YOUR SCALE-MODELING HANDBOOK HOLIDAY 2014
Models 2
IMPROVE YOUR ARMOR — PAGE 62 —
ESSENTIAL HOW-TO TIPS FROM OUR EXPERTS
Frank Cuden’s Air National Guard P-47N – p.14
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War Sherman – p.22
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Models 2 4
Editor’s page
Welcome to our special issue, Build Better Models 2
40 Easy-to-model water Put maritime models in their element
MATTHEW USHER
CHRIS LUDWICK
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42 Camouflaging with
Start building!
Our guide to modeling techniques, tools, and tips THE FSM STAFF
11
Masking unmasked
How to clear up demarcation disputes
paper masks
Paint hard-edged schemes on RAF aircraft AARON SKINNER
46 Weathering tips
AARON SKINNER
Contest modelers share their secrets
14
AARON SKINNER & MATTHEW USHER
Detailing and painting a P-47N
Working out of the box with resin and plastic FRANK CUDEN
18
Scale modeling glossary
Browse through our list of modeling terms THE FSM STAFF
20 Trimming parts
Getting parts off the trees is the first step to a successful build AARON SKINNER
22 Decanting spray paint Get it out of the can and into your airbrush for better control AARON SKINNER
24 Airbrush problems and how to fix them
What to do when a painting session comes to a screeching halt AARON SKINNER
30 The why & how of weathering powders
52 Master a short-run kit What to do when you love the subject but not the model PAT HAWKEY
56 Easy armor weathering
Better colors, washes, and dry-brushing for better models
58 10 steps to highlight recessed panel lines
Distressing an old kit can make it seem more modern DAVE KOUKOL
62 Making the most of a basic build
Aftermarket add-ons and wily weathering give this panzer extra punch BILL PLUNK
68 Improving
Trumpeter’s P-40B
Fearless cuts make a Flying Tiger look more fierce SIMON HARRISON
AARON SKINNER
Build a T-6 Texan to look like something it’s not
for armor
Shades and tones for a convincing IS-2 FRASER GRAY
37 Soldering basics step by step
Getting the most out of photoetched metal means turning up the heat RICK LAWLER
42
MARK HEMBREE
Powdered pigments can improve weathering when correctly applied
32 Try color modulation
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40
75 Hollywood Zero DARRREN ROBERTS
79 Painting a Soviet tank A three-color camouflage scheme creates a unique KV-1 LUCIANO RODRIGUEZ Build Better Models 2 (ISBN 978-167200-243-1) is produced by FineScale Modeler magazine and published by Kalmbach Publishing Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187. © 2014 Kalmbach Publishing
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3
Hit that workbench! Welcome to Build Better Models 2
Models 2 Editor Matthew W. Usher Associate Editor Mark Hembree
BY MATTHEW USHER
Associate Editor Tim Kidwell Associate Editor Aaron Skinner
WELCOME to the second edition of FineScale Modeler’s Build Better Models! Assembled over the course of a year, this issue includes all-new articles as well as the most-requested features from the pages of FSM. You could think of it as a “greatest hits” album with some fantastic all-new new songs added to the mix. Since FineScale Modeler’s launch in 1982, one of its top missions has been to provide top-quality how-to information to help you build better models, regardless of your skill level or preferred subject matter. It’s one of the main reasons I started buying the magazine, many years before I had the opportunity to come work here. Granted, I’m biased, but I’m particularly proud of the lineup of articles in this issue. We cover
everything from the basics of trimming plastic parts from the trees to the complexities of assembling metal parts with solder. Looking for a new masking technique? We have you covered. Are you having difficulties getting your airbrush to perform just the way you want? We’re here to help. And there’s plenty of other great how-to information, too. As always, we’re always looking for great ideas for special editions like this one. If you have an idea, I’d love to hear about it. Please feel free to drop me a note. My e-mail address is listed below, and my postal address is listed in the box at the right Enjoy the issue!
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©2014, Kalmbach Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Title is registered as trademark. This publication may not be reproduced in part or in whole without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews. Postmaster: Periodicals postage paid at Waukesha, Wisconsin, and additional offices. Send address changes to FineScale Modeler, Kalmbach Publishing Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612.
Start
BUILDING! FineScale Modeler’s guide to modeling techniques, tools, and tips BY THE FSM STAFF
W
elcome to FineScale Modeler’s guide to getting started in the hobby. Although FineScale is read all over the world, here in North America we’re headed into fall
– that means cooler temperatures, shorter days, and more time to spend inside building models. That’s why we included this guide. It’s a handy collection of how-to information, tips, techniques, and trivia we hope will inspire you to tackle a new project (or finish one that’s been collecting dust). Enjoy this collection of tips and techniques, and if you have ideas for future installments, drop us a line and let us know!
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The 10 (or so) tools you need to get started Need to stock your toolbox from scratch? Here are the top ten tools you’ll need to get started. As your skills increase (or as you specialize in one genre of modeling) you can tailor your selection of tools and supplies.
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1.Hobby knife. Keep a small collection of fresh blades on hand, along with a small “variety pack” of specialty blades. 2. Sprue cutter. A good quality cutter makes trimming parts much easier. 3. Glue. Start with standard tube glue and white glue. 4. Toothpicks. The inexpensive, disposable, tool of a thousand uses. Ideal for everything from stirring paint to applying glue.
6 Build Better Models 2
5.Wet-or-dry sandpaper and sanding sticks. These will help you smooth imperfections and eliminate seams between parts.
tel powder, and weathering pigments.
6. Pin vise and drill bits. The best way to open up exhaust stacks and mounting holes.
9. Files. Flat, round, large and small. These help tackle serious fit problems.
7. Paint brushes. (Previous page.) A good set should include a fine-point detail brush and a variety of larger brushes. As your brushes wear out, save them for lessaccurate work such as applying washes, pas-
8. Paint. Start with a collection of standard colors and expand from there.
10. Masking tape. Use a good-quality, low-tack painter’s tape. Look for it at hardware and home-improvement stores. 11. Tweezers. Mandatory – you’re going to be dealing with lots of small parts!
Which glue should I use? There isn’t a single one-size-fits-all glue for scale modeling. Here’s a list of the best adhesives to have on hand, as well as a description of their most common applications.
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1. Solvent-based glue: Timehonored tube glue or liquid cement. Solvent-based glues melt the mating surfaces of plastic parts to weld them together to produce extremely strong bonds. Solvent-based glues should be used sparingly to avoid damaging the plastic parts. Non-toxic tube glue is available for younger modelers. 2. Super glue: Available in several grades, from ultra-thin, ultra-fast setting to thick, gap-filling, slow-setting varieties. Good for general assembly and bonding
dissimilar materials. Always have a bottle of debonder within arm’s reach. Super glue should not be used for clear or “chromed” plastic parts; the glue’s vapors can fog their surface. 3. White glue: Ideal for attaching clear and chrome-plated parts. Can be thinned with water and applied with a fine paintbrush. Errors clean up with water. 4. Epoxy: Two-part adhesive consisting of a “resin” and a “hardener.” Epoxy begins to cure when the two parts are mixed.
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Different varieties cure at different rates, from minutes to hours, and the resulting bond is extremely strong. Ideal for joining dissimilar materials. Thicker epoxy putty can be used to fill gaps and can be used for sculpting. 5. Clear-part adhesive: Usually water-based and formulated specifically for use with clear parts. Usually thicker than standard white glue, this adhesive dries clear and can be used to simulate small windows, landing lights, and instrumentpanel gauge faces.
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Painting tips The days of the tiny countertop paint rack at the hobby shop are long over. (That’s a good thing, though – no more mixing paints labeled “Yellow” and “Green” in an attempt to arrive at “Dunkelgelb.”) Visit any modern hobby shop and you’ll undoubtedly find rack after rack (and brand after brand) of carefully formulated, carefully color-matched model paint in both bottles and spray cans. If you’re just getting started modeling, it’s probably a good idea to start with one brand and/or type of paint. The folks at the hobby shop should be able to advise you as to what selection will work best for the type of modeling you’re doing. As you get the hang of things, you can expand your arsenal of paints to include everything from acrylics, to enamels, to lacquers and everything in between. Here are some guidelines to help you tell things apart so you can get started properly.
Never thin paint in the bottle. Unthinned paint will last a long time in a properly sealed bottle or tinlet. Adding thinner, however, will shorten its shelf life. Always mix paint and thinner in a separate (third) container, and dispose of any excess.
Use the recommended thinner. While some modelers like to use their own concoctions to thin paint, your best bet is to use the thinner recommended by the paint manufacturer; usually it’s listed on the paint bottle.
Don’t mix different brands. Sure, you can use different brands of paint on your project, but don’t mix colors between brands.
Test first. Unsure of how a particular paint will work? Will it match? Is the bottle too old? Is it the right sheen? If you have questions about a particular formulation of paint, always test it first. An empty section of the kit’s parts tree is a great place to check. Don’t judge color in the bottle. Some paints can change color dramatically as they cure. When in doubt, apply the paint to a test swatch (a leftover piece of parts tree or a scrap piece of white sheet styrene will work well) and let it cure for at least 48 hours. You’ll have a textbook example of the paint’s “final finish.”
Shaken, or stirred? Generally, it’s best to stir paints thoroughly before you use them. Shaking the paint bottle can introduce air bubbles into the mix, which can affect the final finish. Buy a big box of sturdy toothpicks or coffee stirrers to mix things up. 8 Build Better Models 2
Apply paints in the proper order. Model paints are available in a wide variety of formulations. Generally speaking, you’ll want to apply paints that are chemically “hottest” first, followed by their “cooler” counterparts. Cooler paints have less chance of affecting their more-durable, hotter cousins. Generally the rule of thumb is to apply lacquers first, then enamels, then
acrylics. Paint formulations vary widely, however, so when in doubt, test first. Date your spray cans. Unlike bottled paint, spray cans eventually wear out, starting with their first use. The propellant inside slowly leaks out and renders the cans unusable. The first time you use a spray can, mark it with the day’s date with a permanent marker. The next time you reach for it you’ll know how long it’s been on the shelf, so you don’t accidentally run out of propellant halfway through your paint job. When in doubt, it’s best to buy a fresh can of paint for your latest project. Do the right thing. Always store and dispose of paint and thinner safely and properly. Many communities offer regularly scheduled “paint drop-off days” at recycling and trash-collection centers.
Understanding decals Decals can make or break the appearance of a model. Here’s a guide to how they should be applied. Decals are best applied over a smooth, glossy surface. If you’re applying them over flat paint, first apply a clear gloss finish and allow it to dry completely. Apply the decals to the glossy finish, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Using a setting solution will help the decals conform to the surface. Should your model have a flat finish overall? After the decals dry, apply a coat of clear flat finish. Here’s a step-by-step guide to applying a decal over flat paint.
Shiny! Decals adhere best to a smooth, glossy surface. A coat of Pledge Future floor shine can be applied with a soft brush.
Trimming. Trim the decals from their carrier sheet one at a time as you apply them. Small scissors are ideal for this.
Tweezers. Leave enough backing paper to hold the decal securely with a good pair of round-point tweezers.
Water. Dip the decal in cool clean water for 5-10 seconds. It doesn’t take much time to activate the decal’s adhesive.
Release. Place the moistened decal on paper towel for a minute or so. It will continue to loosen from its backing paper.
Setting solution. Using a clean paint brush, add a thin coat of setting solution to the area where the decal will be applied.
In place. Position the decal over the model. Hold it in place with a wet brush and slowly pull away the backing paper.
In place. Slide the decal into position. If the surface is irregular (as here) apply more setting solution to help the decal conform.
Flat coat. After the decal has dried thoroughly, a coat of clear flat can be applied to even the finish and seal things up. www.FineScale.com
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Entering a contest Modeling is generally a solitary effort – unless you’re in an active club, you’re more than likely building models on your own, to your own standards. However, as your skills increase and your models get better and better, you’ll probably be tempted to enter a contest. Modeling contests are great for a number of reasons. Sure, you’ll have the opportunity to measure your skills against other modelers (and maybe bring home an award or two), but more importantly you’ll be able to admire the work of other modelers and share the tips and techniques you used to build your latest masterpieces. If you’re thinking of entering your first contest, here are some guidelines to follow.
Attend first. If you’ve never entered a contest before, it’s probably a good idea to attend one without entering first. Enjoy the models, visit the vendor room, enter the raffle, and clap for the winners during the awards ceremony. You’ll leave with a better idea of how a model contest works.
Ask the promoters. Every contest flyer or website lists the names and contact information for the event. If you’re unsure of the event’s rules, categories, location, or hours, contact one of the organizers. They’re modelers just like you, and undoubtedly can answer your questions.
Follow the rules. Most clubs list their contest guidelines online. For example, some “out of the box” categories mandate that you bring along the kit instructions. Don’t let a little mistake take you out of the competition.
Ask for advice. Some contests offer one-on-one evaluation of your model by the event’s judges after the awards ceremony. While it may take a little bravery and some thick skin to sign up, it’s almost always a good idea to have other more
experienced modelers comment on your work. Pack your models carefully. You don’t want to damage your latest project on its way to or from the event. Have fun! Competition is fun, but don’t let the pressure to win ruin your enjoyment of the hobby. Contests are a great opportunity to share your work, admire the craftsmanship of other builders, and most of all, enjoy your time in the fellowship of other modelers.
A to-do list for scale modelers A short list of things you can do to promote scale modeling and help the hobby grow • Organize or help run a make-and-take. • Give constructive feedback. • Have a stash of kits you know you’ll never build? Give them to someone who can use them: Troops serving overseas, a youth group, or a rehabilitation facility. 10 Build Better Models 2
• Build a model for someone as a gift: The ship they served on, their first (or favorite) car, the aircraft they flew. Trust me, they’ll love it. • Join a modeling club and contribute: Volunteer to help run a contest, write for the newsletter, serve as the chapter contact to help promote the club and the hobby, demonstrate a technique to share your knowledge.
• Build something different. If you’re an aircraft modeler, build a tank or a car. It’s a great way to broaden your skills and you’ll have a better appreciation of your fellow modelers’ work. • Introduce someone to the hobby: Nieces, nephews, grandchildren, co-workers, and/or neighbors. • Donate a modeling-magazine subscription to your local public or high-school library.
• Share your tools and references. • Participate in an online forum. • Send a tip (or an article) to us at www.FineScale.com.
MASKING UNMASKED How to clear up demarcation disputes BY AARON SKINNER
N
o matter how long you try to avoid the issue of multicolor paint schemes, sooner or later you will need to apply masks to keep the paint where you want it. Masking comes in many forms, and a variety of techniques can net different results depending on what the model calls for. This short primer will look at several different ways of masking, but it is by no means comprehensive. If you use a technique that isn’t shown here, drop me a line at
[email protected] under the subject line “Masking Ideas.” I’ll feature the most interesting and innovative suggestions in our Reader Tips column.
The original masking material, painter’s masking tape, has been used by modelers for years. It’s available from several manufacturers in many types and widths. Because model paint is thin and delicate, look for a low-tack brand like 3M’s blue tape to reduce the chance of paint being lifted when the tape is removed.
Painter’s tape has the advantages of being widely available and relatively cheap. To reduce the tackiness of the tape and make it more friendly to model paint, place strips sticky-side down on a smooth, flat surface (glass is ideal) and peel it off a few times. This should reduce the adhesiveness considerably. www.FineScale.com
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Some masking tapes are made especially for models. My favorite is the very thin paper tape sold by companies like Tamiya and Gunze Sangyo. Its flexibility helps it follow surface contours, and its thinness leaves a clean edge.
Gunze Sangyo sells sheets of thin masking tape in precut strips that are easy to use; just cut the length you need and lift the tape from the backing paper. The machine-cut edges can be straighter than if you cut your own strips.
Tamiya’s flexible tape easily bends around complex curves and shapes. I also like that the thinness makes it easy to see where the tape is sticking and where it’s not. This is a great help in ensuring a good seal.
To apply a tape mask, place the edge of the tape where you want a paint demarcation line and burnish it with a finger. Don’t push the tape down too hard except along the edge; the more the tape sticks, the greater the likelihood of paint peeling when you remove the tape.
When spraying a masked area, I start by spraying a thin light coat along the tape edge. This dries quickly and helps prevent paint from bleeding under the tape. On complex schemes, like the ZTZ-99B on the cover, spraying a light coat of the underlying colors seals the masks.
Then, I airbrush paint into the large areas, avoiding heavy applications near the tape. This prevents buildup along the tape and minimizes the chance of paint seeping under the tape.
As soon as the paint is touch dry (unless there are more colors to be added), I remove the tape. Wait too long and the paint will set hard and be more likely to chip when you remove the mask. Work slowly, peeling the tape off by folding it back on itself at a slight angle to the tape line to avoid damaging the edge or underlying paint.
Masking tape is easy to cut to shapes, either off the model, as in this pointed piece replicating splinter camouflage …
… or on the model. Here, I have applied tape and am using a brand-new No.11 blade to cut a curve into it. It is possible to trace a camouflage pattern onto a model covered in tape and cut out the mask. The same could be done with frisket, a clear masking film available from art-supply stores.
After cutting, it’s a simple matter of peeling the unwanted sections of tape from the model.
After painting, a toothpick is ideal for removing masking tape or film from the surface without scratches. Simply push the toothpick’s end gently against the edge of the tape until it begins to rise (left), then peel it off with tweezers or fingers (right), avoiding direct contact with the fresh paint.
12 Build Better Models 2
All of these techniques are great for creating sharp-edged lines. But what about softer transitions between colors? The easy thing to do is cut the shape you need from scrap paper …
… then roll thin tubes of masking tape (left) and attach them under the edges of the mask (right).
Alternately, you can use poster putty (left), rolling it thin (right) and pushing it into place under the paper mask.
Now, when you place the mask on the model, its edges will be slightly raised. This gap will allow a little overspray to filter under the mask, giving the painted area a soft edge.
The angle of the brush to the mask will produce different edges. Spraying from over the mask back toward the edge will give less overspray and a sharper edge (left). Angling the brush directly down gives more overspray and a softer edge (center). Spraying back at the mask forces more paint under the mask, producing a very soft line (right).
Masking tips • To prevent bleeding, spray the underlying color or clear over the mask edges before adding the new color. That seals the tape and is invisible on the model. • To limit damage to paint, score the edge of the masks with the point of a new No.11 blade before peeling the tape. This should prevent the surrounding color from coming off with the tape. • Surface preparation is the foundation of any good paint job. Poor paint adhe sion increases the chances of paint coming off with the tape. Wash parts with
mild dish detergent and use rubbing alcohol or Polly Scale Plastic Prep before a painting session. • Experiment! I’ve touched on basic techniques here. The pages of FSM are filled with innovative masking agents: salt (July 2003 and November 2008); Parafilm M (February 1993); Vegemite (February 2008); and my personal fave, Silly Putty (July 2003 and April 2006), to name a few. You can order back issues at FineScale.com or by calling Kalmbach customer service at 800-533-6644.
Here are the results of the above paint applications using a raised-edge mask. For greater control, you can use tape with its edges raised. Spray a couple of passes along the tape to produce soft edges, then push the tape down before finishing the rest of the painting. This limits the amount of paint that goes past the mask. FSM www.FineScale.com
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To build the P-47N, long-range version of the famous Thunderbolt, Frank picked up Sword’s 1/72 scale kit. He finished it as a postwar fighter in the Georgia Air National Guard.
1/72 Scale
DETAILING & PAINTING A
P-47N
Working out of the box with resin and plastic • BY FRANK CUDEN
R
epublic Aviation’s legacy was forged by a long roster of rugged and sound construction: the F-105 Thunderchief, the Seabee, and the Thunderbolt, sometimes called the “The Seven-ton Milk Bottle.” There’s no mistaking the profile of the P-47, with its low-slung belly and massive four-blade propeller. The ability to carry heavy loads, roomy cockpit, big engine, eight .50-caliber machine guns, and a wide landing-gear stance made it one of the premier fighter/bombers of World War II. It could absorb quite a bit of damage and still bring its pilot home. Early in my modeling career, I built a Lindberg 1/48 scale T-Bolt. The arrival of Sword’s 1/72 scale P-47N presented the opportunity to build another and dress it in a colorful Georgia Air National Guard scheme. 14 Build Better Models 2
Cockpit and tail wheel Sword did a nice job on the kit. Resin and photoetched metal enhance the 61 crisply molded plastic parts. Scale recessed rivets mark external surfaces. Unlike kits with separate blades, the plastic propeller comprises two parts — the four-bladed prop and a prop boss — so no individual blade alignment is necessary. I prepped the resin side walls, wheel wells, and engine, as well as the plastic floorboard, rear bulkhead and headrest, instrument panel, and seat, 1, spraying the interior parts Humbrol bronze green (No. 75), then hand-painting details with a fine brush. The resin engine received thin solder for the collector ring and spark-plug wires. The kit provides optional tail wheels: One is a solid-plug insert; the other, a tailwheel strut and retraction piston. I opted
for the latter, 2. The resin wheel wells are terrific castings that look great after detail painting, 3. I airbrushed the cockpit bronze green and the wheel wells and forward and rear sections of the fuselage Testors yellow zinc chromate. To reinforce the engine installation, I installed styrene braces, 4.
Airframe assembly To pose the elevators down, I carefully cut them from the stabilizers. Parts fit was pretty good, but I needed a little filler to smooth the butt-joins around the tail seams as well as the fuselage and wings, 5. Alclad II gray primer covered the putty, revealing rough spots. I detailed the wing pylons with styrene strip and rod to better represent the weapon attachment points, 6. Small throttle and mixture controls
Resin
Bronze green
Resin
Bronze green
Plastic Resin
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1 It’s all in the details when it comes to Frank’s P-47. After airbrushing the parts bronze green, he hand-painted individual items.
Yellow zinc chromate
Yellow zinc chromate
After choosing which tail-wheel strut to use, Frank assembled it and the propeller and laid out the fuselage parts for painting.
Solder wiring
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3 Careful painting highlights the lovely detail in the kit’s resin wheel wells.
Filler
Before sealing the fuselage, Frank attached the cockpit and engine to opposite halves. Styrene braces behind the firewall prevent the power plant from shifting.
Primer
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5 Typical of short-run kits, the Thunderbolt requires a little filler along major joins. Frank checked his work with gray primer sprayed along seams.
made from wire and white glue were added to the quadrant to improve the cockpit interior, 7. I notched the wingtips for navigation lights that would be added at the end of the project. The wing machine guns were fine resin inserts with hollowed barrels; after attaching them, then filling and sanding the seams, I tried my best to avoid breaking them off. Of course, I broke off a few and managed to lose one of them. I made replacements with Minimeca tubing.
Bits of styrene — the white stuff — detail the kit’s weapon hard points. Simple additions like this can make a big difference.
Painting I airbrushed a coat of Floquil old silver, my preferred natural-metal base, over the entire model, 8. Next came Alclad II’s white aluminum, applied to four wing-inspection panels and the fin’s leading edge, 9. I masked and sprayed other panels, including the cowl flaps, with Alclad II duraluminium, which is slightly darker than the base. The cowl and several more fuselage panels were dressed up with Alclad II polished alumi-
num. I also hand-painted inspection panels on the fuselage and wings with Testors Model Master steel enamel. The secret to a good natural-metal finish is knowing when to quit adding additional shades, 10. Next, I picked out panel lines with a pencil, following engraved detail by hand or, when necessary, using thin strips of drafting tape as guides, 11. I masked the long anti-glare panel and airbrushed it black, 12. www.FineScale.com
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Wire and glue handles
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To add a few finishing touches to the cockpit, Frank scratchbuilt throttle and mixture handles with wire shafts and white-glue knobs.
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Floquil old silver, a durable enamel, is Frank’s preferred base for naturalmetal finishes. It has a weathered aluminum appearance and provides a good foundation for other metallic paints.
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After carefully masking inspection panels and the tail’s leading edge, Frank airbrushed Alclad II white aluminum.
More metallic shades — Alclad II duraluminium and polished aluminum, and Testors Model Master steel — finished the airframe.
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Rather than washes, Frank picks out panel lines with a pencil, using engraved lines or tape as a guide.
To prevent overspray on the wings while painting the anti-glare panel, Frank applied 3M Post-it Cover-Up and Labeling tape. The low-tack stuff comes in a dispenser, so it’s easy to tear off just what you need.
Markings The blue cowl ring and attached fuselage swoosh required careful masking to ensure the right look and symmetry, 13. First, I cut two circles of Tamiya masking tape and positioned them for the transition between the swoosh and ring. Then, I continued the swoosh with thin tape 16 Build Better Models 2
strips, taking time and care to ensure the sides matched, 14. The diagonal stripes on the rear fuselage are Xtradecal yellow striping decals. I used spare black lettering decals for the GA and NG — for Georgia and National Guard — on either side of the national insignia on the fuselage, 15.
To paint the top of the vertical stabilizer, wingtips, and propeller tips, I masked and airbrushed Floquil reefer yellow, 16. I replaced the kit wheels with True Details weighted tires, but only after removing the side bulges, building up the overly flat bottoms and filing a more realistic profile.
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Circles of tape anchor the masks for the bright blue nose and fuselage markings.
Patience is the most important part of the masking process to ensure the sides look identical.
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When applying the national insignia decals to the fuselage, Frank carefully cut the bar to conform to the vents on each side.
A final splash of color: Frank masked the wingtips and tail to airbrush yellow.
A thin strip of yellow zinc chromate was painted along the forward “travel” edges of the elevators. The kit decals supply all of the stenciling, including the numbers behind the machine guns on the wings’ leading edges (a nice touch). I sprayed the prop blades with Floquil engine black and Pledge FloorCare Multi-Surface Finish (PFM) before adding Curtiss logo decals.
Clear navigation lights
Vacuum-formed canopy
Clear navigation lights
Yellow zinc chromate strip
Final details Major handling done, I installed the pitot tube on the port wing and attached the dorsal fuselage antenna. I vacuum-formed a replacement canopy and windshield with K&B .010" clear styrene. The frames were hand-painted black, then coated with flat aluminum using an artist’s detailing brush. I chipped and scuffed the red “No Walk” decals on the inboard flaps with a silver Prismacolor pencil. The same technique added wear to the anti-glare panel around the canopy. To add exhaust and engine grime, I gently streaked dark gray, brown, and black pastels behind the cowl and pipes. I made thin inner gear-door retraction
Prismacolor chipping
Decal stripes
With the last fiddly bits in place, Frank’s P-47N was ready for the display shelf. Careful construction and painting produced an eye-catching model.
struts from .020" plastic rod. When the left tail-wheel door went missing during the build, I had to scratchbuild a replacement, including the inner structure. (Of course, when the model was finished, there was the kit door, in plain sight, hiding in
the plastic kit bag. How many times had I looked in that bag?) Work done, I sat back and enjoyed the view. I was really happy with the kit, which produces a good looking replica with just a little extra modeling. FSM www.FineScale.com
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Early kits were scaled to fit existing boxes.
BUSY UP
SCALE MODELING
GLOSSARY Browse through our updated list of modeling terms
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hether you’re new to scale modeling or have returned to the hobby after a hiatus, you’re bound to stumble upon unfamiliar jargon. FSM’s here to help. A few years ago, we launched our online Scale Modeler’s Glossary and asked you to submit your own modeling terms. Here are a few you submitted and other popular modeling terms. Visit www.FineScale.com to browse our complete online glossary and submit your own terms.
Adding detail to an area of model lacking it. – Corey Reece Olivehurst, Calif.
CONSTANT SCALE
Models produced in the standard, consistent scales (1/35, 1/72, etc.).
CONVERSION
A model that has been modified to represent a different subject or variant.
DECAL
Thin, printed transfers used for lettering, markings, and national insignia. Their adhesive is activated by water, so they’re sometimes referred to as “water-slide” decals.
DIORAMA
A miniature scene, often including vehicles and figures, in a natural setting.
DRY-FIT ACCURIZE
To improve the accuracy of a piece.
AFTERMARKET
Parts sold independently of the kit to replace or enhance what’s included in the kit. These can include decals, detail parts, weapons, etc.
ADVANCED MODELER SYNDROME (AMS)
The need or desire to superdetail every model, often at the expense of completing any. Rick Lawler used color modulation to enhance a monochromatic scheme on Tamiya’s 1/48 scale Marder III, featured in the September 2009 FSM.
COLOR MODULATION
A fool-the-eye technique that simulates natural lighting effects with highlights and shadows that bring out details on a model and give it a realistic look. Because this is a permanent color correction, it locks the lighting and shade orientation regardless of the actual ambient light. – Tom Zmudzinski Fort Washington, Md.
ARTIST’S OIL
Fine-art paint; slow drying and easily blended, it’s often used for figure painting and washes.
BACKDATE
Converting a model to represent an earlier version of the subject.
BOX SCALE
A model in a nonstandard scale. 18 Build Better Models 2
Test-fitting parts for alignment before cementing them together.
DRY-BRUSHING
Using a nearly dry paintbrush to hightlight raised detail and edges, usually with a lighter color.
EJECTOR-PIN MARK
A circular depression in injection-molded plastic parts. Caused by the molding process, these flaws often must be filled and removed.
GREEBLIES
Inaccurate, odd parts used to fill in areas where accurate detail is not provided, making empty space look busy; very common in science-fiction subjects. See gizmology. – Jim James Orlando, Fla.
INDIVIDUAL-LINK TRACKS
Treads for tanks and other tracked vehicles in which each
top and bottom steel molds. In a slide mold, additional mold pieces can be placed into the sides of the main mold halves, allowing for undercuts and even hollow parts impossible with two-part molds. – Mark Wilson Alexandria, Va.
SILVERING Dan Jayne spent five months building this cutaway from Academy’s 1/32 scale F/A-18C Hornet. See more of Dan’s model in the September 2009 issue.
CUTAWAY
A model where the skin has been “cut away” so interior details can be viewed. track is made up of individual links glued or pinned together as on the real vehicles. Once an aftermarket purchase; recently, more kits have this type of track. – Mike Thompson Ames, Iowa
LIQUID SPRUE
KITBASH
PHOTOETCHED METAL TOOL
To combine parts from different kits.
Sprue from a model kit cut into small pieces and dissolved in liquid styrene cement. Used as a filler. – Dave Eyles Weybridge, Surrey, United Kingdom While this refers mostly to small folding tools, a photoetched metal tool can be anything in a modeler’s arsenal dedicated to cutting, filing, annealing, folding, rolling, or shaping photoetched-metal parts. – Tom Zmudzinski Fort Washington, Md.
When air is trapped between a decal and the model surface.
SUPERDETAILED
A model that has been detailed (often with many additional parts) to the highest standards of detail and accuracy.
UNOBTAINIUM
A part (usually aftermarket) that looked good on another modeler’s work but unfortunately is no longer available for your model. – Tom Zmudzinski Fort Washington, Md.
WASH
Weathering process: Highly diluted paint is flowed into small details, such as recessed or raised panel lines, rivets. etc., to color them or simulate accumulated grime and dirt. – Hoi Sing Chan Tang Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
SPRUE
The cylindrical plastic “tree” that parts are attached to inside a kit. These are the result of channels that feed molten plastic into part cavities in a mold.
ZIMMERIT
Nonmetallic paste applied to German armor during World War II to thwart magnetic mines. FSM
www.FineScale.com Look up more scale modeling terms and submit your own to our online modeling glossary.
REVERSE WASH
Using gizmology, Tim M. Quinlan II detailed his USS Brooklyn (featured in the July 2010 issue) with Christmas tinsel, piano wire, and snaps.
GIZMOLOGY
Using or creating detail parts for models or small models themselves from unlikely sources, such as other model kits, toys, household items, and scrap. – Mike Thompson Ames, Iowa
A technique to create a wash effect on raised panel lines by painting the lines the desired color, usually black or dark gray, then painting a protective clear coat. Once the final color coat is applied, the panel lines are lightly sanded, revealing the darker color underneath. – Harvey Baker Jemison, Ala.
PIN MARKS
Impressions left in plastic by the pins that eject parts from a mold.
SLIDE MOLD
Injection molds that use more than the traditional two-part
Karl Logan, known for his heavily-weathered armor, used a bunch of different weathering techniques to wear out Dragon’s 1/35 scale SdKfz 251/17.
WEATHER
To simulate the appearance of wear and tear (battle damage, exposure to the elements, age) on a model.
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TRIMMING
PARTS
Yeah, it’s basic, but getting parts off trees is the first step to a successful build
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BY AARON SKINNER
emember your first models, when you grabbed parts and twisted until the sprue relented and the pieces came loose? Never mind the big chunk you
took out of the part’s edge, or the clear part that got cracked. One of the first things you learned as your modeling skill set expanded – right after No.11 blades are really, really sharp,
and glue will stick to you as well as a lot of other things – was to cut, rather than twist, the parts from the trees. It’s still one of the most basic skills, and one that bears a second look.
RESIN
Resin parts almost always have pour plugs to be removed. A razor saw is the best weapon for this work, although large parts can be removed quickly with a carefully wielded cutoff wheel in a rotary tool. Work slowly and check often to be sure the blade hasn’t gone off track.
Depending on how closely you cut, sanding is usually all you need to clean up resin parts. It’s a good idea to wear respiratory and eye protection while cutting or sanding resin. The dust is very fine and can be irritating if inhaled.
PHOTOETCHED METAL
The thin strips that attach most photoetchedmetal parts to frets are easily cut with a sharp knife. The main danger is sending the part orbital. Try cutting the part through the bag it came in. This keeps the part corralled until you can super glue it to the model. 20 Build Better Models 2
Alternatively, you can place the fret on the sticky part of a Post-it Note. The adhesive is strong enough to stop the part from taking off for parts unknown, but it lets go of the parts easily to prevent damage (and leaves little residue, better for the adhesion of paint and glue).
Photoetched-metal parts usually have small tabs where the attachment points were. A fine file, sanding stick, or whetstone will take care of those – but be careful not to bend or crimp the parts while you work.
PLASTIC
One of the best tools you can buy is a pair of side or sprue cutters. The blades should have a flat side and an angled side. With the cutters, it’s a simple matter to place the flat side next to the part and cut the attachment point. It pays to be gentle and to look after your cutters. Use them only for plastic; things like metal and artificial flower stems will nick the blades, in turn damaging model parts.
Next, I use a sharp No.11 blade to shave off the remaining little stub. Be careful. (Did I mention it’s sharp?) If the plastic is soft, it is easy to cut too deeply and damage the part. My intention is to remove as much excess plastic as possible without cutting into the part. I find this lessens the amount of sanding I have to do, thus decreasing the amount of collateral damage to surrounding areas.
Speaking of sanding: After using the side-cutters and hobby knife, it usually takes only a few swipes with a sanding stick to remove any remaining sprue. Go lightly and pay attention to where the abrasive touches the model.
Because sprue cutters put pressure on the parts, there is a risk of breaking small, fragile items such as grab handles. A razor saw is a must here. Working slowly, it’s easy to trim the part from the tree – and the cut is usually very clean.
I’ve lost count of the number of small parts I’ve sacrificed to the carpet monster over the years. An easy way to avoid that is to make the parts bigger. When attaching small items like the lifting rings on a Dragon 1/35 scale T-34 turret, I cut off part of the sprue with the part. It serves as a handle when placing the part and applying glue.
Once the glue is dry, I trim the extra plastic from the part and clean it up.
Clear parts need a little TLC to ensure they reach the model unharmed. Clear plastic is much more brittle than regular styrene, so trimming it with sprue cutters can cause twisting or cracking, as on this 1/72 scale Italeri H-34 canopy that I messed up with careless handling.
Using a razor saw to carefully cut the part from the sprue minimizes damage and reduces the amount of plastic that needs to be sanded off. This means less handling (and fewer fingerprints) before the parts reach the model. FSM www.FineScale.com
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DECANTING
spray paint
Get it out of the can and into your airbrush for better control • BY AARON SKINNER
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pray-can paint is convenient to use, especially because you don’t need to mix or thin the paint before use. It’s a simple matter of shaking the can and spraying away. The downside of using a spray can is the lack of control. Paint comes from the can at one volume — usually a lot — in a single pattern — usually wide. Spray painting lacks finesse and it makes painting hard-to-reach areas very difficult.
1 First, find a tube you can use to transfer the paint from the nozzle to the bottle in a controlled fashion. I prefer sturdy plastic drinking straws — they’re cheap and readily available. 22 Build Better Models 2
An airbrush, on the other hand, is the epitome of fine control. You are in command of everything from air pressure to paint volume and spray pattern. But what do you do when the color you need is only available in a spray can? Or you want to be able to paint smaller parts without blowing away or drowning them? The answer is to decant the paint from the can to the airbrush.
2 Tape the straw over the nozzle. Tamiya spray cans feature a nozzle that protrudes slightly so it’s easy to get a snug fit. For other brands, you may need to trim the straw’s end to fit.
3 Now for a paint receptacle: I like the larger glass bottles that Tamiya acrylic paint thinner comes in. After cleaning it, I secure a piece of aluminum foil to the mouth of the jar with a rubber band.
4 Cut a hole in the foil big enough for the straw. It should be close fitting but not airtight; you want air to escape as the bottle fills with paint.
6 Insert the straw in the hole in the foil and depress the button. Paint will flow from the end of the straw into the bottle. It’s a good idea to hold the jar so it doesn’t tip or blow over. And wear gloves — decanting is messy.
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5 Shake the can vigorously before spraying. Just like any other spray paint application, the paint should be the right consistency in the bottle.
7 As the jar fills, you’ll hear fizzing and see bubble forming. This is the propellant boiling out of the paint.
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Place a cap or cover on the bottle to prevent dust from settling into the paint, but leave it loose so the propellant can continue to escape. After several hours, screw the lid on tight and store the paint.
When you are ready to paint, open the lid very slowly because pressure may build up while the paint is sitting. If you open the jar too quickly, you’ll end up wearing some of the contents.
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Stir, don’t shake, the paint until all of the settled pigment is off the bottom of the jar. Shaking the paint is a lot like shaking a can of soda before you open it; pressure will build up, causing paint to explode from the bottle.
Now it’s a simple matter to transfer some of the paint to your airbrush and start painting. The paint is already thinned for optimal spraying. FSM
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AIRBRUSH PROBLEMS
What to do when a painting session comes to a screeching halt
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BY AARON SKINNER
n airbrush is the perfect tool for finishing models – right up to the moment when it isn’t. For every modeler, from beginner to the über-experienced, there are moments in the paint booth when you want to chuck the airbrush and 24 Build Better Models 2
the masterpiece of plastic, photoetched metal, and resin it’s just ruined. That’s the time to stop, assess the situation, and figure out what you need to do to resolve the problem, rescue the model, and become a hero – at least, in your paint booth.
VARIABLES MOST AIRBRUSH problems are easy to fix, but is worth noting that many result from the variables involved in airbrushing: paint thinning, air pressure, and paint volume. It’s also worth noting that each airbrush setup is a little different. Single-action and double-action airbrushes perform differently, as do internal versus external mix guns. Atmospheric conditions such as humidity and temperature also play a role. This is all to say that no single answer is perfect for all situations.
KEEPIN’ IT CLEAN IT MAY SEEM obvious, but perhaps the single, greatest cause of painting mishaps is a dirty airbrush. If you start a paint session and there is no paint coming out of the brush, chances are there’s
CLEANING TIPS MOST AIRBRUSHES come with instructions including cleaning directions. That’s a good place to start. Recently, I needed to really clean my airbrush. (Despite my previous admonishment, rushing to meet deadlines means I don’t always get my brush clean.) I had let paint residue dry in the cup and the needle was frozen in place, 1. First, I disassembled the brush, removing the needle first, then the spring and the nozzle. Be extremely careful when handling the needle and nozzle, as these are the heart of the airbrush – and fragile to boot, 2. Always use the tool provided with the airbrush to remove parts like the nozzle. To clean paint, especially old, cured
2 Easy does it: Aaron removes the nozzle from his BearAir PEAK C-5 brush using the tiny wrench provided.
5 Aaron scrubs the paint cup with a cotton swab. Corners and crevices can hide paint that may come off later while airbrushing.
old paint in the nozzle preventing paint from moving. I’ve picked up my brush a couple of times, even after cleaning, and had the needle stuck fast. The most important advice for airbrush users is to strip and clean the brush after each painting session. I sounded like my dad for a moment there: “Clean that
shovel before you put it away so it doesn’t rust.” Of course, I hated yard work and would have happily fed the shovel into a car crusher, let alone let it rust, but I got the picture – take care of your tools and they’ll last a long time. By contrast, I love painting, so I don’t need much encouragement to maintain my airbrush.
paint, whether it’s acrylic or enamel, I prefer lacquer thinner – it’ll shift about anything. I also use cotton swabs, paper towels, and pipe cleaners, 3. Dip a cotton swab in lacquer thinner and rub it over the parts to remove the dried paint, 4. Pay particular attention the brush’s internal paint channels, like the bottom of the paint cup, 5. Use a pipe cleaner to get even deeper, 6, but be careful; don’t force it or you risk damage. Remember, the brush is a precision tool, and slight damage to certain areas can destroy it. The needle is worthy of extra attention; any paint residue on it will affect paint flow. I use a soft paper towel, rag, or cotton square damp with lacquer thinner and pull the needle through, applying light pressure to the sides to remove the paint, 7. Never push the point through or
you will bend it, causing uneven painting. After I’ve put everything back together, I usually reconnect the brush to an air supply and blow a little lacquer thinner through it to make sure nothing remains.
3 Cleaning supplies: Aaron uses lacquer thinner to clean the brush applying it with cotton swabs, paper towels, and pipe cleaners.
6 A pipe cleaner is essential for getting into the airbrush’s tight spaces. Don’t push too hard, though, or you can damage the metal.
1 What not to do: Aaron failed to follow his own advice and didn’t clean his airbrush after a painting session.
4 A cotton swab damp with lacquer thinner quickly dissolves the month-old paint on and in the brush.
7 Aaron drags the needle through a thinnerdampened paper towel. Note the paint deposited by earlier passes.
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SPIDERS
Spiders are a sign of too much of everything. It’s time to dial everything down and start again.
PAINT SPOTS with leg-like tendrils of paint spreading out from the center means you are using too much of everything. (Remember the variables we discussed earlier?) Too much paint, too much thinner, too much time spraying in one place, holding the brush tool too close to the surface, etc. If you’re using a singleaction brush, close the nozzle down so only a little paint comes out. If you’re on a double-action, don’t yank the trig-
ger straight back. Move it back slowly so just a little paint comes out. Grab a test model or scrap board. Start spraying off the surface and slowly move the brush toward the test subject. If you are still getting spiders, either the paint is too thin or you are using too much air pressure – or both. If you are using a regulator, reduce the air pressure. If you can’t, or if that doesn’t solve the problem, add more paint to the mixture in the brush.
RUNS OR PUDDLES
Patience, Daniel-san. It’s better to spray several light coats than to try to put all the paint on at once.
PUDDLES and runs of paint indicate the paint isn’t thin enough or you are not moving the brush across the surface fast enough. Several thin coats are better; don’t try to cover the entire model in a single pass. Try thinning the paint slightly, and definitely move the brush more. Start and finish strokes off the model, and keep the brush moving. Be vigilant of the distance from
the brush to the surface. (See “The Perfect Pass” on Page 29.) If the model is uneven, make sure the nozzle never gets too close to the surface or you’ll get runs. If you see a run forming, don’t be tempted to try smoothing it out by adding more paint, and don’t wipe it away. The best option is to wait until the paint is dry, sand smooth the lumps, and repaint.
DUSTY, GRITTY LOOKING PAINT
The surface of a model shouldn’t look like 60-grit sandpaper. Move closer and watch how much thinner you’re using.
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THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS when particles of paint dry between the airbrush and the surface. One of the biggest problems I had when I started airbrushing was getting up the nerve to hold the airbrush close enough to the surface. I was taught not to hold the brush too close for fear of runs, but the rough texture that results from being too far away is equally hard to fix. First, be sure the paint isn’t too thin – thinner dries the paint faster. Then dial down the air pressure and hold the
brush closer. Airbrushed paint should go on slightly wet, with a flat finish’s sheen disappearing in a few seconds. Related to this is a problem with corners, like the right angles where wings meet fuselages. While you are painting one surface, paint particles swirl about and hit the other surface already dry. Low air pressures can minimize the vortices, and temporary masks can help with overspray. Paint retarders slow drying, allowing the paint to level more as it dries.
FISH EYES COMMON with resin models, fish eyes result when oil on the surface (or even within the plastic or resin) repels the paint. The most common culprit is the heavy-duty mold release agent used in resin casting. But oil from fingerprints can also be responsible. Other contaminants that cause the strange circles to appear include grease, soap, and wax.
Thoroughly cleaning the model before painting is always a good idea, and it’s essential when working with resin. I soak resin parts in Westley’s Bleche-Wite tire cleaner. When working with plastic, I wash the sprues before starting on the model. Before painting, I apply rubbing alcohol or Polly S Plastic Prep with a cotton swab and let it air dry. Oil and paint don’t mix. Whether it’s mold-release agent or fingerprints, be sure to clean the model before painting.
THE NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE DONE PAINT SHOULD LEAVE the nozzle of the airbrush in an even, cone-shaped pattern. If the paint is not hitting the model where you are aiming or is scattering, it’s obviously not even. Worse yet, if there are splatters of paint, chances are the needle or nozzle – or both – are damaged. Most likely, the nozzle is split or the tip of the needle is bent. It only takes a small bend in the tip to affect paint flow. But small bends can also be repaired.
Examine the tip with a magnifying glass, or drag the needle’s point across a fingertip, turning it slowly as you go. If it catches on your skin, then it’s bent. Drag the affected side across a medium grit sanding stick once, then test it again. Repeat until the snag is no longer apparent. Check the nozzle with a magnifying glass, looking for a ragged tear from the opening. If you find damage, you’ll have to replace it. Uneven paint coverage and a strange angular pattern point to a bent needle.
Dragging a needle across your fingertip will help you figure out which direction the needle is bent.
Both the nozzle (left) and needle of this single-action airbrush are damaged beyond repair.
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DUST AND DEBRIS I’M NOT SURE that I’ve ever airbrushed a model the first time without some kind of schmutz appearing in the paint – either dust, grit, or the odd hair. This is one problem not caused by the airbrush, but rather the painting environment. Keeping the painting area clean is a must. Vacuum or dust the workspace hours or days ahead of time to allow airborne particles time to set-
tle. If you’re using a spraybooth, turn on the fan 15 minutes before painting to pull most of the dust out of the room. Wiping the model off with a tack cloth before painting will remove anything on the surface. (Be careful around delicate bits!) And watch what you wear: Newer clothes often shed tiny fibers that are attracted to fresh paint like fleas to a dog.
Most modelers don’t have the luxury of a high-tech “clean room” to work in, but there are ways to avoid dust in the paint.
THINNING
Most paint brands have their own thinner.
BECAUSE properly thinned paint is crucial to airbrushing, let’s discuss dos and don’ts. First, if you are new to airbrushing, or using a new brand of paint, stick with the paint brand’s own thinner. This eliminates issues of compatibility (and trust me, nothing clogs an airbrush like a bad paint-thinner combination) and ensures good mixes. So, how do you ensure your paint is neither too thick or too thin, but just right? Many manufacturers print thinning guidelines on tins or bottles of
paint and thinner. That’s a good starting place. The other option you’ll hear repeated often is the adage: “Thin the paint to the consistency of milk.” Apparently, 2 percent milk is a good target. This is also a good starting point. That said, there are actually no definitive numbers. Ask 10 modelers how they thin paint and you’ll get half a dozen or more different answers. Experiment to find what works best in your airbrush at pressures you are comfortable with.
SAFETY
Gloves and respirator masks provide protection from paint and thinner.
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PAINT AND THINNER – even acrylics – can be hazardous to your health. So, it’s a good idea to take a few precautions when airbrushing. Airbrushes atomize paint, and the tiny droplets scatter easily. Always work in a wellventilated space away from ignition sources such as heaters or a water heater. If painting indoors, a spray booth that vents to the
outside is a great investment. Otherwise, look for a corner of the garage or porch that can be ventilated naturally. A two-stage respirator mask, available from hardware stores, also provides important protection. Latex or rubber gloves will prevent your skin from absorbing paint or thinner.
THE PERFECT PASS IT’S BEEN SAID the “position is everything.” That’s certainly true in airbrushing with regards to the model and the brush. As illustrated earlier, many airbrushing problems can be eliminated by holding the brush the right distance from the surface and keeping it moving. So what does the perfect painting pass look like? Place the model on a stand or hold it in your hand, if you prefer, and aim the brush at a point about 2-3" ahead of the model. This is where you’ll
start spraying. Why not start on the model, you ask. Two reasons: First, if you start on the model you begin spraying while the brush isn’t moving; there’s a good chance too much paint will end up on the model at that point. Also, if there’s any paint on or around the nozzle, the first blast of air will send it splattering onto the model. After you get the air and paint flowing, move the brush steadily onto the model and continue spraying until the nozzle passes beyond the
model. Stopping on the model risks excessive paint buildup. You usually need to make more than one pass to paint the model. If so, you can keep the paint flowing but reverse course off the model. Subsequent passes should overlap the preceding one to ensure a smooth finish. How far off the model should you hold the brush? This is a question a lot of novice airbrushers ask. After years of trial and error, I find a good starting point is 4-5" away. This is far enough to
prevent runs (as long as you keep the brush moving) but close enough that properly thinned paint won’t dry before it reaches the surface and give you a gritty finish. Watch for low and high spots: A bulge in the surface may cause a section of the model to be a lot closer to the brush during a pass. Adjust the height as you spray to compensate. Most modelers develop a system that works for them. Experiment, learn from mistakes, and have fun! FSM
Begin spraying off the model. This prevents heavy buildup at the starting point and prevents paint splatters that may result from paint that has gathered at the nozzle.
Hold the airbrush 5-6" from the model’s surface with the trigger held down. Keep the airbrush moving.
Don’t be tempted to keep the brush in one place to cover detail. You are better off coming back later and adding another light coat.
Finish each pass off the model, even if you keep the trigger down. Again, this minimizes buildup and lessens the chance of mistakes.
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Weathering powders or pigments are available from several manufacturers for scale modelers and model railroaders.
The why & how of
WEATHERING POWDERS
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ead FSM and every other author or gallery entry mentions Powdered pigments can using weathering powders or pigments. It seems especially improve weathering prevalent among the most dramatically weathered models. when correctly applied Are these magical powders the key to masterpiece modeling? The BY AARON SKINNER
1 Weathering powders are similar to artist’s pastels modelers have used for years, but many of the modeler’s brands contain a dry adhesive that helps them stick to surfaces of all kinds. Most come premixed in useful colors such as light rust, dark mud, and desert dust.
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straight answer is that they are another useful tool in the arsenal. And like the best tools, they reward careful use.
2 It’s best to scoop a little – and a little goes a long way – from the container onto a piece of scrap paper, rather than using it out of the bottle, to prevent contaminating the powder with other colors or solvents.
3 Colors can be mixed using two or more bottles. To add a layer of Caucasus dirt to an Alanger 1/35 scale 2S9 self-propelled gun, I set out Mig Productions Russian earth, rubble dust, and concrete. Use paintbrushes to apply and manipulate powders, but separate them from brushes used for paint; pigment residue will discolor paint.
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Using a medium-sized round brush with bristles trimmed about half their length, I mix a little rubble dust into the Russian earth. The mixture doesn’t have to be thorough; remember, dirt is rarely a uniform color.
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I liberally apply the basic mix to one of the 2S9’s road wheels. How much to use is a matter of personal taste. I always try to keep in mind where the vehicle or aircraft was operated and replicate that, using photos when possible. Before proceeding, I lightly blew on the wheel to remove excess powder.
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A handy blending tool: I use a fingertip (I prefer my own for this) to blend the powders and remove even more from high points where dirt and mud would be rubbed off during operation. Be careful how you handle the model after this – 1/1 scale fingerprints, even in the right shade, will not enhance a model’s realism.
For a nice coat of dust, stop after Photo 7. For other effects, you can use liquids. Here, Mig’s paint thinner carries the powders deeper into the wheel’s detail, caking or leaving clumps behind. Experiment with alcohol, water, and other fluids for different effects, but be sure whatever you use won’t affect the paint underneath.
6 Using the same brush, I grind the powders into the wheel, pushing the color and texture into crevices and shadowy areas while removing them from ridges and points. Again, it’s better to apply the powder unevenly.
9 Although the powders are adhesive, you may want to fix them to the surface to make sure they don’t shift. You can use a clear coat, but it may change the color slightly. Mig makes a pigment fixer that’s easy to apply and seems less likely to shift the color. Here, I touch a brushful of fixer to a road wheel and let it flow. You can still manipulate the powders while the fixer is wet.
10 It’s easy to quickly add a layer of dirt to a model with powders. After about 15 minutes, my 2S9 looked like a vehicle that had been deployed in the field by the Russian army rather than sitting in a museum. I paid attention to photos and thought about where dirt would most likely accumulate on the vehicle.
SAFETY Pigment powders are very light and easily inhaled, so it’s a good idea to wear respiratory protection.
11 Here’s the same model after drying. First, note how much lighter the color is compared to the previous photo. Also, look at the three-dimensional effect of the dirt – something I’ve never been able to do with pastels. Used well, weathering powders can dramatically change a model’s appearance. Can you do the same thing with artist’s pastel? Mostly, yes. But weathering powders’ premixed colors and inherent stickiness are a great addition to the toolbox. They’re easy to adjust and correct. Experiment! If you have a novel use for the weathering powders, or a technique that gives good results, drop me a line at
[email protected]. I’ll use the best advice in a future Reader Tips column. FSM www.FineScale.com
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1/35 Scale
The “IS” series of tanks was named for Josef (Iosef )Stalin. When the 85mm gun of the IS-1 was replaced with a massive 122mm cannon, the designation became IS-2 — and the “Victory Tank” became the spearhead of the Red Army’s march to Berlin. Fraser Gray got his IS-2 off to a great start with construction. But his chief goal was the finish as color modulation enhanced a monochromatic scheme.
1 Using Tamiya paints (unless otherwise noted), Fraser primed, then blended NATO black (XF-69) and clear (X-22) with Tamiya’s own thinner (X-20A) and airbrushed the lower hull, the darkest shadows of the tank. The glossy clear keeps subsequent flat coats from turning pebbly, Fraser says. 32 Build Better Models 2
2 Next, the midtones: Fraser airbrushed J.A. green (XF-13) from above, creating the illusion of shadows under overhangs and in recesses. “The inevitable overspray blends the two shades of paint,” he says.
TRY COLOR MODULATION
FOR ARMOR Shades and tones for a convincing IS-2 BY FRASER GRAY
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embrandt was famous for it … the Old Masters practiced it in classic paintings … and in recent years, modelers have adopted it. It is color modulation, a term coined by master modeler Adam Wilder to describe the use of paint tones to depict the effects of light on a subject, imbuing its detail with depth and dimension. I had a practically complete Italeri 1/35 scale IS-2 on my shelf, waiting for paint and gathering dust. But when I saw Adam’s DVD on the color modulation technique, I determined to
3 When previous paint is completely dry, Fraser masks and highlights prominences such as the distinctive engine grilles. Here, he mixed J.A. gray (XF-14) with the J.A. green and sprayed from a low angle to hit only high spots and preserve shadows.
put it into practice straightaway with the IS-2 as my subject. By this method of painting, the monotony of a monochromatic paint scheme can be gradually broken up by masking and highlighting interesting details and airbrushing different tones and shades. Deeper tones suggest shadows, while airbrushed highlights emphasize salient features. Washes and filters help moderate the contrasts. That’s important, because as with weathering and other “special effects,” subtlety is key.
4 More masking and a lighter shade pick out rear-deck details. Some highlights were applied by hand-brushing. Fraser mixed up a little yellow green (XF-4) to provide more variety.
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5 As the process is repeated, with slightly varied shades to differentiate details, a pattern emerges — lighter toward the top, darker toward the bottom. Fraser painted each fuel drum differently, so they looked as if they had been added at different times.
7 Highlighted panels really stand out at this stage. A clear gloss overcoat shields paint from weathering treatments, facilitates the flow of washes, and even preserves construction by protecting glued joints from the solventbased thinners to come.
9 Delicate photoetched-metal grille screens get special treatment: Fraser attached double-sided tape to a card and stuck the screens on it for primer and color coats.
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6 To save time on scratches and chips, Fraser uses a bit of scouring pad, dips it in a mix of Humbrol black enamel (33) and brick red (70), wipes off most of the paint, then dabs the model. Just a little turpentine corrects mistakes.
8 Here’s that thinner: A black wash settles into recessed details. The clear undercoat kept dark washes from dulling the background color, improving contrast and making it easier to wipe away excess with a cotton swab.
10 Color modulation on the turret. (Top) A coat of NATO black followed by J.A. green. (Below) A mix of J.A. green and J.A. gray for highlights. The masking tape preserves the darker shade at the base of the barrel for contrast with the mantlet.
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Further highlights call out the loader’s hatch, bolts, hinges, etc. Again, darker shades near the bottom, lighter near the top, in the same way that light plays on a varied surface.
This time Fraser chips with a lighter shade of enamel, mixed to an approximation of J.A. gray.
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The tip of a hobby blade makes deeper scratches. “Use this effect sparingly,” Fraser says. “Place the blade at 45 degrees and scrape carefully to reveal black undercoat.” Again, clear-coat before washes and weathering.
Shades on the turret are blended with Sin Industries’ “The Filter” for light green. “I was delighted with the results!” Fraser says.
Filtered turret
Unfiltered hull
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Fraser put the turret back on the untreated hull to show how the filter coat moderates contrast. He’ll continue the filter on the hull, painting around details he wants to stand out.
A mix of Mig pigments is thinned with mineral spirits …
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REFERENCES
F.A.Q Vol. 2, “Modulation Style,” by Adam Wilder; DVD by Night Vision Creations; available from Mig Productions, migproductions.com. IS-2 Heavy Tank, 1944-1973, by Steven Zaloga, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 978-1-85532-396-4 Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two, by Steven Zaloga and James Grandsen, Arms & Armour Press, ISBN 978-0-85368-606-4 The IS Tanks, Mikhail Baryatinsky, Ian Allen Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7110-3162-3 SOURCES
Powdered pigments, washes, Sin Industries “The Filter,” Mig Productions (above) Photoetched-metal engine grilles, details, Eduard, www.eduard.cz Metal individual-link tracks, Friulmodel, www.friulmodel.hu
17 … then applied liberally to the drivetrain and lower hull. “Even dried excess can be removed with a chisel brush or a cotton swab moistened with thinner,” Fraser says.
Dragon DShK 12.7mm machine gun Tamiya IS-3 muzzle brake
Brass-rod grab handles
Dragon bucket Friulmodel tracks
Tamiya IS-3 drivetrain Differently painted fuel drums Pigments for mud, rust
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Layers of postshading, weathering, and pigments add up to a high-mileage, battle-worn IS-2. Fraser says, “Despite my inital reservations about the severe contrasts between highlights and shadows, I find the overall effect pleasing.” FSM
SOLDERING BASICS step by step
Getting the most out of photoetched metal means turning up the heat • BY RICK LAWLER
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or some modelers, photoetched metal is the scourge of the hobby. Others embrace the delicate brass bits. Most seem to fall somewhere in between, with a sort of reluctant acceptance that, at some point, they will use photoetched metal on a model. I was one of the latter: Although I could see the potential of using the thin metal accessories, I could not seem to get over some of the technical hurdles. Starting slowly, I built up my experience with photoetchedmetal parts. Moving on to complex assemblies, I quickly came to realize super glue had its limitations. And these shortcomings would make it difficult to take my work to the next level. If I was to truly embrace photoetched metal, I needed to come to grips with the soldering iron. Boy, was I apprehensive! In my mind, soldering was an advanced technique reserved only for a select few who had “traveled to the crossroads.” Turns out, it’s not that hard if you take it step by step and practice. Start with scrap photoetched metal, not a key project.
What you need There are a bunch of soldering tools available, some with more features, but they all serve the same purpose: Melting the solder for a strong, durable join between two metal parts. My tools are basic: An inexpensive 40-watt soldering iron, solder, flux, pliers, tweezers, single-edge razor blades, sandpaper, steel wool, and an Etch Mate folding tool, 1.
Tinning Tinning is the process of adding a thin layer of solder to the parts being joined prior to actually sticking them together. Begin by applying flux to the surfaces to be joined. Flux dictates where solder will stick. I use a small brush to apply flux to the area where I want the solder to flow, 2. Next, I cut small chips of solder (a new hobby knife works well) and position them on the flux-coated areas, 3. Finally, I touch the tip of the soldering iron to the flux near the solder chips. Soon, the flux will sizzle and bubble. Then, as the surface temperature rises, the solder chips liquefy. Keeping the iron’s tip in contact with the molten solder, I spread it over the fluxed area, 4.
Assembly To join the parts, I apply a little flux to the tinned areas of each piece. Then, holding the parts together, usually with tweezers, I apply heat. The flux sizzles as the solder liquefies and sweats between the parts, 5. Removing the hot iron stops the process. The result is a tight bond. Simple cleaning of the area may be required if the solder has oozed from between the parts. Light sanding with fine-grit paper or steel wool is usually all that’s necessary, 6. If small gaps remain, squeezing the parts together while heating the join will eliminate them, 7. To add small parts, tin the attachment point of the detail, 8, www.FineScale.com
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SAFETY Soldering involves heat, molten metal, and chemicals, so there are potential hazards. It’s a good idea to wear eye protection. Cotton clothing that covers arms and legs, as well as closed-toe shoes, can prevent burns from runaway solder, which melts at more than 350 degrees Fahrenheit. It goes without saying that the iron’s tip is hot. Don’t touch it, don’t leave it on while not working, and use a stand – don’t lay it down on your workbench. Also, work in a wellventilated area.
2 Rick paints flux along the mating edges of Aber’s Panzer IV turret stowage bin. Precise flux placement keeps solder where it belongs and minimizes cleanup.
4 Tinning: Heating the metal part with a soldering iron, Rick melts the solder, then spreads it over the mating surfaces.
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1 Tools of the trade: Rick’s soldering arsenal includes a 40-watt soldering iron, solder, and flux, as well as sandpaper, files, an old paintbrush, a hobby knife, and tweezers. A folding tool, such as Mission Models’ Etch Mate, is great for working with photoetched metal.
3 Rick cuts chips or slices of the soft solder and places them in the flux on the part.
5 The moment of truth: Holding the tinned parts together, Rick heats the join with the iron, liquefying the solder on both parts and bonding them.
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Cleanup is easy. Most joins require only simple sanding to smooth the solder and blend the components.
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To take care of gaps, Rick squeezes the joint closed, then heats it to liquefy the solder.
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To add ribs inside a stowage box lid, Rick tins the attachment side …
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… then paints flux onto the larger part where the rib will attach.
Glossary ANNEALING: Heat treatment that alters the microstructure of a material, causing changes in properties such as strength and hardness. This technique is especially helpful in softening the brass to ease bending. FLUX: Chemical cleaner that removes oxidation from surfaces to be soldered, seals out air (thus preventing further oxidation), and improves the wetting characteristics of liquid solder. SOLDER: Fusible metal alloy; easy to find at electronic, hardware, and home improvement stores. It is the material that joins metallic surfaces. TINNING: The process of adding solder to mating surfaces before joining them.
After placing the part, Rick touches the iron to the back side of the detail, melting the solder and binding it to the lid.
and brush flux onto the larger part, 9. Using tweezers, position the detail solder-side down. Touch the iron to the part; the heat will transfer through the thin brass, liquefying the solder on the underside and attaching the part, 10.
Practice, practice, practice There you have it: Soldering in a few easy steps. As with any modeling technique, practice makes perfect. Don’t train on shiny new kit parts – find some unused or spare parts. Scraps are great sources of material to practice every aspect of working with photoetched metal, from bending to soldering. If there is one point to remember, it is to be restrained with the amount of solder you use. The thinnest coating yields more than enough holding power for modeling. Using too much solder results in buildup, less definition, tougher cleanup, and, worst of all, destroyed parts. The good news: If you make a mistake, you can unsolder parts. Just add a little flux to the area, heat it, and pull the pieces apart. This is especially handy if you should happen to attach a part incorrectly or it becomes crooked during soldering. I hope I’ve taken a little of the mystery out of soldering by describing these simple techniques. Enjoy the brass bits, and happy modeling! FSM www.FineScale.com
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1/72 Scale
Easy-to-model
WATER Put maritime models in their element • BY CHRIS LUDWICK
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hether your boat or ship kit comes with a full hull or as a waterline model, it will always look more at home if it’s afloat. Of course, most kits don’t include the water — but you can have fun modeling your own to enhance the realism of any scale boat or ship. There are lots of different products and methods for modeling water. One easy and inexpensive way is to sculpt it in Celluclay, sometimes called “instant papier-mâché.” It’s non-toxic, easy to prepare, and you can sculpt it with your hands. Once it’s dry (about 48 hours), it’s durable and paintable. We’ll use Revell’s 1/72 scale S-100 Schnellboot (kit No. 05051) with Andrea
Miniatures and Hecker-Goros figures. You can find everything else you need in a hobby shop, craft store — or maybe even your own basement or workshop.
Build the base, make the mix I usually use a sheet of plywood for the base, but here I used Styrofoam so I could cut a hole in it for a full hull. If you use plywood, treat it with a sealant (I use water-based varathane) to prevent the wet Celluclay from warping it. I would put nails or screws in the wood to help anchor the Celluclay; with Styrofoam, I simply cut small dowels from sprue and stuck them in the foam, 1. Now mix the Celluclay with water and
1 Chris cut a hole in the Styrofoam base to put his full-hull model into the water. Sprue dowels embedded in the Styrofoam help anchor the layer of Celluclay to follow. 40 Build Better Models 2
some white glue, 2. You want to get it to look like oatmeal, using as little water as possible. The white glue helps hold it together, but don’t use too much. Celluclay will shrink, depending on how much water and glue you use. I wish there were an exact
2 Celluclay “instant pâpier-maché” is easy to sculpt with your fingers. Sharing Chris’ workspace on another project is his daughter Skyler, 6.
Like anything else, ships and boats look best in their natural element. All you need to model good-looking water is a base, Celluclay, acrylic paint, and a model to put in it.
Making waves
recipe for this; you may want to try a time or two before committing your best model to the deep. Celluclay comes in either white or gray. I prefer the gray for seawater. You can add acrylic paint to it while you’re mixing it. I usually don’t, but on this one I mixed in some blue. Be careful, though — adding paint is just like adding more water, so figure that in.
3 Chris mixed a little blue paint into gray Celluclay. The watery plume is Celluclay sculpted around a spire of sprue.
Next, spread the Celluclay on the base and use your fingers to form the waves you want. I wanted to show a couple of nearby explosions, so I planted long sticks of sprue in the Styrofoam and sculpted Celluclay around them to form geysers of water, 3. Let the Celluclay dry for 48 hours. The surface should feel like it’s at room temperature. If it’s still cool to the touch, it’s probably not thoroughly dried. After a couple of days, I was ready to paint. I used Liquitex Basics acrylic paint, available in discount stores, and used only four colors: dark blue, green, light blue, and
white. Mix the colors as you like, starting dark and going lighter as you get to the peaks of waves and wakes. The last color I used was white for the whitecaps and ocean spray, 4.
Add gloss, frame, and admire After the paint dries, you can add a layer of clear resin to impart a watery gloss — or you can skip the resin and use Pledge Future floor polish as I did. It’s easy: Just brush it on and let it dry. I added three or four coats, surrounded my water with a black picture frame, and my seagoing scene was complete. FSM
4 Mixing blue, green, and white acrylic paint, Chris started with the darkest shades and finished with white-topped waves and wakes.
Water-based, non-toxic, and very squishy, Celluclay is fun stuff to use for water.
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Camouflaging with How to paint hard-edged schemes on RAF aircraft BY AARON SKINNER
Painting over paper masks and poster putty created hardedged patterns on Airfix’s 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk.XII.
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lthough they look like freeflowing shapes, Royal Air Force camouflage schemes were anything but random. The patterns were specified by the RAF. Large mats — some sources say they were made of horsehair impregnated with rubber — were used in painting the aircraft to create hardedged camouflage. That creates a challenge for modelers. The scheme should be pretty uniform, so masking needs to follow a pattern. And because demarcation between the colors should be hard, the masks must hug the surface. Here’s how I did it when I built Airfix’s 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk.XII. 42 Build Better Models 2
1 The model went together with little need for filler. I installed the windshield masked with tape, but not the canopy. The cockpit is masked with a little bit of paper towel nestled in the opening. Tape covers it and the frame behind the seat.
2 Outboard of the cannons, the leading edges are yellow; I base-coated these areas flat white, then applied the yellow first (rather than trying to cover darker colors). All paints are Testors Model Master enamels with Testors enamel thinner.
PAPER MASKS 3 Airbrushing insignia yellow: When working with Model Master’s flat colors, I use one part thinner to two parts paint.
5 I masked off the leading edges and the little round clear part under the cockpit with thin Tamiya masking tape.
7 With the pressure set at 25psi, I opened the nozzle and sprayed the model. Moving the airbrush parallel to the airflow makes any unevenness look like weathering. Move the model around to be sure you cover all of it.
4 It’s good practice to lightly sand the colors between layers. Rough paint attracts stray paint particles, making the surface even rougher.
6 Colors are best applied starting with the lightest shade and working toward the dark. On the Spitfire, that means starting by airbrushing the underside medium sea gray. I sprayed recesses such as the wheel wells first to ensure good coverage and prevent excess paint buildup.
8 I like the effect, but the next stage — post-shading — is optional. I added a couple drops of white to the paint in the cup, dialed the pressure to 15psi, and, using a narrow spray pattern, airbrushed panel centers. This breaks up the monochromatic finish and starts the weathering process. If the contrast is too severe, mist a little straight medium sea gray over the model. www.FineScale.com
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Using Tamiya’s thin, flexible tape, I masked the edges of the medium sea gray. The good news is that many of the edges fall on or near panel lines, making alignment easy. Burnish the tape along the paint edge with a fingernail to prevent paint from bleeding past the edges of the mask.
Rather than waste a bunch of tape and increase my chances to pull up paint, I covered large areas between tape edges with Post-It notes. I applied the tacky side to the tape at the leading edge of the wing, reinforced the join with tape, then trimmed the rear edge and taped it down.
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I sprayed the upper surfaces with RAF ocean gray, then post-shaded with a little white mixed into the remaining gray paint in the airbrush cup.
The painting instructions provide the camouflage pattern. I enlarged the sheet 170 percent on a photocopier to get the right size for masks. Then I cut out each section, keeping the scissors just inside the demarcation line. Make sure you cut out the gray area, not the green areas (as I started to do). Also, extend the mask a little past the edges of the airframe.
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I applied worms of poster putty along the edges of the cut-out section, pressing it firmly into place as I followed the outline.
Then I aligned the wing edges with the diagram of the model and pressed the mask onto the surface. I made sure the poster putty formed a solid seal with the paper and the model.
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For masks that ran from one side of the fuselage to the other, I cut the areas from both side views as well as the top, lined up the overlaps where it looked right, and taped the pieces together. Then I applied poster putty and wrapped it around the model.
I needed two batches of poster putty to get it done, but I ended up with a model wrapped in paper masks that were a good match to the pattern shown in the painting instructions.
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I started the RAF dark green by spraying a light line along the edge of the masks with the pressure set at 15psi. This helps seal the mask and prevents paint ridges from forming as the paint dries.
Then, I dialed the pressure up to 25psi and filled in the open areas. Next, I post-shaded as before. Make sure to spray the light color past the edge of mask if the panel extends past the demarcation line.
I peeled the masks off shortly after finishing the dark green to minimize paint ridges or lifting along the edges. Now the model was ready for clear gloss, decals, and weathering. FSM
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WEATHERING TIPS from contest modelers PHOTOS BY MATTHEW USHER AND AARON SKINNER
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eathering, a collective term for a range of techniques and ideas, is the process by which models can be transformed into true miniatures of their full-size counterparts. There are almost as many theories on how and what to weather as there are modelers. We chose 12 top-quality models from more than 100 we photographed at the 2010 IPMS/USA Nationals in Phoenix and asked the builders how they weathered them. Here’s what they told us.
▲ TIM NELSON KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON
“Working research planes were dirty,” says Tim of his Special Hobby 1/72 scale Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket. The overall finish is Floquil reefer white enamel mixed 50:50 with PPG DTL 876 automotive lacquer thinner and applied with a Paasche H airbrush. The lacquer thinner is “hot,” but if you build up the color with light coats it shouldn’t craze the plastic, Tim says. He airbrushed Model Master insignia yellow for the NACA tail stripe, and Floquil grimy black for the anti-glare panel. After sealing the paint and decals with PPG Duracryl automotive gloss clear coat, he picked out panel lines with a light pinwash of burnt umber artist’s oils mixed with odorless thinner. Then he brushed charcoal pastel powder around exhaust ports. A semigloss coat — a mix of Duracryl gloss mixed with Testors Dullcote — toned down the shine. Tim’s model is marked for Scott Crossfield’s November 20, 1953, Mach 2 flight.
▶ JOHN B. STANKO MESA, ARIZONA
Lockheed’s Lightning served Allied forces in the tough conditions of the Pacific campaign, and John wanted his model to show that. He added Eduard photoetched-metal seat belts and True Detail resin wheels to Academy’s 1/48 scale P-38J. After applying Model Master enamels for the olive drab and neutral gray camouflage, John airbrushed lightened colors to highlight panels. He defined panel lines with water-based washes from The Detailer (386-776-2887, www.thedetailer.net), painting them into engraved detail, allowing them to dry, then wiping them up with a damp cotton swab. Exhaust stains behind the superchargers on the booms are white chalk applied with an old brush. SuperScale decals (sheet No. 48-934) mark the Lightning as Buffalo Blitz, flown by ace Lt. Fred Champlin, assigned to the 431st Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group.
LEIGH EATON MISSION VIEJO, CALIFORNIA
To deploy AFV Club’s 1/35 scale M10 Achilles in late World War II Europe, Leigh primed with Model Master burnt umber enamel. Then, using his Iwata HP-CS and 12-15psi pressure, he airbrushed Humbrol bronze green (No. 75) panel by panel, leaving burnt umber exposed around the edges. He lightly airbrushed panel lines with bronze green lightened with Humbrol army green (No. 102). “I know, especially to aircraft modelers, this method seems backwards … but it is really effective on AFVs, and pretty much takes care of pre- and post-shading, leaving nice, worn-looking edges,” Leigh says. After dry-brushing the whole model with Model Master Afrika khakibraun, he applied the decals. To simulate mud, Leigh stippled Liquitex acrylic texture gel with ceramic stucco tinted with Ceramcoat paint around the running gear. A heavy wash of burnt umber artist’s oils added depth to the dirt, while a raw umber pinwash accented panel lines. Leigh added paint chips by dabbing a cosmetic sponge dipped in Model Master Acryl burnt umber across the model. Dot filters – spots of artist’s oils streaked with a thinner dampened brush – further broke up the finish. A mist of thin Tamiya flat earth and buff added dust.
▲ ED BAROTH PORTER RANCH, CALIFORNIA
“I was going for a weary but proud look,” says Ed of his 1/48 scale F6F-3 Hellcat. He improved the Hasegawa kit with Eduard and Aires details, a Squadron vacuum-formed canopy, and a cowling, bomb, bomb rack, and wheels from an Eduard kit. For the mid-war camo, Ed airbrushed Gunze Sangyo and Tamiya acrylics, mostly freehand. Where masks were used – tail, wings, and cowling – Ed oversprayed with thin blue and white to produce soft demarcations. He sprayed the fabric control surfaces with lightened blues, and airbrushed exhaust stains freehand with several shades of gray oversprayed with Tamiya smoke (X-19) near the engine and softened with Tamiya polish toward the rear. He highlighted panel lines with washes of Payne’s gray artist’s oil paint on the white areas, and white over the blue.
▶ MIKE OTIS PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA
Mike likes old trucks, as he proved by building Revell’s 1937 Ford panel delivery van as a long-disused laundry hauler made into a storage shed. After detailing the engine, he cut open the rear doors. He airbrushed the body Tamiya acrylic sky (XF-21) and black (X-1), and added the kit decals. To rust the roof, Mike airbrushed Tamiya flat brown (XF-21), varying the coverage to keep the corrosion from looking uniform, and sprinkled on baking soda for texture. Brush-applied Rustall added further variation. “Then I took real rust dust from a rusty shovel and applied that with a worn-out paintbrush using a scrubbing motion,” Mike says. He added dirt streaks to the van’s sides by streaking dots of artist’s oils with a fanshaped brush dampened with turpentine. Paint chips and scratches were created with Tamiya acrylics.
GLENN BINGHAM ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
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Glenn describes Hasegawa’s 1/32 scale Ki-44 Shoki as a nice build that required little putty. After a coat of Tamiya fine surface primer, he painted the model with Tamiya silver leaf from a spray can. Next, he painted the yellow leading edges, white fuselage bands, white and red lightning flashes, and the black anti-glare panel with Model Master and Tamiya acrylics. Glenn masked off these areas and the underside of the airplane, then painted a slurry of salt and water around the wing roots, fuselage below the cockpit, ammunition-access and maintenance panels, leading edges, and cowling. Once the saltwater masks were dry, he airbrushed Tamiya Japanese army green acrylic. Removing the salt under a stream of warm water revealed the metallic undercoat for realistic chipping. He airbrushed a lightened version of the green to delineate control surfaces. A sharp silver pencil and light sanding with 800- and 1,000-grit sandpaper depicted scratches. This was the first time Glenn tried salt weathering: “I’m pleased with the results,” he says.
▲ TONY ALVAREZ LAGUNA HILLS, CALIFORNIA
Tony added to Tamiya’s 1/35 scale StuH 42 Ausf G: Cavalier resin Zimmerit; a photoetchedmetal stowage rack, upper schürzen, engine screens, and bucket; picture-wire tow cables; scratchbuilt lower schürzen; and metal tracks. Epoxy putty sandbags were textured with fine mesh. The tarp is tissue wrapping paper dipped in a 50:50 mix of water and white glue. Before painting, Tony mixed Mig Productions acrylic resin, Mig dark mud pigment, plaster of paris, and sifted dirt, stippling it over the lower hull, suspension, and fenders. He lightened Tamiya desert yellow 25 percent white for the base coat, and mixed Tamiya red brown and dark green each 50:50 with the lightened desert yellow for the camouflage. Tony oversprayed the tank with a 1:9 mix of lightened desert yellow and thinner. After a gloss coat, he applied a medium brown wash to accent detail, then finished with light dry-brushing and pigments.
▶ DAN CLOVER
NORTHRIDGE, CALIFORNIA
Modern U.S. Navy fighters quickly take on an uneven, patchy appearance that Dan wanted to replicate on Hasegawa’s 1/48 scale F-18F. He used Eduard photoetched-metal details and Quickboost resin seats for the cockpit. After priming with Tamiya acrylics, he airbrushed several shades of Model Master Acryl paint to create a patchy gray camouflage. Then he covered the entire aircraft with a very thin wash of black artist’s oils. Dan sealed the model with a coat of Pledge Future floor polish to preserve that wash, then washed engraved panel lines with raw umber artist’s oil thinned with low-odor mineral spirits, wiping excess in the direction of the airflow. After applying Fightertown decals to mark the model for VFA-103 Jolly Rogers’ first Super Hornet deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom, he airbrushed with Testors Dullcote.
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▼ JORGE MOREYRA SIMPSONVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA
After adding resin guns and a seat from AML, Jorge gave Trumpeter’s 1/72 scale P-40B wellworn camouflage using arts-and-craft acrylic paints. He says he likes them because they are cost-effective. To make the thick paint flow like modeling colors, Jorge mixes them 50:50 with water and adds 2-3 drops of Winsor & Newton Galeria flow improver. He says 3-5 drops of Winsor & Newton Galeria retarder prevents paint from drying in the airbrush nozzle. Though paint looks very watery, Jorge notes, just apply it like enamel. He usually sprays at about 30psi pressure, sometimes stepping down to 15-20psi for details. A pencil eraser removes overspray. Jorge says these paints handle any washes, pastels, decals solvents, and clear coats. After toning the camouflage with lighter shades of the base coats, Jorge used Model Master clear gloss for decals, then added a wash of Cotsman watercolors thinned with brush-cleaning fluid.
VICTOR MAESTAS PLACITAS, NEW MEXICO
Victor added Eduard photoetched-metal details and an Aires ejection seat to Trumpeter’s 1/32 scale F-100D, and painted it in a natural-metal finish for Vietnam War fighter Pretty Penny. He started by painting the model with Tamiya spray-can silver leaf. Then he hit the engine section with Model Master Metalizer magnesium. Other Metalizer colors were airbrushed on masked-off panels to further vary the metallic finish. To heat-stress the metal over the engine, Victor sprayed Tamiya acrylic clear orange over the panel lines and Tamiya clear blue on panel centers. He applied the decals between coats of Pledge Future floor polish, then added a wash of thin Model Master black and brown enamels to panel lines. When the wash dried, Victor ran a thinner-dampened cotton ball over the airframe in the direction of the airflow, leaving the wash in the panel lines but smearing the thin paint over the surface to give it an uneven, weathered appearance. Some of the decals were damaged during the thinnerrubbing process, an accident that looked like realistic chipping to Victor. So he continued the process, helping it along with a hobby-knife tip. After a coat of Testors Dullcote, he added pastels around access panels. 50 Build Better Models 2
JEFF RAYNER GILBERT, ARIZONA
Jeff built Pit-Road’s resin Akula-class submarine as K-419 in “parade dress” as seen on its initial deployment. He painted the lower hull Model Master Acryl antifouling red mixed 3:1 with Model Master acrylic thinner. The upper hull is a 2:1 mix of Model Master enamel Navy gloss gray and Floquil enamel engine black with Model Master lacquer thinner added. The color of the upper hull sensors fore and aft on the sail is a 3:1 mix of Navy gloss gray and engine black. To color the sensor panels below the waterline, Jeff lightened anti-fouling red with a little Model Master Acryl white and gunship gray. He says the gray prevents the white from turning the red pink. Pledge Future floor polish provided a good decal surface; then Jeff toned down the shine with a mix of Future and Tamiya flat base. A little more flat base than usual gives the model a saltwater-weathered look, Jeff says. The streaking on the hull sides was applied with white and black artist’s oils.
▼ RUSSELL HOLM ROUND ROCK, TEXAS
In early World War II, French armor was more than a match for German tanks. But you don’t see much of it at model shows, says Russell, explaining why he built Heller’s 1/35 scale SOMUA S35. After applying the four-color camouflage with Model Master, Humbrol, and Floquil enamels, Russell faded the colors with lightened shades sprayed into panel centers. He sealed with a coat of Model Master Acryl clear gloss, so he could use artist’s-oil washes and thinners without harming the paint. Using a 00 brush, Russell put small dots of red, brown, white, green, yellow, black, yellow ochre, and blue artist’s oils over 1⁄8 of the model. Next, he dipped a clean chisel brush in enamel thinner and drew it through the paint dots and down the hull sides. Repeated passes produced a subtly streaked finish. A pinwash of black and burnt umber artist’s oils accented detail. After misting Humbrol dark earth over the running gear, Russell lightly dry-brushed Polly Scale dirt (No. 414308). He mixed Model Master colors with white or light gray oil paint to dry-brush the upper hull. “The artist’s oils make for an even application without the grainy effect straight enamels often produce when used alone for dry-brushing,” Russell says. FSM
1/48 Scale
Master a
SHORT-RUN KIT Building Special Hobby’s 1/48 scale Douglas D558-1 Skystreak challenged Pat’s construction skills.
What to do when you love the subject but not the model •
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hort-run kits from manufacturers such as Special Hobby and Classic Airframes have covered many subjects the big-boy manufacturers like Revell, Tamiya, or Trumpeter would likely never bother with. But if your experience has only been standard, injectionmolded kits, you’ll probably want to approach building a short-run kit with some care. A good rule of thumb is to assume nothing is going to click into place. Special Hobby’s 1/48 scale Douglas D558-1 Skystreak (kit No. 48080) is an ideal introduction to this type of model. Like many short-run kits, there are thick sprue attachments and heavy-duty ejector-pin marks, 1. In addition to the plastic, there’s a package of resin parts (wheels and cockpit items mostly) and a small fret of photoetched metal. The resin and photoetched-metal parts provide sharp detail not possible in molded plastic.
The front office I began with the cockpit. The main item is 52 Build Better Models 2
a three-sided tub. After excess resin was removed, the first problem became clear: How to paint the detail on the cockpit walls? There’s not enough room to maneuver a paintbrush. My solution was to carefully trim away one of the walls to open things up, 2. Both a photoetched-metal and styrene instrument panel are provided; I went with the metal. The photoetched-metal handles for the control column were oversized, so I made replacements from bent wire. Lap and shoulder belts are also provided in photoetched metal. While this is better than nothing, thin strips of metal don’t look like flexible canvas or leather straps. I cut thin strips of lead foil and rolled them into tiny, tight balls between my fingertips. Carefully unrolling them gave me suitably wrinkled belt material. I trimmed away the buckles and fittings from the photoetched-metal belts and super glued them to the lead-foil strips. Then I super glued them to the kit’s seat, 3. Once cockpit painting was complete, 4,
BY PAT HAWKEY
I returned the removed resin wall and closed the tub, gluing the rear bulkhead in place. The front of the tub forms the airintake interior. After test-fitting this in the nose, I discovered there was no place for weights to balance the plane on its tricycle gear. The instructions show the area directly under the cockpit has room for weights, but it didn’t look like enough. Just to be sure I wouldn’t have a tail-sitter, I drilled more holes through the solid resin and filled them with lead, 5.
On to the fuselage Directly behind the cockpit is a box assembly, the bottom of which becomes the nosegear well. With the box built and test-fitted in the fuselage, I discovered the nose-gear strut had to be in place when the fuselage halves come together — a recipe for trouble. With all the handling to come, odds of an exposed gear strut surviving are not good, but I followed the instructions and vowed to be careful. In checking references, I found the kit’s nose wheel faces right when
it should face left. So, I drilled a hole for a short section of straight pin at the top of the oleo. With the pin inserted, I reversed the wheel fork and fixed the mistake, 6. Test-fitting the finished box in the nose revealed another problem. The gear strut was about ⅛" too far back, not allowing the fuselage halves to mate, 7. Though I certainly make mistakes at the workbench, I couldn’t see what I’d done wrong here. The only solution was to remove ⅛" from the front of the box with a razor saw. Sacrificing wheel-well detail for correct location of a gear strut was an easy choice. Bringing the fuselage halves together reveals a common issue with most shortrun kits. The trailing edge of the tail surface is quite thick, 8. On a real airplane you’d find a knife-edge here. Coarse sanding of the interior and exterior thins it considerably. Before closing the fuselage, I added ¼" styrene tube to represent the engine exhaust. (There wasn’t one in the kit.) I anchored the tube in a styrene bulkhead I shaped to fit the fuselage interior. The horizontal stabilizers are one-piece moldings with no positive attachment points to the vertical surface. I drilled holes in them and the corresponding point of the vertical stab, and used a short piece of 1/16" brass rod as a pin. This allows for adjustment of the stabilizers and adds strength. In test-fitting, I found that without some trimming of the elevators the rudder would be trapped in place. Though this would pose no danger to the model, I wanted to correct this little error for my own peace of mind.
Building the canopies Both the early bubble and later slit-window canopies are included in the kit as onepiece items. For the later version, an open canopy was the only way any interior detail would be seen. With a razor saw, I carefully cut the clear piece in two, 9. Then I cut masking tape to match the four window outlines, applied them to the interior of the clear pieces, and painted the inside surfaces flat black. Some interior structure was now required for the exposed areas. I added this with .010" sheet stock. The rear section fit poorly to its cutouts in the fuselage, 10. I centered it on the spine as best I could, super glued it in place, then filled the gaps at the sides with epoxy putty. When it had cured, I protected the small windows with masking tape and sanded down the epoxy putty. Finally, I masked this rear section off to the shape that the clear part should have been and applied several coats of primer. The builtup edge defined the panel around the rear of this piece.
Ejector-pin marks
Removed cockpit wall
Heavy sprue attachments
1 Heavy sprue attachment points and pronounced ejector-pin marks are common in short-run kits. “More cleanup is required than with an injectionmolded kit, but the soft, waxy plastic makes it easy,” Pat says.
3 Pat replaced the photoetched-metal belts with lead foil, and bent wire for the control handles. Clunky kit pieces are shown in comparison.
5 A slot is provided under the cockpit for weight to keep the model resting on its nose wheel. Wanting a little more weight, Pat drilled out some of the resin and filled the holes with lead.
2 Pat had some work to do on the cockpit. He removed a wall to ease painting, and replaced the control handles and harnesses. The instrument-panel options are shown at the bottom: styrene (left), or film with a photoetched-metal face plate (right).
4 The cockpit is finally ready to come together. Pat painted subtle, dark pastel work around the raised objects to create shadows.
6 To reverse the nose wheel, Pat trimmed the fork from the oleo strut, inserted a pin, and mounted the fork on it, facing the opposite direction. He painted the wheel well before mounting it in the fuselage half, where it would be hard to reach.
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7 Pat found another problem to work out before joining the fuselage: The gear strut was too far back. He removed about 1⁄8" from the forward edges of the nose well to bring the strut forward and allow the fuselage to join.
9 Pat cut the one-piece canopy in two with a razor saw.
8 Thick trailing edges are typical of thickly-molded kits. Pat thinned both the inner and outer surfaces to create the knife edge of the real aircraft.
10 The rear canopy piece didn’t fit its space in the fuselage as well as Pat had hoped, so he positioned it and smoothed it in with putty.
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With the wheel well walls in place, Pat filled gaps and depressions with thick super glue.
Pat dropped the flaps by scoring along the separation line, then chopping the ends with a razor blade. After that, flexing up and down easily removed the flap. Remember to thin the trailing edge of the upper wing as much and as evenly as possible. On the real airplane, the skin here is thin and the flap fits snugly against it.
The front section of canopy tipped forward to allow for ground entry and exit. Because the kit canopy wasn’t designed to be open, I had to improvise. I super glued a pair of wire pins in the bottom leading edge of the front canopy, then drilled corresponding holes in the fuselage above the instrument panel. Pinning the piece into place, the flexible wire allowed me to bend it to the correct angle. Later, I glued a rod of stretched sprue to the cockpit edge and angled it to touch the canopy. The walls of the wheel wells are supplied as separate pieces to attach to the inside of the upper wing half. I could see the join with the lower wing was going to be rough. Deciding this would be more visable than the top of the gear well, I 54 Build Better Models 2
attached them to the lower wing half instead, then filled gaps and low spots with super glue, 11. When it was dry, I sanded until the joins were seamless.
Final construction I decided to drop the flaps to add interest. I deeply scored the flaps’ leading edges with a No.11 blade. Next, I used a single-edge razor blade, guillotine-style, to chop the flap ends from the wings. Gently flexing the flap released it from the wing half, 12. When I joined the flap halves, the top
and bottom were different lengths, 13. I couldn’t find any photos proving this was an error, but I thought it was unlikely this would happen on a real Skystreak. So I trimmed the extra length from the bottom flap half and returned these small pieces to the model’s belly later. With flaps trimmed and glued together, I added a sheet-styrene leading edge and sanded it round to match the flap shape. I also sanded the trailing edge of the upper wing to paper thinness to eliminate an inaccurate step when the flap was fitted. That done, I glued the wing halves together, thinning the tips and aileron trailing edges as on the tail. The central section of the wheel well is a resin piece. Part of the bottom edge of the fuselage also makes up components of the wheel well. After careful test-fitting and tacking it in place with super glue established the proper location of the resin piece, it was generously super glued into place. To give the wing-to-fuselage joint more gluing surface, I added a hefty styrene tab to the inside of the fuselage, reinforcing it with a sprue rod, 14. Then I attached the wing to the fuselage. The poorest fit was around the nose-gear strut, 15. A distinctive feature of the Skystreak’s wings was a pair of long probes in the wingtips. Special Hobby provides these, but they best serve as templates for truly round and straight pieces. I made mine from stainless-steel tubing and drilled holes in the wingtips to anchor them. This resulted in some chipping of wing surface, but I easily filled and reshaped with super glue. The last step before painting was preparing the main landing gear for installation. This is always best done before painting. I sawed the resin wheels free, cleaned the surface, and drilled out the wheel centers for the axles. The main struts are weakly mounted with small pimples fitting shallow holes in the upper surface of the wheel wells. I trimmed the strut tops to fit into the wells. I bent and super glued photoetched-metal oleo scissors to the struts, then joined the struts, wheels, and doors to the airframe in the paint shop.
Painting The one-color scheme required two paint jobs. After dusting seams and sanded areas with Tamiya white primer in a final check for scratches, the model was wet-sanded smooth. After a scrubbing with a toothbrush and water, the model got a coat of Model Master gloss white enamel thinned to the consistency of milk. After many light coats, I sprayed a heavy, wet coat, almost to the point of running. After it dried for a day, I sanded off imperfections. Once the
model was even and shiny, it was time for the next paint job. I took Testors red (No. 1103) and added a little bit of yellow (No. 1114) for the top coat, thinned it, and applied it over the white, 16. For a bright color, a white base coat is a necessity. Even with several coats of color applied, the red is still transparent enough to show the difference between pure white and off-white underneath it, so the base coat needs to be as solid and even as you can get it. The only other painting was a flat black anti-glare panel on the nose, and natural metal over the exhaust. After painting, I assembled the gear and wheels, which was pretty straightforward since I had dealt with fit issues before the paint. Without real solid mounting points, some care was needed to get the main struts angled forward at a matching 12 degrees, and 90 degrees to the ground from head-on. The smaller main doors were meant to connect to the outer walls of the wheel wells via separate hooks. There was no way these hooks were going to touch those well surfaces with the gear struts in place. I scrapped the hinges, glued the bigger doors into place (after some trimming here and there), and attached the smaller door to the bigger door’s outer surfaces, as on the real airplane. The nose gear door also was connected to the airplane by a couple of separate hinges. This door presented no problem. After decals, my Skystreak was complete. The stance of the finished model was a little tail high, but the only fix I could see was to break the main gear struts out and
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After the flap sections were removed from the wing, Pat realized the tops were shorter than the bottoms. He trimmed the extra length from the bottom half.
To add more gluing surface and prevent the back of the wing from falling too far into the fuselage, Pat added a styrene-tab reinforcement.
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Of the wing-fuselage fit around the nose-gear strut, Pat says: “This is a perfect illustration of why it’s preferable to add things like gear struts after all the body work is done. Making seams like this disappear is enough work without a finished gear strut in the way.”
No fancy equipment needed here. Pat uses a Paasche H airbrush to paint very thin red paint on smoothly. The white base coat is necessary for a truly vibrant shade of red, Pat says.
shorten them. Considering the potential trouble, I chose to live with it. Still, with a little problem-solving this short-run kit resulted in a great replica. FSM
After cutting, sanding, and detailing, Pat’s Skystreak is a finished model to be proud of.
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1/72 Scale
Easy armor
WEATHERING Three-step process of base colors, washes, and dry-brushing BY MARK HEMBREE
Fujimi’s 1/72 scale JGSDF Type 10 MBT Prototype is a fairly complicated small-scale build, but Mark saved a little time with a basic approach to finishing the Japanese tank.
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ith advanced finishing concepts such as color modulation and “zenithal” highlighting, modelers depict the play of light on an object to add depth and dimension. An extension of brush-painting ideas from fine art’s Old Masters, some of these techniques are relatively new to modelers — but their purpose is older than any Strombecker kit. Light and shadow define shapes and surface details to emphasize and more fully exhibit the details of a model. However, it’s easy to achieve these effects without art lessons or prepackaged paint sets. A basic three-step process — base color, dark wash, and dry-brushing — will deepen recessed details and bring high spots into greater relief, helping to distinguish surface detail overall. A final clear coat unifies these effects. 56 Build Better Models 2
I like this simpler approach for smaller scales with less surface area to show off the graduation from shadow to sunlight, as with color modulation. The same ideas apply, though — and just a little shadow and light can improve your model. To demonstrate, I chose Fujimi’s 1/72 scale Japanese Type 10 MBT prototype with dozer. Just out of the box, the build was a little tougher than what I had hoped for in a story about painting — but, compared to the challenge of sanding (and even seeing) the microscopic parts, the finish was easy.
Wash Tamiya has both colors of the Type 10’s two-color Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force camouflage: dark green/JGSDF (XF-73) and brown/JGSDF (XF-72). After painting the soft-edged scheme, I
was ready to apply a dark wash of 1 part burnt umber artist’s oils to 10 parts Mona Lisa odorless thinner; using oils or enamels, I was able to avoid getting into the acrylic paint beneath, 1. On bigger models, I might apply a gloss coat before weathering to better protect the paint and improve the flow of the wash. Here, working with much smaller areas and amounts, I charged ahead. Keep another clean brush or swab to soak up excess, 2. Start light: It’s easy to add more wash if you like. For shallower features in wide open areas, I applied the wash more precisely with a 10/0 detailing brush, 3. This is often called a “pinwash.” It produces a greater contrast between the selected details and the surrounding areas. Again, mop up excess to maintain the effect — a wash makes a difference, but it should be slight, 4.
1 All you have to do is get a little wash in the brush and touch it lightly to the details you want to deepen; the wash will run into the recesses. A 1:10 mix of paint to thinner is a good starting point for most washes.
2 If you use too much wash, the model will look like you applied too much wash. Mop up excess to maintain subtlety.
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A view before (left) and after shows the difference a wash can make — the trick is to keep the effect from being too obvious. If you think you should stop, you should. Take a break, then come back and look at it again and see if it’s enough.
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3 A pinwash targets selected features, leaving their surroundings lighter for greater contrast. This hatch will be more noticeable for the darkened line around it; mopping up excess will thin the line around its edges.
For dry-brushing, mix a lightened shade of the base color, load a brush, and work most of the paint out of it. Then, lightly brush just the salient spots with a sweeping motion to bring them into greater relief.
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This turret is freshly dry-brushed. A clear flat coat will make the effect more subtle — but the edges and high spots will remain defined.
Powdered pastel chalks applied with a fluffy brush give the skirts a realistically dusty, scuffed surface and bring out the detail.
A basic three-step process of base color, dark wash, and dry-brushed highlights shows off the angular shapes of the Type 10 tank.
Dry-brush
Dry-brushing should make angles and edges stand out, but not obviously so, emphasizing without overstating, 6.
glossy in the midst of the flat finish. Finally, I used a billowy brush to dust the tank with powdered chalk pastels, 7, giving those wavy fender skirts further form and providing a little of the great outdoors to the tank. There was no need for more weathering; the Type 10 prototype is as close to a showroom finish as any tank you’ll ever see. There are more-complicated ways to highlight and weather models — but they are all based on the same concept of using light and shadows to define shape. FSM
Let the washes dry for a day and you’re ready to dry-brush. Returning to the cupola hatch, I mixed a lightened shade of the green, dipped a fluffy brush in it, worked most of the paint out of the brush, then lightly brushed just the high spots to make them stand out, 5. Here again, easy does it: Making the dry-brushing shade too light will make it stand out too much, and brushing on too much of it will simply change the color of the piece. Either way, the effect will be lost.
A few more little things After washes and dry-brushing I applied an over-coat of Vallejo polyurethane matte varnish. That took care of any little shiny spots of glue remaining and unified the finish, reducing the contrast of wash and dry-brushing by the same degree. Then I painted details such as headlights and vision glass to make them bright and
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10 STEPS
to highlight raised panel lines Distressing an old kit can make it seem modern BY DAVE KOUKOL
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n an era of kits featuring jaw-dropping recessed panel lines and surface detail, some exceptional kits from “back in the day” have remained unbuilt and hidden in boxes in garages, basements, and attics the world over. The reason for their exile? Simple: Raised panel lines and surface detail — perfectly good and accurate kits relegated to the “shelves of shame” in favor of their modern counterparts. Using simple variations of common techniques, these seemingly obsolete legends can join any modeler’s collection. And there’s no scribing required! I became enamored with the F-8 Crusader while watching “Dogfights” on the History Channel. So I had to add one to my 1/48 scale aircraft collection. I had two options: Drop $60-$70 on a modern kit with great features, or do something exceptional with a $15 Monogram kit I’ve had in my stash since 1991. What the heck, I thought, there’s nothing like challenging the old comfort zone. 58 Build Better Models 2
Dave’s easy highlighting method for panel lines works over decals, too.
What you’ll need • Kit with crisp, welldefined raised panel lines (later Monogram kits are great for this) • Tamiya tape • Mr. Surfacer 1000 or Mr. Dissolved Putty • Ultra-fine Sharpie • 600-grit sanding paper or film
• Flat black paint (enamel or lacquer recommended) • Main colors for finished subject • Pledge Future floor polish • Sludge wash • Clear flat, gloss, or semigloss • Soft, medium-size paintbrush • Airbrush
Careful painting and sanding make the raised panel lines on Monogram’s 20-year-old 1/48 scale F-8 Crusader stand out — just like a wash defines engraved lines.
A Monogram’s 1/48 scale Delta Dagger was produced around the same time as the Crusader Dave built, and features similarly well-molded panel lines.
I moved forward with caution and patience as well as a sense of anticipation. Several weeks later, my anticipation was met with a great degree of satisfaction and a model that has sparked many questions at contests, namely, ”How did you do those panel lines?” The answer is a simple, straightforward process that requires only average skills and a good measure of patience.
1 Choose a kit Finding the right kit is critical for this technique. Look for well-defined raised panel lines, as on Monogram’s 1/48 scale F-102, A. Lighter surface detail is more
B Dave built the F-8 as he does any other model, constructing the major subassemblies, then filling and sanding.
difficult to work with; results will be more subdued, but still effective.
2 Basic assembly Dive into assembly, seam removal, and blending and preparation for paint, B. Forgo primer on this project to minimize paint buildup on raised details.
adjacent tape so there’s no confusion. Apply Mr. Surfacer 1000 or Mr. Dissolved Putty along the marked tape edges. Draw it up to the tape, then feather it away to blend it into the surface, C. Let it dry. Before removing the tape, lightly sand the blended edges — not the tape edge — with 600-grit sandpaper.
3 Restore damaged detail
4 Blending new lines
Replacing obliterated lines is easy — it just takes a little more time and attention. First, apply masking tape so one edge is against the damaged line, extending the tape just beyond the end of each line. If you have a lot of lines to replace, mark the edge of the
If any of the restored panel lines are jagged, lightly sand them with 600-grit sanding film, being careful to avoid obliterating the new line, D. Replace rivet and fastener detail with small drops of Mr. Surfacer 1000, Mr. Dissolved Putty, or super glue www.FineScale.com
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Dave outlined damaged panel lines with thin masking tape, then painted Mr. Surfacer along the edge to replace the raised detail. The arrows indicate which edge of the tape represents the panel line.
After removing the tape, Dave smoothed out rough spots with 600-grit sandpaper. He replaced rivets with dots of super glue.
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Dave airbrushed black enamel over all raised details and panel lines. It doesn’t need to be neat, but it is important that all the lines are covered.
applied with the tip of a toothpick; allow to dry.
5 Pre-shading Lightly airbrush flat black over raised panels. It’s important to keep your pre-shade coats light to avoid obscuring surface detail, E. There’s nothing hard about pre-shading; just spray a thin line of paint freehand. It doesn’t have to be too neat. For more information, read “The art of pre-shading” in the October 2010 FSM. Allow the preshaded lines to dry overnight.
6 Paint It’s time to transform your ugly duckling into the swan you’ve been envisioning. Airbrush the camouflage colors, taking care to keep coverage as light as possible over panel lines, F. Then let it sit for at least 24 hours — I recommend 48 if you’re using gloss paint. 60 Build Better Models 2
7 Distress Grab some 600-grit sanding film, a bowl of water, and a fistful of courage. The aim is to lightly distress the body colors by sanding off panel lines and other raised details to reveal the black pre-shading. Bring a very light touch and patience. Starting underneath, lightly sand panel lines in the direction of the airflow. After a couple of light passes, you’ll notice the preshaded panel lines becoming more prominent, G. Subtle effects are better than bold ones, so go slowly — you’ll sand right through the black if you’re not careful. Don’t worry about scratches and scuffs in the paint; Pledge Future floor polish will repair those. Work your way around the aircraft until all the panel lines and raised detail are exposed.
8 Touch-up If you sand through the black to the plastic,
Airbrushing the main camouflage colors, Dave used a light touch over the pre-shaded panel lines.
simply repeat steps 4 to 6. In areas where the paint has been marred by sanding, blend the damage with 600-grit sandpaper and repaint.
9 Gloss and decals After wiping the model with a damp paper towel or cloth to remove sanding residue, apply Future or any other clear gloss in preparation for decals. After adding and sealing the decals, repeat steps 6 through 8 anywhere decals cross panel lines, H.
10 Final weathering Apply a sludge wash — a thick mixture of acrylic paint, water, and dishwashing soap — to recessed details on the model. Other dry-brushing and post-shading effects can also be added. Finally, apply your gloss, semigloss, or flat coat. Then stand back and admire your handiwork! FSM
G After just a couple of passes, Dave had the black paint of the pre-shaded lines showing nicely. Don’t sand too hard or too much or you’ll expose the plastic.
H Dave gloss-coated and decaled the Crusader. Careful sanding highlighted the panel lines under the decals.
Don’t overlook those old-but-good kits in your stash just because they have raised detail. With the last parts and final weathering, Dave’s F-8 looks as sharp as a modern kit with engraved lines.
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1/35 Scale
Bill did some adjusting to upgrade Dragon’s PzKpfw III Ausf G to a 5cm gun with an Armorscale conversion set, but it’s mostly straightforward building with corrections as necessary and practical — and fine weathering for the finish.
Making the MOST of a BASIC BUILD Aftermarket add-ons and wily weathering give this panzer extra punch • BY BILL PLUNK
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hen the first German units were being sent to North Africa in early 1941, the process of increasing the armor and firepower of the PzKpfw III was already in full swing. Having started production with the underpowered 3.7cm gun, the Ausf G was converted to mount the 5cm KwK L/42, giving it more punch and greater range; hull armor was also increased with bolt-on armor plates. Many of the Ausf Gs sent to North Africa had these upgrades, as does my model of a PzKpfw III G of the 5th Panzer Regiment, North Africa, June 1941. The base kit is from the “Imperial Series” produced by Dragon in the 1990s; a little bit of extra care, some scrounging for details, and a reliable reference satisfied the specifics. 62 Build Better Models 2
Mount moved
Modelkasten
Filled holes
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Before proceeding, Bill made minor corrections to the lower hull.
Exhausts hollowed
Kit part
Modelkasten makes working track and supplies the parts to let the drive sprockets move, too.
3 Bill bored out the ends of the exhaust pipes with a pinvise (hand-turned mini-drill).
Removed
New locator holes
4 More preliminary corrections on the upper hull, mostly by deletion, although Bill opened locator holes for the armored vent covers to come.
5 Properly applied, rubber bands help join the major hull pieces and eliminate warpage and gaps as the glue dries.
6 At the rear, Bill attached the kit’s smoke-grenade rack; the grenades and chains are from Voyager.
Lower hull/suspension I started construction by cleaning up the road-wheel and return-roller halves, sanding seams down, and assembling the sprockets and idlers. The lower hull required corrective surgery to achieve the G configuration I wanted. I removed the first molded-on return roller mount and put a separate, kitsupplied mount in the correct position, 1. I also sanded off various molded-in locator lines and filled unneeded locator holes with Squadron white putty. The Modelkasten workable track set includes parts and adapters to convert the sprockets from static to movable parts, 2, so I cut down the mounting stubs on the hull to allow for those. I installed the sprockets and final-drive housings on the hull along with the suspension arms and elements. I took extra care building and installing the idler mounts so they remained movable, allowing me to give the idler its proper tension later. Moving aft, I added the rear hull plate along with the mufflers and tow points. I used a pinvise to drill out the exhausts below the mufflers, making them a little more convincing, 3.
Upper hull and fenders The upper-hull assembly uses a StuG III hull as its foundation and, like the lower hull, needs modifications to match Ausf G, 4. I removed unneeded features from the engine access hatches and opened holes
7 On the rear deck, Bill installed armored vent covers and photoetched-metal grilles, taking extra care to level the tops of the intakes before gluing the grilles down.
from the underside to accept tropen (tropical) modified armored vent covers later. I also added the side and front hull plates to “paper over” the StuG III G casemate and create the gun-tank upper hull (at least from the outside). The front hull plate was molded as a single, solid plate; I had to cut a hole in it for the ball mount. I replaced the kit’s machine-gun barrel with a two-part turned brass barrel and cooling jacket from Armorscale, checking the length of the barrel extending from the mount against scale
plans from Panzer Tracts (No. 3-2). I trimmed a couple of millimeters from the rear of the barrel so it would clear the casemate edges, then attached the barrel with super glue gel. Finally, I joined the upper and lower hulls with styrene cement, wrapping the assembly with rubber bands to ensure a good join, 5. Once the glue had set and the bands were removed, I added remaining details such as the bolt-on armor plates to the nose, glacis, and superstructure front. The kit-supplied grenade rack at the www.FineScale.com
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Studying photos of the tank for which he had decals, Bill removed a front section of the left fender.
Modified fender, modified stowage; Bill moved equipment around to reflect the change.
Same goes for the right fender. Bill built a jerrycan rack from photoetched-metal scraps.
Conduit Kit part drilled out
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Replacements
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Bill replaced several parts with superior pieces from other kits. The electrical conduit is .5mm solder wire.
hull rear received grenades and chains I got from a Voyager detail set, 6. I added armored covers to the engine deck and installed the side intakes, carefully sanding the tops of the intakes level, 7. I added Aber’s photoetched-metal grilles, attaching them with more super-glue gel. I found a photo of vehicle 114 in the 5th regiment, and the kit provides its markings, so I made a few changes accordingly. Most prominent was a missing portion of the left fender; I removed the section with sprue cutters, then carefully trimmed the remainder to leave the fender support mount tabs intact, 8. This missing section had forced the crew to rearrange the gear on that side, so I shifted the tools and other gear by filling open mount holes with putty and relocating stowage, 9. I replaced the kit-supplied S-hooks, wire cutters, fire extinguisher, and rear Notek light, and added a spare road wheel with a leftover from another Dragon kit. All the tool clamps were replaced with Griffon photoetched-metal parts. The track tool box was moved slightly to the rear, the jack was moved forward, and the fire extinguisher 64 Build Better Models 2
After cutting off the mudflaps on the right side, Bill raised a brass antenna — then took it back down until later to avoid breaking it off while handling the model.
relocated to properly clear the intake and the jack. I replaced the jack block with a more-detailed item from an old Tamiya PzKpfw III Ausf J. I also removed the rear mud flap but added the underlying stub plate, another spare part from a different Dragon kit. Then, I installed that fender on the left side. I also modified the right fender for desert duty, 10, replacing the ax with a “fieldfitted” jerry can rack I scratchbuilt to hold four water cans; the rack is made of photoetched-metal strips from an old fret and glued with super-glue gel. I removed the front and rear mud flaps on this side and added the same stub plate as on the left side, then installed the fender. I had better spare parts I used upfront for the light and siren, 11. I cut off the crank starter’s molded-on clamps and replaced them with Griffon photoetchedmetal clamps. I added a wiring conduit for the front light and siren using .5mm solder bent to shape and super glued in place. The small retaining brackets are small “fingers” of flexible, thin photoetched metal (from an Eduard fret) that I curved using a short
segment of the same solder as a form for bending. To model an antenna base, I drilled out the swivel arm and added a Lion Marc brass antenna, 12; I left the arm off until later to avoid damaging it.
Turret I joined the turret’s top and bottom, then added the front plate and interior mantlet pieces; the exterior mantlet was replaced entirely with an Armorscale resin mantlet, 13. I removed some of the plastic molding from the rear side to fit the resin mantlet, added the turned-aluminum barrel and locking nut, then super glued the outer mantlet. I added a turned-brass barrel from RB Models to the coaxial machine gun, then fitted the side hatches, commander’s cupola, and other details on the turret. I built up the rear turret storage bin, but its lower portion was molded hollow; I repaired this with sheet styrene cut to fit the opening and super glued in place. Once the glue had set, I trimmed the edges and sanded them smooth, using putty as
Armorscale
RB Models
Sheet styrene
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PzKpfw IIIs were upgraded and even retrofitted to mount the 5cm gun. Bill made the change to Dragon’s kit using Armorscale conversion parts and added a brass machine-gun barrel.
Bill closed up the kit’s rear bin with sheet styrene, sanded it to fit, and filled gaps with putty.
A dark brown primer coat revealed sanding/ filling flaws and gave depth to the finish.
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Dressing his panzer for North Africa, Bill airbrushed Afrika grunbraun and splotches of Afrika khakibraun.
A base coat of gunmetal was followed by Afrika grunbraun sprayed through a circle template to leave the road wheels’ rubber dark. Inner wheels received only red oxide primer.
Modelkasten provides a jig for building the individual-link tracks. Here, only about 170 links to go!
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Metal parts of the tools are painted with gunmetal and a dry-brushing of steel; wood is a tan custom mix tweaked with leather washes and burnt umber pastels.
Layers of paint gave the mufflers their properly burned, corroded color. The brake light is painted with Tamiya clear red.
needed, 14. Then I mounted the bin and test-fitted the turret on the hull.
Painting and detailing I began painting with an airbrushed primer coat of Italian dark brown, checking all my putty and sanding work, 15. I selected the 1941 authorized tropen camouflage scheme — ⅔ RAL 8000 and ⅓ RAL 7008 — spraying Afrika grunbraun as the main color and Afrika khakibraun for the disruptive color, 16. I started the road wheels with gunmetal
and airbrushed the outer hubs with the hull color using a drafting template to mask off the rubber portions, 17. The inner hubs are airbrushed with a custom mix of dark red to simulate the Germans’ red oxide primer color the hull paint would not have reached. Using the construction jig that came with them, I assembled the Modelkasten tracks with pins inserted from each side and the hollow guide horns added as separate pieces, 18. I assembled 90 links per side, but a test fit showed 92 links were
needed to produce the desired sag. After assembling and installing the road wheels and return rollers, I set them aside to let everything dry before installing them. I detailed the fender tools with nonbuffing Metalizer gunmetal and a light drybrushing of steel on the metal portions, 19. The wood parts were given a base coat of light brown/tan custom-mix I keep on hand; I followed with a very thin wash of leather, then lightly dusted with burnt umber artist’s pastels. I began the mufflers with a base coat of www.FineScale.com
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Paint worn off teeth
Paint chipped from lower hull
Kit parts
Modelkasten
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Before mounting the track, Bill made sure to give the lower hull and sprocket teeth an appropriate degree of wear.
Spare track upfront was de rigueur for DAK tanks. Bill loaded up kit track on the lower front hull and a few spare Modelkasten links on the upper front.
Decals cut apart to conform
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My, what a shiny panzer! Pledge Future floor polish provided a smooth gloss coat for better decal adhesion; another overcoat sealed the decals and allowed subsequent washes to flow freely.
An overall wash of raw umber artist’s oils gives recesses and edges greater dimension and tones down the bright base coats.
nonbuffing Metalizer followed by a wash of rust and a dry-brushing of burnt umber, 20. I used Tamiya clear green on the Notek light lenses and Tamiya clear red for the brake light. I airbrushed the water cans with panzer schwarzgrau and hand-painted white crosses (denoting water, not fuel) with light gray. The water cans are kept in their rack REFERENCE
Panzer Tracts No. 3-2, www.panzertracts.com SOURCES
Aber, www.aber.net.pl Armorscale, www.armorscale.com Griffon, www.griffonmodel.com Mig Productions, www.migproductions.com Modelkasten, www.modelkasten.com RB Models, www.rbmodel.com Voyager, www.voyagermodel.com
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by applying small amounts of glue and sticking them directly on the fender.
Covering my tracks I airbrushed the tracks with a primer coat of flat black to protect the fragile pins from the “hot” airbrushed base coat of the lacquer-based nonbuffing Metalizer gunmetal. Then I dry-brushed heavily with steel and applied a raw umber wash. A random stippling of panzer schwarzgrau weathered the lower hull (revealing what would have been an undercoating of panzer gray), 21. Likewise, the sprocket teeth showed wear with a light brushing of steel. Then I installed the tracks and idlers. A common sight on Afrika Korps vehicles was a run of spare tracks hung between the front tow points and used to hold various items, such as spare road wheels. I added this feature using the kit-supplied plastic “static” links and two road wheels from my spares, 22. After cleaning up the molded links, I assembled a short run using styrene cement
and waited about 15 minutes before forming the curve I needed by hanging them on the tow pins and gently bowing them outward, using the road wheels as a guide to just the right standoff from the hull nose. I left these links in place with the road wheels until they had set hard so I could paint and detail them separately. These, as well as nine spare Modelkasten links, were painted the same as the other tracks except for an extra wash of rust and some drybrushed raw umber.
Decals and weathering Before weathering, I airbrushed a sealant coat of Pledge Future floor polish and let that dry before applying the decals, 23, using the kit-supplied turret numbers but trimming them into individual digits so they would fit better on the curved turret. Multiple doses of Solvaset helped the decals conform to the complex surface. I replaced the kit’s inaccurate white crosses with black-and-white cross decals left over from a Tristar kit. After the decals
dried I applied a second sealant coat of Future, allowing it to fully cure before starting my weathering process. In the first step of weathering, I used a round 0 sable brush to deliver an overall wash of thinned raw umber, 24. This established the foundation for the next step: “dot filtering” with several small dots of light gray, raw sienna, and armor sand to add variation and fading to the base coat. The filter is applied through repeated strokes of a square-tipped brush just barely dampened with thinner to blend the dots until there’s virtually no paint left behind, just a subtle streaking and color variation, 25. This was followed by a pinwash of burnt umber to bring raised details and panel lines into greater relief, 26. You can remove excess wash or adjust it with a small, pointed brush and clean thinner. Then I sealed the entire vehicle with Testors lusterless flat clear to cover any gloss remaining from the Future, unifying the weathering effects. The final step in the weathering process is a wet mix of Mig pigments Gulf War sand, 27; I used ordinary tap water with a drop of liquid dish soap to break the water’s surface tension and allow it to flow. I let the wet mix air dry, then removed excess with a stiff-bristled brush (wearing a dust mask to avoid inhaling the finely ground pigment). You can make additional adjustments with both wet and dry cotton swabs; I used pigment collected on the dry swabs to subtly add dust accumulations on the hull. As a final touch, I installed the radio antenna in an elevated position. Then I took a series of walkaround photos, letting the camera “see” what I’d missed. A few minor adjustments later, I took some final photos and placed my panzer on the shelf as a completed build. FSM
Must-have stuff TO MODEL a PzKpfw III G of the Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) in 1/35 scale, Bill used: • Dragon PzKpfw III Ausf G “Afrika Korps” (kit No. 9032) • Modelkasten workable 36cm tracks (No. SK-26) • Armorscale aluminum/resin 5cm KwK L/42 (No. B35-087) • Armorscale brass/resin 7.92mm MG34 (No. B35-030) • Aber photoetched-metal grilles • Testors Model Master enamels except where otherwise noted
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“Dot filtering” lends depth and color variation to the finish. Looks funny, but most of this layer of paint will be removed, leaving the filtering trace that forms the effect.
A precisely placed pinwash (hence the name) of burnt umber deepens recessed details, in turn making raised features stand out.
27 After a flat clear coat, Bill applied Mig Gulf War sand powdered pigments for a properly dusty look.
Armorscale gun/mantlet Hand-painted jerry cans on scratchbuilt rack
Dot filtering
Decal cut apart
Aber grilles
RB Models barrel
Armorscale barrel/jacket
Mud flap removed
Tristar decal Fender removed Pigments applied
From spares Kit tracks
Modelkasten tracks
And done: Bill shot walkaround photos, studied the pictures for unseen errors, made a few minor corrections, and pronounced the project complete. www.FineScale.com
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1/32 Scale
Simon Harrison took on Trumpeter’s big P-40B with the goal of making it look leaner and meaner — but it was a long safari to get where he was going with Curtiss’ famous fighter.
SHAPING UP
TRUMPETER’S P-40B Fearless cuts make a Flying Tiger look even fiercer BY SIMON HARRISON
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uch ink has been spilled over Trumpeter’s 1/32 scale P-40B (No. 02228), and many talented modelers have produced exquisite builds of it. But I always thought something about the finished model just didn’t look right. An early P-40 should look svelte and eager. But, to my eye, the kit looks too jowly. I wanted to capture the lean look of Curtiss’ long-nosed fighter — but without getting bogged down in a superdetailing marathon. That’s not always easy, because one change usually does lead to another — and, sometimes, unanticipated complications.
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Bulkhead locator
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The kit’s cockpit is too shallow; I substituted CMK’s resin but deviated from instructions by mounting the side walls on the fuselage. Styrene scraps helped locate the aft bulkhead. I also shimmed up the gun breeches about 2mm at the front to level them.
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Except where otherwise noted, I painted with Testors Model Master enamels. A mix of interior green and zinc chromate approximated Curtiss interior green. Using a 10/0 brush, I handpainted details with enamels. Then I drybrushed flat gull gray and applied a wash of ProModeler acrylic rubber thinned with Jo Sonja acrylic flow medium and tap water.
Now CMK’s cockpit really looked the part! I formed a Sutton harness using foil from a wine bottle and attached CMK’s photoetched-metal buckles. I also added paint chips and scrapes here and there with a silver Prismacolor pencil; it’s easy to control to apply color precisely.
Brass rod and tube
4 The tail-wheel strut looked too short, so I sawed off the lower yoke and drilled out the upper strut for an extension of telescoping brass rod and tubing. A main wheel from a Hasegawa 1/72 scale Nakajima Oscar made a good replacement for the kit part.
5 Forget line drawings; trust period photos. A straightedge placed along the fuselage’s ventral centerline should just kiss the bottom of the aircraft along the lower fairing; not the case with the kit. How could I fix this without creating a ripple effect of fit problems?
6 I laid Dymo labeling tape along a line roughly 1.5mm down the fuselage from the notch for the wing joint and scribed along it with a needle in a pin vise until I freed the lower section.
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Intake supports plastic
Taping the intake ducting in place provided support while I carved away plastic flush with the step I’d just made. I smoothed the cut with a nail file, careful to preserve the fit of the intake lip, and trued up the removed section of cowling with sandpaper laid on glass. www.FineScale.com
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I assembled the engine, painted it black, drybrushed it, and pried the nose apart far enough to slip it into place, locking it in with super glue. A heavy, oily looking wash followed.
After blending the lower cowl in with super glue and sanding, I rescribed lost detail, again using Dymo tape as a guide.
I refined the openings in the upper cowl with a new No. 11 blade and a round jeweler’s file, then installed brass tubing for each .50-caliber machine-gun blast tube. They should exit about the middle of each aperture. The one on the left is where Trumpeter would have you install it; the other is where it should be.
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The radio access hatch is molded proud of the fuselage. That won’t do. First, I scribed around the raised panel and drilled into each rivet.
Masking protected surrounding details while I chiseled and whittled the panel …
… then sanded it flush with the fuselage. I brushed off the dust, then removed the masking.
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Flowing Micro Weld liquid styrene cement into the new panel lines melts dust residue and smooths lines and little rough spots.
I subdued rivets on the elevators by brushing on Humbrol flat slate gray and sanding them smooth. Then I drilled new rivet detail.
I super glued a lamination of 1mm x 2mm styrene strips to the elevator hinge line and scraped and sanded it to shape, smoothing it with a nail file and sandpaper wrapped around a small wood block.
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This created new fit problems and spaces to fill, but it corrected the stabilizer’s chord and the elevator’s position.
More styrene strips and scrap match up the elevators and stabilizers. A length of brass rod makes a good equalizer bar.
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Modifying the fuselage to accept the tail feathers, I filed and sanded scrap styrene to match the contours of the stabilizer fairing. The leading edge of the rudder can be sanded to reduce its chord.
I also reshaped and thinned the rudder’s trailing edge and toned down the fabric effect on the control surfaces by scraping and sanding.
Part of getting the right look was increasing the kit’s dihedral. I began by clipping off the locators on the fuselage.
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I sanded the wings’ fairings back slightly (left) and tweaked the leading-edge cutout (right), testfitting as I went.
When the dust settled, I had the right profile and a better-looking dihedral.
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The leading-edge landing-gear fairings look a little too buxom, and they ride too far up. I filed and sanded them to shape, using a photoetched-metal scrap as a scribing guide.
Trumpeter missed the cartridge ejectors just behind the cowl flaps; I used Dymo tape guides to scribe their outline, drilled out the openings, and filed them square.
Tow hook Strut parts Brake line Tamiya tape
Strut
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Inboard gear struts were missing from my kit (a risk when buying castaways on the Internet), so I made new ones from thin strip styrene.
The outer gear doors lacked detail; I sketched shapes for inner panels on styrene and drilled and shaped lightening holes in them before I cut them out and cemented them in place with Micro Weld.
Brake lines are wire held in place with Tamiya tape coated in super glue. I added finer wire for a tow hook on each landing gear leg.
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I wanted replacements for the kit’s windshield and its armor. After securing the kit’s windshield to a wooden spoon handle with a lump of Blu Tack, I heated a sheet of PETG over a stove burner until it started to sag, then drew it over the kit “master.” My second pull was a good one.
I cut a swatch from a CD jewel case to replace the kit’s armor glass. Its brass-rod mount will be cut to fit later.
My kit didn’t come with wing guns, so I had to make them. The .50-caliber guns from an old 1/32 Hasegawa P-51 were a tad oversized, but I thought the cooling jackets would look good. I cut four matching lengths and drilled a hole in one end to use snippets of brass tubing for barrels.
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I detailed the exhausts with weld beads made from sliced strips of yellow Tamiya masking tape coated with super glue.
I mixed my own camouflage colors: For the underside, 7 parts light gull gray with 2 parts French light blue/gray and 1 part insignia yellow. When that was dry, I masked the lower fuselage (but not the wings) and hit the upper surfaces with a mix of 4 parts Humbrol light Earth matt, 2.5 parts Aeromaster RLM 81A, 2.5 parts dark earth, and 1 part insignia yellow. It looked bright, but weathering would mute it.
EagleCals (sheet No. EC69) provides a good paint-scheme reference; I enlarged the artwork, cut out paper masks, and ran Tamiya tape around each, trimming with a new No. 11 blade before burnishing it down. Tape masks worked better for the fuselage. Now I was ready to spray the green …
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… with 5 parts green drab, 4 parts Euro dark green, and 1 part Aeromaster RLM 83, darkened with a little flat black. After removing all the tape, I airbrushed the underside color along the leading edges of the wings. I sprayed perpendicular to the wing, buffed off overspray with an old T-shirt, and touched up little flaws with a brush. When mixing your own colors, be sure to have enough for touch-ups!
After spraying the model with several clear coats of Testors Sealer for Metalizer, I applied the decals — starting with that iconic shark’s mouth. Removing the black edge that wraps under the nose improved the fit.
The decals were brittle and broke in a few places; I gently sanded, then touched up with a 10/0 brush.
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After decals came washes: ProModeler acrylic rubber with a touch of Cobra raw umber thinned with Jo Sonja’s flow medium and tap water. I removed most of it with damp rags, wiping along the airflow.
Wing roots get a lot of wear from foot traffic; I brushed them with aluminum to show bare metal. It looks a bit overdone, but because of the previous clear coats I can erase excess with thinner on a cotton swab. The same goes for other details that I brush-painted at this stage.
40 Model Master flat clear lacquer, cut about 1:1 with generic paint thinner, provides good surface for pastels. I treat panel lines first with a mix of black and brown pastels, tapping it along panel lines, blending it with a cotton swab, and smearing it along the airflow with my fingertip.
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Scrubbing pastel powder into the finish blends vivid paint chipping and varies solid colors. Before sealing the pastels with a clear coat, I remove as much as I can from fabric-covered surfaces to subtly represent sun-fading.
The mess made by fuel leaking from the tank behind the cockpit distinguishes early P-40s. I mixed a ProModeler acrylic rubber wash and brushed it along panel lines, then blew it down the fuselage with an air hose. I followed with hand-brushing and built the effect in layers.
I painted exhausts dark brown, then dabbed and blended light brown, gray, red and black paint onto them, finishing with a light gray drybrushing and a dark wash.
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44 For exhaust stains, I rubbed black pastel just aft of the openings, then roughed out the larger shape of the stain with gray pastel, blending and scrubbing with cotton swabs and brushes, and finally dragging a moistened wide brush down through it to represent rain streaks. Airbrushing a very thin, flat black mist pulled it all into the finish. I trimmed the brass mount on the armor glass to length, flipped the model upside down, and carefully positioned it inside the windscreen. A drop of super glue at each end of the brass rod fixed it into place. It’s quite an improvement on the kit, even if it did take what seemed like hours!
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There’s always one more thing to fix or improve, but by focusing on the overall look of the airframe I chose a series of smaller battles I figured I could win. I’m pleased with the result — this model of an early P-40 makes the right impression. I gave it to my brother, a Flying Tigers fan, who confirmed my sentiment when he said, “This one just looks right.” FSM
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1/48 Scale
Over the years, Hollywood has used many creative ways to depict World War II fighters in its movies and TV shows. Darren built a Zero that wasn’t a Zero, as seen in such movies as “Tora! Tora! Tora!” and “The Final Countdown.” He started with a Revell 1/48 scale T-6 Texan.
A HOLLYWOOD ZERO Build a T-6 Texan to look like something it’s not BY DARREN ROBERTS
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ll my life I’ve been in love with airplanes. Growing up, I would watch any and every TV show and movie with planes in it. One of my favorites was “The Final Countdown,” with Kirk Douglas. In it, the USS Nimitz enters a rift in time and is transported back to Dec. 6, 1941, where F-14 Tomcats shoot Japanese Zeros out of the sky. To an 8-year-old kid, it didn’t get any better. The Zeros, of course, weren’t really Zeros. They were North American T-6 Texans made over to look like Zeros. Originally built for “Tora! Tora! Tora!” the heavily modified T-6s have appeared in many productions, from “Black Sheep Squadron” to “Empire of the Sun.” I’ve always wanted to do a Hollywood Zero, but it wasn’t until I saw a resin conversion set from Lone Star Models that I zeroed in on getting it done. I started with Revell’s 1/48 scale T-6/SNJ Texan (No. 85-5251). The soft plastic is perfect for cutting and
adapting parts. The kit also contains a long exhaust pipe and a spinner for a two-bladed propeller — which some Hollywood Zeros had.
Getting started The Lone Star Models resin conversion set (No. LSM 40438) was essential. It provided a new rudder, intake scoop, seat, wingtips, vacuum-formed canopy, and upper fuselage parts. I got underway by cutting the rudder off the kit part while the fuselage halves were still separate, 1. I also removed the upper portion of the fuselage behind the cockpit, leaving a little extra plastic to be sure I didn’t cut away too much, 2. Next, I removed the roll bars from the cockpit side walls to accommodate the rear fuselage piece from the conversion set, 3. I finished the cockpit, leaving the rear detail because you can’t see any of it once the resin piece is in place. www.FineScale.com
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1 Darren began building his “Tora! Tora! Tora!” Zero by removing the rudder from the tail.
3 Darren removed the cockpit roll bars to accommodate the resin conversion part that sits over the cockpit rear.
2 Dymo embossing tape serves well as a guide when rescribing panel lines, or, in this case, cutting away entire panels.
4 Preparing for a longer exhaust, Darren removed the one molded into the starboard fuselage half.
Closing up the fuselage I had two jobs to complete before joining the fuselage halves: First, I sanded off the exhaust pipe on the airplane’s starboard side, 4. This would allow me to attach an extended pipe later. Second, I filled the hole for the airscoop on the front end of the port side, 5. Doing this now meant less hassle as more pieces were attached to the airframe. I glued the cockpit in place, buttoned up the fuselage, and added the resin fuselage conversions in front of and behind the cockpit opening. I filled the gaps between resin and plastic with putty and sanded them smooth. I noted that the vacuum-formed canopy wasn’t going to fit well, so I built up the side walls with styrene strip to fix the problem, 6. Underneath were three holes for ID lights. I plugged the holes with styrene rod, cut them flush, filled remaining gaps with putty, and sanded the area smooth, 7. Remember when I sanded off the exhaust pipe molded on the fuselage? Hollywood Zeros have an extended exhaust pipe that comes out from beneath the cowl. I cut the extended exhaust pipe provided with the kit, 8. After sanding the back of the pipe flat so it would sit flush against the fuselage, I glued it in place.
Giving this bird wings I glued the wing halves together, then cut off the wingtips. I 76 Build Better Models 2
5 In a normal model of the T-6, the depression up front would locate an air intake. Not so with Darren’s conversion; he filled it with putty.
faired in the resin replacements with 2-part epoxy putty, filling the areas for landing lights at the same time. Once the putty dried, I sanded everything to shape, then attached the wings to the fuselage. On normal T-6s, there is a rounded area on the leading edge of the wings where the wheels retract. These needed to be faired in to straighten the leading edge.
6 Once the fuselage was together, Darren sanded the opening around the cockpit for a good fit with the resin parts. He added strip styrene to build up the side walls to meet the canopy.
8 Darren cut the longer exhaust pipe to length, sanded its back flat, and glued it in place over the area where the original had been.
7 Styrene rod and putty filled the holes along the rear fuselage. Darren then sanded the area smooth.
9 Sheet styrene and 2-part epoxy putty straightened out the wing’s leading edge near the nose, while just a bit of putty fixed up the landing-light recesses.
rene rod, 10. Then I opened up the ends of the rods with a micro-bit. Impressively, the more I worked, the less my T-6 looked like a Texan and the more the Zero I envisioned emerged, 11!
The front end
10 Once the putty was dry and sanded to shape, Darren drilled it with a pin vise and inserted a short length of styrene rod to represent the Zero’s notso-real “guns.”
I used swatches of sheet styrene to get the basic angle correct, then filled the rest of the area with epoxy putty and sanded it to shape, 9. For the “gun” emplacements, I drilled holes in the filled landing-light areas with a pin vise and inserted short lengths of sty-
I wanted a three-bladed prop, but the kit only provided one with two blades. Where to find a replacement? I found an original issue Tamiya 1/48 scale A6M2 at my local hobby shop, and what should be in it but the very propeller I was looking for. It also had the markings I wanted. Win! Back at the workbench, I set about removing the chin scoop molded on the underside of the fuselage, 12. I added the engine and cowl. Cowl flaps were made from .020" styrene strip, smoothed and shaped with putty and sanding. Then I positioned the resin chin scoop from the Lone Star set and glued it in place. The Zero I was modeling had another intake scoop positioned beneath the cowl. Initially, I figured I’d have to scratchbuild one, but, after picking up the Tamiya kit, my task was made much easier. I cut the scoop halves from the Tamiya cowl parts, glued them together, and attached the scoop to the underside of the T-6’s cowl. The fit was terrible, but 2-part epoxy putty and judicious sanding came to the rescue, 13. www.FineScale.com
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With all the resin replacement parts, Darren’s T-6 looks less a Texan and more a Zero all the time!
The air-intake scoop between the landing-gear bays needed to come off to make room for its resin replacement.
Resin scoop Tamiya scoop
Extended exhaust Cowl flaps
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Darren added the engine and cowl to the front end: Lengths of styrene strip made convincing cowl flaps. The chin scoop came from a Tamiya A6M2 kit.
He attached the landing gear, wheels, and bay doors after all the paint and decals — less of a chance to knock them off that way.
“Probably the easiest way to quickly differentiate a real Zero from a Hollywood Zero is that the real Zero has rather long landing gear, while the replicas look shorter and squatty on the ground,” Darren says.
That’s a wrap! Replica Zeros are typically painted light gray, so I airbrushed mine Testors Model Master Acryl light gull gray. Once it was dry, I followed up with a coat of Pledge FloorCare Multi-Surface Finish (PFM) to gloss it up and get it ready for decals. The markings from the Tamiya kit worked perfectly. After they were on, I hit the model with a final coat of PFM to seal everything. 78 Build Better Models 2
I added the Revell kit’s landing gear, but opted to use the bay doors from the Tamiya Zero. I cut them down to fit the T-6’s shorter struts, 14. With that detail out of the way, my Hollywood Zero was complete. The build brought back a lot of good childhood memories. Speaking of which, where’s my DVD of “The Final Countdown?” I think it’s movie night! FSM
Painting a SOVIET TANK
1/48 scale
Luciano gave Tamiya’s 1/48 scale Soviet heavy tank KV-1 a three-color camouflage scheme to model a brave Leningrad defender.
A three-color camouflage scheme creates a unique KV-1 BY LUCIANO RODRIGUEZ
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hanks to the many fans of Soviet armor, KV tanks have become popular modeling subjects. I decided to try my hand at Tamiya’s 1/48 scale KV-1 (kit No. 32535), but I wanted mine to be different. The challenge was to steer away from a typical plain green or whitewash finish to create a KV-1 with a standout paint scheme. I decided on a three-color camouflage scheme that I saw in a drawing. I couldn’t find an image of a KV in this scheme, but I did find a few photos of T-34s and field artillery with it. So, I think the possibility of KVs wearing this camouflage is pretty good. I could confirm that these tanks operated on the Leningrad front during 1942, so I went with it.
Easy assembly I built the kit from the box, with good fit and quick assembly. The only details added were a handle for the commander’s hatch (made from stretched sprue) and a clear lens (from the spares box) for the
front light. The Tamiya kit includes extra armor plates that are marked as unused in the instructions. My guess is they will be used in upcoming KV versions. Following my references, I decided to add lower and upper front plates to my KV-1.
Painting It is always best to begin camouflage with the lightest shade. My first coat was a primer of Tamiya brown (No. XF-72) to cover the dark green plastic parts, 1. Once the primer was dry, I sprayed Tamiya dark yellow (No. XF-60) over the model. Note that I left the running gear brown for weathering later, 2. Again following references, I masked dark yellow patches with tape, then sprayed a 1:1 mixture of Vallejo Model Air camouflage light green (No. 006) and Russian green (No. 017). At this point, I also brush-painted the tracks with Vallejo Model Color chocolate brown (No. 872), 3. For the final camouflage color, I brush-painted patches using www.FineScale.com
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1 To cover the kit’s dark green plastic, Luciano painted a Tamiya brown base coat.
3 Luciano masked off the areas that would stay dark yellow, then sprayed a 1:1 mixture of Vallejo Model Air camouflage light green and Russian green over the model.
5 Luciano applied a diluted Tamiya flat black wash to raised and recessed details, and a Vallejo Model Color mahogany brown wash to the tracks. 80 Build Better Models 2
2 Starting with the lightest color in the camouflage, Luciano sprayed everything but the running gear Tamiya dark yellow.
4 No more masking for Luciano! He hand-painted Vallejo Model Color flat earth, the final color in the camouflage. Excellent leveling properties make the Vallejo paint perfect for hand-brushing.
6 Luciano chipped paint and added scratches with a mixture of mahogany brown and flat black.
7 Using Sin Industries’ German filters set, Luciano toned down the contrast in the camouflage. He gave the running gear a dark yellow wash to match the rest of the tank, then painted final details.
9 Dark stains on the turret, front and rear hull, and exhaust are Vallejo Model Color smoke.
8 Luciano applied diluted Tamiya brown for dust on selected areas.
10 Graphite on the edges replicates worn-off paint.
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Luciano painted a figure from a Mig Productions Russian tank crew set with Vallejo acrylics.
Luciano covered a wood base with plaster, then added sand, stones, static grass, and a telegraph pole. www.FineScale.com
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Vallejo Model Color flat earth (No. 983). Although this takes time, it is easier than you think; it eliminates more tedious masking, 4. I painted the steel rims Vallejo Model Color dark gray (No. 994).
Weathering First, I applied a wash around all raised parts and inside recessed lines with diluted Tamiya flat black (No. XF-1). (Be careful to avoid darkening the whole model.) Also, the tracks received a wash of Vallejo Model Color mahogany brown (No. 846), 5. I painted small scratches and chipped paint with a mixture of the mahogany brown and flat black. I also drybrushed a subtle green shade over the running gear, 6. Next, I softened the contrast using Sin Industries’ German filters set, and gave the entire running gear a wash of dark yellow to match the rest of the tank. Then I painted all the small details, including the machine guns, exhaust, and front light, 7. I wanted to add dust to the model, but it’s important to leave some areas completely free of “dust” for contrast. I selectively applied the dust with a thinned Tamiya brown, 8. I created dark stains on the turret, front and rear
hull, and exhaust with diluted Vallejo Model Color smoke (No. 939). To increase depth on the dusty parts of the road wheels, I painted smoke on raised lines, 9. Finally, I rubbed a pencil along edges to highlight areas where paint was rubbed away, 10.
Figure and base I always like to add a figure, so I enlisted one from a Mig Productions Russian tank crew set. I painted it with Vallejo acrylics, 11. Using an oval piece of wood for a simple base, I shaped plaster over it and, while it was still wet, affixed tiny stones and sand with a little white glue. After that dried, I super glued static grass. A styrene tube textured with putty formed a telegraph pole. I made insulators from small sections of styrene rod, and arms from fine copper rod. Dark shades of Vallejo Model Colors tinted the road, while a gloss coat gave the grass a fresh look. After the base was painted, I added wires to the pole using black sprue stretched very thin, 12. Finally, I positioned my KV-1 on the base and placed the figure on top. I usually don’t like to create models with so few references. But this time, the scarcity of information allowed me to simply enjoy the project. FSM
After the tank and figure were placed on the base, Luciano’s KV-1 was ready to go thwart some Germans.
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