Hello!
This Sunday I'm organising the first airbrush workshop. If you're interested in airbrushing, now's the time for a basics/refresher course! Register by email, please.
My Bf108 is almost finished. Last week it was shiny and receiving all its markings. There's something about the newer Eduard decals. The carrier film is somewhat thick and shiny and it extends pretty far beyond the edges of the markings. People on the internet have discovered that it's possible to peel off this carrier film once the decals are laid down properly. There's a big discussion if you're actually supposed to do this or not, but I feel it gives a better result if you do. Decals have to be nicely settled into the details and you do need to be careful and go slow when peeling in order not to damage the decal. You'll actually see some damage in my photos...
So. Once the markings were laid down, I coloured in the panel lines. It's best if you do this on a glossy surface. Ammo has a whole range of 'PLW' (Panel Line Wash) paints. I have just a few in my shop. I used 1610 Tan Grey on the underside of the 108. My jars are a bit old and don't flow very well anymore, but they're still usable. The process is very simple: slap paint over the panel lines, let dry for a bit, wipe off in the direction of the airflow.
Step 1. You can see it's very dirty and not at all precise, but that will add to the effect.
After letting dry for a few minutes, we use Q-tips and kitchen towel to wipe off the PLW, in the direction of the airflow (so front to back):
You see the panel lines and rivets are now better defined and contrasted against the light blue. We wipe front to back to represent dirt streaking. I kept this courier plane relatively clean and will add a few streaks with oils later.
See the damaged 'W' on the left wing (right of picture)? That's damage due to peeling the decal film. I think this can actually add to the realism. Markings were painted on in real life and this paint is obviously subject to weathering and chipping as much as the underlying base coat.
Same thing was done on the topside, but now using Ammo 1608 Dark Green Grey:
Panel lines in the light grey areas especially will be very visible now. At this point I installed the landing gear, propeller, and some small parts on the underside of the wing.
Panel lines done, it was back to the airbrush area to knock that shine off, using a matt varnish.
I then used oils for some panel shading. In this case,
Ammo Oilbrusher 'Starship Filth', a very versatile grey-brown colour. We put some dots behind panel lines and fade this out using a brush. If the effect is too heavy, use a thinner-moistened brush to wipe off more.
Here's a comparison. Left wing is clean, right wing has been shaded:
Could be more subtle, but eh; good-enough-itis... It's possible to make even more contrast by using the same method with white oil on the front of the panel lines. I didn't do this for the 108, I'm happy with the result as is.
On the underside I did the same shading, and added some small streaks using both Starship Filth and
Dark Brown, which has a bit more red in it. Put a dot where you want the streak to begin, smear it out with a big brush, then use a moistened fine brush to sharpen the streak, cleaning residue on both sides.
On the topside, I added some paint chips (with Silver oilbrusher) on the area where the crew and passengers would walk on the wings, and put a small Dark Brown streak on each of the oil/fuel caps (above the yellow triangles).
To do: peel off the canopy masking (always both satisfying and scary, because you can't know if paint has crept under it until now), add some dirt/smoke using pigments.
Up next: dealing with my shop Shelf of Doom. Yes, I now have TWO Shelves of Doom...
Both the Tortoise and Daimler need priming and a nice coat of green paint.
To be continued...
See you next week!
