Floki wrote:Again just great work John. I've been thinking about getting another airbrush just to compare to my iwata eclipse. It's between the badger sotar 20/20 and the patriot 105 extreme. How well do you like yours?
Thank you Clint! I do 99% of my airbrushing with the Iwata HP-C Plus. I really like the Iwata. It is a consistent warhorse with its only limitation being its 0.3mm tip. Dropping down to 1/72 requires finer airbrush work and the SOTAR's 0.2mm tip yields noticeably finer results. Design-wise, I like the Iwata better... maybe I'm just more comfortable with it due to usage but it feels more solid and easier to maintain. The SOTAR lacks a shroud around the tip, protecting the needle. So you can't backflush it like you can with the Iwata.
Stuart wrote:That's an incredible bit of painting John!
That sounds awesome. I used to work with a woman that spent her holidays in Africa with her church group helping to build schools etc. It sounds like a rewarding thing to do.
Thanks Stuart! Yes, I would say these trips are rewarding but more than the act of helping people, I've really enjoyed the relationships that have come from my regular visits. It's neat to see the same people multiple times and finding out how life has changed/grown/developed for them. Reunions are the best!
mustang1989 wrote:I had wondered where you had run off to. I was a little tied up during the late January/ February time frame and didn't build or post much but I did manage to try and look for something recent out of you in late January and saw that you hadn't been on in a while. In any case it's great to see you back and building again and in such small scale. The good thing about little builds like this is that they don't take up a whole lot of room in the display area. lol
Great to see you around and really good seeing another D-9 being built. Like you, these are my favorite aircraft of all time. Just a beauty of an airframe.
Nothing like a Dora to get me out of my modeling slump. I just love this airframe. It is sleek but not slippery like a Mustang. I think that blunted off nose with the radiator cowling gives the D-9 a very purposeful and efficient look. I've always likened it to the BMW 6-series of cars.
speedgraflex wrote:Hi John,
I do follow your photography on FB. I was thinking about your camera choice when I purchased my new Sony, actually. Digital cameras become much better each generation. Truly.
It is easy to comment directly too quickly so I read through your progress twice. I have a little bit of time before I meet Carlotta to practice driving in the United States (she has her permit) with my car.
My first thought, sincerely, was of complete gratitude for your presence. Your skills are phenomenal and your ability to stretch the limits of 1:72 are a sincere pleasure to experience.
I appreciate the way you interpret the sheathing effect of camouflage layers. My frustration with model building - I’ll extend this directly to trains as well - is the opacity of individual colors which immediately discloses scale. I feel that your approach validates the better way to develop a final color. I’m not simply referencing camouflage patterns, but the overall approach to color generation on metal and wood. In this, you are in my humble opinion, a master.
All the best, John.
Well, hey there Bruce! It truly is wonderful to have to you back providing your thought-provoking insights and comments. No one does this quite like you and I've found that I've missed our interchanges during the course of these builds. This one was strictly a one-off mojo builder project to help get me back on the modeling bench after running out of steam on a few projects. I wanted to see if I could apply the same techniques that I've been using on my larger scale builds and so far my experience has shown me that, yes, the same techniques are applicable across the scale gamut, even down to 1/72, which some adjustments.
The trip to Kyrgyzstan is always a highlight of the year for me and so it took awhile to do what I needed to do after returning to the states. My photo albums and video slideshow are my testimony and dedicated to the people that I have met there. Those are done and I'm free to jump back into my other hobbies.
I'm making paint adjustments on the Dora a little at a time, trying to get some little details right. Here is a look at the radiator face with the mask removed. I'll keep the mask handy just in case I have to do any paint touch-ups in this area.
The tail mottling was done in RLM 83 Dark Green using the Badger SOTAR airbrush. Like I've said, I've been slowly getting used to this airbrush and progressing in tightening up the spray pattern. Dark on light mottling is much easier than light on dark, due to the overspray issues being harder to disguise so I'm leaving the engine cowling mottling for later. I've done some work on the paint patch areas that seem to be visible in the archive photos by using the base color lightened with some white to provide a little contrast.
Similarly, I've introduced some tonal variation in the bottom for visual interest but using masks to get a hard edge.
The tail swastikas have been masked and painted. The mottling has been touched up as well to better match the archive photos. Not an exact replication but trying to get closer.
