Dave Ward's 1/48 ICM Henschel Hs 126A-1 Condor Legion

[Dave Ward]

The wing is easy enough, it's flat. The fuselage, though, may be a bit more problematical, and may take a bit more time!
The fuselage is at the moment clamped together - it was a bit of a struggle to get the halves to mate nicely - I think that filler will be needed!
Dave

[Dave Ward]

First mask applied!
[ATTACH]305690[/ATTACH]

I'll spray the next colour, then wait at least 12 hours before adding the 2nd mask, and the final colour. Any faster, and the chance of lifting the underlying coat is greater.
Dave

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
That masking is very clever. Hope it works out OK.
Jim

[Dave Ward]

I sprayed green yesterday, then applied the second mask......................[ATTACH]305777[/ATTACH]
I'll give the final brown coat shortly - then wait for it all to dry before the anxious business of peeling all the masks off!
Dave

[papa 695]

Just seen and caught up on this one Dave, it looks a very nice and detailed kit. Nice work so far and a great idea with the masking.

[Dave Ward]

The mask is comparatively simple - it's a matter of being methodical - now what about masking for this?
[ATTACH]305781[/ATTACH]
Ukrainian Su-27- I think not! :astonished:
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Well, a nervous five minutes, peeling the masks off gently.[ATTACH]305822[/ATTACH]

All in all I'm very pleased with that! Only one small area ( stbd elevator ) where the paint has lifted, and some bleed under in one place.:thumb2:
There are some areas where ragged edges need trimming/ flattening - but I can't wait to get a protective varnish coat on :relieved:
Dave

[Fernando N]

Hi Dave, just caught up with your fine work on this one.
Very nice looking interior and great idea of making the mask for the splinter-scheme, the wings look great.:thumb2:
Hope the fuselage goes just as good.

Fernando

[Dave Ward]

The final two camo colours RLM 62 Grun ( AK Air AK-2027 ) and RLM 61 Dunkelbraun ( AK Air AK-2026 ).
The AK paints have sprayed nicely directly from the bottle, and covered well, no nozzle clogging issues!
The ICM colour profiles are poor, so I used one I found on the internet ( discussion purposes only )
[ATTACH]305834[/ATTACH]
I've been working on the fuselage - I had to use a fair amount of filler on the bottom joint, and cleaning up is taking longer than I thought, but it's getting there. The camo on the fuselage will be a little trickier, and I suspect that the undercarriage legs will end up being brush painted ( as may the engine cowling ).
Dave

[Dave Ward]

I've sanded all the filler smooth on the fuselage, and sprayed hellblau on the bottom section - now for the mask. The Hs 126 has a smooth fuselage, with a taper towards the tail.There are two cutouts, one for the cockpit, and a slot for the tail.
[ATTACH]305939[/ATTACH]

It looks a little confusing - in places, the demarcations and joins are hidden by struts/national marking, so it's best guess. The tail will have to be a separate mask, that I will cut almost in situ. The cowling and undercarriage legs will be brush painted separately, I think.Next up I will mask the lower fuselage, and give the upper part the base lichtgrau colour, and then the fun starts!
Dave

[Dave Ward]

The wing is finished - varnished, and decalled. I've had bad experiences with ICM decals before - these roundels are OK, but the crosses on the rudder simply fell apart - luckily easily replaced with trim film.[ATTACH]306006[/ATTACH]
I've applied the first mask to the fuselage........................
[ATTACH]306005[/ATTACH]

I'll spray the green next - but the temperature is 27C at the moment, so some flow retarder will be needed - I'll leave the paint to dry overnight before the final mask and paint coat
Dave

[Guest]

Wow ,
Impressed with the masking let alone the build, I take it's a sheet that you can buy with a adhesive like Tamiya tape .

John .

[Dave Ward]

John,
it is actually Tamiya film - I've had it a while, but places like Jadlam sell it * Tamiya Masking Film * for what it is, it's quite expensive, but it's the only way you can airbrush camo like this. You can get other masking films, but some are rather thick, and difficult to smooth into small radii - otherwise, it's brush painting, do-able but tedious
Dave

[Guest]

Thanks Dave .
John .

[Dave Ward]

Final Mask...........................[ATTACH]306089[/ATTACH]
After the paint - A long wait for it all to harden off, even longer with retarder added...................watch this space
Dave