The Little World

Well, it has been a couple of days. We are in spring*, which means we should be getting warmer weather soon. But we also get the tail end showers of winter with the ensuing bad paint conditions. So I have been dodging in and out of the Little Workshop catching my opportunities as they arise; undercoat, bottom paint, top paint, masking,, and then camouflage pattern.

And so far – success. The paint is from an AK set dealing with WW2 British fighters – late war green and greys. This departure from my normal Mr Color mixes was due to a show special picked up in Melbourne earlier in the year. I admire the AK paints and the fact that they can be thinned with my normal materials. But they are thinner than Mr. Color so you need to tread warily.

The bottom grey went perfectly – the top grey was too thin with one layer. It took two to cover. The green was fine in one layer. The camo pattern was laid out with the standard masking tape and rolled worms of Burrows White Tac material. It is better than Blu Tac but cannot be reused. However, at $ 1.98 for enough to lay out 5 aircraft, it is not a bank breaker. The only danger of using it is that it comes from Officeworks and is in the same aisle as the candy bars and large bags of lollies. You inevitably succumb as you stand there in line…

The next stage of concern will be when I have finished the glossing – I’m going to pop the cover on the port engine nacelle to see if it comes off clean – it’s just a wedge fit. In the Air World museum it would make a great display with the cover off.

• Written long ago. We are now in Autumn. The virus season.