The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

Interesting builds/restos on the go, GMG. That big Dora won't be easy to mottle without an airbrush IMHO, as you are probably aware the problem with paint brushes is achieving the necessary soft edges which I feel becomes more apparent in the larger scales. I think there is a technique using pastels that is supposed to give a near airbrush effect.

You can try using oil paints for the mottle. They can be feathered.

Good save!

Cheers guys, and thanks for that tip. Never used pastels or oils though I should like to dabble, and only use enamels when there is no alternative. I don't care too much if the paint isn't feathered enough; I figure that the Luftwaffe had bigger things to worry about besides really dope looking camo jobs. Not that I am averse; quite the contrary. Just that my airbrush has been on the fritz since the spring and I have been in rattle can and baton hirsute mode since then.

Finally got the spinner and airscrew on as well as gear wheels. Plenty to do yet but it looks like a butcher bird to me.

That's a nice build GMG. I think you did a great job on the mottling (certainly better than Hobby Master does on their die cast aircraft models - and they HAVE air brushes).

Yep, totally agree with PW, very smart work indeed!

Really good restorations and builds going on here. I do like the Fiat biplane - a very different WHIF and original. The camouflage on the 190 looks fine to me: I too do not have an airbrush but it is amazing what can be done with hairy sticks and a bit of practice.

Cheers, fellas. If and when I get around to fixing my airbrush then paint schemes like this can be done more justice. I was just not really into a full resto on this one, merely tidying up what was already there. I am probably going to replace the fuselage and upper wing Balkankreuzen, a dab here and there of flat aluminum for scratched paint, and then treat the FW-190 to some washes and then wax and then a toot or two of dullcote, weather permitting.

Agreed, Very effective mottling on the 190D. But has the decal setting solution let you down noticeably on the wings? Or is that the photo lighting exaggerating it?

Cheers,

David

Not really no. It was a bad call on my part for leaving them on as long as I did. That was floorwax over them to try to protect them from my general work. Eventually I yanked them both off with persuasive dabs of packing tape and replaced them with ones that weren't really much better as the clear parts started to silver straight away. I saw some guy use white or pva glue first where the decals would go to defeat the silvering, and I ought to have tried it. Doesn't matter now anyway. It's all buried under a generous coat of wax and had the dickens dullcoated out of it. I am looking forward to painting leaks, scratches and chips out of the paintwork and all that cannon and engine soot as well!

Yep. Feathering or no feathering, that looks really sharp.

Do give oils a try sometime, though. They're very forgiving and allow you to do things you can't even dream of with other paint.

That has turned out rather well, GMG. A lot of Luftwaffe aircraft certainly looked well used by the end of the war and if you are up for a bit of weathering there's plenty of scope!

Thanks! And yes, Shaun the Dora is a big canvas for grotifying. Here is it's belly getting dirtied up

And here are the latest state of play generally









Should be done soon I think. Now....where to put it???

A Dora ble.