How do you all paint struts?

[Fifer54]

I've never posted in the WW1 forum before, as I very rarely build WW1 aircraft.

However, I'm currently assembling the 1/72 ESCI kit of the SE.5A, building OOB, using the kit's decals for F-943, a replica of which resides at Yorkshire Air Museum

The painting and decorating advice in the kit instructions is reasonable as far as it goes, but it only really covers the camo colours. There is no information on detail

painting. I can get a lot from looking at photos of the replica, but I would be grateful for advice on how to achieve a "varnished wood" effect on the interplane, cabane

and undercarriage struts.

I've used Humbrol 74 'Linen' for the undersides, and Vallejo 70.889 US Olive Drab for the PC.10 topsides. (It's a very brown interpretation of OD!) I was thinking of painting

the struts in Humbrol 71 'Oak' and then using Tamiya X-26 'Clear Orange' as a finishing coat. I know many modellers use X-26 for a wood effect, but I'm a little unsure of

the best undercoat colour.

Is this a good choice? Or am I barking up the wrong tree with Oak?

[Paul Thompson]

H71 will work but you may need an extra coat or two of clear orange. TBH, although I also used to use that (but with a base of H63 or 93 according to how dark I wanted it) although a few years back I switched to a Citade 'shade' colour. Favourite was Chestnut Brown, but the since they renamed everything I'm usingSeraphim Sepia. Not as orange as the Tamiya stuff, and much thinner, which is a Good Thing. Depending on strut size I sometimes scribble a grain effect first using a brown watercolour pencil. The Citadel colour then blends this in slightly.

 

Double check the centre section and undercarriage struts. They may have been painted PC10 or black.

 

Paul.

[Fifer54]

Thanks, Paul, for this very useful info!

Thanks also for the heads-up about centre-section and undercarriage struts. Looking at modern colour photos, it appears that museum SE.5/5As have the centre-section struts

in PC.10. Undercarriage struts are a dark brown which may be PC.10 or possibly a dark wood colour- hard to tell!

Study of photos of the Shuttleworth Collection's SE.5A shows the undercarriage to be finished, like the interplane struts, in an orangey-brown wood finish. Most of the museum

aircraft are replicas, many home-built from ReplicaPlans plans, which create a 7/8 scale light aircraft. The YAM machine is one of these, I believe.

The Shuttleworth machine, however, is a genuine  RAF SE.5A which saw combat in the Great War, being credited with shooting down a Fokker D.VII on November 10th, 1918.

It is currently flying with a Wolseley Viper engine in the markings of its original unit No.84 Sqn, RAF.

[Space Ranger]

Another technique is to use a light tan such as Oak or Natural Linen as a base coat , then a brown shade of oil paint to create a wood grain effect. Check the Wingnut Wings website. Although production of their kits has ceased, you can still download copies of their instruction booklets, all of which include excellent suggestions for finishing WW I model aircraft.

[Paul Thompson]

The thing with undercarriage struts, they were originally unfaired steel tubes, but later were wooden, and faired so visibly wider. It gets harder to tell because they could also be fabric wrapped and doped (off the top of my head - I'm about to go out to walk the dog so not checking, but if you look up the instructions on the Wingnuts website they probably go into a bit more detail).

 

Paul.

[Paul Thompson]

1 minute ago, Space Ranger said:

Another technique is to use a light tan such as Oak or Natural Linen as a base coat , then a brown shade of oil paint to create a wood grain effect. Check the Wingnut Wings website. Although production of their kits has ceased, you can still download copies of their instruction booklets, all of which include excellent suggestions for finishing WW I model aircraft.

Humbrol 71, satin oak, is a great all round colour, I find. Looks more like CDL than the official Humbrol colour H74 for RFC/RAF aircraft, although the H74 is IMHO good for the yellow version of French CDL finishes. H71 is a good start for Albatros fuselages, too.

 

Paul.

[dov]

Actually I use for my builds: Gunze all. C313 and afterward brown oil with a sponge. No dilution of oil!

Let it dry for three days.

• Bofore you work with oil:
• The metall platings is usually black or grey, depending on type.

Afterward gloss varnish CX112.

And repair of black, if oil is on the black surface.

 

This is my way.

Look at my DH.9a and RE.8 in WIP.

 

Happy modelling

 

[Seawinder]

The only thing I'd add is the suggestion to mix Tamiya clear orange and clear yellow 1-to-1 for the simulated varnish. Gives it a more amber cast than the clear orange straight up.

[Fifer54]

Thanks, guys. Lots of great info and advice there.

[Brandy]

Wood can be replicated very simply in small scale with acrylics, no need for oils. I use a base coat of a light tan colour (clear doped linen usually, but anything similar will do). Then a highly thinned coat of "leather" so thin it barely registers (you can always add another!) using a wide, flat tipped brush. When it's dry, airbrush a coat of clear orange.

This might explain it better.

I hope that helps!

 

Ian

[Fifer54]

On 5/31/2021 at 2:48 PM, Brandy said:

Wood can be replicated very simply in small scale with acrylics, no need for oils. I use a base coat of a light tan colour (clear doped linen usually, but anything similar will do). Then a highly thinned coat of "leather" so thin it barely registers (you can always add another!) using a wide, flat tipped brush. When it's dry, airbrush a coat of clear orange.

This might explain it better.

I hope that helps!

 

Ian

Thanks, Ian, it certainly has helped! I have only one comment on your Donnet-Lévêque build- Wow!