timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

I have a pet peeve and its that 90 % of warbird models are perfect no wear. Look at a picture of a real combat vet and they look really beat up im doing my p-40 as a weathered bird and found the ideal tool for paint chips. One of those fine tip silver calligraphy pens.
colors were faded and mismatched due to field repairs . If your model is an example of a restored bird then its ok but lets see some examples of real weathering

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

Tim i share your view.

i am facinated by pictures of real warbirds, as you can see the imperfections in the alum cladding... there's hardly a perfect (plane) surface (especialy the wings) but still most models i have seen are sanded straight to perfection!
i vould like to see a model vith a little "wavy" wing surface....

that said, weathering can be overdone, i hane seen planes with bad imitation of bullet holes in the fuse and so on... it's a balance that not many modelers (that i have seen)can achieve: subtle yet obvious!

i would like to see a RC Spitfire with a bit wavy surfaces on the wings like the real deal...anyone?

SCALECRAFT

My Feedback: (13)

I've started to weather my CMP zero. Some of the zeros I have have pics of show them really beat.

Steve

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

agree 100% , I love a weathered bird , I have used grays , whites , silvers ect, hand rubbed areas , also light spary areas as well . Working a VQ p40 , plan on major weathering

rwright142

I would love to see some pictures of weathered planes, and if anyone has or knows where I can get tips I would greatly appreciate it.

SpitfireMKI

My Feedback: (2)

Your plane should be weathered per your photos. In addition, some compromises should be made. An example of this is on my Mustang MKIII. The D-day stripes on the prototype were brush painted on and looked dreadful. Now, if I tried to paint these, I would have to use a 1/4" paint brush on an 84" plane and even then the brush marks would not be scale. The other problem is the stripe edges and their imperfections. The solution was to tape it off, making the lines inconsistent per the photos and then airbrushing. This was done with a fairly small spray pattern and done inconsistently. This allowed some of the camo underneath to subtly show through. If I had not done this, those stripes would have looked terrible and the average passer by would think I had no clue how to paint. Wish the pics showed the subtlness better. The chips in the stripes were due to grease,oil and dirt on the plane when the stripes were slapped on the night before the invasion. I modeled it as June 8th, 44' a day after she claimed a 109F destroyed.

Great fun weathering !

S1

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

very nice gentlemen! i plan on getting a digital camera and can post pics

GAP-RCU

Nice job S1!

Have you ever wondered, though, how far one should go with weathering to the nth degree when, if we look at the big picture, we have switches, servos arms, & mufflers hanging out in the wind? Does one visual effect drown out the other? I've sure wondered about it through the years.

Gary

SpitfireMKI

My Feedback: (2)

I work on my weathering technique for when I get to the model where all is hidden. Besides, as an artist, I like to work my canvas over.

I put switches out for ease of use, mag switch for safety and the junk hanging out front is due to my wallet

Rule number one for myself, I build it for myself. If I'm happy and my wife likes it, all is good.

I get your point though.

Funny when I look at my planes I don't see all the flaws of operational equipment, probably due to my desire to fly first and build second. I like to think the spirit of the pilot who flew the real deal jumps inside me and takes control and all I'm seeing is a fighter aircraft the way it was.

I also model to a story or forgotten subject,

Mustang honours the Poles and their scarifices

Kittyhawk, Squadron Ldr. ' Willi ' Williams, one of the ' Great Escapers ' executed by the gestapo.

Thunderbolt, SEAC, the forgotten front.

S1

GAP-RCU

Well, you're absolutely correct to do what makes you (and your wife) happy! I really didn't mean to talk about your models specifically, and you make a very, very good point - practice now will pay off handsomely later.

Good flying, Gary

SpitfireMKI

My Feedback: (2)

No offense was taken, just pointing out my motivations.

MT

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Here is some weathering. Not a lot but subtle. This plane was actually painted to serve as a War Bond Drive Icon with Pappy Boyington as its pilot. He didn't fly this plane in combat and I don't know if it was left this way and flown by another pilot or not. Any way, I painted and weathered the plane as it might have looked after being flown a bit and subjected to some weather effects.

One reason you see fairly clean planes is that builders use restored planes as their subject much of the time and these are kept pretty clean for the most part.

Sorry about the double picture post!

Grumpy Monkey

My Feedback: (7)

Here is a link to a thread on my 109 from 2 years ago (wow- its been 2 years?) Had some issues and the plane hasnt even flown yet. Actually pulled it back out and am getting ready to give her another go. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_76.../tm.htm#768456



Warren

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Warren, I well remember your 109. You had an interesting way of weathering. Hopefully you can get your plane up in the air this year and it'll be a good flyer. Let us know!!

Goggles

My Feedback: (4)

here's my latest.

Arf-er

Wing-walk abrasion & paint chipping of a tropical CMP Zero.

warbirdmustang

My Feedback: (21)

Anyone who hasn't seen Dave Platt's series of Black Art videos, needs to! He covers painting and weathering in a video by that name I believe. I just started buying them, and although a little pricey, they are well worth every penny for a scale modeler. The one on painting and weathering covers him working on one of his T28 models.
Bryan

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Luv those foot prints. Nice job!

lbrande

My Feedback: (16)

Generally the planes were painted with Zinc Chromate to protect the Aluminum from corrosion. Final finishing constituted the OD or camo colors. (US planes).

If you want to simulate wear surfaces. first paint the area silver, then chromate, then the final color. Then you can abrade with a small size boot (from your scale pilot), steel wool or even sand paper. This will result in a discoloration down to the silver that is closer to what actually occurred.

Typically leading edges of wings, areas surrunding hatches, and walkways showed the greatest wear.

Lew B

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

Here ya go,

http://www.hangar37.com/SBD/html/paint/weathering.htm

The skills Tom has are awesome. The bottom of the page tells how to do the foot prints.

Here is my fury, cant take the credit for the job, but looks pretty cool.

Meschmidt

My Feedback: (15)

Good info! Look in my gallery for my first try at weathering. Plane now has over 100 flights and still holding up good after three seasons. Paul