Last edited by The Cowman; 01-25-2011 at 09:18.
Ken Head - "The Cowman"
“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams
Ken Head - "The Cowman"
“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams
Well there should be at least four, cos he had four SPAD VIIs.... The artwork Keith's posted is Guynemer's first SPAD - serial S113 or S115, which was written off after a run-in with "friendly" AA fire, lasting less than 4 weeks....
His other VIIs were S132 and S254 (this is the one in Paris, with the mirrored 2 on the wings) and S413, after that he moved on to the SPAD XII and XIII. The scheme you want is definitely S254, which is hanging in Le Bourget; Google image search will get you plenty of photos - just stick in Guynemer Le Bourget as your search term.
Last edited by Dom S; 01-25-2011 at 17:18.
Step 9: Dry Brush on Highlights
Step 10: Create Decals
I finally got through most of the Origins "stuff", and got over a bad spell of a few "feeling crappy" days, to find some time to get back to this project!
After dry brushing on some subtle highlights on the ribbing, guns and exhaust pipes, I was ready to come up with decals for the project. First, if you are not familiar with the technique of dry brushing it is pretty simple.
After researching on-line and speaking with Dom and a few other members here in the 'Drome, I came to the conclusion that it would be best to make my own decals for this mini. The images needed are hard to come by in a 1/144th decal and the Roundels need to be the 1:3:5 proportion and are also difficult to find. IN the end it was cheaper just to create my own decal sheet.
- Choose a paint color that is slightly lighter than the current color of the area where you applying the detail brushing.
- Apply a small amount of paint to a dry brush, and then, using a paper towel or a coffer filter, wipe most of the paint off of the brush. If you then lightly run the brush over the side of your thumb on your off hand you should see very little pigment come off the brush. This is how you can tell that you have the right amount of paint on the brush to "dry brush".
- You then very lightly brush the color across the raised area of the model you are highlighting. This gives the appearance of either light falling on the mini, or wear and tear to the paint surface. it all depends on the amount of paint you apply and the colors you choose. Keep in mind that on a mini as small as 1/144th scale this is usually going to be a very subtle effect.
I used Macromedia Fireworks (You could use Photoshop to do the same or better) to create the different decals in high resolution, using various public images from the internet as my templates. I took measurements on the mini to determine the sizes of the decals needed
I then transfered all of the images to an MS word document, Cut a piece of 4x6 clear decal paper, and used my photo printer to print the sheet. I put lots of extra decals on the sheet and a few in slightly different size variations to give me some room for error. I have attached the Word document for anyone who might want it. (I will upload it to the file section as well.) I figure once I am done I may pass on the leftover decals to anyone on the forums that might want to use them.
I have clear-coated the decal sheet with Krylon Matte Clear to keep the decals from being ruined by the water when I apply them. You MUST do this if you are using an ink-jet printer to create decals.
Next Step: Apply the decals, touch up any needed areas, and clear-coat the mini.
Last edited by The Cowman; 02-11-2011 at 11:13.
Ken Head - "The Cowman"
“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams
Note: I was unable to upload the decal sheet to the file section. Even as a .zip file it is .1 MB too large for the 10 MB file size limit. Apparently the limit is a bit higher for attachments of the .doc persuasion... So if you want them, you have to get them from the attachment above!
Ken Head - "The Cowman"
“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams
Ken, those French roundels are on the way to you. Try one out on a scrap piece to see if they would work@
Kevin thanks for sending them... unfortunately they are not the 1:3:5 proportioned roundels that were used on Spads... so I will have to try them on a different model... I did notice that they look a little grainy... like they were printed at a very low resolution... but perhaps that will not show when they are applied. Let me know if you would like a sheet of these decals as a return favor!
Thx Larry... and if you notice, that version has the tail number that belonged to his Spad VII... Tom's plane will have that exact scheme... but with S504 on the tail... which was the number from his Spad XIII...
I plan to get the decals on tomorrow if my back is up to sitting that long...
Ken Head - "The Cowman"
“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams
Ken,
Lookin' good! Gotta see this one finished...rest your back and then crank it up...think you've got a 'con Sunday nearby?
I am running an event at my local game store on Sunday: http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/showthread.php?3654-3-Day-Warning-Game-Day-Pickerington-Ohio&highlight=warning
Bit of a drive for you but feel free to join us!
Ken Head - "The Cowman"
“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams
Good luck on the painting! No need to send the others, I am going to be trying some others shortly.
Update: I was able to get 7 of the 16 decals on the mini today. That was all that my back could handle... hope to have it finished Monday!
Ken Head - "The Cowman"
“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams
Just downloaded the decals Ken. Thanks for that.
Now I just need yet another Spad to put them onto. Pity we can't just download them from the suppliers too.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
The way 3D printers are coming along, give it a few years....
I see your 'war-wound' in the last pic there Ken... I remember when I was a lad making 1/72nd scale models. I made so many cutting off the sprues with a scalpel my father gave me and slashed the tips of my fingers so many times that by the time I was in my late teens, I could cut almost 2mm into my fingertips and not get blood!
I am actually utterly amazed at how well that injury has healed... I thought for sure I would lose most of one side of the tip of my thumb... but Superglue is AMAZING stuff... and you can hardly tell I had an accident now. I have a loss of sensation for now but am hoping the nerves eventually reform as well.
Last edited by The Cowman; 02-20-2011 at 23:45.
Ken Head - "The Cowman"
“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams
Update: Have all but four of the decals on now... it has been a slow process, as I have been rather methodical and neat with the application, and the back is bothering me , thus long breaks in between are required. The project is close to completion.
Ken Head - "The Cowman"
“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams
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!
And thus ends the Spad Repaint Project... time to go build a rooftop and then get to work finishing my Reviresco Camel Build...
Ken Head - "The Cowman"
“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams
Nice job Ken.
Now all I need is a card for my Hansa Brandenburg along with the stats for it. Should have thought of that before I started changing it from a monoplane.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Wonderful work! The colors and decals match perfectly!
I would take this one as prototype for the series-production by nexus :-) (of course without the typical production delay!)
Those decals look great! Really well done.
-Elroy
A close to perfection as at all possible, splendid!
petitbilbo
Magnifique!
Perfect stuff... congratulations! Really a beauty...
Bookmarks