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Torbjorn
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About Torbjorn
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Finished. Posted in the gallery. Many thanks to the organisers!
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Another 1/72 Eduard Hellcat here, the Mk. I FN430 of 1844 squadron operating off HMS Indomitable in late 1944/early 1945. Flown by PO Hannay, took part in the attacks on Sumatra. Thread here:
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Thank you - I used to dislike it, but in this case the original was to battered and faded I couldn’t possibly ruin or overdo it And it does make painting easier: you don’t have to worry about scratches or uneven paintjobs. I’m adding finishing touches now. I painted the pitot tube in American style - red bracket and bare metal tube, not sure if correct but looks neat.
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Getting there, but no time to make a base unfortunately. Been using the model as a canvas for oil painting to achieve something like the images linked in the opening post. The wingroot is maybe a bit dark, but so is the original and maybe a protective coat will dampen it a bit. I am in the process of adding the antenna. Without more info, I will add the aerial and the whip antenna as suggested by the instruction booklet.
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Followed up the glosscoat with stickers (not many, no stencils at all) and started the fade and wear process. I free-handed the exhaust stains with the airbrush. With lack of other things to show: here’s my test rabbits for freehanding exhaust stains: I was satisfied with that, so proceeded without delay to the main subject: The first step of fading and smearing was made by random dots of white and yellow artist’s colour which were spread with an assortment of brushes loaded with a bit of thinner. There is a lot of silvering on the big “430” on the nose, aswell as on the serial. Trying with microsol currently, and will continue for while. In the worst case I’ll have to resort to masking and airbrush for the 430. It looks ok on the photo, but it is unfortunately from a flattering angle. edit:spelling, grammar, I’m onviously ready for bed...
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I *almost* made it - a result with which I am both surprised and pleased. Thank you for arranging the e-kick UTA, apparently exactly what was needed The prop is still gone but barring that and touching ups and some dirty-ing downs she’s finished. I made a pitot tube, something that looks like a venturi, added wires (hair/sprue), the windshield and some underwing hooks that they used to tie the aircraft down with - I can only assume the planes were light and the wind in Spain strong enough to topple them. Was a bit nervous removing the masking on the rudder (not a single decal on this one), but it turned out ok - errors I will call ”weathering”. Still haven’t removed some superfluous wiring and those wheels will need repainting, but I couldn’t resist glueing them on.
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The project has a mild curse on it - the propeller is currently MIA. A shame really, I’m happy how it’s turning out. The leading edge of the fin is suspicously bluff however, even flat, that can’t be right.
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Now I’m finally waiting for that glosscoat to dry. Some touchups will be needed with the roundels, but one thing I’ve learnt is to wait with that until all else is finished.
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Whatever those cats have, it’s contagious.
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I picked it up it an art store once. Not good enough to have a name on it, but it was in the 25 pound range and the knife is sharp. I used the small one. First, firmly put the tape on a hard cutting surface (my old desktop in my case). Try making a few very light initial passes, leaning it forward, dragging the point so it doesn’t rip.
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Change of plans, decided to paint te upper wing roundels. Decals that big I never get to look natural. Made masks using a compass: this is when I discovered the provided decals have 45” roundels. I believe they should be 55” - these masks are 55” in scale, they look pretty accurate in size compared to photos:
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Painted the colourful rudder: Also, the gun barrels are not included: I added these with styrene rod: I. have also painted it pale blue on the underside and Vallejo 71.096 (”Panzer green”) on the uppers. Still possible to finish...
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Finished the main painting. There was no reason to fear problems with Vallejo and Xtracrylics not cooperating. In fact I mixed the dark slate grey with Vallejo yellow without problem. Underside mixes of 71.009 Duck egg green and 119, off white. Several thin layers with different ratios for variation. Top side xtracrylics dark slate grey for the “green”. The grey was airbrushed with mixes of 71.048 and 71.110 Dark sea grey resp Extra dark sea grey. Afterwards I did a bit of handbrushing (big soft brushes) with thinned mixes of the above for more variations. Next, gloss for protection before I start trying to achieve the faded and scratched appearance of the original. Except the wheels and prop the sticking-out bits have been attached. I replaced the gear doors with home-made substitutes since I found the originals distractingly thick.
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That is a good tip - it’s a bit apprehensive to apply sandpaper to a nice finish. Should be fun though
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Thanks: the aluminium is a bit late, but I did add the primer since it clearly shines through on the pictures. I protected it with a satin lacquer layer, hopefully I can manage to sand only the colour. I assume you use quite fine grade paper? Applied wet or dry? I need to do some experimentation. I checked that site (lovely site, highly recommended for those who didn’t) and found pictures that gave me rivet patterns and approximate dimensions pf the plates, but I haven’t found conclusive or written data.
