Georges Guynemer Spad Repaint Project

As a favor to CappyTom I will be taking a Nexus Baracca Spad XIII mini and repainting it to match the paint job of Georges Guynemer's French Spad VII.

I was wondering if any of the more experienced modelers here would mind suggesting some paint colors to match the scheme as closely as possible?

I hope to take a few pictures as I go... at least I don't have to worry about cutting off fingers in this project...

Here are a couple of small pics of a model of the original Spad and a pic of a replica..




Step 1: Prepare the existing miniature.

This would be the Nexus Spad XIII I will be working with.



I will be placing it in the freezer for a bit, in the hopes of loosening up the glue joints so that I can hopefully detach the top wing. This will make it easier to do the repaint


Step 2:Carefully Remove the Top Wing.

I awoke at 2:00 AM this morning, and was unable to go back to sleep, so I headed to the kitchen to retrieve the miniature from the freezer. I had placed it in the freezer about six hours prior to allow it to get nice and chilly. This seems to weaken the glue bonds, and with some gentle coaxing and prying from the front of the bottom wing I was able to pop loose the four outer struts. It was then no problem to wiggle loose the top center struts as well, and in this case the tail section was already loose when I received the mini:



I am unsure at this point whether I wish to remove the existing paint from the mini or not. Since the mini is plastic, and not mine, I am concerned with any type of solvent damaging it. My other choice would be to lightly spray the mini with primer, and then air-bush a base coat color over that. I also still need to come up with good suggestions for paint color as well. It is time to consult with my many advisors in this thread:






Step 3: Using Lacquer Thinner and a Q-Tip (Cotton Swab) Gently Remove Bright Colored Paint and Decals.
Step 4: Sand Down any Slight Imperfections.

I was able to easily remove the green and red paint from the underside of the bottom wing (The green was a little tougher, and as you can see I ended up taking the straw color as well. Had I gone much further I would deformed the plastic severely) The Top, Side, and Tail decals came off easily as well. I then cleaned out the strut sockets. and sanded a few rough spots. I also popped off the engine cowling and sanded and filed for a better fit before re-gluing it. After I apply primer I will putty around the cowling wherever necessary and sand to a smooth detail.





Next Step: Primer

Step 5: Prime Mini With a Quality Spray Primer and Allow to Dry

Pretty Self Explanatory... As you can see, on the left underside of the Bottom Wing the excessive laquer thinner damaged the ribbing a bit. I hope to remedy this with a small round file. I also want to smooth out that engine cowling joint a bit.

Remember when priming that multiple light coats are always better than one heavy coat.







Next Step: Airbrushing on the Base Color[/QUOTE]


Step 6: Airbrush on Base Color

I had a hard time finding just the right color ... at first I tried something closer to a Light Ivory, and it ended up being a little to close to White for my taste. I ended up adding a touch of a "Straw" color to it and got the color you see in the pictures. I think this is close enough to the different images of Guynemer's Spad for Govt. work.

You will notice also that I glued on the tail assembly.





Next Step: Detail Painting.

Step 7: Hand Paint Details
Step 8: Apply "Magic Dip"

At this point comes the tiny painting in of most of the details at the front of the Spad, including the Guns, Exhaust Pipes, Radiator, Prop and all the Wing Struts. (I have not done the tires yet (It is my least favorite thing to do, so I am procrastinating 'til my hands are steadier. )

I then mixed up a small batch of "Magic Dip" to apply to the mini. For those not familiar with the substance, "Magic Dip" is mostly Future or some other brand of clear acrylic floor wax, and a small amount of paint as pigment. The color and amount of paint is dependent on how strong of an effect you are looking for. When applied to a model with lots of deep details, the pigment wicks itself into the recesses, accenting them, and also giving the model a bit of an aged, "used" effect. In the picture it is difficult to see in places, due to the glossy reflection, but the recesses are now darker than the base coat color. Sometimes it requires multiple coats to get the effect you are looking for. When applying, you should take care not to allow the "Dip" to pool heavily in spots. The floor wax leaves the paint job glossy, so Dull Coat will be a must in the end. It also protects the paint underneath, and leaves a good surface for applying decals. (Which I still have to order and/or create.)





Next Step: Dry Brush on any Highlights and Apply Decals.

I would agree with Rob that is is similar to inking. You can apply it with a brush, as I do, and where you put the pigment is very precise if you do not apply too much at once. (Due to the "wicking" action of the floor wax) You can also take an entire figure and just dip it in a bowl, lightly shake off the excess and let it dry, thus the name "Magic Dip". It works and is a fast method if you are doing lots of minis, but it a bit sloppy and tends to leave pools of pigment in places.

I do Drybrush on highlights... that is the next step!



Oh Sure Keith... just make it more confusing for me now...LOL I am pretty sure Tom has his heart set on those mirrored "2"s... just like the scheme they show in this video:



It seems like there are a half dozen versions out there of what his Spad VII looked like...

Step 11: Apply Decals with Microset and Microsol
Step 12: Touch up Mini and Clear-coat, then Matte-coat

Applying the 16 decals was a long process, made longer by back pain and the very long breaks I was required to take in between decal work. In order to apply the Roundels and the tail flags, I had to first base-coat the area with white, as the decals were on clear paper. This allows the clear areas to show as white. I applied each decal with Microset, and once the decal had dried, I used multiple applications of Microsol to "melt" the decal into the paint and details of the mini. The tail number decals were the most difficult to apply, and did not show well due to the dark blue of the tail flag. The next time I make French decals I will be using a slightly lighter shade of blue.

After all the decals had dried thoroughly, I touched up a few small spots on the mini. I then applied a couple of good coats of gloss clear-coat, allowing each to dry... and then followed with a final coat of Testors Flat Coat.

Here is the finished product. In hindsight, I would choose to use a slightly lighter colored was on such a light base color next time, as this mini came looking a teeny bit to weathered. In the end I think it turned out pretty nicely!











As you can see, I had a lot of input from the other members in the Original Thread (I left in the most pertinent info for this entry). I would like to thank all of those who contributed to help me get through this repaint, especially since it was new territory for me.


And thus ends the Spad Repaint Project... time to go build a rooftop and then get to work finishing my Reviresco Camel Build...