Albatross DV World War 1 German fighter aircraft

[cliff strachan]

Hi Barry. I'm guessing but I'm assuming that you masked the plastic portion of your Wildcat before spraying on the undercoating. As I've tried just about every masking tape available, I'm wondering what masking tape you used. Some tape if they didn't pull off some of the paint, didn't leave a sharp edge or bled underneath then they would leave a gum residue on what they covered. Wonderful tutorial and very nice models.
Cliff.

[Balsabasher]

Cliff there is no masking on the Hellcat but on the Albacore I used firstly Tamiya tape for the lines,then these were bulked out with ordinary auto tape,the Tamiya tape leaves a clean line if you press it down with the dished base portion of a domestic spoon,another dodge is to run a thin bead of clear dope along the tape first prior to spraying a fine mist coat,build up your painting in this way not allowing too fluid a coat to seep underneath,remember mist coats seal the edge nicely.
There is also a fairly new product on the market called 'Frog tape' this has a fine layer which reacts with paint and seals the edge,as yet I have not used this product but I know that Lou has tried it with success.
Remember the most important thing in masking is to allow the base coat to cure properly,if you do not then the tape will be affected by the paint and leave a nasty residue,proper paint cure depends on the weather or how it dries,I use a powerful street workers lamp on a stand,it takes the chill off the air in the workshop and dries my models at the same time,mine cost me £20 from Messrs Screwfix they had a special offer on them.
Hope that this answers your question and thank you for your kind comments Cliff,more painting to go on in a few minutes,the bit after the de-mask.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

Time to bring the Albatross alive with some markings,the iron crosses were first cut from card then with the tip of a craft knife gently scored around them,the slight ridge thus created helps the paint flow to the edges,still to be added are the white surrounds,for this I have ordered some fine chart tape to experiment with.
For painting I use Citadel finish,it is full bodied pigment and is easy to clean up,this is a quality paint used for model soldiers.


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The mask is made from Frisk film ( Frisket in the USA ) use a self healing board and a fine sharp blade,good quality nail scissors are a useful tool as well.


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Hand painting markings is an acquired art but once mastered offers potential,as I cannot go out and purchase transfers for my type and size of model leaves me no other option,there is great sense of achievement when the markings start to take shape.



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The biggest setback is dealing with the curvature of the shapes,you can pre-paint the markings onto tissue that has been treated with oxgal solution and a tad of acryic medium, then cut them out and paste them into place if you wish.

[Ken Pugh]

I found a technique that helps with the surrounds while painting the striping on my B-25.  In the case of the crosses, make the mask for the black big enough to paint the black and the surround and paint the masked off area black.  I airbrushed this part.  After the paint is dry and before removing the mask, hand paint in the surround by following the outer edge of the mask with your surround color, in this case white.  The key is to have a brush that has a tip that will give the proper width of the surround.  The mask makes the outer edge neat and the tip makes the width correct.  By using the tip and not varying the pressure, the stripe will be very uniform.  Remove the mask and marvel at your pinstriping wizardry.

By the way, it is really great seeing you back at it.

Ken Pugh

[Balsabasher]

Some good tips there Ken,everything taken onboard and thank you.
Barry.

[cliff strachan]

Thanks Barry for your information regarding  masking techniques. I made my assumptions on the basis that I took your cockpit of your Wildcat to be made of plastic. It sure looked to me as though it was a plastic moulded cockpit. Since then I've been attempting to mask my plastic cockpit with the use of Parafilm. It has become necessary because I had removed all of the previous masking and was left with exposed window ribbing that I didn't want to get pulled off. I'll let you know how it comes out - hopefully this year.

Cliff

[Balsabasher]

Sorry Cliff I realise what you mean now,yes the canopy was moulded and in the picture it is just loose and sitting on the ledge of the aperture,I primered it without it being in place.
I have tried parafilm and just canot get on with the stuff,it has no adhesion whatsoever,the best thing to use is ordinary Copydex adhesive,this is latex based and just peels off easily,you can get small bottles of it called 'Maskol' in the model trade but it is virtually the same as Copydex.
I think the golden rule with cockpit canopies is to leave off the model until the very end to avoid damage,even paint can creep underneath and affect the plastic.
Sorry about my first confusing reply !
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

Well I think anything else would merely gild the lily so today I wrapped the Albatross DV models up declaring them completed,there is no fussy detail just wholesome solid modelling,I hope that this particular project has alayed any fears of tackling biplanes and  building them from scratch,yes there are more wings but in the end the construction can be simplified and as long as the jig principle is employed then nothing should go wrong.
The chart tape arrived in todays post and was quickly pressed into use in outlining those crosses,once in place I merely flooded the surface of the tape with white acrylic and gave an added coat of Johnsons clear to seal the edges.
The second Albatross was an experiment to see what beauty could be brought out with the grainy pine timber,the results you can judge for yourselves,the golden yellow yacht varnish smells wonderful and I am happy to say that I can live with the treatment,in fact this is not the first model done like this,my Lindbergh 'Spirit of St Louis' is done in a similar fashion with the registration letters and name on the nose picked out in black.
I never overdo the final finish being happy with a smooth presentable paint job,total elimination of any grain is of no consequence to me and also stops those in their tracks when they proclaim 'Which kit is that' ?
Well its time to clear the workbench and get to work on my latest exciting project,but you will have to wait to see the start of that one  !
Barry.


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The Raiders of the Lost Ark flying wing needed some paintwork as it was showing signs of age,with some careful matching the paint has been restored to further bring to life this unusual subject used in the film,the original/s were built at Barrow on Furnace by Vickers Armstrong who dismantled them and shipped them over to the desert location where the filming was done,inspection of the photographs before drawing the plans for the model revealed at least four different versions of this machine ! one is still extant rotting away,the others are believed destroyed,the ground taxying replicas were powered with electric motors and huge propellers,when the filming was being done the noseleg was merely cranked over so the aircraft just kept turning,the scene was dangerous with all of the action going on and those props in motion.


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[Peter]

What scale is the flying wing Barry? I have some Pulp wargaming friends that maybe inspired by it to try solid modeling.

Peter

[Balsabasher]

By all means get them building solids Peter,the model is to one of my oddball scales which I use depending on the subject matter,this one is aprox 1=32 if memory serves me correctly.
By the way if anyone wants a model from which to scale up of this subject then  there is a small diecast available which depicts the film version,apart from that I cannot think of another model of it ? the aircraft has some challenging shapes that can be easily simplified,the dihedraled wing cranks at an awkward point but can be got around if needed.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

Superb Albatrosses Barry. I will post them to the Model Construction of the Year post.

Lou

[Ken Pugh]

Wonderful models of beautiful planes.  Well done, Barry.

Ken Pugh

[cliff strachan]

I'm forced to echo Ken's comments Barry for I too think they are "wonderful models of beautiful planes".
Cliff.