SPA Modeler

You can see how all of the processes add up into a well painted and weathered aircraft. Learning all the way...…….

Wow, I would have said no to the salt fade technique, but I wasn't in time. This is so astoundingly remarkable by all measure already! Man, this has been quite the ride watching this come together and turn into such a realistic looking Masterpiece!

Thanks guys! Eight months after I started this build, I now am at the finish line. Although it didn't turn out the way I envisioned, I'm glad I did the salt fading on this model. The initial effect plus all of the corrective work to tone it down and re-establish the base camo colors adds to complexity and depth of the finish, I believe. It tells a story, unplanned as it was.

Adding the last bits and pieces to White 8. The balancing units underneath the ailerons, the various small antennae, the pitot tube, the landing gear outer doors and finally the prop are finally glued into place. Some pieces have been sitting painted and unattached for half a year. The masks for the clear parts are carefully peeled off and thankfully, no nasty surprises from within the cockpit (my worst nightmare).





The aerial is still to be strung between the rudder tab and the top of the fuselage but once that is done, it will be time for the finished photos. Curious to see the color scheme in natural light. But the weather here in Southern California is bad right now and so the courtyard that serves as my photo studio won't be available until the weather clears up.

I am going to jump onto the Corsair next and then start up a new project. Which will be...

The Zoukei-Mura 1/32 Ta 152H-1 kit, which I will be backdating to a H-0 and depicting W.Nr. 150007 White 7...

Wow... just wow!!!

Again just beautiful John. It's always a good feeling to tear off the canopy masks and see nothing bleed through.

John I've gotta tip my hat to you brother. You really know how to bring out the most in a paint job which I feel like is crucial in building Luftwaffe subjects in particular. I've been mostly away from aircraft subjects over the last five or so years to take a step back, re-think my military painting style and have also been in pursuit of the perfect gloss finish in auto building (which was why I didn't build autos up until that time) and I think I've finally got a technique that works for me down. Every time you finish one of these beauties of yours you make me want to pursue to perfect camo/ weathering finish. Just wanted you to know that your work does more than just show some good skills.....it inspires as well. Well done.

and another thing.....as you may know I'm a BIG fan of the 190/ Ta152 aircraft. I simply cannot wait to see that one in action. That sucker outta take up a lot of room in the display case with that wingspan it's got.

Thanks guys! Always a feeling of accomplishment/relief/excitement at the end of a build. Taking stock of a finished model and comparing it with the vision I had prior to starting... those two images rarely line up but that's one the fun things about modeling. You never know exactly how it will turn out. Now I can focus on the Corsair, which needs my undivided attention since it is a scheme that I'm not familiar or comfortable with.

Floki wrote:Again just beautiful John. It's always a good feeling to tear off the canopy masks and see nothing bleed through.

Thanks Clint! The canopy reveal is always a hair-raising experience at the end of the build. First, you have to lift the edge of the mask with a sharp instrument and that always opens up the potential for damage. My biggest fear is something bad on the INSIDE of the clear parts such as fogging or some stray piece of dust. Thankfully, I avoided drama on this one.

mustang1989 wrote:John I've gotta tip my hat to you brother. You really know how to bring out the most in a paint job which I feel like is crucial in building Luftwaffe subjects in particular. I've been mostly away from aircraft subjects over the last five or so years to take a step back, re-think my military painting style and have also been in pursuit of the perfect gloss finish in auto building (which was why I didn't build autos up until that time) and I think I've finally got a technique that works for me down. Every time you finish one of these beauties of yours you make me want to pursue to perfect camo/ weathering finish. Just wanted you to know that your work does more than just show some good skills.....it inspires as well. Well done.

Thank you! Painting continues to be a learning experience and I really marvel at what you can do with an airbrush. I've not been able to dial in my mixes for the Sotar and so I've been relying on the Iwata for everything, even the smallest of details, because I know I can get a consistent spray pattern from it. So there is still a lot I need to learn and I feel motivated to get better at certain things, drawing inspiration and ideas from other modelers. So I know that you are talking about.

mustang1989 wrote:and another thing.....as you may know I'm a BIG fan of the 190/ Ta152 aircraft. I simply cannot wait to see that one in action. That sucker outta take up a lot of room in the display case with that wingspan it's got.

I'm a 190-nut myself, especially the inline versions like the D-9 and Ta152. Looking forward to see how the Z-M kit builds up. My only regret is that the Ta152 saw very limited action so there is no variation in the color schemes available... all of them are 82/83/76 unless you count that orange one.

The aerial, fabricated from Uschi's elastic thread, was attached to the tension spring and then stretched through the loop antenna and to the top of the fuselage.


With some direct light, you can see some of the detail in the cockpit.


Some more views of the almost completed model.




The final detail are the landing gear indicators made of small sections of stretched sprue and painted red. These are inserted into holes that I had pre-drilled before painting.