+++ FINISHED! +++ Dornier Do 24T, Luftwaffe Seenotgruppe 3, 1942 (Italeri 1/72)

[Oberleutnant]

4 hours ago, jrlx said:

Hi, thanks for your interest.

 

This is my only Italeri build in which I have made a significant progress. The other is Italeri's Mig-29A but I've spent most of the build till now (currently on hold) taking care of the after-market resin parts I'm adding to the kit.

 

So, regarding the Do-24 kit, here are my views:

 

• Fit is generally good, but I had to fill in the joins between the wing sections and between the sponsons and fuselage. I still have to glue the fuselage, wing struts and wing together, so I can't evaluate that step of the build yet
• Good detail in the cockpit and engines, the machine guns are not bad either (for plastic parts)
• There's a lot of surface detail: a mix of recessed panel lines, raised panel lines and rivets. I'm sure there will be people who won't like it but it didn't bother me. In fact, it seems that a lot more panel lines could be seen in real pictures.
• The kit comes with a PE fret but the instrument panel has no detail for the instruments (it's not a multi-layer panel, like Eduard's current approach, or a metal part + acetate with instruments; there's no decal for instruments either). However, this is a minor point, as the instrument panel can't really be seen through the cockpit windows.
• The PE walkways are very difficult to bend on the edges (there should be a slight bend, delimiting the walkways laterally)
• The worst parts of the kit are the transparent parts for the side windows (really bad but, again, there's nothing to look at inside) and the gun turrets (a bit thick). The transparent part for the cockpit windows is very clear and distortion free but didn't fit perfectly on the fuselage.
• The instructions are reasonably good but some details are a bit vague (ex: installation of the rear turret, demarcation of the camouflage in the German aircraft) and there was an error on the decal scheme of the German aircraft (decals nº 9 should be nº 10 and vice-versa)
• The decals are very good (Cartograph)

 

All in all I'd recommend this kit. Please note that I'm no expert in any aircraft type, so I can't discuss if the kit is accurate or not, but it looks very much like the real thing as shown in period pictures.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

Thanks Jeremy!

 

Coming along nicely.

 

I'm still on my first kit as an adult and it looked pretty pants, has taken me ages and I still have lots to go.

 

All a learning process!

 

Painting I find difficult.

 

Didn't usually bother as a child - just enjoyed building them and dreaming!

[jrlx]

1 hour ago, Oberleutnant said:

I'm still on my first kit as an adult and it looked pretty pants, has taken me ages and I still have lots to go.

  

All a learning process!

 

Painting I find difficult.

When I returned to modelling, almost four years ago, I started with a really simple kit: Airfix's 1/72 Spitfire Mk I. It served as a test-bed for all main modelling techniques and I made all possible mistakes. It turned out not too bad in the end. The effort was worth it, as my second build was much improved: Revell's 1/72 Hurricane Mk IIc.

 

I always try to learn something new with each project, and consolidate already used techniques.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

[Oberleutnant]

8 hours ago, jrlx said:

When I returned to modelling, almost four years ago, I started with a really simple kit: Airfix's 1/72 Spitfire Mk I. It served as a test-bed for all main modelling techniques and I made all possible mistakes. It turned out not too bad in the end. The effort was worth it, as my second build was much improved: Revell's 1/72 Hurricane Mk IIc.

 

I always try to learn something new with each project, and consolidate already used techniques.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

Blimey those look more like expert level.

 

Mine looks poor but I have saved it from the bin.

 

I wish I had chosen an easier model - its an Eduard BF109 G-6.

 

I made mistakes building it but managed to resolve them will sanding and filling which I'm pleased with.

 

Its the painting I have really struggled with - by brush and water based acrylics.

 

Found it really difficult getting the right consistency.

 

First it looked really thin and streaky and awful.

 

So then in despair I applied quite thick all over with one paint just to get something on it!

 

Struggled with camouflage edges and I've had issues translating Mr Color to Vallejo - get the same RAL number but they're sometimes darker than they should be.

 

Its resulted with a plane with tons of layers of thick paint but I'm determined to finish it!

 

The mottling, arguably the hardest bit by brush, is next!

 

Its been a struggle.

 

Airbrushing would be so much easier but I'm determined to reach a decent standard with a brush first.

 

[CedB]

More great work Jaime... and more weathering to come?? 

Looking forward to it!  

[jrlx]

On 22/05/2018 at 07:51, Oberleutnant said:

Blimey those look more like expert level.

 

Mine looks poor but I have saved it from the bin.

 

I wish I had chosen an easier model - its an Eduard BF109 G-6.

 

I made mistakes building it but managed to resolve them will sanding and filling which I'm pleased with.

 

Its the painting I have really struggled with - by brush and water based acrylics.

 

Found it really difficult getting the right consistency.

 

First it looked really thin and streaky and awful.

 

So then in despair I applied quite thick all over with one paint just to get something on it!

 

Struggled with camouflage edges and I've had issues translating Mr Color to Vallejo - get the same RAL number but they're sometimes darker than they should be.

 

Its resulted with a plane with tons of layers of thick paint but I'm determined to finish it!

 

The mottling, arguably the hardest bit by brush, is next!

 

Its been a struggle.

 

Airbrushing would be so much easier but I'm determined to reach a decent standard with a brush first.

 

Thanks for the appreciation!

 

Regarding your efforts, don't give up, because it's with mistakes that we learn. I paint my models with an airbrush and only use paintbrushes for detail and repair work, so  I'm not an expert on brush painting but I try to keep paint layers thin. I suggest you take a look at the work of @PlaStix as he is a master with brush painting.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

[jrlx]

On 22/05/2018 at 09:16, CedB said:

More great work Jaime... and more weathering to come?? 

Looking forward to it!  

Thanks Ced! In fact, the next steps of the weathering process were great fun and a learning experience, as I used oils for weathering the hull of the aircraft. The weathering techniques for sea planes are similar to those used in ships.

 

By the way, I've finished the build last night but I'm really way behind in the WIP.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

[Oberleutnant]

23 hours ago, jrlx said:

Thanks for the appreciation!

 

Regarding your efforts, don't give up, because it's with mistakes that we learn. I paint my models with an airbrush and only use paintbrushes for detail and repair work, so  I'm not an expert on brush painting but I try to keep paint layers thin. I suggest you take a look at the work of @PlaStix as he is a master with brush painting.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

Thank you, will keep going.

 

Sort of a test bed this model.

 

Keep up the good work!

Edited May 29, 2018 by Oberleutnant

[jrlx]

Hi again,

 

As I've said to Ced in a post above, this build is already finished but I'm still way behind in updating this WIP. So here's another update.

 

The next step in the build was weathering the underside of the aircraft. First, I had to delimit the water line, which was visible in pictures of the aircraft when out of the water for maintenance (see my previous post). So, I delimited the water line with white Blu-Tac:

IMAG5394

 

and protected the top of the fuselage with kitchen cling-film:

IMAG5393

 

To simulate the grime accumulated along the water line due to micro algae, I used AMMO Mig Nature Effects "Slimy Grime Dark", which is an enamel paint. I had a lot of trouble trying to airbrush it, even when diluted with AMMO Mig's enamel thinner. I didn't manage to spray smoothly, just short bursts before the airbrush clogged. In the end, after a lot of tries with different combinations of thinning and compressor pressure, and wasting a lot of paint, I decided to proceed with the "short bursts - clog - declog" procedure and this was the result, after unmasking:

IMAG5395

 

This product dries very slowly (several hours, in fact), which allowed me to use a paintbrush, moving it along the direction of water flow, to remove the excess and make the effect subtler:

IMAG5396

 

Detailed views:

IMAG5397

 

IMAG5398

 

I let it dry for a full day before proceeding.

 

The next step was further weathering the panel lines and panels of the hull. For this, I used AMMO Mig Oilbrusher oils of various colours.

 

I started by applying a mix of Dark Brown and Ochre along the panel lines:

IMAG5399

 

Then, the oils were spread along the direction of water flow using a paintbrush:

IMAG5400

 

Next, I applied spots of Olive Green along the panel lines and used a paintbrush to spread them, resulting in this:

IMAG5401

 

I used a similar procedure to weather the underside of the tail plane, which was also subject to water spray.

 

First, I applied Dark Brown on the panel lines:

IMAG5402

 

which was spread with a paintbrush:

IMAG5403

 

Next, I applied spots of Olive Green:

IMAG5404

 

which were also spread with a paintbrush:

IMAG5405

 

Finally, I applied some Rust to the areas with exposed metal on the hull and sponsons (spots + spreading with brush) resulting in this:

IMAG5406

 

IMAG5407

 

IMAG5408

 

Here's the final result:

IMAG5409

 

This was really great fun to do and I was very pleased with the effects achieved. Hopefully it isn't too overdone, compared to the pictures I linked to in the previous post mentioned above. Please let me know what you think

 

Thanks for looking

 

Jaime

[Azgaron]

Looks very good!

 

Gonna try and keep this in mind if I build a seaplane.

 

Håkan

 

[CedB]

I think that looks very realistic Jaime, great work!  

[jrlx]

27 minutes ago, Azgaron said:

Looks very good!

 

Gonna try and keep this in mind if I build a seaplane.

 

Håkan

 

 

26 minutes ago, CedB said:

I think that looks very realistic Jaime, great work!  

Håkan, Ced,

 

Thank you very much! I'm glad you both liked it

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

[jrlx]

Hi again,

 

Next, I glued the engine nacelles in place:

IMAG5410

 

I could now apply a panel wash. For that I used Vallejo's dark brown wash, applied along the panel lines with a nº 0 detail brush:

IMAG5411

 

The pictures don't show it clearly on the top camouflage:

IMAG5412

 

but it's clearly visible on the underside of the wing:

IMAG5413

 

I didn't apply the wash to the underside of the fuselage, as it had been weathered to reflect contact with sea water.

 

Next, I applied a coat of Alcald's Flat Kote to the wing, fuselage and all small parts. Here's the result for the wing:

IMAG5417

 

IMAG5418

 

As can be seen in the previous picture and in more detail in the next one, I applied oil staining around the nacelles over the flat coat:

IMAG5419

 

Also a bit of oil staining on the top of the nacelles:

IMAG5423

 

Here's an example of a real aircraft where oil leakage can be seen on the nacelles (OK, I've overdone it...):

 

The flat coat killed a lot of the "salt accumulation" effect. On the underside of the wing this becomes very subtle:

IMAG5420

 

IMAG5421

 

IMAG5422

 

It's more visible on the top surface of the wing, due to the darker colours:

IMAG5424

 

To be continued. Thanks for looking.

 

Jaime

 

 

 

[Brandy]

Loveely weathering Jaime, subtle is definitely the way to go, in my view.

 

Ian

[Azgaron]

Nice work!

 

Love watching your thread as it's very edutaining!

 

Håkan

 

[jrlx]

1 hour ago, limeypilot said:

Loveely weathering Jaime, subtle is definitely the way to go, in my view.

 

Ian

Thanks Ian I'm also for a subtle approach regarding weathering. In this case I've possibly overdone some of the steps.

47 minutes ago, Azgaron said:

Nice work!

 

Love watching your thread as it's very edutaining!

 

Håkan

 

Thanks Håkan! I'm glad you find the thread edutaining

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

 

 

[TheBaron]

With your grime-slime-fest you are spoiling us senhor. That work looks incredibly painstaking and vibrant!

 

Don't be concerned about the salt effect not showing up readily in photos - as I found out on my own Dornier, to keep it subtle enough for the scale is to create a semi-fugitive effect that two eyes are more adept at reproducing than the sensor of the camera. 

[jrlx]

Hi again,

 

Continuing with work on the wing, I glued in place the exhausts and parts that look like handles behind the nacelles:

IMAG5425

 

The maskings of the engine faces were removed:

IMAG5426

 

Then, the PE radiator grids were glued in place, under the nacelles, with CA:

IMAG5427

 

The edges of the PE parts were touched up with Gunze's Burnt Iron, by paintbrush, as they had received no paint when painted in the PE fret. Here's the wing with the three radiator grids on:

IMAG5428

 

Next, I painted the navigation lights on the tips of the wing. This was done by paintbrush. First, I painted a silver base:

IMAG5429

 

This was followed by transparent red on the port wing tip:

IMAG5430

 

and transparent blue on the starboard wing tip:

IMAG5431

 

More work to follow.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Jaime

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jrlx]

14 minutes ago, TheBaron said:

With your grime-slime-fest you are spoiling us senhor. That work looks incredibly painstaking and vibrant!

 

Don't be concerned about the salt effect not showing up readily in photos - as I found out on my own Dornier, to keep it subtle enough for the scale is to create a semi-fugitive effect that two eyes are more adept at reproducing than the sensor of the camera. 

Thank you very much, Tony! It was my first attempt with these techniques. Maybe a bit overdone in places but I'm happy with the results

 

It's true, the subtler effects are hard to convey through pictures but they are there, some are dependent on the lighting angle, and add to the final result.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

[Azgaron]

Nice work! Nice looking wing tip lights!

 

Håkan

 

[CedB]

Very nice Jaime - a very special model you have there  

[jrlx]

41 minutes ago, CedB said:

Very nice Jaime - a very special model you have there  

Thank you very much, Ced! That's very kind!

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

[bbudde]

That looks superb to my eyes. Top work.

[jrlx]

52 minutes ago, bbudde said:

That looks superb to my eyes. Top work.

That's very kind, Benedikt! Much appreciated

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

[jrlx]

Hi again,

 

The fuselage was already flat coated. So, it was time to remove the masking from the transparencies and the gun turret openings:

IMAG5432

 

IMAG5433

 

The front light was also unmasked:

IMAG5434

 

The transparent cover was glued in place with Revell's Contacta Clear, followed by a bit of TET to seal the edges:

IMAG5435

 

Next, I used CA to glue the elevators in place, as well as the top actuators:

IMAG5436

 

On the underside, I glued in place the actuators and the tail plane struts:

IMAG5437

 

The installation of the guns and gun-turrets followed. Here are the gun turrets by the fuselage:

IMAG5445

 

The guns and turrets in detail. Note the two MG15, which were previously painted with brown for the handle and silver for the trigger area.

IMAG5446

 

After some filing and sanding around the inside edges of the fuselage openings and around the outside edges of the base of the mid-ship and tail turrets, I managed to ensure the turrets would fit in the openings. So, I glued the guns inside the turrets, using CA:

IMAG5447

 

... and installed the turrets on the respective fuselage openings:

IMAG5448

 

The following pictures show the installed turrets in detail. Some excessive paint chipping around the turrets, resulting from the filing needed to make the turrets fit in the openings, was latter repaired by brush:

IMAG5449

 

IMAG5450

 

IMAG5451

 

To finish with the fuselage, I did some touch ups on the painting of the turret framings, framing of the cockpit and fuselage windows and applied Aqua Gloss, with a nº 0 detail brush, to all transparent areas.

 

There was still some work to do on the wing.

 

First of all, the light on the port leading edge had to be installed. Here are the clear parts for this:

IMAG5439

 

The light was glued in place with Contacta Clear:

IMAG5440

 

Finally, the transparent cover was glued using Contacta Clear, followed by a bit of TET to seal the edges:

IMAG5441

 

The final step of weathering of the wing could now be done: exhaust stains. As shown on period pictures like the following, these stains were very visible, extending all the way from the exhausts till the trailing edge of the wing:

 

To create the exhaust stains, I used Vallejo Black Pigment, applied with a nº 1 brush. Here's the set-up for the task:

IMAG5438

 

Here's the result:

IMAG5442

 

And more detailed views of the the central engine:

IMAG5443

 

IMAG5444

 

The final touch was simulating some fuel spills on the wing, using diluted transparent yellow, applied by brush:

IMAG5452

 

That's all for now. There's still a lot of work to post.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Jaime

 

[CedB]

Beautiful work Jaime and wonderfully detailed as usual