SPA Modeler

BlackSheep214 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2023 7:11 pm I'm lost. I understand the outer template for the white on the cross. How is it possible the overspray excess white disappeared after its all done? Did you mask the outer borders on the white cross before spraying the white as seen in 2nd photo? Am I missing something I don't see or understand?

Let's say I went inside-out with the color order. Painting the black first and then the white. Outer mask would be applied the same as before like so...


But the black is sprayed first. When the inner mask components are applied, I would leave the inner cross shape in place and remove the four "elbow" pieces, which need to be white. After the white is sprayed and the masks removed, there is a chance that little slivers of black would show up along outside edges of the white "elbows" because the white didn't complete cover the previous black. Here's an example of a similar cross in which I sprayed the black first...


Do you see the black edges along the bottom of the lower white areas? If you paint the outer colors first, you prevent this type of mishap.

The upper wing and fuselage crosses were painted next.



Although the Eduard 1/48 Fw190A-5 instructions as well as the Eagle Cals 32-82 instructions call out black and white for the fuselage crosses, I chose to use RLM70 Black Green instead, based on the photo of Double Chevron...




The fuselage band will be masked off so I can complete the camo painting.

The fuselage band was masked off and the rest of the upper fuselage camo of RLM 70 and 71 were sprayed on. I alternated between RLM 70, 71 and 76 for touch-ups depending on how well I could visualize the demarcation lines rather than the more logical lighter-color-first order.




Here's the camo after the masking around the fuselage band has been removed.



Next up will be the tricky double chevrons and tail swastikas. Tricky because of the thin white borders. I did a test on a paint mule but that was on a surface with no raised features. But that is not the case in real life.


You can see how the mask is already lifting over the raised hinge on the oval port. This may not turn out pretty but hopefully I'll get something that I can work with.

Looks fantastic

John, your work on this build is nothing short of inspirational. Although you may deviate from the norm by such things as not painting the lightest colors first, whatever you do, it works. All the masking and painting of markings sure is paying off.

Thanks guys! Not everything I do works as you'll see below!

I masked off the swastikas and did them before I tackled the chevrons. They turned out decently.



You can see how the raised hinge messed up a bit of the white borders.


This can be fixed with some focused masking and spraying.



Between paint applications, I masked off the panel behind the exhaust panels and painted it with an mixture of black/brown.


Ok... on to the chevrons. The thin borders were very fiddly to deal with as masks but the chevrons turned out fairly well, I must say. Again, a raised hinge on an oval port caused some slop but overall, I was happy with how they turned out.



Except... I think they are just a tad too low. It's close but it's one of those nagging things that your eyes gets a hold of and doesn't let go.



I decided to leave it overnight and dwell on it but the nagging feeling didn't go away. So I'm going to shift it up slightly. Out comes the Micromesh. I don't have to eradicate all of the paint but I want to make sure the surface is level. For good measure, I sliced off the raised hinge on that oval port.



The Micromeshed area is covered in Neutral Grey to serve as a primer coat for the camo. Once the camo is restored, I'll re-apply the chevron.

Good idea to move the chevrons. I do believe that those markings are usually in line with the crosses horizontal centerline.

That was my assumption as well and it turns out that it was incorrect. Here is a photo of the port side markings as I had originally painted. I've drawn guidelines to help visualize the relative positioning between the cross and the chevron by extending the horizontal lines of the cross forward. Looking at the guidelines, its clear that the chevron is not centered on the cross and sits markedly lower on the fuselage compared to the cross.


But... interestingly... drawing the same type of guidelines on the actual photo of Nowotny's aircraft shows a very similar type of relative positioning between the chevron and cross. Nowotny's chevron was clearly not centered on the fuselage cross and also sits noticeably lower on the fuselage compared to the cross. I was actually almost dead-on.


I think our eyes are drawn to the non-symmetry and it must've set off subconscious alarms bells in my head. The problem was compounded by looking at another reference... in this case, a profile drawing. Again, similar guidelines are drawn but you can see that the chevron has been centered along the midpoint of the fuselage cross. Which is our typical assumption when it comes to markings, it looks correct visually, but in this case, wrong.


Based on my rough analysis, I think the chevron is just a TAD too low and so I'll use this opportunity to push it up just slightly.

Well the photos are definitely the last word in regards to placement. If they are clear as you have here, you’ve got certain proof. But like it said in my post, they were more usually centered on the cross, as shown here on Priller’s FW-190A-8



But as you’ve shown with Nowotny’s A-5, usually is not always

The camo has been restored around the chevron location.



Electing to start with the white again, the mask outline is placed and the white is applied.


Next the black areas need to be painted so I position the interior sections. I only need the thin border but it is MUCH easier to place with the components together than to try and place just the skinny border alone.


The central portions of the mask are removed, leaving only the borders. Take lots of time to make sure the border part is seated flush against the painted surface. If you look closely, you'll see that the lowest edge of the chevron is not.


After the black is sprayed, you can remove the masks and see the effect of not seating the border completely flush.


So the necessary paint touch-ups are applied.



The little "13" below the cockpit is sprayed and the painted markings are complete. Here's the model in the lightbox after the painting stage.