Hasegawa B5N2 Kate Part 7 - Dusting and details. Oh, and it's finished!

Welcome to part 7, the final part.  I finished the model this afternoon and in away I’m sorry as I have thoroughly enjoyed not only the model itself but the blog aspect.  This is something new as normally I just put up snippets of news, my own ramblings and pictures of my completed models.  Most of my models are for publication and editors will get quite grumpy if the whole article is up on display months before the magazine is out however, not all my models are for articles and as such when I get the opportunity I will do this again.

Actually, all that blah is a bit precipitant, I have some more stages of finishing before I get to the completed pictures.

Propeller

The prop is a multi part affair, there is a spinner on the sprue but many Kates didn’t have one fitted, I liked the look and the detail is good so I went as per the instructions and left it off.

There are decals included however I decided to mask and spray them.

More chipping

I wanted to spray the wing walkways however I was worried about the tape lifting off the top coat, that’s a function of the Worn Effects fluid, that’s why I left it until now.

Rather than using the hairspray technique again I used the sponge/Maskol technique.  The Maskol is dabbed on with a fine sponge.

Then the walkways are sprayed, in this case Tamiya Neutral Gray darkened with Black.

Wheels

The hubs had been sprayed with Vallejo Steel and then masked with the Montex set.  In order to poke the cocktail stick through, slits were cut in the centre of the vinyl circle.

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The tyre colour is a mix of Tamiya Matt Black, Neutral Grey and dark Earth; this gives a nice authentic rubber shade.

Now for the fun part.  I wanted my Kate to be quite dusty not unlike the reference photo so that meant I had to do the wheels as well.  For this you’ll need a selection of pigments, brushes and white spirit.

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With a smallish brush, add the dry pigment.  I like to scrub it into the paint so a matt finish is vital.

With a different brush, white spirit is added to blend and fix the pigment.  Allow the mixture to pool in the recessed details rather like a wash.

When dry, take the original dry brush and work the pigment, further blending it to a desirable finish.  If you get tide marks, add a bit more dry pigment, you can also use your finger to blend it even further but beware what you touch afterwards!

To add a bit of variety, I take a tiny amount of different pigment, in this case a darker tone.

Again, work it into the surface.

Here’s the finished wheel.  Remember I was after a dusty finish not a mud bath!

If the wheels are dusty then that would apply to various parts of the airframe as well, in this case the wheel wells.  The same technique was used here but again, remember to be subtle.

Machine gun

Now for some detailing.  The machine gun is quite nice but it can be improved somewhat using scratch built detail and the photo etch set.  Note the trigger, It’s 1:48 remember so it is tiny!  In addition, the barrel was drilled out as it comes solid, no slide mould technology here!

It was painted with a darker mix than the tyres but still not neat matt black.  Then it was dry brushed using AK Interactive Steel pigments.  The pistol grip and the handle were painted with Vallejo Flesh before being streaked with thin Burnt Umber oil paint for a wood finish.

Towing arm

The towing arm was sprayed with Tamiya Yellow, I have no idea if this is authentic as I couldn’t find any photos of the internet but I thought it provided another bright splash of colour and would help it to stand out.  It was chipped using Vallejo 70822 German Camo Black/Brown using the sponge technique.  It then had a wash with Abteilung Shadow Brown oil paint before being set aside to dry.

Airframe Dusting

In keeping with the dusty theme, I needed to create dust effects on the airframe itself.  Using the same set of pigments, they were applied sparingly with a dry brush and worked into the surface.  The dark green of the camouflage gives a nice contrast to the dust.  When doing this, try to apply the pigments logically, to that end I concentrated on the wing roots and around the fuel filler areas.

When the initial application was on, a larger soft brush was used to blend the pigments.  Note I haven’t used any white spirit to fix them as I didn’t want to interfere with the oil paints as they wouldn’t be fully dry yet.  At the end I will spray AK Interactive pigment fixer over the top and this will set them permanently.

And here is the finished result.  I am still toying with the idea of doing fuel stain by the filler caps but I don’t want to spoil the effect I have already achieved.  I will mull it over.

Summary

And that my friends is that really.  Just a few finishing touches and she was all done.  As I said in my preamble, I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing you this project.  I have learnt things along the way and I hope I have managed to pass on some of my weathering techniques to you all.  Weathering aircraft is a real passion of mine and I am always seeking to develop techniques and ways to use the various products on offer for an authentic result.  Thank you for all you messages and support, it has been really encouraging and the it rate on the blog has just blown me away. 

My next project is yet another Eduard 1:72 Bf 110, in fact I have 3 to do!  Two are commissions, one straight from the box and one using some extra bits and pieces.  However the third is all mine.  That’s going to have battle damage, open engine cowlings, rivets and a well worn winter white wash!  I can’t wait to break out the Worn Effects jar again.  I will be doing that ship but I have to get these commissions done as I have my Instrument Rating Examiner upgrade at work coming up and that is a lot of work so I need to get the 110's done first.

So until the next time, take care and happy modelling.

Jamie

Hasegawa B5N2 Kate Part 6 - Weathering with oils

Filters

Before the oils I tend to apply a filter.  A filter is a very very thin wash over the entire surface; its job is to bring all the colours together and get a nice grimy finish.  For this model I used AK Interactive Winter Streaking Grime which is a grey green tone which works well.  Sorry for the lack of photos, when my battery is getting low it doesn’t save the images.  Here is an image from a Gekko I made a few months ago.

Prep

The first stage of the weathering is working with oil paints.  I prefer weathering with oils as I find the blended effects are very realistic and much easier to control than say using pre shading.  My favourite oil paints I like to use are from Abteilung, they seem to contain less linseed oil which makes them faster drying and more matt in appearance although sometimes I will mist on some matt varnish on occasion.  Usually I won’t bother though as the oils leave the surface with a nice realistic smooth metal effect.

I tend to put a small blob of the oil paint onto a piece of scrap card, this will draw out the linseed oil making them dry even faster and be more matt.  I say even faster but it will still be a day or two before you can use thinners over the top with confidence hence sometimes I will mist over some acrylic matt.

You will need a selection of brushes, some white spirit (in this case AK Interactive) and some kitchen roll to wipe the brushes on.

Upper surfaces 

The first stage is to dampen the surface with white spirit, this is important on a matt finish otherwise the oil paint can stain the surface which is not what we want.

Next we take a small brush and place tiny dots of the oil paint onto the surface.  First up I like to do the fading effect so white, buff and yellow are used.  Yellow over a green base is nice because it makes the colour warmer, white alone can result in a chalky finish.  Bright green is also useful in creating chromatic richness.

Taking a damp (ever so slightly damp) flat brush we slowly work the oils into the surface.  Try not to mix the paint as otherwise we’ll get a filter effect; we just want it very localised in order to get a gently marbled finish.

To finish we take a large soft dry brush and finish off the blending.

Next up it’s the low lights.  Shadow Brown and Cobalt Blue are used here, note the areas where the oil paint is places, along raised detail in shadow areas and along panel lines.  This effect will enhance contrast by creating false shadow, also it adds to the grime.

Again the oil paint is blended, first with a slightly damp flat brush and then a dry round brush.

Here is the finished effect on the centre panels.  Note it’s very subtle but that is exactly what we’re after.

When you’re using this effect try and use a bit of thought to how the real aeroplane may have weathered.  Here I am using a heavy effect of lightening the 2 outer panels but I painted the centre panel in a darker tone to simulate a new panel hence the fewer dots here.

The Hinomaru doesn’t escape.  Red and Mid Rust are also used.  Note how the paint has been applied along the surface detail, this will help to distinguish panels and create a more interesting surface for the eye to look at.

Again oils are used to create highlights and shadow to pop out the surface detail, in this case the wing root fairing.

Here is the finished top surface.  The effect is very subtle which is just what we are trying to achieve.  You’ll note also I haven’t used a panel line wash.  I think you’ll agree that this is not really necessary as the oil fading has done the job quite nicely.  If you wanted, you could run a very thin subtle wash in the panel lines in the grubbier areas such as around the engine but it shouldn't really be necessary.

Oils can also be an effective way of simulating engine oil leaks.  All radial engines leak oil, some more than others.  I couldn’t find any photos of a Kate showing the underside so I’m not sure if there were any typical patterns so please excuse the artistic license here.

Oil leaks

First off, the oil is drawn in thin lines with a small brush.  Try and be inconsistent with the length and distribution of the lines.

Next, with a moist flat brush, blend the lines.  Keep going until you get the desired finish.  Don’t worry if you remove too much, you can also go back and repeat the process.

Here is the finished underside showing all the effects so far.  Nice and grubby!

Ok, that’s it for part 6.  Hopefully I’ll have part 7 up tomorrow so stay tuned.