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Airfix Dambuster - 1/72 Avro Lancaster B.III


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I have to respond, don't I!!

I have the Silhouette Portrait 2 (£145 on Amazon) and, like Cookie and The Baron, find it very useful.

I did look at others but the Portrait seemed easier to me, especially with the included software being much like Inkscape (that perdu had recommended and I'd been using before) :) 

I've also bought the Graphtec blade but I've yet to try it - won't be long I'm sure.

 

YMMV but I'm happy with my Portrait and Tony has certainly done some great stuff with his, including cutting those metal foil fillets and whatnots.

 

Orafilm 810 recommended too - great stuff :) 

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Hi Tom, I'm a newly registered member and new to modelling but I've been watching this build with great interest for a while now. I pre-ordered this kit last year and made a start on it in Autumn. I've been absolutely fascinated by the huge attention to detail you've put into this model (especially the interior). It really has been inspiring and I've appreciated your comments on the kit parts along the way.

 

I'm more or less at the same stage as you, I've just done the panel lines on the top of the Lancaster with the undersides and weathering yet to do. Oh and to attach the gun turrets and final finish. I've slowed down a little now that everything has more or less come together and I haven't got a million tiny pieces floating loose around the place. Your build is absolutely stunning and I look forward to seeing how it turns out. Keep up the fantastic work! And thankyou for sharing your process on here and unknowingly giving guidance to a new modeller :)

 

Regards,

Jade

Edited by Kalasinar
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On ‎1‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 11:21 AM, Kalasinar said:

Hi Tom, I'm a newly registered member and new to modelling but I've been watching this build with great interest for a while now. I pre-ordered this kit last year and made a start on it in Autumn. I've been absolutely fascinated by the huge attention to detail you've put into this model (especially the interior). It really has been inspiring and I've appreciated your comments on the kit parts along the way.

 

I'm more or less at the same stage as you, I've just done the panel lines on the top of the Lancaster with the undersides and weathering yet to do. Oh and to attach the gun turrets and final finish. I've slowed down a little now that everything has more or less come together and I haven't got a million tiny pieces floating loose around the place. Your build is absolutely stunning and I look forward to seeing how it turns out. Keep up the fantastic work! And thankyou for sharing your process on here and unknowingly giving guidance to a new modeller :)

 

Regards,

Jade

Thanks for the kind comments Jade, pleasure to give you encouragement … and erm … and some mistakes for you to avoid … purely for demonstration purpose of course :winkgrin:

 

I've got all the stickers on. Where possible I cut away as much carrier film as possible to prevent any silvering. It worked fine, but getting the wing stencils to line up straight was a proper faff. Of course it didn’t help when I put a couple of them on the wrong way round, had to remove and re-apply. It seems I am a right proper bozo after all!

 

My biggest gripe is that the instructions are in colour. Nice you think, but on the underside everything is jet black so there are no panel lines showing as reference points. There is something to be said about the old school black and white instructions. Even though it does bring to mind the classic quote by Ted Lowe (former BBC snooker commentator): “And for those of you who are watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green.”

 

Anyroad I got them all down and gave a coat of klear:

 

IMG_4343.jpg

 

I must admit I do like the look with the G for “George” livery on the side and the type C1 roundel.

 

After returning from the Brum club meet and a perusal of Bill’s Sea Vixen – along with plenty of other fine models on the bench – I’ve made a start on the panel line washes. First up is all the black bits.

 

I made up a mixture of Paynes Gray and soft white diluted with Sansodor. The latter I find more conducive than turps because it is milder (less likely to react) and it it’s not smelly.

 

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This is the effect so far (the fin on the right hasn’t received a wash yet so you can see the contrast).

 

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I have to say I’m quite taken by the effect. The wash to date is taking very well to the panel lines. Once dry they won’t be as bright as they are now, so should be just enough to break up the black blandness.

 

IMG_4351.jpg

 

I will be using pastels to add some tonal variation too, but I’ve got quite a lot of lines to get through first…

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This is inspiring work. Those panel lines are remarkably well done.

 

Given the number of pictures including assorted grog additives, it is obvious you are of a stronger physical constitution than me,

 

Great work,

 

Michael

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On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 5:54 PM, Michael51 said:

This is inspiring work. Those panel lines are remarkably well done.

 

Given the number of pictures including assorted grog additives, it is obvious you are of a stronger physical constitution than me,

 

Great work,

 

Michael

I find it helps with the creativity :winkgrin:

 

I am on something a little more refined this evening - a nice Sauvignon Blanc care of your neighbours in New Zealand.

 

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I completed the panel line washes underneath and on top.

 

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Next up is to apply (well attempt to) some tonal variation to the underside. I do this using soft pastels. In this instance white and blue. First in the centre of the panels.

 

IMG_4357.jpg

 

Then streaks (all applied with a Q-tip).

 

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Then you just wipe and dust off in the direction of the wind flow. Then you get something like this:

 

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I will do this all over the black. Because the surface is quite glossy, the pastels don’t take too well (which stops you from going over the top). I’ll then apply some Alclad semi-matte klear kote all over. This renders the surface with more bite for the pastels. Then I’ll weather the topside and apply heavier, but localised weathering such as exhaust stains and paint chips etc, but not too much though.

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Lovely glass of Sauvignon Lancaster not bad either.

 

I have had that problem with gloss finish. I use a very thin 50/50paint/Flow Impover where you are

using pastels.

 

Tried matt varnish but that is not easy to clean up. Settled on a Vallejo

eggshell varnish. Not the acrylic. They do an acrylic/polyurethene which is far better & flattens out

perfectly.

 

 

Laurie

 

 

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Useful alternatives thanks Laurie. Gloss is too slippy, and the matt takes the pastels too well and is difficult to knock back. I find the Alclad semi-matte a good compromise, and then finish off with a matt varnish. Although I may have a crack with the Vallejo eggshell. Hey did you see what I did there...eggshell crack.. oh okay, I'll get the proverbial :coat:

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24 minutes ago, Tomoshenko said:

Useful alternatives thanks Laurie. Gloss is too slippy, and the matt takes the pastels too well and is difficult to knock back. I find the Alclad semi-matte a good compromise, and then finish off with a matt varnish. Although I may have a crack with the Vallejo eggshell. Hey did you see what I did there...eggshell crack.. oh okay, I'll get the proverbial :coat:

No just have another glasssss Tomo. 😝

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You have a gorgeous underneath. Another thing I though I'd never type...

 

+

On 1/17/2019 at 3:29 PM, CedB said:

 

I have the Silhouette Portrait 2 (£145 on Amazon) and, like Cookie and The Baron, find it very useful.

 

I tried the bigger one the Silhouette which is supposedly superior and about £250 which is the one a lot of the RMWEB guys use (or maybe just does bigger sizes?)

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Right. I thought I’d have a crack at “filtering” or “filters”. Which is basically applying tiny dots of oils all over then brushing away with turps, thinners or similar. I opted for sansodor. I tried it first with blue and white.

 

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After a little experimentation I opted for less little blobs and just used white underneath. The effect was quite subtle underneath.

 

On top I added little dabs of yellow and brown.

 

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You just brush away until you get the desired effect depending on how weathered you want it. There are plenty of YouTube videos on the subject. I must say it is a good technique and one I will return to. I recommend you give it a go. It's not difficult (look I can do it), and with practise you can do oil stains and other weird and wonderful effects, so don't be put off thinking only pros or really experienced modellers can do it.

 

I didn’t want OTT weathering on a Dambuster so I ended up with a subtle effect. It’s difficult to see in the lighting but the brown shows it best.

 

IMG_4397.jpg

 

Anyroad after that dried off I gave it a coat of Alclad semi-matte and started to apply pastels. I use the soft chalk pastels of black white and grey for the exhaust stains on the wings, and some white here and there on the black to give it a bit of tone and look a little faded.

 

IMG_4402.jpg

 

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I blow off the excess, brush in the direction of the wind flow, then finally wipe it with a paper towel. Providing you’ve got a good coat of varnish on, if you don’t like the effect you can wipe it all off with a damp cloth and start over. I find it relatively idiot proof in that it’s difficult to complete mess things up, so as you can imagine it’s quite appropriate for yours truly.

 

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Here’s a final shot prior to the matt coat. I’ve just realised the wing walkway lines should run all the way to the roundel (shocking that Airfix couldn’t get that right). Too late now. I’m assuming that as the Dambuster aircraft were rushed into service and they ran out of paint… :whistle:

 

IMG_4411.jpg

 

I then added a bit of silver dry brushing to the edges of the flaps just so that they stand out.

 

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Finally I gave it a coat of Alclad Matte. Here is the tail:

 

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And a quickie of the aircraft (again), but now with its matte coat. Sorry for the repetition.

 

IMG_4420.jpg

 

Next up will be to strip off the masking and final assembly, plus any the inevitable touch-ups.

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Tom how do I begin huh?

 

I don't think I've ever seen such a great result with those raw materials

Book me in for your next training session please, I'll get the beer in

 

O u t s t a n d I n g !

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