Heinkel He 111

[Honeybadger]

Ok, my first one in about 10 years. I freely admit, its a travesty. Im almost ashamed to post it on here, but im hoping you guys will have some tips.

Oh, and by the way, i know the historical accuracy is negligable...

But i love the colour scheme on the top.

[Harvs73]

A travesty??? did you enjoy making it? If you did then it is no travesty at all! I build models to relax, not compare to the next persons model.

What is the kit? I'm guessing it's a 1/72 one?

As for tips I offer:

1. Thinning of paint. To get a smooth coat of paint I suggest thinning your paint a bit more as it looks a bit streaky in places from the images supplied. A few thin coats can achive more than one thick coat.

2. A top coat of a matt or gloss varnish will even out the tones and decals to make it look better.

Hopefully that helps a bit.

[Honeybadger]

Yeah, 1/72 Revell... and yes, i did enjoy making it (apart from the landing gear, that was a f***er).

Thanks for the tips mate, i was wondering how to even out the paint... incidentally, will varnishing it now mess up all the clear bits (im sure theres a more technical name for them...), or can i just chuck it on?

[Harvs73]

If you put an enamel varnish over the top of the clear parts they will 'frost up' but acyslic should be ok. The other option is to just mask the clear bits with tape of some sort and then paint over the top of paint. The tape should give the clear bits a bit of protection from the accidental slips that do occur. A matt varnish would be the best option at this stage to make it look better.

With the thinning of the paint, it is better to try it out on a bit of the sprue first to get the thickness right. It is all just practice and experience.

[Hypnobear]

If you have a steady hand, you could paint the Canopy frames. It makes a lot of difference to the model.

[coolhand]

Hi,

You could try masking the clear parts before painting

What I have found works the best is to smooth a piece of Tamiya tape over the panel you want to mask, draw round the inner frame with a pencil, remove and cut out shape and then you have a niceley fitting mask.

hope this helps

[Miccara]

I wrote this article as a step-by-step (sort of), of a P47-D build for another model website...

I think you might get some benefit from it. I had many requests on the ARC forum for copies of it so I made a PDF and placed it on a free download service. You can download it here:

http://www.2shared.com/file/8704001/fd67e6...er-P47PDF1.html

It will ask you for a password; enter ... 151555

After you put the password in, at the bottom of the page click on the "Click Here" phrase not the "Save File"

It's not the best download service, but it will work! If you decide to read it, please let me know if it was inspirational for you!

Buy the way... I really like your build and If you love doing it, that is all that matters. In some ways I'm envious of your position. You have many satisfying moments ahead of you!

Larry

Edited December 11, 2009 by Miccara

[~Dan~]

Thats a superb article Larry, I gotta agree with you... lots more fun ahead. Don't get like me, held up while waiting for a delivery of etched brass or reference material.

[silverburn]

Gotta agee with Harvs73 - if you enjoyed doing it, that the important thing to take from this - trust me - I'm a newbie too! I say newbie, because I suspect a lot of the techniques used today weren't around 10 years ago...

If you enjoyed doing, that's all that matters - you*will* improve (as I have) the more of it you do. Rivet counting is for the guys at the top of the game, so don't compare yourself to them - if you learn and try out just one of their techniques you'll be improving!

The PDF download in this thread is excellent too btw.

[Julien]

If you had fun making it then thats it, it your hobby.

We are all glad to give you tips. If you want to mask the canopy frames and dont have access to tamyia tape then good results can be had using 3m frosted tape, it actually works very well.

Press it over the frames, use a cocktail stick or match to press it into the frames then cut around them. You will mess up the first few time, and you will get better with practice. If you get paint on the glass I find the end of a cocktail stick get it off fairly well.

Julien

[Honeybadger]

Thanks mate. Im toying with the possibility of trying that, but i dont wanna mess up my precious Heinkel. May just buy a cheapo model and go nuts on it...

[John Laidlaw]

I wrote this article as a step-by-step (sort of), of a P47-D build for another model website...

Excellent article, Larry! Thank you!

[John Laidlaw]

Ok, my first one in about 10 years. I freely admit, its a travesty. Im almost ashamed to post it on here, but im hoping you guys will have some tips.

Sorry, it's not a travesty. I'm thoroughly envious (in a good way) of what you've achieved. Good on ya, and keep building!

[BadCop]

You've actually managed to finish a build, and if you enjoyed yourself - it's far from a travesty! My tip would be for you not to get too ambitious with your subsequent builds, just try to work on improving one bit at a time, and make it a little bit improved from the previous. What I find most satisfying, especially early in my return to the hobby, is seeing my skills improve from build to build.

[Irishgreek]

Honeybadger and Badcop, kudos to both of you. Honeybadger for finishing a kit, and Badcop for saying what I am sure a lot of us feel. Oh, to finish a kit. I have a 1/72 Revell Comanche helicopter almost done, just needs a gloss coat, decals and matt coat. Then done, but guess what, I put it away. I know it was nowhere near perfect either, but I had fun and it started me back into the hobby. Oh yea, there are a couple 1/72 scale tanks too...

Now, I am working on the 48 Buccaneer, adding some resin bits, again, I know I am not doing them justice really, but I am having FUN and that is the biggest thing. Plus I figure I will get better. I got to go to the US IPMS Nationals and got a huge dose of WOW from them. Gotta say getting back and doing the old things like browsing the Hobby Shops and just browsing through my kits stash is a blast. I have not had this much fun in years. My two teenage daughters laugh at their Dad and his 'toys' and I just smile back at them. Let them play their Rock Band and I'll have at the models!

Good Luck Honeybadger, keep at it. I salute you!