discussion Richard's Dragon 1/72 He 219 A-0 UHU Night Fighter

[BattleshipBob]

Hi Richard, yes will deffo get back to it but need to get my plane skills vastly improved!!!

 

[rtfoe]

Hi Bob, it will come with the practise that you are doing. :thumb2:

I have made some progress and decided to kill two birds with one stone. I primed both the Uhu and Hornet at the same time. But first some shots of the finished antenna array...



Mr Surfacer 1200 was diluted to its thinnest and sprayed with a few coats.



The thin coat doesn't clogge up the panel lines even the thin rescribed ones.



The propeller hubs were also coated with primer.



I will have to mix up a batch of light blue for the base coat but until then pre-shade of thinned black will be sprayed on to essentuate the panels and streaks. I hope I will meet the deadline which is just 5 days away.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Last night at the LHS night group build I worked on the pre-shading together with the F-18. The airbrush didn't give as thin a line as I wanted but I went with it anyway...



I coated the antennas with the access black remaining in the paintcup. This would make hand painting it later much easier by touching up overspray of the lightblue base color to be applied later.



I darkened the back of the engine nacelle vents which were molded in the open configuration. There's no closed option. Areas around the exhaust attachments were darkened as well. Tissue masking is evident in the wheel wells.



Thanks for looking in.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Wouter]

The Owl is definitely going in the right direction. What a nice preshade ^^

Cheers

 

[Guest]

T'wit - t'woo! Great work Richard. You wingy modellers certainly need patience.

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks Fellas...W'uhu I'm off to add the base color and cut out masks for the camo. Not doing free hand with it. This will test my patience. :smiling6:

Cheers,
Richard

 

[flyjoe180]

Looking good Richard, look forward to seeing the main coats on it

 

[rtfoe]

Hi Joe, thanks...don't need to wait long, just did my first pass of the base color. The underside is ok but the top needs at least another coat for the light blue to show and tone down the pre-shade.



Against the blue background the light blue doesn't show. As you can see the pre-shade is still a little strong for the top.



I removed the masks from the wheels and the engine nacelle confident that the next coat won't affect these areas.



I have found a way to cut the masks for the camo using a drill bit. Will show how its done next.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[scottie3158]

Exceptional paint work as always Richard.

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks Scottie,

I started with the mask by scanning the instruction sheet and enlarging the image to fit the measurements I took of the kit on the computer with Illustrat. Then got it printed.



I got started with the milling but haven't got a shot of it yet. It's taking quite a while. I probably will have to hold it against a light to see the cut outs.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Fernando N]

Neat start at the paintwork Richard:thumb2:. Nice idea too of cutting out a print of the instructions, I just freehand it:smiling5:

 

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
They say there is nothing new and then you pop up with the drill bit camo mask :smiling:
Jim

 

[Guest]

Excellent work Richard :smiling3:.

 

[scottie3158]

Hi Richard,
That is a clever and novel approach I look forward to see how it develops.

 

[flyjoe180]

Interesting method for the mottle, will watch with interest. Could be a stroke of genius Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi Guys, the idea may seem practical but it sure took a long time. In hindsight I would glue the paper to a thicker card as the paper was too light and flipped with the opposite direction of the burr so I improvised with a stabbing motion. The result below...



I will cut along the wingroots to fit the mask to the wings. To give the slight soft edge i will place tiny spacers in between the paper and surface using Blu-tac. I created extra mottle for the sides of the fuselage. On the kit fuselage I have masked off any areas to stop any over sprays. Before that I will spray a varnish protective coating to the paper mask. This will be great if I had a squadron of Uhus but this is a one off. Next...moment of truth...

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi, here is the outcome with just a test for the wings and tail. I will do the body next...



I haven't done the cowling which was cut out separately.



The mask helps to keep the mottling to scale.

With the weathering and lined panels and oil stains next I can decal it and it will be a step closer to finishing.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Here's the next batch with the fuselage mottled...it's slightly darker having mixed a new batch of paint...



Some paint crept past the canopy masking near the top and back which was promptly dispatched with polishing compound. The antennas have been painted black or sort of touched up.



Cowlings next.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
That looks to have been a success. A lot of work but the results are worth it. I suppose brush painting the mottles could work but this gives a less sharp edge and also is less stark.
Jim

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks Jim, thankgoodness it did. I was thinking of brush painting but I wouldn't have gotten the subtle soft edge and at that scale will leave brush marks and thicker layer of paint as evident on the spot I touched up at bottom picture next to the cowling.

Cheers,
Richard