SPA Modeler

That is amazing work John!

So very nice!

After a few months break, I'm ready to jump back on to this build and try to push it across the finish line. As I left her, the majority of the camo painting and large markings on Eileen had been completed. We are now at the decal stage. Since most of the markings were masked and painted, there aren't too many decals to apply... mostly maintenance stencils. I will be using the Barracuda decals, for the most part.

Before decals are applied, I sealed the camo and markings with a coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss.



My normal decal routine comprises of these three decal solutions. Microset applied on the surface before the decal. Microsol applied over the decal to soften it and help it conform into the nooks and crannies. If Microsol isn't getting the desired effect, I'll try Walthers Solvaset.


I ended up going straight to the Solvaset on this one as they seemed to be effective at getting the decals to settle and conform. After a couple of applications of Solvaset, the decal film was checked carefully. Sometimes the the decal will sag but not fully conform to a rivet or panel line. In these cases, I used a needle or sharp x-acto blade to physically puncture or cut the decal.



Before I get to the color wasp noseart, I decided to apply the pastel wash to the bottom of the aircraft. Using pastel chalks, I prepared 4 colors to be used on this build. A grey will be used on the black, white and navy blue. A darker grey will be used on the Neutral Grey. Black or Dark Brown will be used on the OD topsides.


My pastel washes are a super simple mix of water, shavings from pastel chalks and a drop of dishwashing liquid to help suspend the pastel particulates in the water.


Here is the bottom of the starboard wing before the wash.


The wash is applied liberally into all of the recessed details. It's important to let the wash dry completely.


After the wash is dry, it is carefully wiped off using clean pieces of moistened paper towels. The remaining wash, stuck in the rivets and panel lines, are thus highlighted. On this build, I'm experimenting with dialing back the contrast on my washes to achieve a more subtle effect.


Port wing after the wash...



Fuselage bottom after wash...

Fantastic John!

Happy this build is back on your bench!

- Kari

Sweet! You've got two major projects going at the same time? Oh my!

Man, this thing is simply incredible.

Oh man this is incredible. The wash is just right

Thanks guys! Appreciate the comments as always!

Moving on to the big nose art decal finally. The Barracuda version of Eileen + animated Wasp is comprised of multiple parts. Kinda overkill but ok.


I also have another version that came with the Montex mask set. I decided to go with the Barracuda version.


As with the other decals, Microset went on under the decals followed up with several applications of Solvaset.


I carefully went over the decal with a needle and x-acto blade to try and make sure the decals settled into all of the recessed details.


The red lettering highlights went on next.


Followed by the yellow lettering.


Finally the yellow antenna and the smoke effects in front of gun, cut from the Montex decal.


During the Microsol process, the top part of the "E" in Eileen drifted out of position. It was carefully removed with a toothpick.


I cut that portion from the Montex decal... good thing I had a spare.


Once that settles and dries, I'm going to do some micro-touchups on the Eileen where white is showing through.