Nikola Topalov

Hi Tom, Superb model of my favourite jet! Great work, well done! Thanks for sharing. Great camo scheme. Is it done with decals or did you mask and paint? Best, Nikola

Hi guys, I am hopefully going to start making tarps for the Widow soon using paper tissue, PVA and water, and since I've never done this before I could really use some advice about how to do it i.e. water to PVA ratio, number of tissue layers, etc... The process in general. Thank you in advance guys! Best, Nikola

Hi RadMax, Thank you! Glad you like it! Also, thank you for the info about the gun sight! I will definitely check it out. Best, Nikola

Hi Marklo, Yes, something like that. Doesn't have to be exact at all. Looking forward to seeing your build! Best, Nikola

Thank you for the info on the paint schemes Marklo. Much appreciated! As for the complementary colors for pre-shading, if it's a greenish scheme, you would want to go with a reddish pre-shading colors, which are opposite of the base coat color on the color wheel. You can use different hues of red of course, as well as various tints (white added) and shades (black added) of the same to get even more interesting color variations. You can probably go with analogue colors (adjacent on the color wheel) as well but I haven't tried that. I assume that it will not give good contrast, but it's worth experimenting definitely. Best, Nikola

Hi Marklo, Interesting tri-color scheme for the Stuka. I have only seen schemes of two types of green so far. Thanks for sharing. Regarding my complementary pre-shading, if you want to see where it all started here is the link to one of my earlier posts: So far I have done a Zeke (exterior only) and a P-61 (both interior and exterior) with this method. The toughest thing for me is to control paint coverage and weathering so the effect does not get lost. Thanks for looking! Best, Nikola

Thank you Veg! Much appreciated. I hope that it turns out at least decent enough. Best, Nikola

Hi gents, A little progress with the Stuka - I am attempting the multi layer paint chipping technique using Vallejo chipping medium for the first time so we'll see... Step 1, 2 and 3 are completed and were as follows (pics below): 1 - Prime the model with Vallejo German Dark Yellow primer. 2 - Apply Vallejo Metal Color Aluminium where I plan to show paint chipped all the way to the bare metal. 3 - Protect the metal layer with Mr. Color GX113 UV cut flat clear coat. Steps to come: 4 - Apply the Vallejo chipping medium. 5 - Apply the first base coat of tinted Vallejo Dark Green RLM71 since I want to show chipped-faded base coats as well. 6 - Chip this base coat. 7 - Apply another protection coat of Mr. Color GX113. 8 - Apply the chipping medium again. 9 - Pre-shade with my complementary pre-shading method using Tamiya Red XF-7 ( and shaded version of the same) since it is a complementary hue to the green camo scheme. 10 - Apply the base coat of Vallejo Dark Green RLM71. 11 - Chip. 12 - Protect. 13 - Repeat last few steps with darker camo hue - Vallejo Black Green RLM70. Earlier I learned not to use Vallejo paints with the hairspray technique as it tends to crack for some reason, probably a chemistry thing. No problem with Tamiya over HS though. Any advice is more than welcome! Wish me luck and thanks for looking! P.S. Apologies for the phone camera image quality. Best, Nikola

Hi Mathy, Fabulous model man! Excellent work. I am a sucker for blue aircraft paint schemes so I simply love it! I would very much like to see some of your WIP! Best, Nikola

Hi Mark, Great model of a very cool looking bird! I love the hues of the camo scheme and how they turned out. One observation from my very limited experience - I think that the pre-shading could have been slightly more subtle, but it might be just in the photos so I might be wrong on that one. This is of course just my opinion. Again, well done! Best, Nikola

Thank you very much for the tips Gregax! Appreciated! This should definitely improve my modelling skills. Best, Nikola

Hi Gregax, Superb jug man! Excellent finish, especially the canopy. I love it. Well done! What's your technique for masking the canopy? And canopy painting in general? Thanks in advance. Best, Nikola

To practice your airbrushing?! Looks like you had a lot of practice before this, haha. Excellent work! Well done! I also like the design of this aircraft very much. Best, Nikola

Hi guys, A little progress with the Stuka... The IP decal was very good in terms of fit and the decal softener did it's job OK. All faults are of my own doing. All tail parts are in place, with elevators in down position for more visual interest. Had slight challenge with aligning the horizontal stabilizers and bracing struts but pulled it off in the end. Next: Landing gear, ailerons, dive brakes, etc, and on to priming. The engine and the prop will be last. Thanks for looking!

Hi gents, With your help and your valuable info, in the end I decided to extend the ip all the way to the fuselage (pics below). Another strange thing from Airfix which I have found, besides the gun sight not being provided, is that they have provided the gunner's back support strap in the kit, but haven't shown the piece in the instructions at all. I saw this back support in a few photos and recognized the piece only because of them, so I included it in the model as it gives additional interest to the cockpit in my opinion. I hope that it is in the right position because I eyeballed it (pics below). (pics below). Before I saw the photos I was wandering what it might have felt like for the gunner without the back support when the Stuka went into a dive! Thanks for looking guys! Best, Nikola

Hi gents, The only hint I found about the "issue" is in the instructions themselves. From what I can see, the image does not show the ip going all the way up to meet the fuselage.

Thanks Marklo, I'll dig a bit deeper into the references. I saw only on one Airfix 1/24, that there was a gap, but that again might have been the modeller's mistake. I doubt that it is a misalignment as the kit has beed very good so far in terms of fit. Almost fool proof. But then again I might be a bigger fool than they anticipated, haha. So far the refs show it all the way up. Again, there is no gun sight provided in the kit. It might be that it used to fit in that place, but Airfix should have adjusted that no doubt. Anyhow, thanks again. Best, Nikola

Hi gents, Well , this was unexpected from Airfix's new tool kit - a gap, ca. 1mm, between the instrument panel and the fuselage! (Pics below; dry fit only) Did anybody else have this issue? Also, no gun sight in the kit! Best, Nikola

Hi gents, Almost out of the "office". Everything is OOB so no seat belts and all that jazz. You can see the subtle effects of complementary pre-shading method, but I wish it was a bit more pronounced. Next time I will try to go lighter with the base coat. Some of it gets lost in weathering and washes. Most of this won't be seen anyway so it was more of a practice. Thanks for looking! Best, Nikola

Hi guys, Below are a few photos of the base coat laid over the complementary pre-shading. I tried to represent the true colours as I see them in real life and this is as good as it gets for now with my photographing skills. 🙂 The finish itself is not great, as I realized some problems with my compressor and air pressure only after I finished painting (I noticed there was something odd during the process but was stupid and lazy enough not to check immediately). 😕 Anyhow, thanks for looking! Best, Nikola

Hi gents, This is my current build - Airfix 1/48 Ju87 B-1 Stuka, where I am experimenting with my complementary pre-shading method further. Cockpit primed with German Dark Yellow, then "complementary pre-shaded" with German Red-Brown and highlighted with White. Next is base coat of RLM02. I chose a red based hue for my complementary pre-shading method again since the RLM02 has a greenish tint to it. This time I decided to experiment with red-brown instead of plain red for pre-shading. We will see what it turns out to be. Thanks for looking! Best, Nikola

Hi guys, Below are a few photos of the base coat laid over the complementary pre-shading. I tried to represent the true colours as I see them in real life and this is as good as it gets for now with my photographing skills. The finish itself is not great, as I realized some problems with my compressor and air pressure only after I finished painting (I noticed there was something odd during the process but was stupid and lazy enough not to check immediately). 😕 Anyhow, thanks for looking! Best, Nikola

Superb! Simply superb! Best, Nikola

Hi gents, A little progress with the Stuka: Cockpit primed with German Dark Yellow, then "complementary pre-shaded" with German Red-Brown and highlighted with White. Next is base coat of RLM02. I chose a red based hue for my complementary pre-shading method again since the RLM02 has a greenish tint to it. This time I decided to experiment with red-brown instead of plain red for pre-shading. We will see what it turns out to be. Thanks for looking! Best, Nikola

Hi HartDeco, Fantastic work! Really something different. Well done! Best, Nikola