WNW Sopwith Triplane N533 Naval 10 Sqn. - Raymond Collishaw

[Nigel Jackson]

Hi Lance

Thanks for sharing these photos and your technique with us. I take your point about the elusive nature of PC12, but feel that you have captured it to excellent effect, particularly in the photos of the fuselage side and horizontal tail surfaces.

In terms of descriptors, I've come to think of PC12 as more of a chocolate brown than a red brown. That said, when talking about this with my wife, she got right to the heart of things and wanted to know whether I had milk or dark chocolate in mind! Or for those familiar with the brands, Cadbury's Dairy Milk or Bournville.

Along a spectrum within these as poles, I'm  definitely edging towards the latter and start with a coat of red brown and then adapt it through the high risk strategy of washes of colours like panzer brown to darken it and take out some of the redness. The obvious danger of washes lies in pooling, but with care it can lead to some tonal variation here and there, which I like.

But anyway, a big thank you for sharing things with us and for a great Triplane. I am certainly reassured that our final outcomes share much in common.

Best wishes
Nigel

PS Please excuse the fact that a couple of hours after my original posting I had to modify it to take out a daft mistake in the third paragraph

[Des]

Your rendition of PC12 is excellent Lance and will certainly look the part once the gloss is dulled down. Enjoy your trip and I look forward to seeing more progress on this wonderful build when you return.

Des.

[RAGIII]

Lance,
Very Nice color choice for your PC12.   Your leading wrap around of the PC12 to the undersurfaces is excellent, as is your decaling!
RAGIII

[IFF1418]

Indeed Lance a very fast and wonderful build. Your color is very very nice. It will be a great tripe I'm sure.

Kind regards
Patrick

[lcarroll]

Thanks, Guys, for the encouraging comments. Nigel, we think very much alike! I admit to choosing the overall PC12 as much for variety from the constant PC10 in the display case as any other reason once I realised that either/or could logically be correct. As for the final colour I mixed up, the addition of some white to lighten the tone was an effort to get more of the Cadbury "milk chocolate" effect as opposed to the very "dark chocolate" tone of my original attempt!
   Fascinating stuff, this colour thing, and as I often quote, "the only thing we're sure of is we're not sure..........."
   Now it's time to pack for the trip later today, be back here in a week.
Cheers,
Lance

[GAJouette]

  Lance,
Awesomely outstanding project to date my old friend. Your PC12 looks just prefect to my eyes. Well Done and keep up the great works.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[mgunns]

Hello Lance:

I think it looks just right.  As you say, the only the we know is that we don't know.  I have a painting of the a/c and it looks right.  Have a great time with family.  We will all be here when you get back and look forward to your updates.

Until that time

Best

Mark

[Ernie]

Your paint looks the business Lance.  Great work on the Tripe!  I look forward
to your next installment.  Safe trip, my friend!

Cheers,
Ernie

[Chris Johnson]

Man oh man, I get waylaid by a couple of non-aviation projects and look what I've been missing! Your tripe is simply superb Lance. Your woodwork looks flawless and that instrument panel is stupendous. It looks exactly what I wish mine would look like.

While I think your engine wiring looks just fine, if you're looking for a source for different gauges of thin nichrome wire ( as narrow as 40 gauge), I've had excellent results with Jacobs Online eBay store at:

http://stores.ebay.com/Jacobs-Online

Cheers,

Chris

[lcarroll]

Thanks Chris, and I'll be checking out that link.
Cheers,
Lance

[lcarroll]

   A short update now that I'm back at it. The "gloss and glitter" is well behind now as I've completed the pastel Post Shading after a few coats of Model Master Acryl Flat Clear, the first step in the process. I like this technique as I prefer the worn and used look of an aircraft in the field to a "Factory Fresh" finish.
   The taping is a tedious step and took me an entire day. I use Tamiya tape and, to date, have never lifted a decal or paint, knock on wood! Here's the upper wing and rudder as examples.







  ...........and the results after the pastels are applied.





   The Q Tips are an inexpensive substitute for the makeup sponges which wear out quickly. I use 40+ of them per Build.

And the rest of the major components:









   I've since touched up the PC12 "wrap over" on the lower planes along with the aileron inner edges and will next apply a sealing coat of Model Master Acryl Semi Gloss Clear. The shading is a little stark presently but tones down nicely with the sealing coat.
   Next comes the sealing coat and then the installation of the eyelets and pre-rigging before assembly. In the interim I have some work to do on the metal fittings on the struts, touch up on the prop, and I may strip and re-paint the cowling and nose panels as I think I went a little heavy on the chipping.
   Hopefully another update in 3-4 days.
Cheers,
Lance
 

[Des]

Looking really good Lance, I like your shading technique, it gives an excellent result, what colour pastels did you use?

Des.

[Ernie]

Thanks for the update, Lance.  What a great job on the shading!  I'm also
curious what pastels you use.  The Black Maria is coming along brilliantly!

Cheers,
Ernie

[lcarroll]

Des, Ernie,
  On this one I used only Black, the "stick" in the photo. It's a chalk Pastel as opposed to oil. On my PC10 Builds such as the Bristol F2b I used both dark Brown and Black. The PC 12 is quite dark compared to the PC10 (at least my renditions of them) and I didn't think the brown would offer adequate contrast. I didn't use any pigments on this stage either however they will figure into the weathering phase.
   I got the Semi Gloss overspray done late this afternoon, hopefully it dries well and I might get the pre-rigging started tomorrow.

Cheers,
Lance

[Whiteknuckles]

Wow Lance, just caught up on this excellent beastie, lovely job!
I liked the way your Clerget turned out - very tasty

Andrew