SPA Modeler

speedgraflex wrote:Congratulations on the twilight paint work. I have been enjoying your progress immensely. We seem to have a great group of Axis and Allies subjects happening on these forums in no small part to your Luftwaffe builds. One of the best parts about SPA Modeler is its membership diversity — and I am always deeply aware of how talented and creative everyone is, and even more deeply aware of how supportive everyone is. What also amazes me is the level of research undertaken to set the scene for a build.

How do you choose your subjects and how are you researching the details? For me, I am quite taken with Kurt Tank’s FW designs which culminate in the Ta-152. I feel that the pilot and the machine are closely aligned. I feel this way about the Mustang, too.

I really enjoy this community. I’ve been falling down lots of different rabbit holes here by reading all the work-in-progress build logs, and I’ll tell you- being a member of this community is, for me, like being a Pee-Wee football player who, through sheer dumb luck, ended up being drafted into the NFL, and all the cool players are right there helping him out. That’s what it’s like for me, and I appreciate it and enjoy the time Inspend here.

Now, onto your question because I was actually thinking about this yesterday.

My subject picking is actually rather haphazard. The first plane I built when I came back was an Emil, and I picked the aircraft it’s self because to me, when I first saw it, it looked like a work of art. The light blue, the unique camouflage scheme, the shape of the airframe. It just totally did it for me. That build sucked LOL Oh man. There were gaps that needed fills. Poorly-done fills. I brush painted it... But I did the best I could with what I had at my disposal. And I was pretty proud of it.

Then, one afternoon my nephew and his mom were visiting. He was inspecting the aircraft, and accidentally dropped it LOL

“OKAY! I’ll build me another sometime real soon to replace it!” I said.

It was around that time I actually started reading about aircraft and pilots, and talking to some friends of mine about my new hobby and how it was helping me with my depression/anxiety. These friends of mine I met in an online forum for powerlifters and Jiu Jitsu players. Several of them are either active duty military or retired and they took great interest. We had a lot of talks about Axis aircraft, Allied aircraft, specific machines, etc.

I’d been reading about The Flying Tigers and one day my wife and I were talking about it, and she said “I wonder what kind of airplane Vance (our baby boy) would fly?”

“WARHAWK!” I sad. I don’t know why. It just seemed like that’s the plane my baby boy would fly if he was a fighter ace. So I built one for him, partly because of that, and also because the Hasegawa kit seemed like a good kit to try next and take the lessons I’d learned from the Emil and carry over into a project, hopefully improving my budding skill. I didn’t use references. I just tried to build it best I could according to the instructions. And it came out pretty well!

After that, armed with my new airbrush, thanks to my wife, I felt I was ready for another crack at the Emil, which I’d been reading more about and which was quickly becoming my personal favorite aircraft -the Warhawk being a close second. I saw Franz Von Werra’s aircraft in the markings section of my kit, and started reading about him. LOL He had a pet lion named Simba! How could I not go for that? So this here is literally the beginning of me actually looking at specific pilots and subjects.

And the G2 is a diversion from that. The G2 is a technique build, if that makes sense. I’m shooting for a real-looking finished product, but I picked that one because I loved the color scheme on it and I wanted to try Black Basing. And that seemed like the perfect subject for me to try that on. Later I plan on doing a Gustav, after Heinrich Ehrler. A family friend of ours, Sally Ehrler, is rumored to be distantly related to him. His last words were (paraphrasing) “Already shout down two. Out of ammo. So I’m going to ram him. I’ll see you in Valhalla.” Holy cow! How could I not go for that!?

I have plans for my 1/32 Dragon E3. Horst Tietzen. Researching that one now.

I relate more to the Luftwaffe planes. I don’t know why.

My wife thinks it’s funny. “My husband builds NAZI planes. No, he’s not a NAZI. He’s just eccentric that way.”

Maybe I should see a therapist LOL

But yeah, I see how much research you guys do, and how awesome your finished builds are, and that’s inspiring me to put more time and research into it. So that’s what I’m doing.

It’s really great to be here. I’m enjoying modeling and I’m enjoying being a member here with all you guys. And I truly appreciate the support!

Any day where I can get a little break in the rain while the babies take their morning nap, and I can paint, is going to be a good day. So here’s the Mulligan on Gustav I’s Cockpit, now I’m “German Grey” as per Carlos’ tip (and thank you Carlos, for that). I’m happy with how the paint turned out. Not as much depth as with the “RLM Grey” color, but I prefer it this way- for one thing it’s a way better color match and that’s necessary of course, but also the tonal variation is less severe but there’s still some there. I think it looks nice.

Tonight’s work will be a coin toss. I’ll either keep working on sludge washing Emil II, or I’ll go on about the business of getting the rest of the PE parts for this cockpit installed.

So you have revealed the method to your madness of kit selection. Or is it madness of your method? No worries. We all have our own reasons for our tastes and selections. And in all seriousness, the WWII Luftwaffe is a fascinating subject. Especially when you start delving into the backgrounds of certain aviators and units. But then again, most all air arms have similar ability to fascinate.
And looking at your builds, I would hardly call you Pop Warner in the NFL. There are some super modelers here (not me), and a lot of good modelers here who are striving to improve constantly (the rest of us). And you certainly are a great addition to our group here, being an active modeler who shares their work with the rest of us. That takes courage, no matter what your skill level. We are all our own worst critic, and on many sites, there are often self appointed experts, who appear to take down other people’s work.

Stikpusher wrote:So you have revealed the method to your madness of kit selection. Or is it madness of your method? No worries. We all have our own reasons for our tastes and selections. And in all seriousness, the WWII Luftwaffe is a fascinating subject. Especially when you start delving into the backgrounds of certain aviators and units. But then again, most all air arms have similar ability to fascinate.
And looking at your builds, I would hardly call you Pop Warner in the NFL. There are some super modelers here (not me), and a lot of good modelers here who are striving to improve constantly (the rest of us). And you certainly are a great addition to our group here, being an active modeler who shares their work with the rest of us. That takes courage, no matter what your skill level. We are all our own worst critic, and on many sites, there are often self appointed experts, who appear to take down other people’s work.

Well Carlos, I’ll tell you. I learned the big three lifts from world record holder Ryan Celli. He told me once: “You never want to be the strongest guy in the gym.” And that’s true. And you for damn sure never want to be the best Jiu Jitsu player on the mat, either. You want to be the weakest. You want to be the guy who has the techniques which are the most need of improvement...

...and most importantly, you want to fall-in with people who want to see you improve, and who are happy when you do.

And that’s me, here, in this place. Small fish in a big pond full of talented people who work hard and do amazing things, and who I genuinely feel want to see me do amazing things too.

So thank you!! You and the rest of the guys here inspire me to do better. And I’ll keep improving. Every day.

Great pair of replies; you echo how I feel here amongst these amazing individuals. What is cool to have is a multitude of perspectives on the process of building. Those here from the European continent and from Asia bring a tradition that is similar yet different to those of us in the Americas. Part of the fun is being able to learn about everyone’s first kits, the other part of the fun is learning how an individual approach is created in a different atmospheric so to speak. Frankly, this is an incredible group of people with the kindness lacking in other modeling places... or at least from my perspective a kindness lacking in certain circles online.

Kenny & Bruce,

well spoken !

- Kari

Online modelling communities are a great way of learning new stuff and also sharing your work with others. Like you, I like to incorporate new techniques into my builds... sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but we always learn from our mistakes. You have good technique already so I'm sure your forays into new techniques will be successful.

I like Luftwaffe aircraft too. I don't know why. I am an Asian-American who grew up in Hawaii so I don't have any connection to WW2 Germany. I've always liked the aesthetics of German hardware, even as a boy leafing through history books in the library. When I started building models again about 4 years ago, I gravitated toward Luftwaffe aircraft again.

Your cockpit looks great! You can give it some depth by highlighting areas with slightly lighter grey and/or giving the interior a panel wash.

John,

You and I seem to be on the same wavelength. I was looking at it today and it occurred to me that it might be nice if I hit it lightly with some lightened German Grey. I plan on doing that after work today.

Added a little white to some German grey, thinned the Hell out of it, and sprayed some highlights. I like it. Also added the PE fiddly bits.

My iPhone is making it look very grainy. Camera sucks. It’s actually a lot smoother.

Looks like a nice duality of tones! Good job!