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Armstrong Whitley F207 1970 Frogspawn issue.


TonyW

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Hi Pat,

 

I'm starting to panic a bit here. The end of the GB is in sight and I have yet to complete a whole load of models I started for the Build!

 

The real world has got in the way a bit and put a damper on my building. Things have nearly got back to normal now and I'm hoping to break out the modelling spanners in a day or two. I'll have to concentrate on getting at least a couple of models finished and I'll be aiming at the Penguin Spitfire, FROG Comet and this Whitley. 

 

Tony.

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Whatever happens Tony, you’ve already played a good hand during this GB. It’s actually gone on long enough and some of us are still going with some builds cracked open from the 1st of June (looking at you slack Rabbit Leader!).

 

It would be great to see you back, however sometimes life gets in the way and that’s unfortunately unavoidable. To get away from all this real world serious stuff, I’m working on a planet called Plastic Model Nirvana where all the retail outlets (besides Pubs) are Model stores and there’s endless shelves of all the model kits one could ever wish for. It will be on an invitation only basis and all members of this GB will be happily accepted - there’s even room for Pat and his wooden GB prodding stick! 

 

Cheers and all’s good mate.. Dave 

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I'm back on track with this one now. 😁

 

Yet another sanding down session and another thick coat of filler primer see's the bodywork getting closer to completion. I'm in two minds as to how I'm going to finish the plane. The easy option is to make it an all black ID model. There's a part of me that would like to see it in cammo colours though and it might yet be painted up to resemble a wooden kit build. The B17 I did in that style over in the Flying Fortress GB came out  well, to my eyes, and another like it wouldn't hurt!

 

Here's the Whitley as it sits today...

 

IMG-9121.jpg

 

And here's the B17 that has me leaning towards finishing the Whitley in a similar fashion...

 

IMG-6780.jpg

 

More later.

Edited by TonyW
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Not much done on the Whitley today, I've filled the canopy area with milliput in preparation for smoothing it right out prior to painting in the glasshouse.

 

I also fired on a bit of matt black on the undersides and a first hit of Dark Earth on the topsides. No real need to do either, I just fancied a change from looking at the orange primer filler coats!

 

IMG-9127.jpg

 

I'll be trying to get this build and the Spitfire one ready for paint at the same time, both will be wearing the same scheme so that seems logical to me.

 

More later.

 

 

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I'll have to stop sanding this one pretty soon, my fingers are nearly worn into little stumps!

 

Fill, sand, repeat. Nearly there though. I added a bit of green to cheer me up a bit. It will dissapear under yet another sanding session, but what the hell? The pattern is a loose copy of the one shown in a sixties Profile. I'll be using something earlier that that for the final version though.

 

IMG-9245.jpg

 

As well as the endless rubbing down, I've been experimenting with the cammo colours. Current ones won't do, they look too correct and too much like todays modelling fashions. I need something more period but still looking right. That's not as easy as it seems. As a base to work from I'm going to try to follow something like the colours used on some period cigarette cards with a bit of assistance from a couple of period book and magazine covers. That would quite likely be the only colour references available to many early modellers, so using these meagre resources seems appropriate to me. I'm going to cheat a bit with supplies and use paints I have to hand here.

 

IMG-9247.jpg

 

The poor old Whitley doesn't know what's hit it! The options are narrowing though and it looks like Revells Aquacolour Dark Earth will win as far as the sand bit goes, although something a bit richer would be better. Humbrols interior green is a strong contender for the spinach bit. I'll be trying a bit of Tamiya clear yellow over these colours to see how that looks. All a bit horrific to a proper advanced modeller, but it's a form of authentic modelling if you squint a bit.

With a bit of luck, the experiments will be over some time today and the final choice can go on over the weekend, after yet another monster sanding session

. Then, the canopy and turret areas will need masking and painting plus a stand of some sort will need building as it's cutting things too tight to think about adding an undercarriage at this stage of the GB.

 

Tony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beware of period printing technology and inks fading and giving a false picture of what people thought they saw.

Yeah, a slightly redder and more saturated Dark Earth than is currently fashionable would be nice but the green needs to be a bit more believable and in keeping with the paint technology of the day.

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The 'authentic' thing is a whole can of worms! The number of different versions of cammo colours available from different manufacturers is amazing to me. They can't all be 'right'. 

 

Luckily, I like building models of period models, warts and all.  Colours only have to look right to me, that's more than enough. If a viewer was to see one of my current builds and mistake it for an old one I would be delighted.

 

I build old kits using old materials if possible. They are accurate for the time chosen, in the same way that a current kit built with every available extra is accurate for now. Maybe fifty or sixty years from now there will be a modelling movement that build in the style of 2019!

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23 hours ago, Mancunian airman said:

Looking forward to seeing the final colour scheme 

 

I do believe the final scheme has now been nailed down!

 

The port tailsurfaces are in my chosen colours. Revell Aquacolour Dark Earth, with a thin coat of Tamiya clear orange over it and Humbrol Interior Green . The picture was taken in bright sunshine and the colours follow those on my super accurate Cigarette Card ones. 

 

IMG-9263.jpg

 

A final sanding of the whole airframe, followed by an airbrushed coat or two of the Dark Earth/Orange combo should see this build well on the way to completion.

 

More later.

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I was going to suggest Revell Dark Earth (I use it for my "serious" models too - maybe I should reconsider!). I was going to suggest Revell acrylic 68 too.

 

Your Humbrol interior green looks waaay darker than my Hu78 acrylic (interior colour of my Masters builds) but it looks spot on for your purposes.

 

I suspect that's absolutely the best treatment of the FROG kit now that there's the new Airfix one. Looking forward to seeing it done and hanging up!

 

Regards,

Adrian

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As threatened, the airframe got yet another sanding session today, followed by a couple of brushed on coats of Revell Dark Earth. I'll flat it off tomorrow and with a bit of luck get it in its final coat of dark Earth.

 

IMG_9266.jpg

 

The Penguin Spitfire also got a bit of the same treatment. Both builds will shadow each other to completion now. The second Spitfire in the shot below is another Penguin, missing a couple of parts. It will get its turn for a freshen up one day.

 

IMG-9270.jpg

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The Whitley has been playing second fiddle to the Spitfire and Comet builds running alongside it recently. There has been progress though.

 

The Dark Earth has had a couple of coats of Tamiya Clear Orange airbrushed over it and a Dark Green mix applied over that, much the same as the spitfire build got. I had fuselage roundels handy, so they got fitted as soon as the paint was dry enough. Wing roundels are on the way from Hannants. the stand is a paper spike, bought for pennies of Ebay. Sprayed satin black, they look just right on a period WW2 build

Next job will be masking up the glazing bars, ready for a bit of solid black glass. A couple of clear discs will be added as a nod to spinning props to suit the in flight attitude of the plane on its stand.

 

IMG-9294.jpg

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Looking great Tony and I like the idea of the stand. The spinning prop discs will also suit this desk model, which would look a lot better on my work desk than the usual junk that’s piled on there! 

Cheers.. Dave 

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Postie just turned up, he brought me a couple of decal sheets from Hannants. One sheet of large early RAF roundels and a BOAC option for my academy Stratocruiser. Lovely stuff!

 

Here's a couple of 100" roundels fitted to the Whitley. All of a sudden, the plane comes to life!

 

 

 

IMG-9358.jpg

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A couple more jobs now done on the Whitley, two clear discs cut out of a sheet of clear plastic for use as spinning props and the glass areas masked and hit with a bit of black in preparation for the joy that is framing. The exhaust stacks also got a coat of brown enamel added. They look fine to me.

 

Not much more to do now, frames and a few gun barrels, DF loop and an aerial or two. I've also got to add the tail support struts. It should be all buttoned up by the weekend.

 

IMG-9369.jpg

Edited by TonyW
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11 minutes ago, TonyW said:

A couple more jobs now done on the Whitley, two clear discs cut out of a sheet of clear plastic for use as spinning props and the glass areas masked and hit with a bit of black in preparation for the joy that is framing. The exhaust stacks also got a coat of brown enamel added. They look fine to me.

 

Not much more to do now, frames and a few gun barrels, DF loop and an aerial or two. I've also got to add the tail support struts. It should be all buttoned up by the weekend.

 

 

Lovely modelling, Tony. It looks really 'live' now. The colours are really evocative of a bygone era in model making. Great build.

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It was a shame the Munich Crisis came along to remove those lovely A1 upperwing roundels, its a period I love seeing modelled and adds a splash of colour to what is otherwise drab colours. This is the best desk ornament I’ve come across and makes you think twice about ditching some of those ‘obsolete’ kits.

 

Cheers.. Dave 

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