. How do you obtain the subtle difference in oil color? How long do you wait for a section to dry before you are able to mask another section?  Thanks.

[Brad Cancian]

Thanks gents for your very kind words!

I would be more than happy to do a more detailed description of the process of doing the wood grain; I'll make a note to jump onto this once this build has been completed (here's hoping I can make the deadline without any major disasters!)

Cheers again,

Brad

[FAf]

Great! Two things to look forward to -completion and tutorial!

👍👍👍

[kensar]

Excellent work, Brad.  Can't really tell what scale it is from the pics.  The wood grain is superb.

[osterkamp]

well done Brad the paint job is equal to the construction... just perfect, a great job... sorry not to follow you with a glass Gin but I take the liberty anyway to raise a good glass of Rum to this achievement... cheers

[NigelR]

Superb work all round, and I love the wood grain. You really can't beat using oils IMO if you can do it the way you have.

[pepperman42]

Amazing work. Looking forward to the tutorial when you get the time.

Steve

[Brad Cancian]

Thanks again all!

Indeed I find oils to be the most forgiving and flexible in terms of effects, especially for trying to replicate wood where there are many different interpretations and approaches that one can take. The only real downside is the amount of time it takes for them to dry (but this is a small trade off, and forces one to do a little bit of planning). I'll look to get something together on my particular method in the next week or so.

As an aside, this one is progressing quite quickly now. Undercarriage, top wing and rigging were all completed yesterday, giving me only a little bit of grief here and there. Now onto final details and then, finishing touches, and perhaps a little more weathering. Looks like i'll make the deadline, pending any unforeseen disaster!

Cheers,

BC

[KiwiZac]

I'm so glad to hear that Brad, keep up the great work!

[Brad Cancian]

Hi everyone - I did it! And with a few days to spare! Phew!

Here she be:



And a link to more pictures, here -

https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=14143.0

Many thanks for all of your kind words and support through this build!

Cheers again,

BC