W.I.P. pics of new projects....

[matrixone]

Thanks NARSES2 and Tophe!

Tophe,
I am glad you spotted the Me 609, I knew this aircraft would be to your liking.

Nothing of interest will be done with the HobbyBoss Bf 109G-6, it will be marked as real world. Right now I am looking through my reference books to decide exactly which markings to put it in.

Even though this HobbyBoss kit is intended for new modelers and has some toy like features I am impressed with it, the surface detail is pretty good and the clear canopy parts are some of the best I have seen. If HobbyBoss can do this well with this entry level type of kit I wonder how good a kit they could make if they did some proper research and really tried to make an accurate kit for more experienced modelers.

Matrixone

[matrixone]

A small update on my two Messerschmitts, they are very close to getting some paint put on them.

The Huma kit as expected had a number of places that needed putty and sanding and that took a little while to do because I needed to be careful and not erase the molded in detail on the model's surface.

The HobbyBoss easy assembly kit was not very good with the fit of some of the parts, a little carving with the X-acto knife fixed this but this would not be as easy for a beginning modeler to deal with and that's what these line of easy assembly are aimed at. The other HobbyBoss easy assembly kits I built were much better fitting than this one.

No, not some bizarre Mistel...just the two models posed that way!


Another pic of the these models


It might take me a bit longer to produce the next update on these models, we have had well over three weeks of sunny dry weather and its expected to remain the same...'so what' most will be thinking when reading this but this long streak of good weather here is quite rare, even during summer in a typical June/July we get at least some rain so when the weather is this nice and dry we get outside and make the most of it.


Matrixone

[Tophe]

Great!

[PR19_Kit]

That 609 looks the business! 

I think I have that Huma kit in The Loft somewhere, I must get up there and dig it out, if I can stand the heat, that is.......

[matrixone]

Its been a little while since any work was done on these models so here is what I have done lately.

The Messerschmitts have all the putty and sanding work out of the way and are now getting some paint, here you can see the first stage of weathering which is some pre-shading and some highlights, later on most of these effects will be covered up leaving just a hint of them still showing.
The large fuselage halves you see in the background are from a 1/32 scale He 162, the gloss black sprayed in the cockpit area is the first stage of weathering...on large models I like to spray gloss black first and then spray on the RLM 66 black-gray, the RLM 66 will be sprayed in such a way that it will leave a little black in the recessed areas giving it more depth. Some light dry brushing in a lighter color will also make the molded in detail ''pop''.




More work has been done on the Mummy too


Only a little paint has been sprayed on the Mummy so far in order to check the seam lines and look for other defects, as you can see below the base has been given a coat of sand colored paint and some pre-shading with black paint added to bring out the molded in details. After the base has more paint sprayed on to tone down the pre-shading I will be using oil paints to bring out the smaller details.


Matrixone

[matrixone]

A slight change of plans...today I was going to give these models a thin coat of paint to tone down the pre-shading but after looking at these models I decided they could use some highlights with white paint.

Since the Mummy base will be rather monotone it really needed some highlights to liven things up a bit so I added highlights in a few select areas including the nameplate.


I was not all that happy with the pre-shading on the Messerschmitt's, it was too heavy for the scale and would have taken too much RLM 76 paint to tone it down so I used the white paint to clean up and narrow the pre-shading and I also added highlights in the form of small mottles and streaks on the sides and undersurfaces.



The 1/32 scale He 162 has been getting work done on it too, I am nearly ready to start spraying the RLM 66 black-gray on the cockpit parts.

Matrixone

[Allan]

I too have the Hobbyboss model, Matrix, and I love the yellow eyes!!!!
Allan

[matrixone]

Allan,
The markings option with yellow eyes is interesting looking but I found a different set of markings that I like better and it will also be colorful...more on that later on.

The other day I covered up the pre-shading/highlights on the Messerschmitts and Mummy's base, here is what they look like now.

The Messerschmitts:
I like how these turned out and next will start painting the upper surface colors.

The lower engine cowling on the Bf 109 was not covered up with RLM 76 since it will get yellow paint sprayed on that area.


The Mummy's base also turned out good but I think I will use a lightened version of the sand colored paint to add some highlights on the raised areas, I want it to give it more of a look of being sun bleached and dusty.


Matrixone

[matrixone]

Here is the very start of my 1/32 scale Revell He 162, this one will be a what-if.

The cockpit parts are being painted and weathered, the weathering is a bit over the top because I want this aircraft to look well used and also because this will be an aircraft flown on the Eastern Front.





Matrixone

[NARSES2]

I love watching your stuff come together 

[Allan]

top-hole modelling Matrix, the kind of modelling we've come to expect of you
but you really must let us know how you paint that thin wiring in the cockpit
Allan in Canberra
the seat leather looks just so realistic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[matrixone]

Thanks NARSES2 and Allan!

Allan,
I don't have any fine point paint brushes anymore so I had to work around that problem by putting just the right amount of paint in a smaller brush and carefully used the side of the bristles to make contact with the raised surface detail. Sounds crazy but it works like a charm!

Monday I will show some of the airbrush work I did on the wheel wells for the main gear...turned out better than expected.

Matrixone

[matrixone]

Two more pics, first the ultra boring masked off wheel wells and then painted with RLM 02. Notice that by even doing something as minor such as painting the wheels wells made the pre-shading a whole lot less noticeable than it was before. Also the prop and spinner on the Bf 109 has been painted (but not glued on yet).


Next is some He 162 parts that were painted. The wheel well for the main wheels has been painted and partly weathered, I was going for a look of thinly applied coat RLM 02 over metal and in this I succeeded. The wheel well was first painted Testor's Chrome and then followed by a patchy coat of RLM 02 and lastly a much darker version of the RLM 02 painted in all the recessed areas, it don't look that great in the pic but in person it looks much better.
The full size He 162 was built in poorly lit dark caves and tunnels by slave labor and the workmanship on these aircraft was very poor compared to most other wartime German aircraft, at that stage of the war paints were in short supply and quite often only a very thin coat of paint was allowed to be used for painting aircraft parts so it was not uncommon for the paint jobs to look rather patchy and that's the effect I am after on this model.



Matrixone

[matrixone]

Did a bunch of painting on the Messerschmitts, the camo on these models were airbrushed free handed, not too hard of a job but working around the things sticking out of the leading edges of the wings was a hassle...so far I have not broken them off.


The little Bf 109G-6 still needs the JG 27 green RVD band painted on the rear fuselage and the underside of the engine cowl painted yellow.

Matrixone

[Tophe]

Nicely taking shape...