Eindecker Metal Work

[Ryan]

I did some more testing on the cockpit side wall, it was very difficult to control the overspray needed to tone down the marker. In the pic you see, the effect is only visible at certain angles and the right lighting.

Cockpit Sidewalls by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

Cockpit Sidewalls by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

To try and improve the look I switched to an HB pencil, the pattern though stark shows up nicely in the dimly lit cockpit, i was happy with it.

 Cockpit Sidewalls by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

I think the pencil has promise, I need to experiment with different leads for a lighter effect for the cowl.

[Ryan]

A darker pic.

Wood and metal by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

also did my first hand graining, not to bad...here is the before and after a orange clear coating.

Wood and metal by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

Wood and metal by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

Thanks for looking.

Ryan

[Ryan]

Here is a shot with upper fuse on. The effect is kind of an optical illusion to my watering eyes.

Untitled by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

Most certainly doing pencil work on the oustide cowling.

Ryan

[pepperman42]

I think your results with the pencil work very well for the cockpit area. I think for the exterior it will have to be toned down. I'm interested to see if different pencils  garner different results. I really liked your results with the sharpie. Did you try the sharpier Sharpie? As you mentioned the over spray is the key.

Steve   

[Ryan]

Thanks Steve, yes the exterior will need to be more muted for sure...the key might be a pencil in the 4H to 9H hardness....even then any flat coat will darken it a bit.

On the sharpie test, I had the finest pen, the key was the over spray coat. Since you just need a thin veil to cover the surface you end up holding the airbrush farther away from the surface causing a rough finish too. Then after that your sealing coats, if lacquer based, would re activate the pen. I would recommend others that try it go with acrylic based overcoats to not upset the pen work.

The spoon had me fooled it was going to be easy!

I've settled the effect will be artistic at best and i'm ok with that.

If know one cares I'll still insert my results here.

[pepperman42]

I will be most interested. And yes your Fokker spoon did look good.

Steve

[Ryan]

I've been doing this for 30 some years, but this is my first WWI subject and first WNW kit, so this is a huge learning experience for me!

Another issue with the spoon and the flat panels was that it was only visible at a certain angle and it almost flip flopped like a pearl coat. I blame this on the angle that the metal flakes were falling on the surface, since the brush was farther away they weren't sitting flat.

[Ryan]

Been doing some more testing to try and nail this effect.

I hate working with Metalizer, but it may work for this look. 

As most of us know the Metalizer  product is meant to be buffed, well most of them are.

What if we only buff the pattern and leave the rest un-buffed or slightly buffed? On the spoon below you can see the pressure of drawing the squiggle in the Metalizer surface has polished it and leaves a similar turned effect as periode photos.

Metalizer Spoon by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

Not done testing, but this looks promising.

[Trackpad]

Well Done. So simple, it's genius! I'll be watching for further developments as I have the WNW Fokker EI (Early) in my cache. Good luck with your further testing/research.   

[Ryan]

It's deceptively simple, here is the process for the metalizer version.

1. Base application of Testors Aluminum Metalizer. When applying don't get too far away with your strokes as you don't want it dustier than it already is. If your not familiar with metalizer it lays down with a slight dusty finish.


2. Draw the pattern. Using micro brush, artists stump, or Tamiya q-tip draw your pattern on the finish. (This is the tricky part if you make a mistake its all over, you will need to re-spray the metalizer. The pressure of the drawing action will polish the turning mark into the finish.

 
3. "Dust" the surface. At this point you basically have a metallic version of "wash me" written on a very dusty car. The shiny squiggle pattern is "lower" than the dusty parts around it. The next step is to lightly dust the loose metallic particles off of the part. DO NOT POLISH. Dusting can be done with a large flat brush, again lightly.

 
4. Seal it up. If you intend to weather or wash the part you will need to seal it, I found acryilc or water based gloss coats work best. Stay away from metalizer sealer for this technique. Mine is shot with Alclad Aqua Clear.

 
This has some real potential, I can see even producing a "Spirit of St Louis" turned machined look with a punched pad attached to a tooth pick or the like.


ts a nerve racking ordeal, so practice on some parts before you commit.

[Ryan]

Here are some ammo box shots done with metalizer

Ammo box by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

Ammo box by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

Ammo box by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

[Ryan]

This is what the process looks like right after the drawing of the effect in the metalizer.

Before sealing by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

Here is the furry effect I was speaking about, see the back half of the spoon is furry, the dusting helps knock that down. The front half is patterned dusted and sealed.

Furry spoon by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr

BTW you can see the spade head Tamiya q-tip in the spoon pic that was used to make the pattern....drawn at a slight angle.

[Edo]

wow! super resuts! and a great tutorial indeed!
thank you for posting!
ciao
edo

[Manni]

Great result, Ryan!
The build looks very promising.
Bye,
Manni

[pepperman42]

great experimenting and results!!

Steve