SPA Modeler

All that detail really pops!

I sometimes stop documenting when I run into a problem. It bugs me and I just start sanding/shaving/painting and then suddenly realize... hmmm, maybe I should've taken some pics of that process. To delve into process a little further, the spidering were physical cracks that I just couldn't spray over. I sanded them down as much as I could using whatever tools I had around me. At one point, I resorted to a piece of folded up sandpaper hastily glued onto the end of a toothpick so I could get a curved sanding surface into the wing root. Flexible sanding pads by 3M were also used. To seal the deal, I used a slightly thicker than normal mixture of Mr Surfacer 1200 to cover the repair area. This was repeated a couple of times. I then laid down a preshade pattern on the grey primer and re-shot the area with Dark Green RLM 83. I then applied chipping to the port wing root area using a fine sponge dipped in Testors Silver enamel. And did a little sponge chipping on the starboard side to match.

This is when Martin over at LSP informed me that the wing root part was actually made of wood, not metal. Chipping with a sponge creates raised chips so I had to physically do the sanding thing again but this time I had to include the starboard wing root to remove the chipping there, which was now a combination of hairspray and sponge chipping. That's when the masking on the starboard wing lifted off a massive strip of paint. It was a pretty impressive removal given it was unintentional. More fine sanding to feather the edges of remaining paint down to the plastic. Re-painted both sides: RLM 83 on the port and RLM 75 on the starboard. Then I masked off the wooden wing root part and applied some faint chipping on the adjacent wing tops using a sponge.

Hopefully, you can't see evidence of any of this drama. That's always the intention when carrying out repairs. Dreadful work but it's worth getting a good result.

With the gloss coat still on, I did some post-shading to dirty up the aircraft. Various combinations of brown and black blown ultra-watery through the airbrush. Also did some base chipping using the sponge.



If the streak was too heavy, I wiped it down with 8000 grit Micromesh and this gave me some interesting wear patterns to break up the airbrush uniformity.



The separate control surfaces were glued into place at this time. I should've held off since I was planning to do some salt-fading.


A flat coat has been applied. I've been dabbling with various flat coats, having tackiness issues with the Alclad clears, toying with Aclad Aqua Gloss + Tamiya Flat Base, trying Testors Dullcote and finally settling on Model Master Acryl Flat for now.








Getting close to the end on this one. Gotta evaluate whether or not I want to put some salt fading. I really like the effect but it's a bit of hassle trying to avoid the spots of crusty salt showing up everywhere after you thought you've cleaned it off thoroughly.

That really looks great!

Whoa....

She's a real beauty! Have you tried Mr. Super Clear UV Flat? It's the best I've ever tried.

Sooo tasty! You are gifted by any means, but also your talent in picking the coolest schemes is remarkable!

Thanks guys! Have enjoyed this build but it seems like we are approaching the end. I'm a pretty visual person and I can admit to being more attracted to certain schemes than say the history of a certain machine. I will put Mr. Super Clear UV Flat on my list to try but I've been happy with the MM Acryl Flat so far and it is available at my LHS so that's a plus.

Here's the model after I wrestled it back from a botched salt fading attempt. The best result is when you mist a highly thinned lighter color and I shot it too heavy. So... I micromeshed the most offending areas, touched up other areas with the camo colors and then toned everything down with a satin coat, remembering that a clear coat on top of a salt fade effect tends to dial it back. Some chipping was also added using colored pencils.








It's time to put the legs on White 8! First, the tail wheel. I also fashioned a tension spring for the radio aerial and hung it on the tab on top of the rudder.


The main gear legs were glued in using JB Weld Kwik Weld to allow me time to set the stance right. Knowing that these legs have a metal rod core gives me peace of mind that they'll not break.


I also added the exhausts and the deflector plates that I earlier fashioned from brass sheet.


After the JB Weld cures, I can set White 8 on her own legs for the first time.




Almost finished! Just have to add a few of the bits and pieces and fashion the aerial.

Everything together looks amazing. Seeing white 8 standing on her own legs is a great sight to see.