SPA Modeler

Stuart wrote:Looks superb John! I do like your pastel washes.

Wow...

A nice restrained look on all of the detailing so far!
Absolutely gorgeous!

speedgraflex wrote:Lovely work, John.

I am thinking about what Mark wrote. What I feel is a certain amount of awe mixed with joy that it is still possible to create a work on this level by hand. Great airbrush work is still a physically controlled challenge, and I feel you really understand this.

I also feel that the subjects call to the maker, if that makes sense, and your level of knowledge is outstanding. Just is. You know your stuff.

I was thinking the other day that if I complete one project on my own terms I would be happy. Most of my completed work goes out the door to someone else, I have terms dictated to me. I am not sure if this is a commission or not for you, since many projects you undertake are, but I likewise share the wonder at your ability to impart the stamp of your personal affinities upon your work.

Thank you Bruce! We all use certain tools in this hobby and each of them have a learning curve associated with them. I look at the airbrush as one of those advanced tools that really need lots of firsthand experience to get the most of them. I have four and while they all operate on the same principal, they behave very differently. I still have issues with the airbrush spitting paint, which seems to be more prevalent with certain colors. But that first second of spray when the trigger is pressed accounts for most of the spit and so I like to place a piece of tape or post-it adjacent to my paint target to 1) get the spitting out of the way and 2) dial in the aiming.

The Focke-Wulf 190D is my favorite aircraft and I am fortunate enough to have two of the best references out there: Jerry Crandall's two volume Dora series as well as JAPO's two Dora books. Not cheap and now difficult to find, I consider these four books essential for Dora nuts and I refer to them constantly during my Dora builds.

This particular build is not a commission and I'm not sure what I'll do with this little guy once I'm done. 100% of my 1/32 builds, so far, have been commissions. But I am fortunate that the person I am building for shares my passion for the aircraft that I build and our working relationship is very accommodating to my work flow and creative idiosyncrasies.

Floki wrote:I wasn't expecting all that rivet detail in 1/72

Yeah, it is one of those things that you either like or don't like. I usually apply rivets on my 1/48 and 1/32 builds but wasn't sure how appropriate rivets are on a 1/72 WW2 fighter. That was one of the selling points of starting this build... to see what rivets looked like at this scale. The model isn't done and a lot can change, especially under a flat coat, but as of now, I am neither strongly for or against these rivets.

I did choose to highlight the rivets with the wash. This emphasizes them but it also "flattens" out the outer skin of the model so that it appears to be comprises of lines and dots instead of grooves and holes. Does that make sense? All of the subjects have been mutually chosen.

Stuart wrote:Looks superb John! I do like your pastel washes.

Medicman71 wrote:

Stuart wrote:Looks superb John! I do like your pastel washes.

Thanks guys! It's easy and cheap! Plus I have the advantage of creating custom color mixes that suit my needs as they arise. I don't see why more people don't do it this way. All you need are some pastel chalks and water.

BlackSheep214 wrote:Wow...

Thank you!

Stikpusher wrote:A nice restrained look on all of the detailing so far!
Absolutely gorgeous!

Thanks Carlos! The rivets, in my opinion, are SLIGHTLY on the overdone side on the bottom. Visually, I like the rivets to disappear as you move away from the model and that's not happening with this model. But they aren't overly distracting either, IMO. Like I said, I'm neutral on them at this point.

I've done some weathering via post-shading with the airbrush.


I've also applied the exhaust stains, again using the airbrush.





Still some more weathering to do but I'm approaching the end of this build.

My goodness, that is a beauty! So much to see in a small scale.

That is a superb bit of work John!

Thanks guys! I wrapped all of the finishing bits on the Dora today. Landing gear, antennae, drop tank, etc.





The only thing left to do is the aerial. The next pics will be in the Completed Builds forum.

Absolutely fantastic

tempestjohnny wrote:Absolutely fantastic