Ok, it's a painting thread, but I think the step before the paint job of a Valom SE5(a) is potentially interesting for others.
I want the appearance as close to the WGF models as possible - with minimal effort. So I skipped the filling and sanding process, which I applied to my Valom D.VIIs. The same applies for the rigging - I like fiddly work, but not on a gaming miniature.
The outer struts of the kit appear to long as the distance of the top wing to the fuselage is a little bit to big. Thus I had to replace the inner struts with cut off staples. The "WGF pilot" and the peg are each made of a sprue bit. The two parts were drilled and got connected with a cut off pin. The front part (hair?) of the Foster mount was damaged. I replaced it with the etched sprue part, witch is found between the MP2 struts (the photo was made before I added the new front rail).
I primed and painted it with Reaper Paints, yesterday. The next step is applying a gloss varnish spray as preparation for applying the decals to prevent "silvering".
Last edited by Karo7; 03-21-2019 at 04:53.
A superb work there, Florian. Keep us updated on your efforts with this kite. Rep guns fired!
"We do not stop playing when we get old, but we get old when we stop playing."
Hmmm... photo-etched upper-wing Lewis guns. Now, if only I could have sourced them a little while ago.
Very nice work on the plane, Florian.
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
I used the daylight to make a few shots of the painted model. The black parts are still missing - I hope to finish the model this night, so I can apply the decals tomorrow. I was confused about the colour of the underside of the fuselage. On some profiles Mannocks plane is linen, on other olive or half olive half linen. In the end I decided to make the bottom olive overall. By the way: the olive colour comes out very light. Last night it seemed much darker and more brown (I knew I should have used my daylight lamp ). On the other hand many model builders suggest to lighten up a colour as the size of the model gets smaller.
Before varnishing:
After:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
The colours are (Reaper Paint = RP):
Undercoat: Vallejo White Primer spray
(The main colours were thinned down with water and applied in 3-4 thin coats to avoid brush strokes)
Olive: Muddy Olive RP 50% + Dark Skin RP 50%
Linen: Polished Bone RP 50% + Amber Gold RP 50%
Pilot/Muffler: Dark Skin RP
Propeller/Struts: Leather Brown RP 75% + Rust Brown 25%
Last edited by Karo7; 03-22-2019 at 09:20.
I would not care too much about the particular shade, for due to lack of colour photos how can we know exactly what the colours really were and looked.
To me your olive green upperside is about right. Lighter shade in the sun, fine. The underside vanilla (I use Valejo vanilla, that looks much the same) is probably perfect.
Taking photos in daylight . My preference exactly.
"We do not stop playing when we get old, but we get old when we stop playing."
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
Many paint shades darken up a bit when gloss varnished, and some can change colour slightly.
When I was a young teenager, I painted 100 or so 1/700 scale US carrier planes, using "Oxford Blue".
The paint dried a little lighter than I wanted, and a bit 'violet'.
I placed clear film decals on the wings and fuselage, and, when dry, painted over the entire plane with gloss varnish.
Lo and behold, the "Oxford Blue" darkened down to a close approximation of "Midnight Blue" (which I wanted ) except for the paint under the clear film supporting the stars-and-bars decals, which remained a lighter, more 'violet' "Oxford Blue"!
Coat your mode with varnish, then reappraise the colours - you might be pleasantly surprised!
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
After looking at the WOW SE5a I've opted for a silver Lewis and motor parts to meet the toy look of the official planes. I also used a light grey on the tires instead of black (are the WOW SE5a ones silver, too? ). The struts and propeller were also changed to a darker, more brownish tone:
I hope so! Now it's time for varnishing
Before:
After:
By looking on the photo, the varnish seems to have reacted with the olive colour - a slight yellowish shade has been appeared. In reality the difference is barely visible.
Last edited by Karo7; 03-21-2019 at 23:49.
I hope you won't leave the Lewis in silver for good.
"We do not stop playing when we get old, but we get old when we stop playing."
Nexus paintjob is not always correct. I would apply for example Pactra "Gunmetal" paint.
"We do not stop playing when we get old, but we get old when we stop playing."
I even go further than that Andy. After the gunmetal, I add a black ink wash watered down.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Things are looking good with your SE5a, Florian - great work with all of the fiddly photo-etched parts! I like your color choice for PC10 - and I look forward to seeing it decaled up and finished
All the best,
Matt
Great to see the work you have been putting in to your SE5a & I can't wait to see it finished.
@Matt and Adie: Me too - can't wait to get home to apply the decals. That's always a rewarding moment in model kit building. (Given that the decals are of good quality). I'm going to use a decal softener the first time - so I'm agog, how the result is coming out.
For me applying the decals are a big relief. It signals the project is in the final stage. After decals I do a couple of clear spray coats, clear gloss or matte, then flat. Then of course it is fully completed when I get the plane on the table. Looking forward to seeing your finished model.
Yes, it's analogue to miniature painting when I start with the base. It's like saying to myself "now it is good, now it is finished". And looking at a finished project is always so constructive, when the remorse through too many other long-lasting hobby projects is paralysing my impetus once again.
Very sharp!
Very nice, Florian.
Had me worried when you broke the wing and undercarriage off.
Mick Mannock would be proud of your model!
Rep coming.
Great work, Florian!
I hope you are pleased with the result, Florian - I would be proud to have it in my hangar! I am glad you didn't choose to use another old modeler trick and throw it on the ground again after it was all finished...
All the best,
Matt
Last edited by flash; 04-09-2019 at 00:29.
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
What I found astounding was that after the old modeller's trick you found all the bits again Florian.
Now that is a trick well worth knowing.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Thank you all for your friendly comments. Which were additional motivation finishing the build.
@Rob: "Glück im Unglück" as we're used to say. After the strident scream of pain had died away, and the decal for the bottom wing which was soaking in water already had been applied on the wreck, I realized that the explosion radius was manageable. That is the advantage of a plank floor vs. the parts eating carpet monster.
@Mike: Unfortunately I don't own neither the appropriate airplane card nor the maneuver deck. Seems I have to wait until summer (this year?).
Florian, PM me with your email address and I can send you a scan of the maneuver deck and plane card.
Florian, It is fantastic to see the finished article. Great work!
Here're some images of my finished Valom SE5(a)'s: Mannock and Lewis
They look excellent, very nice.
I've not come across that old modellers trick before, obviously gives a very good end result, I may have to try it with my next model!
Great looking planes, Florian, with such a smooth finish. Well done.
Last edited by Karo7; 04-09-2019 at 00:05.
Aah yes - that hurts a lot. I tried a different approach recently and allowed some MDF backed scenery to crash on top of a Fokker EIII and an FE2b - the Fokker was easily repaired, fortunately, but the Fee took a more serious hit. But it was a good test of their relative strengths under duressAn old model builder trick is to throw an assembled biplane on the ground before applying the decals:
Lovely paint job Florian. REP inbound.
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
repainted the tail white with toothpick
also i plan to repaint a McCudden Se5a either as Mannock or lewis, where can I find decals for them?
Nice work, Dan!
Great looking flight Dan.
Mmmm sweet ace-makers
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