The Dying of the Light - A Dusk Launch in the Tropics - Jan 19 - I'm done. It's done.

[Bertie McBoatface]

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, may I present my entry for this group build.

 

 

I was captivated by this box art when I first saw it on line last summer. I was also a little misled. It seemed to me that this scheme had blue upper surfaces which would be much more appealing to my eye than the usual grey on grey. It was only when I had the box in my hands that I realised that the blue is supposed to be a shadow effect caused by a low sun. It doesn't quite make sense as the strong shadows under the leading edge extensions indicate that the sun is high and behind the viewer's left shoulder, but it's an artist's impression, not a blueprint, and I still like the painting very much.

 

 

Then I saw this photograph of the same aircraft coming on board at dusk (or possibly sunrise?). Again I see the blueish shadows on the wing upper surface together with orange lit highlights. These two hues look amazing together, as blue and orange are complementary (across from each other on the color wheel). The pairing of a punchy warm orange with cool blues creates a beautifully balanced combination which I'm going to try to replicate. 

 

It's fairly unusual to see a model aircraft painted to simulate incident light and I certainly haven't done it before so it's all very exciting. I have attempted similar effects on Warhammer and other fantasy figure models where the technique is almost routinely applied and of course, as we see on the box, it's invariably used in two dimensional painting. 

 

But before I can get to the challenge of the painting, I've got to build the thing.

 

[Sam]

This is going to be a very interesting paintjob! I am curious to know how this will turn out. 
Will this aircraft be standing alone in a vitrine? I imagine the lighting of the paintjob could be confusing when standing next to „non-hued“ models. 

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

The box is pretty full, with each sprue wrapped in a soft plastic bag for protection. This worked perfectly and I have found no damage to the plastic. I've just finished a brilliant Meng tank kit and had high hopes for this box of goodies.

 

 

I like that. The surface detail is crisp and looks precise. I don't know it it's accurate though as I'm no expert on the Hornet and have no references other than Google images search. This is a deliberate decision because apart from the painting, I want this to be a relaxing OOB build. If the details aren't quite right, I don't really care this time. (Heresy! 😱)

 

 

This is the piece I always look for. The part I imagine myself sat in front of as I zoom around the skies. I'll enjoy painting that, even though it's going to be fairly well invisible in a dark cockpit. I'm going to have to incorporate some really dramatic contrast if anything is to be seen at all. 

 

 

The undercarriage units are marvellously complicated and so sharp that they will paint themselves. I'm pleased to see the large attachment lugs, the mains are even stronger, which will allow me to fit and remove them during the painting, and make everything a lot easier for me.

 

 

Part of an undercarriage bay. I see no reason to add anything to this apart from paint. If the fit is also as good as I expect, this will be a delightful build.

 

The kit cost me £63 which I think is a fair price. A modern Tamiya Hornet would be 50% more, and 50% better (?) and I just priced a Revell version at 50% less and I guess (?) it would be 50% less well fitted and moulded etc. I wonder how it would work out per hour? My estimate at the moment would be about 50 to 75 hours building time. Just for my own satisfaction, I'll try to keep track of the time I spend on it.

 

 

The crew are moulded from a chewing gum master and there really isn't room for both of these guys. We get two seats as well, on sprues designed to be suitable for the later 'F' model. I'm going to have to use the pilot and it's handy to have two goes at improving the moulding, just in case.

 

 

I have two pilots and eight arms. One set of arms has hands on throttle and stick and the other has the hands out of the cockpit, which will be perfect for my purposes.

 

 

There's plenty of scope for underwing stores and they are all attached with polycaps which will help me with the painting.

 

 

The clear parts are hand wrapped in clingfilm and were in perfect condition. 

 

 

They are slide moulded, I believe, to give the greater than 180 degree arch.

 

 

Slide moulding comes at the cost of the parting line down the centreline. Sigh! Some aircraft have a bonding strip embedded in the Perspex at this line so maybe it won't matter if I leave traces of the line. That's one point I will research.

 

    

 

Meng include a bag of nails, for the underwing stores attachments, some paint masks for canopy and wheels, and a reasonable decal set.

 

 

The decals don't attempt to include all the writing. I accept that, because I can't read stencils from a 'scale distance' of 50 feet anyway. 

 

                

 

I wont use much of the cockpit decals, but again, this isn't a problem as I prefer to hand paint cockpits in the old school way.

 

So there we are. I'm all ready to start and crucially, for me, I HAVE A PLAN! 

 

  

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

40 minutes ago, Sam said:

 I imagine the lighting of the paintjob could be confusing when standing next to „non-hued“ models. 

 

Yes, I have considered this and you are quite right. It must be seen alone if the effect is to work. It must be internally consistent too. All of the hard edged shadows must be exactly parallel and the softer shadows on the rounded surfaces must be aligned.

 

Or perhaps I do have some margin for error; if the overall tromp l'oeil effect is sufficiently good, it may convince the eye to overlook any mistakes. I will shoot for 'perfect', and hope to reach 'good enough'.

 

I'm also going to use one of the low-vis schemes so that my 'canvas' for the lighting effects is more consistent. This will make the end product less interesting but I think it will reduce the difficulty. Shadowing and highlighting grey fins will be a great deal easier than dealing with black. 

 

[modelling minion]

This looks to be a very nice and well detailed kit and you certainly do seem to be planning something a bit different for her Bertie, I shall tag along and see how you get on.

[Bertie McBoatface]

2 hours ago, modelling minion said:

This looks to be a very nice and well detailed kit and you certainly do seem to be planning something a bit different for her Bertie, I shall tag along and see how you get on.

 

You are very welcome my old pal. I have a feeling that this will go one of two ways, it will either be brilliant (10% chance) or a total fiasco (90% chance). Even if it works as planned, this is still going to be a Marmite model in that people are going to love or hate it. Like the shadows and highlights on her flanks, there's going to be nothing in between. 

 

 

And yes, it's a lovely kit. I gives me options for wings folded or spread and flaps and slats up or down so of course, I'll have to do the most complicated one, down and folded. More shadows that way you see.

[modelling minion]

Think positively mate and you will be fine, and remember that this is YOUR model and you only need to please yourself.

[Bertie McBoatface]

4 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

Think positively mate and you will be fine, and remember that this is YOUR model and you only need to please yourself.

 

And who do you think is my fiercest critic? 🤪

 

 

Aren't those colours fabulous?

[modelling minion]

3 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

And who do you think is my fiercest critic? 🤪

Yeah I know, I've got one of them too.

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

What I'm aiming at is called OSL in the figure painting world (or chiaroscuro in the 'fine art' sphere). It stands for Object Source Lighting and strictly interpreted means that the source of the light is an object contained within the vignette or figure. For example, a character might be lit by a candle held in his own hand. 

 

 

This is an eighteenth century painting by Joseph Wright of Derby which is very OSL. The light mostly comes from the hot iron (though there is a second source not visible in this detail, the moon is shining through the window). I grew up in Derby and was a regular visitor to this painting and others like it.

 

Here's a link to a guy painting a figure lit by firelight. As he moves the figure around and the 'firelight' moves with it, my eyes do double summersaults trying to interpret what is happening. Just watch a few seconds of it and you will see how powerful this is.

 

 

I will be taking advantage of the larger size of the model by doing most of the work by airbrush, or else I won't finish by Christmas.

 

 

[exdraken]

Nice project!

Will itbdalso darker on the lower and against the sun- side? Looking forward to it!

Alternatively of course you could paint it normally  and put it into evening sun if you have such a thing

The effect should be similar...  I usually try yo photograph my models in natural light. With all its acompanying  pros and cons of course

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

19 minutes ago, exdraken said:

Nice project!

Will itbdalso darker on the lower and against the sun- side? Looking forward to it!

Alternatively of course you could paint it normally  and put it into evening sun if you have such a thing

The effect should be similar...  I usually try yo photograph my models in natural light. With all its acompanying  pros and cons of course

 

 

Thanks and thanks for the questions. They help concentrate my mind. 
 

The sunlit portions should gradate into the blue velvet shadows as the fuselage turns away from the light. The peak brilliance of the orange would be where the fuselage surface is perpendicular to the sunbeams. (I hope that makes sense)

 

IF I get it realistically right, it should look exactly as though painted normally and then lit by a real red sunset from the side. However, I will attempt to exaggerate the effect for dramatic effect so really, I don’t know what it will look like! Ha!
 

This uncertainty certainly holds my interest, which is a good thing because the aircraft itself is not really a favourite of mine. 
 

Photographing the result is yet another unresolved problem!

[Lex77]

Nice one, will be following this one to see what the MENG kit is like.

[trickyrich]

I'll be interested in this build as I have this model in the stash...... maybe even start it too if I can get my first build out of the way.

 

What you have planned for the scheme/paint job sounds interesting, will be interested to see how it turns out.

[Bertie McBoatface]

46 minutes ago, Lex77 said:

Nice one, will be following this one to see what the MENG kit is like.

 

It's looking good so far. Mind you, I haven't started on it yet!

 

1 minute ago, trickyrich said:

I'll be interested in this build as I have this model in the stash...... maybe even start it too if I can get my first build out of the way.

 

What you have planned for the scheme/paint job sounds interesting, will be interested to see how it turns out.

 

So will I Rich, so will I!

[Richard E]

What a fascinating blend of art and model making, it's a very novel idea which I hope you can bring to fruition.

 

Presuming to throw you a helpful/unhelpful suggestion, could you present the finished aircraft in a shadow box display depicting a sunrise or sunset to help put the finished colour scheme into context.

[Bertie McBoatface]

1 minute ago, Richard E said:

What a fascinating blend of art and model making, it's a very novel idea which I hope you can bring to fruition.

 

Presuming to throw you a helpful/unhelpful suggestion, could you present the finished aircraft in a shadow box display depicting a sunrise or sunset to help put the finished colour scheme into context.

 

I don't really understand what you mean by 'shadow box'. Do you mean something with lights inside it?

[Richard E]

23 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

I don't really understand what you mean by 'shadow box'.

 

Sorry, my bad: something like this

[Bertie McBoatface]

10 minutes ago, Richard E said:

 

Sorry, my bad: something like this

 

That's interesting. The aircraft would have to go sideways so the background would be mostly darkness at sea, or the carrier deck. Maybe the carrier island illuminated by the setting sun with the aircraft in front of it? The idea has potential but I don't want to overreach my abilities. This is a first attempt at something like this, remember. Wait until you see the end product, Richard, and if you still think it needs it, remind me (with full instructions please - lol).

 

Also, I'll have to start building a Phantom in a phortnight for the Bomber GB so I might not have the time for exploring diy. 

 

But for tanks, I can see the shadow box having many possible applications. And that reminds me of something from my ancient past. What were those things called where a scene was built in a box to be viewed through peepholes? Wasn't that the original diorama?

[Bertie McBoatface]

I was thinking of starting this early but I don't think it will be necessary now I've seen the inside of the box. 

 

 

However I did make a point of prepping a 'wing' tail fuselage unit for practicing on. I'll paint that in parallel with the Hornet, and decal it, so that when it's time for the special effects, I can try things out without giving myself the heebie-jeebies.

 

 

 

[gingerbob]

On 1/3/2022 at 6:18 AM, Bertie Psmith said:

This is a deliberate decision because apart from the painting, I want this to be a relaxing OOB build. If the details aren't quite right, I don't really care this time.

 

Perhaps we should form a mutual support pact!

 

Edit: posted before I'd scrolled down.  You had me worried for a second there, with the image above!  I mean, I know it is now (according to some) the "Boeing 18", but...

 

BTW, I think the term you were looking for is "forced perspective".

Edited January 6, 2022 by gingerbob

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

32 minutes ago, gingerbob said:

 

Edit: posted before I'd scrolled down.  You had me worried for a second there, with the image above!  I mean, I know it is now (according to some) the "Boeing 18", but...

 

I haven't a clue what you mean, sorry.

 

32 minutes ago, gingerbob said:

BTW, I think the term you were looking for is "forced perspective".

 

It's a similar enhanced reality kind of thing, for sure, but not of the perspective. Its the light and shadow that I'm messing with. It's an aspect of nineteenth century impressionism, the emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities, accentuating the effects of the passage of time. I don't know that there's a single phrase that defines it.

 

 

[gingerbob]

On 1/3/2022 at 5:58 PM, Bertie Psmith said:

What were those things called where a scene was built in a box to be viewed through peepholes?

 

Sorry, I was being a bit too fast and loose, I see.  The above quote is what I was referring to with "forced perspective".  But I might be wrong, of course.

 

As for the other bit of confusion, I was referring to the nice bit of tail pictured just above my post.

[Bertie McBoatface]

8 minutes ago, gingerbob said:

 

Sorry, I was being a bit too fast and loose, I see.  The above quote is what I was referring to with "forced perspective".  But I might be wrong, of course.

 

Right. Now I get it. Yes the old diorama box would be a perfect way to use forced perspective. That's a really good point. You could depict say, a carrier deck with aircraft to different scales receding into the distance. It's a bit too complicated for me but someone ought to do something with that idea.

 

8 minutes ago, gingerbob said:

As for the other bit of confusion, I was referring to the nice bit of tail pictured just above my post.

 

🤣

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

I've been pottering and preparing for the weekend launch.

 

 

There's something strange about this PE. There are no links to the frame. The parts are held between the two layers of thick 'clingfilm' instead. It makes life easier and harder. Easy for big strong pieces and harder for the thin, fragile parts, which tend to bend when removed from the plastic. (This is etched steel I think.)