TallEng's Modelling musing

[The Wooksta!]

Gave the Instructions of the Valom Buckmaster and the box contents a damm good looking at. (And told myself to leave it in the box )
keep thinking it would make good Fast Transport/Communications/Courier Aircraft instead of the Buckingham. I think its the slightly wider two seater cockpit that does it, just need to give it a couple of windows for the Pax. Must resist the temptation to start it.

Regards
Keith

The only reason the Buckinghams were given the courier role - and I doubt many were even used much, if at all - was to use the 100 or so airframes that Bristol had to build to keep the workforce together before they could start building Brigands.  They must have been pretty expensive to use in the courier role too, and I doubt that the Buckmaster would have been much cheaper either.

[TallEng]

Thanks for that, unfortunately I don't have that particular Modeldecal sheet, however not to worry the MPM Meteor FR.9 Kit
comes with the 8 Sqn Arrow marking and 208's Blue and sand/yellow sqn. markings. The Eurodecal sheet would be interesting for the
79Sqn "Red Arrows" marking, but that's all. Have to think about it.
The Buckingham/Buckmaster I have only read about in the Warpaint Magazine/Booklet, obviously one of those "things" that would be
interesting to read more about.
Update progress wise, The AVM's Spitfire has received its underwing radiators (4 plastic bits plus 2 PE for each!) plus gun stubs, just need
to tidy it up and get on with the paint, speaking of which....



The top wing tip is Oxford Blue, the bottom RAF Blue/Grey
if you fiddle with black and white photo's enough you can make them show what you want
Compare them if you will against the pictures here, (if you
can/want to be bothered http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/131/Supermarine-Superstar.aspx
In other news the 'out of Retirement' Spitfire 24 has got some Cannons and the start of some Camouflage (Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green)
Flt. Lt. Alan Pollock has got his name on the side of his Lightning



see here for further details:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Hunter_Tower_Bridge_incident.

please remember that Wikipedia isn't always as accurate as it should be.

I've also struggled to fit the Canopy to my 'In the Navy' Phantom, note the elastic bands assisted by paint brushes, this is the second attempt.
Luckily i had another phantom to pinch the canopy from

[]

And that Hunter? Roundel blue nose wheel door, Code letter TBD.
Does anybody know if there is a generic decal sheet in 1/72 that has RAF Rank penants on it?

Regards
Keith

[The Wooksta!]

I don't think there is - I tend to use the Airfix Spitfire mk IX (ZX/JEJ) sheet as both options on it don't interest me and I've that many to use...

One of the old Almark sheets might have had them one, there was an old ESCI sheet that did, but they come pre-yellowed and will splinter if you so much as threaten them with water.

[TallEng]

No progress for week or so, had to prep the car for its TUV/MOT, unfortunately whilst replacing the Valve stem seals, (all 16 of them) it doesn't burn oil any more, but...
I seem to have forgotten to refit a bolt on the timing chain, which has resulted in metal flakes in the oil Needs further investigation....
Luckily it's the 2nd car so it can wait.
Currently doing my two weeks of work now, so several hundred Km. From my workbench, although I do have a Modelling table here I brought another Airfix phantom and the Bristol Buckmaster with me. So far I've managed to look in the boxes
The AVMs Spitfire and the other nearly there projects I considered to delicate for the train journey, so they'll have to wait.
Might attempt the cockpits on the Phantom and Buckmaster if I feel so inclined. Or maybe research into a replacement engine for the car.

Regards
Keith

[The Wooksta!]

You'll need some plastic card sheet to thicken the Valom Buckingham/Buckmaster/Brigand wheels.  Or I can supply some resin ones...

[TallEng]

Cheers Lee, if I ever get as far as the U/C I may PM you

Regards
Keith

[TallEng]

Hurrah! At last some more modeling has occurred 
More Dark Sea Grey has been applied to the Phantom. Trouble is it's Xtracolor, and this particular batch
Is taking a long time to dry (two days and it's still tacky!) which is strange as the paint applied to the
Spitfire 24 dried in the 'normal' overnight time scale and it Came from the same tin! All of which means the phantom won't make The 'in the Navy GB'. So that gives me a bit more time to work on the fin colour/Sqn. marking.

The AVM's Spitfire XVI has received its top coat of the wrong colour (probably) but I like it
Just wondering if it's U/C legs and inside of the doors should be silver? Or do I remember reading that the legs and doors and inside the U/C bay where considered as part of the outside of the aircraft by Supermarine and therefore painted in the underside colour?

500Sqn RauxAF Hunter F.9 is awaiting drop tanks, if I can remember where I put them
Or maybe I'll call it done and See if the Station Photographer at RAF Hiding-in-the-Hedges managed to capture it on the Visiting Aircraft pan

No 1 Sqn's Lightning F.6 has had a complete set of U/C doors fitted and just needs an ejection seat, Red Tops and final touch up. There maybe pictures later.

A partially completed Lancaster has been seen lurking on the work bench and may now join the queue for the final push to the finishing line; if the Lightning manages to depart the workbench before Lancaster enthusiasm wanes.
Unfortunately  work beckons for the next two weeks so I don't see much happening for a bit (but I need the money )

Regards
Keith

[The Wooksta!]

The bay itself will be the underneath camo, whatever that may be - EXCEPT for the 21/22/24 as they were Interior Green.  The leg should be aluminium with the inner door being interior green.  That's what I've been going off for years and I don't intend stopping now.  They may be wrong, but at least it's consistent.

[NARSES2]

More Dark Sea Grey has been applied to the Phantom. Trouble is it's Xtracolor, and this particular batch
Is taking a long time to dry (two days and it's still tacky!) which is strange as the paint applied to the
Spitfire 24 dried in the 'normal' overnight time scale and it Came from the same tin!

May well be the weather conditions when it was painted Keith. I painted something, not enamel but acrylics, 48 hours ago and there's still a tacky feel when I touch it. Everything else painted with the same paint is fine  It's odd because I've not had this problem before.

[TallEng]

The bay itself will be the underneath camo, whatever that may be - EXCEPT for the 21/22/24 as they were Interior Green.  The leg should be aluminium with the inner door being interior green.  That's what I've been going off for years and I don't intend stopping now.  They may be wrong, but at least it's consistent.

Cheers Lee
That's what I shall be doing when I'm back home, sounds nice and easy
I seem to remember a whole long topic or two on Britmodeller about this subject?
It obviously got confusing at some point to me

Regards
Keith

[TallEng]

I used to be indecisive, but I'm not so sure now...

Reading Narses2 blog tonight And he mentions an article in June's SAM by Paul Lucas on RAF photographic reconnaissance colours. Being interested in that sort of thing I bought a copy and apart from being mildly disappointed to find pre-shading  still being used to produce unrealistic looking models (the Nieuport XXI was a particularly bad example IMHO) There's now something called texturing and you can get masks for it (also quite unrealistic IMHO)
Anyway back to the reason I bought the magazine, the article Colour Conundrum by Paul Lucas about early PRU colours, in which we are introduced to two new PRU colours; which Paul calls PRU Electric Blue No.1 (a kind of turquoise) and PRU Electric Blue No.2 (a Sort of French Blue) My immediate thoughts for the turquoise colour were I wonder if that's the colour used on the First version of AVM Robb's Spitfire? After all it would in all probability still be in RAF stock post war. (you can see where this is going can't you ) is it then possible that the second version of the AVM's Spitfire was painted in PRU Electric Blue No.2? It's got that slightly darker Look to it than PRU Blue, but not too dark, which is the impression i get when looking at the black and white photo's of the second version of the Spitfire. I think it More plausible  that Colours that could have been obtainable to or available in RAF stores and to whatever Air Ministry specification applied at the time would have been used to repaint the Spitfire, instead of the AVM sending his Batman to buy paint from the Local garage, as has been suggested.
In case you think I'm slightly mad, Paul does go into a bit more depth about the colours and explains how he came to the conclusion what the colours looked like. But you'd have to read the article, and as Chris says he can be a bit 'dry'.

And after all that, I think when I get back home I'll be repainting my Spitfire

Regards
Keith

[NARSES2]

Glad to see at least one person is reading the Blog 

and apart from being mildly disappointed to find pre-shading  still being used to produce unrealistic looking models (the Nieuport XXI was a particularly bad example IMHO) There's now something called texturing and you can get masks for it (also quite unrealistic IMHO)

I totally agree with you Keith, indeed I raised the point with the editor of SAM at the London Model Show back in December, along with a couple of other points, and he did give me an answer which whilst I didn't agree I could see his point.

When pre or post shading is done well it's very, very effective (see Old Wombat's recent GB entry) but overdone, especially on simple colour schemes just makes the model look toy like in my opinion. It's a very difficult thing to do in the smaller scales and I admire people who can pull it off 

As for texturing ? The next "hot" thing I suppose and the providers of such tools have to keep bringing new things to the market I suppose. Still each to his own and it's a free world and it would be a sad old place if we were all the same.

It's not just plastic modelling that's effected either. There tend to be fashions when it comes to painting wargame's figures as well, to shadow or not to shadow ? 

[zenrat]

I have some texturing stencils.  The idea is you use them to give a patchy faded look to your paint jobs by using them to apply a very slightly lighter shade of the base colour.
I am looking forward to finding out what look I get if I use them to apply a completely different colour to the base colour.
I didn't realise they were the "new black".

[PR19_Kit]

and apart from being mildly disappointed to find pre-shading  still being used to produce unrealistic looking models (the Nieuport XXI was a particularly bad example IMHO) There's now something called texturing and you can get masks for it (also quite unrealistic IMHO)

EXACTLY my lines of thought too. All these techniques do is make it look more like a model, not like the real thing.

Some while ago there was a review of the Airfix Swift FR5 which the reviewer had pre-shaded within an inch of its life. So much so that the finished model looked like its own cutaway drawing!

The very next article in the magazine was about the RW Swift FR5, and in all the pics of the aircraft not a single panel line could be seen! It made the review a total waste of magazine space.

[NARSES2]

I am looking forward to finding out what look I get if I use them to apply a completely different colour to the base colour.
I didn't realise they were the "new black".
:o

Going by the current batch of UK magazines they are. Remind me very much of some Luftwaffe mottle templates are got when I first got seriously back into the hobby 15 years or so ago. Never really used them as I never got an airbrush for various reasons. Still got them, somewhere.

Be interesting to see the results you get. I think used well they could be a useful tool.