The different finishes on the different surfaces is partly accidental
By choice I would like the whole plane to be an eggshell finish. Looking at pictures the aeroplanes were generally shiny, makes sense as the surfaces needed to keep out rain and oil. I haven't found a good spray can that gives the finish I want
This picture:
The undersides of the wings were sprayed white, then brushed with watered acrylic (an ancient pot of Citadel Bubonic Brown) which gives variation in the colour. When finished the undersurfaces are hand painted in Future (or Klear, or whatever it's called). Looked at square on it's very shiny. Looked at obliquely, it provides just enough reflectivity
The fuselage and cowl were undercoated in black, then sprayed with a can of Tamiya Nato green, which is also a bit glossy. The brown camouflage is rattle can Humbrol dark brown, which is unfortunately matt. It bothers me, and I haven't changed it as I'm afraid of wrecking the job
The tyres are hand painted in acrylic (Citadel again) which isn't very reflective
That leaves some parts in natural finish: the invisible thread rigging which I like because sometimes its obvious, sometimes its invisible; The clear plastic for the wing panels which I dare not touch; the control wires to the tail surfaces - these are nickel silver wire and really I ought to dull them down, but I like them as they are
I suppose I pay attention to the surface finishes, I would say a lot of the effect is accidental
I would add though, I have referred to myself as the Grand Illusionist before. One thing I do consider is the pictures I take. I like to choose shots that are similar to photos of the original aeroplanes, so I try to get the camera to what would have been eye level. I usually take pictures from a bit of a distance and crop the image so I get more of the 'plane in focus. And I try to use more than one light source. Finally, I try to crop the images to get the bit I want to show to be prominent. Of course, I hide the bits I don't want to show
So, there we are, the Grand Illusionist spills his secrets
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...
Richard
