A Second Try at Details

I have to start off with a correction and a recommendation.  I mentioned a couple months ago that I ordered photoetch instrument bezels from AeroClub and was sent 1:72 instead of 1:32.  I decided that it was important to me to get the right parts so I emailed John.  I was willing to pay for shipping and to return the 1:72 bezels; but he said no and sent me the correct part right away.  If you are even considering build WWI aircraft (or WWII for that matter) I strongly encourage you to pick up these extras.  You will not regret it!


So here are my Airscale instrument decals and my AeroClub bezels.  The decals are very accurate, but since this will be hanging from my sons ceiling I have gone for looks over accuracy.


These were trimmed off some sprue from my extras box.  I believe they are the air release holes but they are nicely oversized compared to the rest of the sprue.


I sanded the rough spots and brush painted with Tamiya X31 Titanium Gold.  This is the Wingnut wings recommendation for brass parts.  When the paint was dried I airbrushed on some Future to prepare for decals.

 
So here they are more or less finished.  Only one decal is actually an altimeter and it is German.  But they look good.  I did tweak the decal on the right as I was adding the bezel but that is why I did two.  I have also added some Future to act as the instrument glass.  Overall I am very happy with the results.


I am not sure if you can tell; but I did a wash of Vallejo Oily Steel on the engine.  Mostly I am including another shot here because I am so damn happy with how it turned out! >grin<  While I am a huge fan of Tamiya paints especially when airbrushing; I really love Vallejo paints for brushwork and washes.  I just wish I had a local source for more of these.


I am not so proud of this wood grain.  I read of some people using acrylics for the wood grain and thought to give it a try.  I was not pleased.  I went back with oils, but the clean-up from the acrylics did more damage to my base coat then I realized.


I am happy with the wood grain on the propeller.  I still have no idea how some manage a two tone effect here, but I will figure that one out...  The picture on the right also shows where I had to fill in the sinkholes.

I went with a darker wood grain on the spars this time.  I am much happier with this effect.  I again did the lead foil wraps instead of using the decals that come with the kit.  I think the substance of the lead foil just adds a more realism.


Here is my seat.  I have noticed that the belts on all the kits seem very wide.  I think I over did the effect here but I will work on this with future models.  The seat cushion turned out well.  I did a leather color XF52 Flat Earth (again from the Wingnut directions) then I dipped it in the same wash that I used on the engine.  Finally I did a drybrush of Red Brown XF64 to finish it off and a little Future to protect it. 
I took a great deal more care with the wheels on this project.  They were pretty much just thrown on the last plane.  I airbrushed the centers then brushed XF69 Nato Black for the rubber (Wingnut Wings again).   Its funny how you can be perfectly happy with Flat Black for tires until you see something that is better.  WOW again I am amazed out how a little color change can make such a huge difference.

The heat wave has come to an end so I will probably be crawling out of the basement and tackling my honey-dos for a while.  Hopefully this will give me some time for my 0.4mm brass tube to come in.