John Masters Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Here's the latest from the bench...Yes...it's like a little factory here on Paros! I present one of the Hasagawa Double Kit Brewster Buffalos B-239 flown by Sgt. Nils Katajainen, LeLv 24, March 1942, aka, 'Orange 1'. This was nice kit and all the parts fit together very well, including the cockpit floor! I had fun with this one (as usual) and it served as a good learning platform for not only my airbrushing but also chipping fluid. A quick rundown on that--after priming and building of the fuselage/wings, I masked off the sides with sticky tac and gave it a spray of Vallejo USAAF Grey for the undersides. Then the top was then spread with Vallejo White. I let that dry and then applied the chipping media to the port side of the aircraft for the distinctive 'mottled' look using a toothpick. After that was dried, I masked more and prayed some black spots. Dry, then masked again and sprayed the green. I used Vallejo Olive Green. These are all 'Vallejo Air', btw. When everything had dried, I gently, gently used a stiff hairy brush to remove the chipping media. I was very happy with the results! I masked the 3 canopy pieces, sprayed with grey primer and then dry-brushed a bit of aluminum to give it some sheen. Then I masked off the whole the craft except what would be yellow and sprayed another light white layer...dried, then sprayed the Vallejo Air Yellow. Ok...what I have learned -- it is best to get the yellow bits sprayed first before anything else. Just less problematic and less masking in the end. Airbrushing can be a steep learning curve and I found I had to do fair amount of touching up when I was finished. The decals went on well, but they took a long time to disengage from the paper. I mean, enough time to go make a cup of coffee and feed the cats. I found the Finnish roundels a bit translucent but after weathering, it isn't noticeable. The decals dried and after a quick spray with Humbrol Clear Matte I weathered with some Flory mixed with white and grime for a light dust tone. I didn't like that so much so I washed as much off as I could and then applied some oil pin-wash which I liked much better. I think thats it. I will see you all in the Britmodeller 10th GB! --John 26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glatisant Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Beautiful. Like the colour scheme a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 That's a terrific looking Buffalo in a somewhat unusual Finnish scheme. Great paintwork. It's always amazed me that the Finns were able to do in the Buffalo what nobody else could - use it affectively and successfully as a fighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Very nice, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_W Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Very nice build. The Finns were successful because they never came up against the Zero, a rather simplistic but largely true answer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antti_K Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Very nice Brewster John That "unusual" winter camo looks good. It seems that here in Finland modellers prefer the basic camouflage and others around the World prefer these "exotic" winter camos. This is the first model here on Britmodeller to celebrate the 100 years of the Finnish Air Force! Well Done I'm celebrating the 100 years of the RAF by building...Phantoms! Finnish Air Force didn't fought against Zeros as John_W says. But the truth is more complicated. During the Winter War the Soviets operated mainly I-15, I-153 and I-16 fighters that were very agile aircraft. However the Soviets lacked proper training and tactics. For example all aircraft opened fire whenever the leader shot. So there was very little room for maneuvers during these critical seconds. Usually the Soviets opened fire far too distant. If the Flight Leader was bad there was very little the others could do. On proper hands the I-16 was a fearsome adversary for a Brewster. That became clear to several Finnish fighter pilots. During the Continuation War P-39 Airacobras and a Spitfire were shot down by Brewster pilots. Once again; not the aircraft but tactics, training etc. A well known historian Thomas Ries would add that the Finnish had also that "Cold Will". Kind Regards, Antti 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Wow that is one great looking Brewster ... if mine looks half as good when i get to it i will be happy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted January 22, 2018 Author Share Posted January 22, 2018 Thanks everyone. I feel as if this forum has really boosted my build skill level. It has been all of your fine builds that have inspired me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 I've always liked the stubby little Buffalo, lokks great in Finnish colours. Cheers John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Very nice build! J-W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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