Messerschmitt Me 163 S, Academy 1/72

[tc2324]

Excellent paint work so far on such a small model. 

I feel a Specsaver`s joke coming on.......

[Father Ennis]

Incredible !!!   I was wondering ,which  method did you use to paint your mottle ?  I know several but have never been that pleased with the results of any I've tried. 
       I'm very glad you understand what we ment when we want to see it finished soon. I'm one of those and would never hurry another builder to "just get it done ... NOW !!!". Not at all what I'm meaning ,I'm just giving you a pat on your back and telling you I'm excited to see what you will do next...  Once again,thanks for sharing this with us ... !!!

[dumaniac]

nice paint work

[MichelC]

Thank you guys for all the nice words!  

tc2324, I'm getting used to it.  

Father Ennis, I know exactly what you mean about the comments and I take it as such.   There's only one modeler I know who's sometimes a bit too 'pushy' for my taste. Who's that again? Oh yeah, that's me, damn it!

Re your question about spraying the mottles, I'm not quite sure I know what you mean. If you're talking about methods like blue tac or raised masks, well, I use none of these. Not on this build, anyway. The mottles are so random I wouldn't even know where to start making masks for them. It's all just free-handed.

In case you're asking about airbrush technique it's pretty simple: good airbrush, good paint, correct paint/thinner ratio, minimum air pressure. More specifically: Gunze paints (the best IMHO), Iwata Revolution BR (that's a 0.3 nozzle, not even the smallest), 30/70 thinning ratio, lowest pressure setting. That's it. Oh yeah, I clean the tip of the needle as often as necessary and I start spraying on a post-it before taking the airbrush to the model every time. I never pull the (dual-action) trigger with the brush posed over the model. A splatter or spider or even too big a blotch could ruin everything at this stage.

Let me know if this answers your question.

Cheers

M

[MichelC]

Morning folks, 

This is the kit unmasked. Or should I say 'unmaskoled'? 



Where chipping was too pronounced I put back some paint with a sponge/small brush.



Got to air that pit too. Stuffy in there. 



On the bottom, some chipping along the keel behind the skid, as per reference pic.



The landing flap bays are painted in RLM 02.



I did some detail painting and fix some boo-boos also but not much to show. Next step: markings.

M

[Old Wombat]

Coming along very nicely, Michel!



Guy

[tc2324]

That is absolutely splendid work sir. 

That cockpit is fantastic. 

[MichelC]

Thank you Guy, thank you tc. 

After unmasking, remasking! I decided to paint my markings rather than use decals. Miracle Masks to the rescue!

You can order your own masks, tailor-made to your project. The service is great and the product itself fantastic: precisely cut, good adhering power, clear instructions. The masks stretch enough to take the shape of a complex surface but without distorting.

I wanted the swastikas to be the outline type. Had my doubts if it could be done. But there you have it, see for yourself! These and the code numbers are a wee 5mm high!

Here're the pics. 




















I added some green and/or gray to the white and RLM 76 to the black to add some fatigue to the markings. That's what's great with painted-on markings: no need to weather flashy decals!

Next: stencils, in decals those. 

M

[NARSES2]

Magnifique 

[Old Wombat]

Is betterer & betterer!



Guy

[Father Ennis]

Brilliant work on this one ... !

[MichelC]

Thank you all for the kind words! 

Decals work (stencils, etc.) in progress. Pics coming soon.

M

[MichelC]

After the painted-on markings, decals for stencils and stuff. I used three decals sheets: Academy, Peddinghaus and Rocketeer. Peddinghaus turned out to be wanting: bad printing, overscaled... I ended up using only a few stencils from it, those not available on the Academy sheet. The 14./JG 400 emblems come from the Rocketeer sheet. I don't have that one but a fellow modeler gave me the two decals.

Enjoy the picc. 















Decals were sealed with another coat of Future, making ready for the wash.

M

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Never get tired of these updates. Fantastic skills, Michel.

Ian

[PR19_Kit]

I keep looking at those amazing pics and comparing them with my unbuild version of the same kit.

The model is TINY and the pics are HUGE by comparison, I keep thinking I've been re-scaled to 2/1 scale!