Thanks, everyone. I do like this model and making it a prototype makes it a bit different. PLUS...I could always get another D-I and finish it as a production machine...then get a D-II....a D-III etc.
I'm afraid the Albatros series is my favorite.
Wood: Let's see...I primed with Tamyia fine grey primer and then painted a light shade of beige. I then sprayed it with "Future" to protect it. Then I masked off individual panel areas and splotched on burnt sienna oils with an old brush and smoothed it with a paper towel and a long soft brush. Masking the panels became more difficult since things weren't dry, but it all turned out. I tried to leave different amounts of oil paint on different panels for variety. I also did the WNW trick of brushing and scrubbing the paint in different directions on different panels. That's all pretty standard I think...
The problem was that these planes showed lots of knots in the paneling. So I experimented and ended up adding tiny (really small...tip of 000 paintbrush-small) dots of straight burnt sienna. Then, I used a really soft long-haired brush to ever-so-gently tug and pull the spot in a planned direction. This also faded it in a bit and made it look sort of like a knot. The cool thing was that if I went overboard and they disappeared, I can simply try again. For those in the US (maybe elsewhere?) this technique is like the old "Happy Painting" with William Alexander and, later, Bob Ross...when they used a very light touch to blend and move water to make reflections while pulling tree lines and mountains into a glassy-smooth lake. Pretty cool stuff.
Lastly, I oversprayed with Future tinted with a TINY bit of Tamyia clear orange. It actually didn't tint too much and bits of the orange shot out at times, but it still looks ok. Most of my wood treatments use straight clear orange and I think that looks pretty great...but the shots I saw of this plane suggest it was really light. In fact, I think my final color is still too brown but it will pass.
Anyway, I hope this long discussion isn't too boring and explained a bit how I did the wood. Let me know if you have any other questions.
More soon,
Dan
