Supermarine Stalwart GR.I of RAF 205 Squadron, Ceylon, Summer 1945 (pics@p.6)

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, not so far-fetched. I am about to send the Stalwart to Ceylon, in SEAC duty. Paint scheme will be standard RAF colors, but odd for a flying boat: Dark Green/Ocean Grey/Black. Will certainly look cool with the all-blue roundels. And more menacing. 

Painting started on the undersides - with a coat of Aluminum on the underwater surfaces, over which a dull red coat was added. Intended as a primer, and later I plan to sand/scratch the black undersides, revealing some of the underlying tones.

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


For the rest I started with the upper sides (base tones are RAF Green from Modelmaster and Humbrol 106), including some panel shading with lighter tones (including Modelmaster's RLM 71 and Humbrol 140). Pattern was "borrowed" from a Wellington. Looks promising so far - and actually the white belly as it is here does not look bad either, but I'll stick to black for the unusual look.

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Keen eyes will recognize that the beaching gear will become dirty-yellow, as a nice contrast to the (soon to become) black fuselage. 

Also note how well the new engines blend with the old attachment points - a REALLY positive surprise, I did not expect such a "clean" result! 

[Captain Canada]

How do you work so fast ? Looking good.

[The Wooksta!]

Better off with Extra Dark Sea Grey, Dark Slate Grey with Azure Blue underneath.  Fits nicely with other large transport types - Wellington, Warwick, Halifax, Stirling and oddly, the Buckingham - in the late war period.

[PR19_Kit]

It's a nitrous compound filler/putty called "Presto Finish" - actually for car bodies. You get it here in Germany in DIY stores (in a tin) or at certain car part suppliers in tubes (which are more concenient for the modeler). I am a firm believer in it, as well as PR19_Kit. AFAIK hard to find outside of Germany, though.

'Presto' is great stuff, but as Dizzy says it's unobtainable in the UK, and believe me, I TRIED!

I'd bought a tube some years ago while in Germany, in a Berlin LHS I think, and Dizzy was good enough to get me a lifetime's supply not long after he joined us here. I'm STILL on the first tube. 

Thank you Thomas, a great job. 

[rickshaw]

It's a nitrous compound filler/putty called "Presto Finish" - actually for car bodies. You get it here in Germany in DIY stores (in a tin) or at certain car part suppliers in tubes (which are more concenient for the modeler). I am a firm believer in it, as well as PR19_Kit. AFAIK hard to find outside of Germany, though.

'Presto' is great stuff, but as Dizzy says it's unobtainable in the UK, and believe me, I TRIED!

I'd bought a tube some years ago while in Germany, in a Berlin LHS I think, and Dizzy was good enough to get me a lifetime's supply not long after he joined us here. I'm STILL on the first tube. 

Thank you Thomas, a great job. 

Do you have to mix the stuff?  Is it soluble by water?  I'm always interested in trying new putties.

[PR19_Kit]

Nope. It comes in a hefty tube, maybe 9" long and 1" dia.

It's a bit like brown Green Stuff but doesn't dissolve styrene. AFAIK it's not water soluble, but I must admit I've never tried that. I doubt it as it's nitrate based.

[DogfighterZen]

This is turning out great!! I'm just a sucker for anything with lots of guns on it...

How do you work so fast ? Looking good.

Captain, I've read something about a time warp capsule, it has to be true...

[Dizzyfugu]

BTW, this is what the stuff looks like - found it on ebay.de:



http://www.ebay.de/itm/like/151418993298?lpid=106&chn=ps

And, no, it's not water-soluble. You can use Acetone to thin it, and the stuff will bond with styrene since it dissolves the contact surface. Makes a really smooth transition zone this way - can also be seen on the Be-6 along the spine, where Presto filled the halves' gap and worked on the surrounding surfaces, looks like darker clouds.

I love it. Unlike Revell's Plasto it is evenly mixed, dries relatively quickly and shrinks only a little. Can even be used for small sculptural work, while on large areas it tends to develop a kind of surface tension that evens the mass out automatically (check the tail gun station pics above). You just can not use it for large volumes - anything thicker than 2mm in one application hardly works, but that's not what it was made for.
Furthermore, it can be dry and wet sanded (hardness is VERY similar to styrene), and accepts both acrylic and enamel paint.

It' just hard to hunt down in the tube format!



BTW: yesterday's evening saw the Stalwart's belly turning black. Looks odd, but cool. Somehow it reminds me now of a Halifax...?

[Captain Canada]

Cool...thanks. I'll have a go on finding some that will ship to Canada.

Halifax eh ?

[Dizzyfugu]

Yes, somehow...? The black underside changes the look dramatically. Not strange, but unusual.

And maybe we have found another firm believer in the "Presto Finish" church...? See, and believe... 

[Captain Canada]

lol I hope so !

[Dizzyfugu]

Enter the black...

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


...plus a black ink wash for the upper sides - now the raised panel lines come in very handy! Flanks and belly will receive a dark grey wash, and some panel shading will also be added. So far, it's just the sheer flat black.

Making of 1:72 Supermarine Stalwart GR.1 by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


A fellow user at FlickR put it that way: "Looks like a PBM Mariner served with Worcestershire sauce". There is some truth to that... 

[PR19_Kit]

Not a sign of Soviet-ness ANYwhere! 

[Captain Canada]

It sure doesn't anymore eh ? Lovely

[Dizzyfugu]

Totally agree. The beast looks so un-soviet or even un-Be-6-like, it's really amazing. And: the more I work on it, the more I discover this aircraft's elegant lines. 
Not certain if it's the paint scheme - the physical mods cannot be the reason since not much has actually changed?