Category: camouflage
-
Hurricane Night Fighter – Part Three – Dirty Black
Or clean black, as in this case. I have not had the courage to spray the characteristic iridescent exhaust plume patterns on the side of this fighter -perhaps when the wing lights are ready… The shiny gloss coat over the black and the three days in the window for the old Matchbox decals worked well…
-
VVS Tupolev SB2 – Part Four-Red 3
Boy, you have to hand it to the Soviets – they kept their squadron codes close to their chests. Unlike the other air forces that might display this information plus the individual position in a formation, airframe number, and unit number on their fuselages – or the training squadrons that had buzz numbers under the…
-
VVS Tupolev SB2 – Part Three – Freehand
Not a choice I frequently make – I am a mask and spray person. In this case the photos of an SB2 in the Winter War were pretty thin on the ground ( and that was covered in snow,…) and the delineation of the two areas of colour in the monochrome pictures is poor. Not…
-
RCN Swordfish – Part Three – Careful Observation
Does not necessarily mean sensible painting. The camouflage patterns painted on British aircraft were pretty standardised in WW2. You’ll all have seen the A and B patterns for fighters, bombers, and such and the basic designs were similar. Paint crews were issued with instructions and often masking mats to enable them to put on the…
-
Do You Dine Clean Or Dirty?
Old British officers will know the difference. For scale modellers the question may be posed differently; do you build clean or dirty? Are your models fully weathered, tinted, oiled, and matted, or are they factory-fresh. It can be a great topic if you want to get tempers up – the two groups striving to justify…
-
When You See A Better Model
Do not be envious. Don’t resent the other person for their success. Regard it as a chance for a free gift from them; one they will probably be delighted to give you. Study the model carefully. Ask about it, and in particular the bits of it that are better than you can do. Nearly everyone…
-
Fokker D.XXI – Part Two – Dutch Canals
And a surprise – as the rest of this MPM kit fit together superbly. The gaps either side of the wing fillet were the only areas on this fighter that needed a filling. Fully deep, but narrow, possible to bridge with Vallejo acrylic putty. It dries quickly enough not to be an impediment to the…
-
Hawker Hunter FGA 9 – Part Three – Two Day
Confused yet? Sit beside me at the club and prepare yourself… The second day work on the Hunter was paint; undercoat, masking, colour coats. The scheme has a hard delineation between lower and upper but soft lines on the top. The silver is Mr Color Duralumium thinned with new GGX rapid thinner. This is to…
-
Is Your Kit Pre-Painted?
A friend once showed me a model kit in very small scale – 1/144 or smaller – that was pre-painted by the maker. It was delightful to look at, in a sort of toy-like manner. The makers had finished the fighter in camouflage but I think there were a choice of decals that could be…
-
Hannover CL III A – Part Three – Auferstehung
And not a zombie, either – a good-looking model for the collection. The Hannover CL IIIA was apparently a success. It could function as an observation or ground attack aircraft and a number of them were successful as fighters when newcomers on the Allied side pulled up behind one, thinking it was a single-seater. The…
The Little World 