The Modellers Guide

The Modellers Guide
Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering
Aircraft of WWII, with airfield accessories, ordnance and diorama
Aleksandar Pou
P001 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 1
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P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 2
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The Modellers Guide:

Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering
Aircraft of WWII
Aleksandar Pou
To my lovely 3 year old son Marko, gifted model breaker!
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is dedicated to my first son Marko, who was born at the time it
was being written.
Special thanks is due to my dear wife Tanja for all her encouragement,
motivation, understanding and patience. Thanks love!
I would like to acknowledge and thank the following companies and people
who kindly supported this book:
The Cool Tool GmbH for their very generous provision of amazing multi tool
The Unimat MetalLine and all of the accessories.
The Airbrush Company for their very generous provision of Life Color paints,
thinners, cleaners and Iwata Airbrush.
Harder & Steenbeck GmbH for their generous provision of EURO-TEC 20A
silent airbrush compressor.
The Small Shop US Company for their kind provision of two amazing Hold
& Fold tools, cutting mats and brass rolling station.
Graham from Relish Models for his kind provision of the 1:32 Tamiya
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX and Baracuda Studios resin accessories.
Essco Aircraft Company for their provisions of five aircraft manuals which
helped me to build more accurate models in this book.
Models For Sale Ltd. for their kind provisions of Testors Models Master
paints.
NeOmega Resin Kits Company for their provision of Vector resin engines,
used on P-47D Thunderbolt in this book.
Signifer Company from France for their provisions of resin airfield
accessories used on Thunderbolt diorama in this book.
Sell Model from China for their provision of magnificent 1:32 Trumpeter
P-47D Razorback.
Historex Agents for their provision of two resin figures used on Thunderbolt
diorama in this book.
Wesco Enterprises US for their provision of really magical Magic Sculpt
modelling clay.
Panther Models UK for their provision of Hornet resin heads and airfield
accessories used on Thunderbolt diorama in this book.
My good friend and a club mate Vojislav S Stankov for his help with
historical references and encouragement with daily question is that book
ever going to be done?
My good friends and club mates Miroslav ljivic, Nenad Mikluev and
Pegi Stamenkovic for all of their support, encouragement, technical and
historical references.
My good friend Andy Bull for his support and help with some UK English
translations.
My good friend Mike Hopper for all of his support and help.
My good friend Richard J Caruana for his support and help with
Spitfire references.
The Modellers Guide to Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering Aircraft of WWII 5
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THE MODELLERS GUIDE TO SUPERDETAILING, PAINTING AND WEATHERING AIRCRAFT OF WWII
CONTENTS
Scale modelling: A love story ready to assemble
10
CHAPTER 1: TOOLS AND MATERIALS 14

CHAPTER 2: TECHNIQUES 18
CHAPTER 3: BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT
n SPITFIRE MK. IXC
28
n P-47D THUNDERBOLT 77

n JU-87D STUKA 125
CHAPTER 4: MAKING A DIORAMA 148
08/10/2014 11:24
y story as being a modeller

begins more or less the same
as any other modeller's story,
once upon a time when i was
a little kid... I was born in 1982 in a loving
family living in west Bosnia. One of the world
famous military airbases constructed and
completely hidden under mountain, eljava
airbase, was just a few kilometers from our
home and daily Mig-21 low level flights over
our house left a passion for military aircraft
ever since. From when i was seven years
old, my father used to take me to air shows
held at the airbase and my fascination and
passion grew by looking at the men in flight
suits and perfectly aligned natural metal
Mig's. My modelling skills were at work
with model trains at first, trying to make
entire communities, tunnels, stations
out of wood. My first diorama was a small
wild west town with railway station and
everything that goes with it, measuring five
meters across and completely done from
scratch. With being only 9 years old, making
photographs of it was the last thing on my
mind, something I regret now. With plastic
models being my main focus for years now
it is still hard to simply build a model out of
the box without trying to add some scratch
build parts, just to make the work more
interesting. Over the years, my skills have
evolved and been refined with constant
modeling experiments. My models have
been published numerous time in various
modeling magazines and since I am not
attending any competitions, seeing my
models published is the right kind of food
for my peculiar modelers ego. Now, i am
a father of a wonderful boy named Marko,
aged three, who is already showing his
interest in scale models by going through
the kit boxes and dry fitting parts as he
sees fit. Soon, I am about to become a
father for the second time, this time a baby
girl, Aleksandra. With being a father now
becoming my main occupation as well as
due to my work, there is less and less time
for scale models which is kind of liberating
at the moment. I still keep buying kits
though, habits are hard to change and
for my interests, thats evolving too judging
by more and more ship kits, both wooden
and plastic, safely stashed in my man cave.
Apart from making models, I am also making
paint masks for scale modelers which is now
becoming more of a full time occupation
than just a hobby. They can be found on
shop.maketar.com. Currently living in Novi
Sad, Serbia, with my wife Tanja and our son
Marko, fourth family member on her way and
eagerly waited for.
With kind regards,
Aleksandar Pou
10/10/2014 12:40
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FOREWORD
ooking back to the mid-1980s one remembers how

the modelling fraternity was dwindling fast and nearly
dying as computer games took over whatever free
time was previously dedicated to model making.
Fortunately this new fad did not last long and genuine
modellers returned to more creative activities. Our launch at
that crucial time of a new style modelling magazine, Modelaid
International, helped to keep the modelling hobby alive during
a period when other hobby magazines were closing down.
This brave initiative also had the surprising effect of raising
model standards in many ways, replacing the previous 'boys'
hobby' mentality with a selective and mature approach to
aircraft modelling. Over the last two decades we reaped
awesome results from those whom one cannot continue
to call modellers; they are now truly masters of an art that
continues to seek perfection with every new creation.
That modellers are exhibitionists is a very well known fact.
And why not? There's not much satisfaction in spending
hours, days and nights working on a masterpiece that is
then put away inside a cabinet once it has been finished.
Super detailing and weathering have become more and more
specialised and beyond the modest means of someone like
myself who used to build models to museum standards.
So now I stick to super detailing and weathering my
drawings in an effort to reach standards set by modellers,
while enjoying whole heartedly their magnificent work as
explained and illustrated in this wonderful publication by my
friend Aleksandar Pocuc. His work is truly magnificent and
should serve as a superb basis of learning for those who still
consider themselves novices in the field, while without doubt
they can also be a source of inspiration to established and
experienced modellers.
I continue to promise myself to take up aircraft modelling
again when I retire. The big question is 'when'!
Richard J. Caruana
Malta 2014
08/10/2014 11:24
SCALE MODELLING: A LOVE STORY READY TO ASSEMBLE
verything you knew about plastic

modelling, every model you
built, all that you have learnt
and researched, it needs to be
done all over again, old knowledge is
out, new technologies are in. If youve
been into modelling for 30 years or
just starting, obvious starting point is
the Internet. And there it is, product of
global informational revolution under
your fingertips, all the information
youll ever need just few clicks away:
modelling techniques, tools, which
airbrush nozzle you need, what type of
cement to use, exact colour shades,
the right brands and manufacturers,
whats inside that box, hows the plastic
looking, is it accurate enough, decal and
paint options, aftermarket parts. Then
countless references, photos, texts,
book excerpts, walkarounds showing all
possible details, forums, blogs, mailing
lists, social network groups, SIGs,
instant contact with thousands of fellow
modellers around the globe, some more
or less keen to help you, various experts
and hexperts advices, endless debates
over historical accuracy of some oddball
scheme or Spitfire prop shape. Then,
there are all that new, super detailed
kits, with hundreds of parts, high quality
injection molding, accurate, researched,
with gaudy decals printed in high quality,
and all that repeated in all the popular
scales. But thats not all! Call now and
get all the aftermarket parts you can and
cannot imagine! Coloured photo-etched
parts, detailed resin parts, even better
decals printed abroad, turned metal gun
barrels for tanks, metal casted tracks. If
youre into some rare and less popular
subjects, theres something for you too
short-run and resin kits, now with details
and quality matching styrene ones.
When you run out of paint, you can order
it online, shop for some discounts, just
like regular stuff you order. Lacquer and
acrylic paints, authentic and general
shades, various specialized thinners,
flat, gloss, satin coats, decal setting
solutions, weathering liquids, pigments,
fillers, putties, paint retarders, paint
cleaners, DIY resins...
Its good to be a kit modeller these

days, theres plenty of goodies for us...
And a few drawbacks...
Take a look at some online pictures
of completed kits, pure craft, skilfully
built, detailed, painted and weathered.
These are far cry from first models you
did as a kid, with some basic tech skills,
sharp box cutter, glue and, if you were
too advanced, paint. If you need your
model to look like that, then you need
that new pricey kit, aftermarket resin seat
and wheels, photo etched dashboard
and seatbelts, super-clear vac canopy,
thin-film decals, metal tracks instead
that poor rubber ones, metal hooks...
Add some precise engineering skills
for photo etch bending, panel opening
showing engine, radio set, guns and
ammo, turret interior, lower ship decks,
tail gunners pack of smokes, first aid
kit, glycol tank, map of occupied Europe
and half eaten wurst on the field shop
table, somewhere in the Eastern front.
You must know your chemistry too!
Which putty reacts badly with what
Japanese paints, what kind of primer
undercoat for this marvellous metalizer,
buffing it or not, which brand of setting
solution will melt your decals, do you
need cellulose thinner in acrylics, is that
small bottle of thinner really that better
than that bought in supermarket?
Then, some machine shop skills for
drilling all those tiny holes, cementing
flimsy photo etch parts to non-existent
details, major surgery for fitting that resin
cockpit tub into fuselage, assembly
of flaps hinges, tank aerials, AA gun
intricate sights, ship railings and tiny
float plane launcher, WWI biplane rigging
(oh, the HORROR)... Dont forget to
gather all precious tools you might need:
craft knifes, tweezers, chisels, pin vise,
clip holders, pliers, files, sanding sticks,
saws, scribers, micro drills, cutters, small
electric drill with gazillion bits, magnifier
glass, brushes, paint stirrer, airbrush and
compressor, paint booth...
Also, you need to be pure artist in he
heart and painter by the hand. Good eye
for all the various shades of grey, green
and blue, steady hand for airbrushing,
10 SCALE MODELLING - A LOVE STORY READY TO ASSEMBLE
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preshading, postshading, pin-washing,

washing, drybrushing, filters, mists,
grading, fading, layering, weathering,
chipping, and to seal all that with several
coats of clear varnish.
But, thats not all, in order to present
your fine work, you must be a talented
photographer. Build small photo studio,
with correct lightning setup, uniform
background, good dSLR camera,
tripod, softbox, flash, zoom lens, and
knowledge to operate all that if you
want your photos to look like on that
website, with cockpit details like in that
magazine, without thick layer of paint
showing, or fine dust on some parts,
or dirty keyboard and coffee mug in
the background. White balance, light
settings, shutter speed, flash level,
shades, dubious macro mode or not,
priority settings, manual or auto mode,
depth of filed, all that fancy talk.
Still, its not over. You HAVE to prove
authencity of your kits scheme, with
period pictures, colour profiles, scans,
heavy megapixels showing museum
pieces, books, magazines, papers,
websites pure detective work, with
bit of a historian and a philosopher.
Then, how to present your work? Your
own blog, where you set the rules, or
some public forum, but not just any,
as you must beware of those gritty
old modellers, always ready to throw
rotten tomatoes on your fine handiwork,
make a laugh of it and ridicule you as
a modeller, so you need to run and
hide in shame. Or do you choose all
friendly shoulder patting good days
forum, where all you get are praises,
superlatives and cheerful emoticons in
several rows? Maybe those lethargic
places, where your post dont get any
replies, positive or not? Or to take it to
the competition? Put it just in the show
section, or to compete with others?
Is my model really up to it? Am I born
modeller? Sure I am! Hey, that guy with
long unpronounceable name spent six
months on that kit, is he insane, who
does that, thats not fair?! And look at
those kiddies, brush painted kits, ha-ha,
missing half the parts, they dont have
a clue. Maybe I could sneak into junior

competition, I still look boyish, I need
that medal! Or Im modelling just for
myself, just for fun, for positive energy,
to past the time and relax from daily
chores? Or to harvest all the praises?
Booo, this competition is rigged, Im
not a winner. There should be more
competitions, I need a chance to win win
win! Or we need to calm down, its just a
hobby? Or I must be the best?
If you take back yourself to that kid
gluing his first kit, and present him with
all this complications, will you still be
in for it? Why do we complicate things
when grown up?
And the modelling dilemmas of
modern modellosapiens go on and on...
Its often said that we are living in
golden times for modelling. Quantity and
quality of new kits cant be disputed, all
the available information, connections
with thousands of other modellers.
The new age brought new norms,
standards and expectations. Life style
and tempo are different, people are
changed and their social interactions
are more dynamic, affecting all aspect
of living, including our hobby. Total
communications and global connections
made the need to compete even greater,
we are now eager to prove ourselves
to total strangers, to step into this
virtual arena and fight for our piece or
recognition in modelling cyberspace,
just like you fight and strive in your
everyday life, to survive, to do better,
do be safer. And why not? If one has
the time, the means and the talent, with
all the abundance on the market, its
logical way to go. The problem is if its
presented as the only way there is. Not
all modellers need to have Advanced
Modeller Syndrome, to make perfect
kits. You should build kits for yourself
in the first place. And learn as you go.
Stagnation is also counter productive,
always seek for better result. Many of
the returnees to the hobby are scared
away when they realize wheat is the
norm today, what they are expected to
do, at what level. So take your time to
learn, to try new techniques, read books
08/10/2014 11:24
and magazines, ask other

modellers, practice.
To be honest, these are not the
real golden times of modelling, rather
golden times of modelling business.
Late 70s and 80s were the real golden
times, as proven by ever more aging
modelling demographics. The world is
changed, back in the day it was just a
hobby, meant to relax and have fun, kits
were more crude and limited in range,
there was no Wiki on click away, no
forum pictures of the exact kit you were
building, no WWW and vast amounts
of information. Out of the Box was the
norm. Scratchbuild details in the cockpit,
thin seat sides, add foil seatbelts,
drybrush instruments. Take wheels
from the Matchbox kit as they are more
accurate, and Airfix prop, suitable for
this version. Cut off and control surfaces
and put them in more dynamic position.
Sand down overscale details, make sub
assemblies, be spare on cement, use
masks when painting, and better paint in
few thin layers. Dont use ALL the decals
from the sheet, just for one version, mix
paints for better shade, fix decals with
varnish. Add subtle weathering, then
matt cote over it. Be proud of it, put it in
the display case, show it to your friends.
Ask older modellers for advice, let them
show you some tricks for even better
models. Enjoy kits better than yours.
Learn on your errors.
Modelling should be relaxing,
place where you go to recharge your
batteries, in this fast and stressful
times. Precise manual work is known
to stimulate endorphin production, that
why DIY is still popular. Working on our
little kits, we get better, happier, settled,
more patient and focused, fulfilled with
something thats not our day job. And
when the hobby becomes frustration,
somethings gone wrong. Leave it for
a while, take a step away, think, dont
push it. Be satisfied with your work
and inspired to evolve, respect your
standards first, then others. They used
to say: make one kit to try it, two for
competition, three for display and all rest
for yourself.
Going further, we get ourselves into

new realm of critical modelling. Deep
panel lines, rubber tracks, too short
wings, accuracy issue, wrong cross
section, raised panel lines, out of scale
rivets, spartan cockpit, unbuildable, no
weapons, no details, bad decals, lousy
instructions problems big today, not so
big back then. You had to scratchbuild,
now you can buy the specific part.
Somehow you had more time for kits
before. And there were no shake and
bake kits, nor kits with over 100 euros
price tag. You pay to save your time, and
to get more accuracy, so you carefully
choose kits to be bought. You forgot the
times when you respected every kit you
could find. And you get frustrated when
the super new kit is discovered to have
same old issues as 30 old one, just with
100 more parts for the interior that will be
invisible once you close all the panels.
Small box, 40 parts, two decal options,
1/72 in Europe, 1/48 in USA, a typical
kit many generations of modellers know
very well. Now we get everything in all
the scales, 1/100, 1/144, 1/72, 1/48,
1/32, 1/35, 1/24. Kits with hundreds or a
thousand parts. Ships, tanks, airplanes,
vehicles, figures of all sizes... And there
used to be just Airfix small soldiers,
British, German, American, commandos.
Its hard to imagine old Matchbox kits
available everywhere, every plastic frame
in different colour, easy to assemble,
cheap, all popular subjects, with small
window at the back of the box, for kid to
see colourful plastic. So father buys the
kit in one of the numerous specializes
kit stores, kid runs back home and
assembles it at kitchen table in an
afternoon. No painting, plastic is vivid
enough and it has decals, what do you
need more? And there was that magical
box art, no CAD back then, no digital
backgrounds and smeared hi speed
flying 3D renderings, just good old hand
drawn masterpieces, with bombs and
explosions, Cross, Koike, Huxley, Knight,
Velc...
But, how do you sell it now against
social networks, electronic gadgets,
reality shows and killing evil zombies in
12 SCALE MODELLING - A LOVE STORY READY TO ASSEMBLE
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full 3D acceleration?
So, whats the main problem with
this hobby? Its a dinosaur. Young
generations smirk at it: what you like
waste time building it? Your friends are
horrified: what, you still play with that
toys? And this dinosaur is looking at
the incoming comet, slowly but surely
filling the horizon. In order to survive,
modelling needs to unstuck from 20th
century and step into modern times.
Yes, sure, details are better now,
more refined, and precise. Still its
manual labour, so strange to young
generations. We need real technological
boost, we need and i in front of our
terminology, iModelling, iWeathering,
iWash, iPE, iDecals. We need apps for
smart phones and electronic gadgets.
Download app for Bf 109, Mustang
or Panther tank, send it to 3D printer,
choose painting options, markings and
weathering level, click OK and wait
overnight for your finished product. In
few years, those slow printers will be
at the scrap yard, new, smaller ones,
will print in just and hour. If you are
really at it, you can get those 5-minute
printers, instead a new car. Of course,
if you get a free app, then your models
will be just OK, not bad, fit for back
row on the shelf. Sometimes they have
some bugs, so you get left Corsair wing
on Focke Wulf model, asymmetrical
USAF markings, French roundels out
of register, unrealistic chipping, spartan
details in cockpit, orange peel finish on
NMF F-105. So you buy hi-end designer
brand apps. Yes, you can get just most
popular subjects, but those are perfect!
The details, the paint finish, the subtle
weathering! And for limited time offer,
you get self photographing kit booth, for
that superb jaw dropping images. On
the next competition, you will surely get
the right attention, judges know what the
good apps are... So youre sipping Pina
Colada by the pool at your vacation,
when sudden need for a division of
Tiger tanks overpowers you, you touch
few icons on your iGadget, and the 3D
printing house makes overnight delivery
to your room. But instead Tigers, you get
Shermans. With wrong tracks.

Just when you finally break the
bank and purchase dreaded printer
(cartridges available separately),
Tamayato introduces the next best
thing in modelling, StyrnBots(tm),
nanotechnology wonder bots, that
produce exact replicas on subatomic
level. Now, thats something rad! Finally
we have true scale models, with ALL
the details, no corners cut. Yes, its big
buck, but hey, its a hobby. Its modelling
dream come true. Scale can be
changed in the fly. Squadron markings
changed in matter of seconds. Pilot can
actually move his hands. Panel lines are
overlapped, rivets flush and tiny, surface
detail restrained. Tank suspension is
better than original, zimmerit looks the
part. Wing trailing edges razor sharp,
wheel wells full of pipes and wires,
canopies thin and clear, all control
surface moveable, no silvering around
markings, invasion stripes uneven,
Russian T-34s have chalked in slogans
with Nanochalk(tm). Real oil spills, real
gun powder residue and exhaust stains.
Hasego will pack their StyrnBots in
523 different packings, but all will be
the same inside. Mr.StyrnBot will be
the preferred brand for replenishing
wasted little bots. Drogony will master
armour kits, Slide ArmoroBots specially
tuned to reproduce composite steels
used to cast real tanks. Hornblower will
be known for its unorthodox Special
Mini Roboters, capable to reproduce to
scales up to 10:1, with slight accuracy
issues. Ravelle will be planning to
reissue plastic kits in Plastic Nostalgic
series. For those seeking the ultimate
perfection, aftermarket RezNbots will be
available... And then someone will have
bright idea to send a StyrnBot in the
past to fix all the faulty plastic kits...
So, were waiting for the future, until
then enjoy building kits your way, learn
and practice, while you still can, until
they move Bot factories to Mars...
Marjan Urekar,
IPMS Novi Sad, IPMS Serbia
08/10/2014 11:25
Chapter I
TOOLS AND MATERIALS
TOOLS
here is no trade without proper tools and the same

stands for our hobby. Number and variety off tools
that you use often depends of your modelling
skills. Beginners usually work with basic tools only,
modellers knife, tweezers, files and sanding sticks. With your
skills improving, you will be able to do more complicated
modelling tasks and would naturally require and use more
different kinds of tools. We can divide all of them into three
main categories, hand tools, makeshift tools and power tools.
Hand tools are the most used tools in scale modelling for
large variety of tasks like cutting, drilling, sanding, trimming,
filling, parts holding, measuring, painting and so on. In terms
of accuracy hand tools are invaluable and their limits are only
determined by how skilled a modeller is. There are situations
when we do not have an appropriate hand tool to do the task
and then we make our own tool, those are makeshift tools
which can be used for parts holding, model holding, strip
cutting, sanding of irregular surfaces, rigging, scribing and all
the other tasks we cannot buy a tool for. At the end, no matter
how long you are in
the hobby you can
never have too many
tools. Every day, new tools are becoming available and made
especially for us modellers in a never ending quest for perfect
model. Scribing access panels, riveting, photo-etched parts
cutting, bending, rolling... the list is endless.
Power tools are something a lot of modellers argue about,
are they appropriate and necessary in our hobby? Well, it all
depends on what modelling material you are working with,
personally i do not use power tools on anything made from
styrene including plastic kit parts as well. The reason is quite
simple, power tools sand, spin, cut too fast and will melt the
plastic and even if you can adjust the speed they are still a lot
more difficult to control than hand tools and after all, why would
you need a power drill to make a hole in a small plastic part.
So why do we need power tools in the first place? At some
point, an average plastic kit modeller will become advanced
modeller which now implicates use of resin upgrade sets, metal
upgrade and replacement parts and finally, scratchbuilding.
We can still rely on hand tools for some of the simpler tasks
but as our skills improve we will get the urge to make our own
parts, upgrades and conversions, that is where the power
tools are irreplaceable for turning, milling, grinding, drilling...
with accuracy and precision. Power tools require more
Basic tools for sanding, smoothing and polishing, all equally important. Blue makeshift sanding tools on the left
hand side are a fellow modellers product and great thing for sanding cylindrical and round shaped parts. Sanding
pads and Alclad polish cloths are perfect for smoothing and polishing painted parts as they are soft and when used
with water will produce very smooth satin-like finish. Squadron sanding sticks are my favourites and i use them
on plastic, metal, resin and wood with equally good results, wet or dry. Dark mesh clots is suitable for smoothing
larger parts turned on lathe, also a perfect thing for gently rubbing over Alclad finish to get scratches and more
realistic look.
Basic cutting tools every

modeller should have. Three
types of knives for different
tasks, pointed tip blade for
very fine cuts and trimmings,
curved blade for trimming,
cutting styrene rods and
shapes and inside curved
blade for separating moving
surfaces, scoring styrene
sheets and so on. Saws are
important for cutting resin
bits, kit parts and even small
gauge aluminium and brass
pipes. Small and sharp cutting
pliers for detaching kit parts
of the sprue, remember not
to use these for cutting wires
and things as you want them
sharp for plastic.
14 CHAPTER I - TOOLS AND MATERIALS
08/10/2014 11:26
Tools for holding parts are especially helpful when working with small objects and
in situations when you need a part to be securely held for painting but also to
avoid holding and touching it with your hands. Particularly interesting is jewellers
universal work holder with comfortable wooden handle and very versatile vise that
can hold pretty much everything from figurines, kit parts, pipes, resin parts...
Reamers, pipe
cutters, pin vices,
callipers, sculpting
tools, files, scribers
and rivet makers are
just as important for
any serious modeller
and scratchbuilder.
caution so be sure to wear

protective goggles and hand
gloves at all times. Remember,
it is better not to see well with
goggles than not to see at all
without them!
PAINTS
One of the most asked
questions in any discussion
on painting models either by
brush or airbrush is which
brand and type of paint is the
best out there. Considering
the number of brands and
types of paints available on the
market today, there is simply no
straight answer to this question.
First, we need to analyze the
properties of each paint type,
pros and cons, the environment
we work in and of course the
costs. Further in this chapter
i will try to explain the basic
properties of three most used
paint types and my experience
with each of them. Also, each
of the three models in this book
is painted with different paint
type to help demonstrate paint
properties and usage.
Enamel Paints
I am sure that there is no
modeller who in some stage

of his modelling have not
used enamels, regardless of
his favourite scale, period or
point of interest. Enamels are
oil based paints and that oil
component is what determines
their drying time ranging from
a few hours to a few days, not
so desirable having in mind a
number of different colours and
coats we have to deal with on
a single subject. Brush painting
with enamels over enamels is
another bit of a problem as no
matter for how long you leave
it to cure they will dissolve
one another more often than
not and create bumpy and
irregular paint surface. One
way to avoid this would be
protective acrylic based coat
between two enamel coats.
When we come to airbrushing,
enamels are one of the best
for the job, they have very fine
structure and flow properties
and since they are slow drying
there is no chance of clogging
or drying of the paint in the
airbrush. You can use them
for airbrushing large areas,
shading, fading, filtering, panel
line enhancing etc. Enamels
dry to a hard surface which can

be easily sanded with fine wet
sanding paper, sanding pads
or abrasive cloth to achieve
perfectly smooth satin finish.
Highly diluted enamel paints
will make a perfect wash for
panel lines and recessed areas.
Highly effective filters can also
be made by highly diluting
enamels and airbrushing it
on the model. Adding thinner
to enamel paint will shorten
the drying time as thinner
evaporates faster. To prolong
drying time simply add small
amount of artist oils to the
mix. To faster the drying time
use lacquer thinner instead of
enamel, in this case the paint
can be considered dry after just
a couple of hours and can be

safely masked or over-painted.
Enamel paint drying time also
depends on humidity in the air,
more humid the air is paint will
dry slower. Some modellers
like to protect their paint work
by putting it into sealed plastic
container to prevent dust
particles sticking to the model
which will only prolong drying
time as by evaporating paint
raises humidity in the container.
The best thing after painting
your model is to leave it aside
on a tabletop for at least 24
hours. I have found the best
results to be with Testors Model
Master, Revell and Humbrol
enamels. Enamel paints are
flammable and toxic so use
them in well ventilated area or
outside only!
Lacquer Paints
Lacquer paints dries by solvent
evaporation and produces a
hard, durable finish, in any
sheen level from ultra matte to
high gloss which can be often
further polished as required.
Drying time is shorter than for
enamels, surface is generally
harder, more durable and
can be easily sanded and
polished with dry and wet
abrasives. Thanks to excellent
surface properties of lacquer
paints and to the fact that
they can be produced in any
sheen level, the best metalizer
Unimat Metal Line multi tool is an amazing piece of hardware being so modular and
versatile. Lathe, milling machine, sanding, drilling, tool sharpening and grinding are
just a few of many tasks this little machine can do. All in one and pretty much all you
need in your workshop.
08/10/2014 11:26
Chapter I
TOOLS AND MATERIALS
Never settle with one type or brand of paint as

best results are achieved by combining them and
experimenting.
paints we have now days are

lacquer based, as well as
the best primers and micro
fillers. Generally, models and
parts painted with lacquers
can be handled, masked and
over-painted in just a couple of
hours while brush painting with
lacquers over lacquers will not
dissolve the paint. Oil washes
can go directly over lacquers as
enamel thinner will not dissolve
or mix with solvent component.
Lacquer paints are also more
aggressive than enamel paints
which is actually a good thing in
our case as by airbrushing it on
the model, solvent will melt an
ultra thin layer of model plastic
and will actually fuse the paint
to the model creating even
tougher paint finish. Lacquers,
even with short drying time, will
not clog the airbrush if diluted
one to one paint to thinner
ratio, thanks to excellent paint
structure and flow properties
lacquers are one of the best
paints for airbrushing. My

favourites and the only ones
i use are Gunze Sangyo Mr.
Color paints.
ACRYLIC PAINTS
Acrylic water based paints
are relatively new in scale
modelling and their popularity
keeps growing. For a modeller
who has been using enamels
or lacquers transition to acrylics
may seem hard or pointless.
With acrylics, it is a whole
different philosophy, they are
paints of course but function
in a completely different way
than enamels or lacquers.
Acrylic paints dry very fast
and thus can often clog your
airbrush if not diluted a bit more
than other paints. Fast drying
is one of many good sides
of acrylics as you can spray
one coat and handle it or use
masks just a few minutes after
as well as spray the next coat.
Another good side is the fact
that water based acrylics are

much less hazardous or non
toxic at all and most of them
are odourless. It is important
to remember that if you are
not spraying your models with
lemonade, it is not healthy! Just
if something says non-toxic
that does not means that you
can keep inhaling it all day
long! Further good sides of
acrylic paints are: you can
dilute most of them with just
water, if you mess up your
model with acrylics, most of
them can be relatively easily
removed with alcohol or soapy
water and without damaging
you model. When it comes to
brush painting, it is another
great deal as you can paint with
acrylics over acrylics after just
a few minutes with no chance
of dissolving the paint beneath.
There is, in fact, one thing that
i do not really like with acrylics
and that is blending which
is used on figures, diorama
elements and of course model

parts. It is very simple to do it
with enamels and oils as they
are oil based, stay wet enough
for you to work with them and
the blending process goes
smooth every single time. With
acrylics it is a whole different
story, layers and layers of
different shades of the base
paint, over-painting, feathering...
The results are surprisingly
good but the process itself is
a bit too much, at least for me,
oils were and will continue to
be the only way to go. So, as
almost all said above sounds
great, why do not we all use
acrylics only? When i first
started using acrylic paints my
experience was a mixed bag,
one day it would all went great
and the next a disaster. I simply
could not get the proper paint
to thinner ratio, my airbrush
kept clogging, many times
the paint simply do not cover
the model well enough and
16 CHAPTER I - TOOLS AND MATERIALS
08/10/2014 11:26
above all, paint surface was not

that tough as with enamels or
lacquers. At present, i am using
acrylics for most of the time
and i am more than happy with
them. So far, i have been using
almost every single brand of
acrylic paints available on the
market and achieved the best
results with Life Color, Gunze
Sangyo Mr. Hobby acrylics and
Tamiya acrylics.
Varnishes
Varnish is transparent, hard and
protective finish or film primarily
used to seal and protect the
painted surface, it is usually a
combination of a drying oil, a
resin, and a thinner or solvent.
Originally transparent but may
be designed to produce satin
or semi-gloss and matt sheens
by the addition of flatting
agents. Scale models are not
heavily handled or exposed
to elements so in scale
modelling varnishes are used
as a barrier between different
paint type layers and as a
base for washes, weathering
and decal placement rather
than as protective finish. Most
commonly available as enamel,
lacquer and acrylic based.
Due to better self levelling
properties, varnishes are easily
applied with both brushes and
airbrushes, in two or three
coats for the best effect. When
used as a base for washes,
varnish must be different
typethen the wash is so if you
are using oil washes, varnish
should be acrylic or lacquer. In
my experience, i have found
the best varnishes to be from
Life Color and Gunze Sangyo
acrylics as they are durable,

easily applied and produce
beautiful finish. As alternative
to common varnishes very nice
results can be achieved with
floor polishes as Future and
Pronto, most easily applied
with wide and soft brush and
also resistant to oil washes.
It is advisable to seal finished
models with two or three thin
coats of varnish especially
if dry pastels are used for
weathering as they need to be
sealed. If the model is painted
with metalizers, varnish is
not recommended primarily
because it will ruin your metal
finish but also due to the fact
that it will not stick to some of
them especially to those that
need buffing, like Model Master
and Gunze Sangyo metalizers.
Enamel Varnishes and white
paint tend to turn yellow over
time, to prevent this from
happening simply add a drop
of blue paint into the varnish or
white paint, it will stay perfect
forever.
Before You Start

Painting
Many modellers propagate
the theory that you should and
must wash your model with
soapy water before you start
painting, well, i had never ever
washed a single kit part and
i cannot recall ever having a
problem. Kit parts may have
some mould releasing agents
left on them but those are the
least of your worries. Same
applies for resin parts and
kits. If the paint is not properly
diluted and applied there is
simply no magic that will keep
I have found acrylic varnishes to be the best as they dry fast and produce perfect
results every time. Mixing a little of gloss varnish with matt paint will improve its flow
properties and will airbrush easier.
it on no matter what you did to

your model including washing
it in warm soapy water, with
point on the warm. If you have
spare time to stand by the
kitchen sink with an old tooth
brush in your hand to wash
your model, maybe consider
tidying your work table instead.
Another interesting dilemma
concerns primers and priming
of your model, do we have
to do it and when we have to
do it. The main point of using
primers is to make a better
surface for the paint to come.
For some it is a must for others
it is just another unnecessary
step in the process. First
of all, what is a primer? It is
essentially a paint product
that allows finishing paint to
adhere much better than if
it were used alone. For this
purpose, primer is designed
to adhere to surfaces and to
form a binding layer that is
better prepared to receive the
paint. Because primers do not
need to be engineered to have
durable, finished surfaces, they
can instead be engineered to
have improved filling and binding properties with the base
material underneath. Primers
are used mainly on porous and
water sensitive materials while
using it on surfaces made of
plastic is only necessary when
making a drastic change of
colour, in example, if you want
to paint very dark plastic with
light colours like white, yellow,
light green as those are known
for poor coverage ability.
Having in mind that plastic
models are likely to have some
gaps along the seam lines due
to fit imperfections and that

those gaps are hard to spot on
unpainted model, it is advisable apply the primer prior to
painting. I am often using ordinary grey paint for this task as
its main purpose is to point the
imperfections rather than to fill
them. Acrylic or lacquer paints
are the best solutions as they
dry fast and are easy to sand.
Priming your models prior to
application of metalizers like
Alclad, Mr. Metal Color and
others is advisable although
it is not necessary, the main
point is to level and smooth
the surface for better final paint
surface results. Metalizers
including Alclad will not craze
or ruin the plastic and you
can apply them directly on the
model without priming it first.
The best primers and micro
fillers i have came across are
Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer
and Alclad II Primer and Micro
Filler.
Conclusion
We are now back to that question about the best paint brand
and type, let me tell you, there
is no such thing as the best
paint type or brand! All three
main paint types mentioned
above have their lows and
highs and the best way to go
is to combine them depending
on a specific task or situation.
It is not the paint type that
makes a good modeller and
airbrush artist but the time and
practice only. Take the best of
each and never stop experimenting as that is the only way
to get results you have never
achieved before.
Primers, micro fillers and putties.
08/10/2014 11:26
Chapter II
TECHNIQUES
OIL TANKS
NON CYLINDRICAL TANKS
Scratchbuilding area around
the engine may look difficult
and challenging to some
modellers but is actually
quite easy. Apart from
a whole bunch of wires,
cables, tubes and hydraulic
lines which are easily done
with various gauges of lead
wires and plastic cables
from small electric devices
there are a few more parts

that would require. Junction
boxes, controllers, filters
and connectors usually have
very simple form whether it
is a cylinder or a cube so
those does not really require
any special explanations or
modelling instructions. Our
points of interest in this area
are hydraulic tanks as those
can be a bit more difficult
Moving the metal cylinder
towards the point
number two will produce
elongated circle cross
sections as can be seen
on the piece that has
been already bent.
to scratchbuild. We will start

with non-cylindrical oil tanks
like the one found in SBD
Dauntless aircraft. Instead of
bending a piece of styrene
sheet and wrapping it around
the cylindrical object i will
use a piece of aluminium
sheet for two simple reasons,
styrene is elastic and would
be difficult to get the perfect
shape without heating boiling
or heating it, on the other
hand aluminium sheet is
more plastic than elastic
and once wrapped around
a cylinder it will retain the
perfectly round shape. Cross
section of our fist oil tank is

elongated circle and to get
that shape i am going to use
one of the rollers from The
Small Shop brass rolling set.
First, we will measure and cut
aluminium piece to be the
same width as the tank. Start
by bending aluminium piece
over the cylinder to the point
when you get aluminium
sheet ends run parallel.
At this point, we will move
the cylinder a bit away from
the bent part and toward the
marked number two. While
holding the cylinder firmly
pressed to the table, we will
Convex oil tank side caps

made from aluminium
can be used for vacuum
forming styrene parts if
more desirable.
Process and the tools for

the tank scratchbuilding.
Dentists probe is used as a
sculpting tool.
18 CHAPTER II - TECHNIQUES
08/10/2014 11:27
Finished aluminium oil tank still secured with the tape while magic sculpt is curing inside and
the kit tank which is wrong in both shape and size.
bend the point number two of

aluminium sheet to the point
when two ends meet. When
cylinder is removed we should
get elongated circle cross
section while the elongation
will depend on how much we
have moved the cylinder from
the first bending point toward
the point number two. Cut
the excess of aluminium with
scissors and smooth the seam
by pressing it with something
flat while holding the cylinder
inside the newly formed tank
shell to give it a proper support
while flattening the seam.
Once we get a perfect shape
we will secure it with a piece of
masking tape to prepare it for
the next step.
As the sides of oil tank are
convex our next step is to
place the shell on a 3mm thick
piece of styrene and tightly
outline its outer shape with a
pen. By drilling a couple of
holes we will continue the job
of cutting the shape by sharp
pointed knife and finish it off
with files and rolled sanding
paper. Making a convex tank
sides is now an easy thing, we
will place a piece of aluminium
0.25mm thick over the styrene
piece with opening and secure
it with masking tape on the
sides. Top press the aluminium
trough the opening we will
apply a small amount of soap
to its surface and then start
burnishing it down with the
thumb. Take your time and
keep going until you see the
edges of the opening clearly
showing on aluminium as we
will use those lines our cutting
guide when removing the
excess around the part. Some

sanding will be required to get
it fit into the tank shell perfectly
so keep checking the fit
constantly. Once both convex
parts are done its time to fill
in the shell with Magic Sculpt
to give it strength. We will
apply it to the walls with small
amount at a time and distribute
it evenly with sculpting tool, at
the end simply fill in the rest.
Before fitting the caps we will
fill them with Magic Sculpt as
well to prevent any damages
that may happen when fitting
them into the tank shell. To
allow the clay to cure fully we
will leave everything aside
for some twelve hours. White
Finished oil tank looks good and ready for painting, after a subtle
weathering it will look excellent.
glue can be used to fit the

caps as it is easy to clean up
with wet brush as opposed to
CA glue which can make this
a bit messy. Now, thin vinyl
strips can be used to simulate
fasteners, draining section
made of Magic Sculpt, a piece
of styrene for the filler cap
plate and we are done here.
CYLINDRICAL TANKS
Cylindrical tanks, due to
their cross section being
a circle are in many ways
easier to scratchbuild than
non-cylindrical ones. Using
the process with bending of
aluminium sheet over a cylinder
is one way to do it while my
preferred method is turning it

on lathe, it is easier, faster and
the end result is better. Fully
cured piece of Magic Sculpt
rolled to form the cylinder is
used as a starting piece.
I will first make a few shallow
passes with turning tool to form
the perfect cylinder followed
by further thinning of the piece
with constant stops to measure
its diameter with callipers. Once
we get the desired diameter
we will proceed with sanding
paper to get a perfectly smooth
surface. In this stage while
the piece is spinning it is the
best thing to use wet sanding
to prevent overheating of the
sanding paper.
Rolled Magic Sculpt pieces are just a perfect material for turning by being rigid, temperature resistant and with great machining
properties. Before anything else a few layers of material are removed first to get a perfect cylinder.
08/10/2014 11:27
Chapter II
TECHNIQUES
Convex cap of the tank is nicely done

with just a few passes with the tool.
After removing a few layers of material our lathe is reconfigured for making convex end to the cylinder. Pivot point position is essential for the curvature of the end part.
Once cut to appropriate length the other end of

the tanks is machined. Red marker line is very
visible while the piece is turning allowing a high
accuracy in sizing the piece to its final length.
Convex side of the tank is

quite an easy thing to achieve
with Metal Line lathe by using
a turning table as a pivot
for turning tool. For smaller
curvature of the cut we will
move the turning tool away
from the pivot point and vice
Compass cutter is used to cut perfect circles in the styrene sheet with the tank
radius used as a measure. Note the red guides marking the bending line. Lightly
scoring the lines with sharp pointed knife will make a perfectly straight bend.
Fit is nice and tight.
versa. With just a few swings

of the tool, followed with some
wet sanding and our convex
part of the tank is done. Width
of the tank is then measured
and marked, cut either with
cutting tool on the lathe or by
saw and the previous step is
section of the tank with folding

lines marked in red. To get a
straight folding line, a few very
light passes with sharp pointed
knife are made along the red
lines. Seams are then glued
with Tamiya extra thin cement
from the inside followed by
a light sanding of the edges
from the outside. Once the
square section is in place, rest
of the details are made with
Magic Sculpt and shaped with
wet brush. Filler cap pattern is
achieved by simply pressing
the allen screw head on a
piece of Magic Sculpt while still
being soft.
repeated to make the other

convex side to it. The whole
process takes as little as
20 minutes.
Compass cutter and sharp
pointed knife are used to cut
0.25mm thin styrene sheet in a
shape that will form the square
Any part is simple enough to be scratchbuilt with ease once divided into simple subassemblies. Apply small pieces of soft Magic
Sculpt on the tank surface and shape it with wet brush to create oil line connectors. Round and flat brushes are great tools for
shaping Magic Sculpt especially when moisten with water.
20 CHAPTER II - TECHNIQUES
08/10/2014 11:28
INSTRUMENT PANELS
Main instrument panel piece looks flat and uninteresting as opposed to the lower
section already painted with fine round brush.
n a never ending quest

for that perfect looking
instrument panel i
have tried pretty much
everything with more or
less satisfying results. Kit
instrument panels are either
styrene or clear plastic and
those can often be good but
not good enough. Resin cast
The difference between pre-painted photo etched parts and the ones we have just
painted is obvious. Screen printing also produces a surface that seems to have a thick
layer of dust on it. Note the lower piece dials and the print offset shifted to the left.
panels are one step up from

the kit parts but those are often
still out of scale. Personally,
i have found photo etched
instruments to be the best way
to go with very fine details,
raised and recessed surfaces
and clean openings. Further,
two options are available,
pre-painted and bare metal
so it is only natural to analyze

both. Pre-painted photo etched
parts can seem like a best
option, well they are already
painted if nothing else and
will save us some time and
eyes but what happens when
we give them a closer look?
Immediately noticeable are the
colours which are somehow
wrong more often than not.

Apart from the questionable
colours, we can also notice
that some printed elements
are actually shifted to the side
from metal surface details, a
printing offset that gives the
part a bit funny look. Last
thing with pre-painted photo
etched parts is of course the
A great thing about the dials printed

on glossy transparent film is a perfect
simulation of the glass covers. No
need for tricks and drops of gloss
paint, nice and neat.
08/10/2014 11:28
Chapter II
TECHNIQUES
Finished instrument panels look very lifelike and

busy even being as small as a thumb nail.
print itself which is rather dusty

and grainy even when from the
distance. Now, the best and
only remaining options is to
take bare metal photo etched
instrument panel and paint it
ourselves, it is easy, quick and
the end result will be absolutely
superior to anything else. I am
going to demonstrate some of
my techniques on Aires photo
etched instrument panel for the
Eduards Bf-109E.
To start off, dark grey is
airbrushed on instrument panel
parts as well as two layers of
white at the back side of clear
foil with dials. From this point,
all we need is a fine pointed
brush for painting the details.
With the basic dark grey
colour applied, everything now
looks too flat and to change
that, we have to enhance
raised details to get more of

a three dimensional look. If
you look at reference photos
of instrument panels you will
notice that raised rings around
the dials have highlighted
edge and so we are going
to simulate highlights by
applying lighter grey to those
raised rings. When painting
very small and fine details
try to keep your brush at an
angle of approximately 15 to
30 degrees, almost parallel to
the surface you are painting.
Important thing to remember
is that we are not painting
with the brush tip but rather
with brush sides as that is the
easiest way to prevent brush
hairs to slip of the tiny raised
surface we are painting.
Rest of the details are
painted with corresponding
colours in the same manner
as the highlights. As for the
placard writings, white paint
and a brush with very fine tip
is used in short wavy strokes
made horizontal to simulate the
text lines. Once we are done
with brush painting the next
step would be to attach the
back panel with the dials by
using small amounts of white
glue distributed as tiny dots on
the areas between the dials.
As the last thing, handles are
attached with cyanoacrylate
cement and these parts are
ready to be installed in the
cockpit. When it comes to
fiddly bits and things try not
to use pre-painted parts, take
your time and do your own
painting, you will be surprised
with the results.
ACCESS PANELS
utting trough the kit

parts and opening
access panels can
seem hard and scary
but that is really where all the
fun starts as its not about
just assembling anymore
but making something that
was not there, from scratch.
Important thing to remember is
that we are working with plastic
and almost any mess-up can
be fixed, filled and sanded, its
not a rocket science really. The
only tricky thing here is making
the thin inner strip of the
opening where the fasteners
are going through, the thing

which requires a bit of time
and patience.
Before we start drilling
trough the plastic part to
make the opening, we must
outline the panel on a piece
of masking tape first to use
it for cutting out the panel
cover and inner strip later.
Small, square piece of Tamiya
masking tape is placed over
the panel, then gently draw
across the masking piece with
sharp pointed lead pencil to
find recessed panel line and
once we find it we will use it as
a guide to outline the panel.

Once done with outlining, we
will transfer the tape to a piece
of 0.25mm thick styrene sheet
to make the panel cover and
inner fastener strip. Here, we
will use a sharp pointed blade
to lightly score the panel line
drawn on the tape. To make
the things easier for handling,
we are going to cut out the
inner section first, hence just
scoring the outline. Tape is
now removed and stored for
later use when we get to the
panel cover.
When making fastener
strip the hard part is to keep

the strip width consistent
especially when the entire
part is very small. Thin strip
of masking tape will help do
the trick. First, place the strip
along the outline from inside
of the shape, follow the outline
by gently pressing the strip
down with your index finger
while holding and curving the
strip with precision tweezers.
Masking strips are flexible
enough to follow any curved
line so this trick can be used
on variety of similar tasks and
in cases when we need any
22 Chapter II - TECHNIQUES
08/10/2014 11:28
A piece of Tamiya masking tape and a lead pencil are used to mark the
panel shape. Sharpen the pencil core by rubbing it against fine sanding
paper to get crisp and accurate results.
Sharp pointed blade is used just to score

the shape on styrene sheet as cutting it
trough at this point will make the part
difficult to handle when cutting out the
inner section.
Thin strip of masking tape is flexible

enough to conform to any shape. Once
the strip is down, gently press adjust it
on the styrene to for nicer final result.
Even though the part is only 5mm across

it looks nice and accurate, well worth
the time and effort.
kind of guides. Once we get

correct shape a little touch up
is done by using fine pointed
tweezers to gently nudge and
press masking strip to follow
the outline tightly. This task
requires patience more than
anything else so if you do not
get it from the first time, do it
again. At this point we have
two options, to cut the inner
section of the shape using
the tape strip as a guide or
to mark it with pen and then
cut it out, either way is fine
as the job needs to be done
slowly and carefully anyway.
I am using the tape strip as
a guide as its faster. Sharp
pointed blade is used to gently
score the inside shape of the

tape with several light passes,
again requires patience and
time but it is worth every effort.
I will now remove the tape and
cut it trough by using scored
cut line as a guide. Once the
inner piece is out, fine sanding
paper tightly rolled is used to
sort out the edges and smooth
the cut. It is best to drill the
holes for fasteners now and
before we cut out the entire
piece simply because it is
easier. A few light passes with
sharp pointed blade along the
outline will do the job and out
part is ready.
Our next task is to cut out
the opening on the kit part to
accommodate the part we just

made. Start by drilling a few
holes trough the panel and
then simply connect the holes
by cutting the area between
them with sharp pointed blade.
The same blade is then used
to touch up the edges with
the panel line as our guide.
Trim the plastic with blade
almost to the panel line and
then continue with fine sanding
paper tightly wrapped around
the metal rod or round file.
Sand the excess material with
light and consistent strokes but
constantly keep checking the
fit of the part we made earlier.
Once the fit is perfectly tight
we will dry-fit the part and then
apply very small amount of

Tamiya extra thin cement from
the inside of the fuselage half.
As the cement is very thin,
capillary force will make it run
along the seam without making
a mess. Further, fine touch-ups
and adjustments of the part
can be made before we leave
it aside for an hour to cure.
When the cement is fully cured
everything will be sanded from
the outside of fuselage half to
make the seam smoother.
In some cases, when we
have photo-etched access
panel frame, it is somewhat
difficult to position it perfectly
mainly because those parts
are ultra thin, rigid and
smooth which makes them
difficult to glue as well. I will
take Eduards Bf-109E and
Aires photo-etched radio
access frame and door as
an example. To fit the panel
frame we would need to thin
the plastic part around the
opening to avoid huge step
between the plastic and photoetched part as that areas was
almost flush on the real aircraft
with barely visible difference
between the frame and the rest
08/10/2014 11:28
Chapter II
TECHNIQUES
Drilling a number of holes trough the plastic is one of

the easiest and fastest ways of making the opening.
It is better to use smaller drill bits for this job as they
provide better accuracy, especially important when
working with small openings.
Drilling holes along the panel line makes it easier for us

to trim the excess material.
Once we trim the excess with the blade a set of various

tools is used to smooth the edges. Files are used right
after the blade and then we will smooth the edges
with fine sanding paper wrapped around metal tube,
especially good for rounded corners.
Not all fastener holding frames are done in one piece,

in this example of Airacobra wing we are using styrene
strips of different length for each section of the
opening.
Different openings require a bit different approach for

each. Note just partial fastener holders on the radio
opening, far right hand side.
Basic electric junction box is being made from styrene

sheet and various styrene sections still awaiting lead
and copper wires to be added. The box has been made
larger than the opening as more of it will be visible
when looked from different angles.
Opened access panel

always tend to add more
life and depth to a model.
Opening all those panels
and making whats inside
them takes time and
patience but the result
pays off.
08/10/2014 11:28
Photo etched part is positioned and secured in place with a single piece of masking
tape. Gently pressing it with hot soldering iron will melt the plastic and fuse the two
parts together.
Some gaps have been filled, everything sanded smooth and ready for masking and
painting.
of the fuselage. Once scale to

32nd scale, we should pretty
much make the two sections
be on the same level with no
recessed areas. I will use a
simple trick with soldering
iron to achieve this. Before
going further please note that
soldering iron is very hot and
can burn your skin or melt the
plastic parts if not handled
very carefully. First, make the
opening on the fuselage where
the radio access doors are
marked by using the same
method with drilling holes and
cutting, explained before. We
the fuselage. We will start

from the corner and will move
soldering iron tip for roughly
2mm each time until we get
to the point where we started.
Keep the soldering iron in
contact with photo etched part
for at most one second at a
time otherwise we can melt the
fuselage beyond repair. The
point here is to slowly impress
the metal part into the plastic
fuselage so they are both at
the same level and to do it
evenly it is important to touch
the part with soldering iron in
short intervals with constantly
will make the fuselage opening

slightly larger than the photoetched opening but smaller
than its outer dimensions.
Tamiya masking tape is now
used to accurately position
and secure the part on the
fuselage. It is important to use
Tamiya or similar paper tape
here as they are heat resistant
and will not melt when we
start heating the photo-etched
part, vinyl cannot be used.
With everything in place we
can heat up soldering iron
and begin by gently pressing
photo-etched part against
moving the hot tip around.

Good idea would be to try this
with some spare photo-etched
parts and spare plastic pieces.
When metal part is finally fused
to the plastic we will sand the
surface smooth and its ready
for painting. All we need now
is to make the paint mask for
which we will use photo-etched
door as a guide. First the
interior paint will be applied to
the frame and then protected
with paint masks. Once the
model is painted and mask
removed we will get the perfect
looking radio access opening.
INTRODUCTION TO
PAINT MASKS
retty much all

markings featured in
this book have been
painted by using paint
masks and before you come
to the point where their use
is explained, i would like to
make an introduction for more
in depth overview of masking
materials, performance and
high and low points.
There is no much point
explaining the use and
application of the decals

while the paint masks are
something relatively small
number of modellers use
and many more are afraid of,
with no good reason actually.
With the decals and masks
being two different means for
achieving the same thing it is
only natural to make a short
comparison between the two
and try to find highs and lows
on each. Decals have always
been and currently are the

most popular way of marking
scale models for a few good
reasons. First and foremost,
every scale model that we buy
comes with the decal sheet
with markings for one or more
aircraft. Decals also provide
fast and clean way of marking
application, all you have to do
it to get them wet and apply
them on the model. Ultra small
elements like pilot names, kill
marks and various servicing

stencils would be impossible
to achieve without waterslide
or dry transfer decals. As for
the low points, there are plenty
of those as well. Quality of
the decals is something we
are never sure of, the print
quality can vary from good
solid colour to ultra thin and
translucent, colour shades
are sometimes off and there
is nothing you can do about
08/10/2014 11:28
Chapter II
TECHNIQUES
it, carrier film can be brittle
and crack as soon as we try
to position the decal on the
model, thickness is another
issue if the decal need to
conform to a curved surface,
adhesive being too weak and
so on.
When it comes to paint
masks the situation is a
bit different but still not the
ultimate or perfect solution for
applying markings. For a start,
paint mask give us the ability
to control the colour which
is actually a huge advantage
over decals. Paint masks, if
carefully stored, can be reused
a couple of times which is
another huge advantage over
decals or dry transfers. Using
paint masks does involve a
bit more work as each colour
of masking element must be
separately masked of and
painted but the end results are
superior to any kind of decals.
No surface preparation is need
for painting with masks as
long as the paint layer below is
properly cured. Once painted,
markings can be easily
weathered by sanding, paint
chipping or scratching and

will never produce silvering
regardless of the surface
condition they were painted
on. After all, markings on real
aircraft were also applied
with paint masks. Using paint
masks is easy and convenient
way to achieve great results.
With everything above said it
seems like paint masks are the
perfect solution for all of our
troubles, or are they? Painting
larger elements with masks
is easy and effective, same
goes for smaller but simpler
elements. Problems start with
small elements as unit badges,
letter and numbers smaller
than 2mm or 3mm in height
and similar more complicated
things. With today's technology
it is possible to cut almost
indefinitely small masking
elements but since it would
be impossible to apply them,
those would be pretty much
useless.
Also, we need to overview
an important factor in mask
performance and ease of
use, a material they are made
of. Currently, most popular
materials for die cut masks

are vinyl and yellow rice
paper tape often referred to
as Kabuki tape. Specially
developed for masking
purposes, semi transparent
vinyl is flexible, easy to use
and thanks to its low tack
water based adhesive, very
safe for any kind of painted
surface. Flexibility will allow it
to conform on curved surfaces,
transparency will make it much
easier for accurate positioning
on the model and water based
adhesive will not lift the paint or
leave any residue on painted
surface. Due to its structure,
vinyl is perfect for very fine
and complicated cuts with
lots of detail but still, vinyl has
a major drawback, it shrinks!
Once cut, vinyl will retain its
shape and form for some 24
to 48 hours depending on
the size of masking elements,
after that it will start shrinking
and creating gaps along the
cut lines making it unusable
for most of the part. Shrinking
factor is minimal or not present
at all on shapes smaller than
10mm which makes it perfect
for small and more detailed

masking elements. Another
interesting masking material
is rice paper tape known as
Kabuki, the same material
Tamiya masking tapes are
made of. This ultra thin, paper
like material is flexible, will
never shrink and can be stored
for years. For those wanting to
make their own masks Kabuki
is perfect as it can be used
in any laser printer, once the
masking pattern has been
printed on it all you have to do
is to follow the print lines with
sharp pointed scalpel. The
only problem with this masking
material is a fact that it is made
of tiny rice fibres which makes
it impossible to cut masking
elements smaller than 5mm
with accurate results. Now, we
have a clear picture, vinyl for
small masking shapes while
Kabuki is just perfect for all
elements larger than 5mm. By
combining the two materials,
we have precision cut paint
masks good for all element
sizes and shape, with no
shrinkage!
Just hours from being cut vinyl is already shrinking and exposing white backing paper. In case when we have to use more than one masking
element on the model we would not be able to get a good fit which can result in paint getting in the areas between the two masks.
08/10/2014 11:28
Chapter III
BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT
SPITFIRE MK. IXc
08/10/2014 11:29
Chapter III
SPITFIRE MK. IXc

Kit summary
Tamiya has pushed limits once again with their marvel of a kit Supermarine Spitfire in 1:32nd scale, a kit so smartly
engineered and well detailed it simply cannot fail to impress you in every possible way no matter how picky you can be!
To start from heart of the beast, Rolls-Royce Merlin power plant is probably the nicest and most detailed part of all the
injection moulded kits i have ever seen and for sure better than some aftermarket resin engines too. Being a kit for itself,
the engine will take a weekend of your time but considering a level of detail and the fact that it will be all visible at the
end, it is worth the effort. Cockpit is just as nicely done but would require some wiring to go from excellent to perfect.
Kit exterior surface features very intricate recessed panel lines and rivets, nothing out of scale. Other nice features are
hinged moving surfaces, magnet attaching of the cowling panels and screw system for attaching the landing gear and
engine. With just a few more parts there could be option to display the front upper fuel tank and the radio hatch opened
but to be honest, that would just spoil all the fun of scratchbuilding.
28 BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT - SPITFIRE MK. IXc
08/10/2014 11:29
08/10/2014 11:29
Chapter III
BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT - SPITFIRE MK. IXc
BEFORE WE START
Aftermarket sets used in this build:
BarracudaCast - 32001 Spitfire Seat with
Leather Backpad
BarracudaCast - 32002 Spitfire Cockpit Door
with Separate Crowbar
BarracudaCast - 32003 Spitfire Cockpit
Upgrade Set
Maketar Paint Masks - 32040 RAF
Supermarine Spitfire MK.IX
Tools and materials:
Cyanoacrylate glue
Tamiya cement
Tamiya extra thin cement
Scalpel and tweezers
Drilling pin vise
Masking tape in various widths
BluTack
Sanding sticks and files
Mr. Surfacer 500 and/or Mr. Surfacer 1000
Pacer Formula 560 - Canopy Glue
Styrene sheet in various size and thickness
Lead, copper and flexible wire
Unimat wood turning chisel is simply the best tool for thinning out plastic parts thanks to its curved
sharp tip.
Paints used:
Artist oils:
Burnt Umber
Black
White
Yellow
LifeColor acrylic paints:
LifeColor LC27 Matt Clear
UA207 Schwarzgrau
UA205 Rotbraun
LC06 Matt Red
LC03 Matt Yellow
UA511 Hellgrun
UA208 Anthrazitgrau
UA046 Neutral Grey
UA028 Grey
LC01 Matt White
UA524 US Neutral Grey
UA605 Dunkelgrau
UA095 Sky
Radio access door frame ready to be glued to the fuselage. Slightly rounded corners will help to get
tighter fit without any gaps between the frame and fuselage.
THE BUILD
It is not a strict rule to start working
from the cockpit but i find it rather
logical as this way we can mate the
two fuselage halves together as soon
as the interior is done and continue
working on the exterior assembly.
Apart from the kit parts, we are going

to add some wiring to the cockpit
walls, scratchbuild the back section
of instrument panel, open up the
radio hatch and add radio receiver.
We will start with opening the radio
hatch to avoid too much handling of
Tamiya acrylic paints:

X-1 Gloss Black
XF-2 Flat White
XF-3 Flat Yellow
XF-7 Flat Red
XF-8 Flat Blue
XF-53 Neutral Grey
XF-58 Olive green
XF-60 Dark Yellow
XF-62 Olive Drab
XF-63 German Grey
XF-65 Field Grey
Humbrol acrylic paints:
Matt clear cote - aerosol
Rib sections and radio receiver holder glued in place.
30 BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT - SPITFIRE MK. IXC
08/10/2014 11:30
We have made just the sections which would be visible once the radio is in.
Basically just a few details will make

a lot of difference and your model to
stand out.
This view shows more of the radio holder

L section.
the fuselage halves once we

start adding the wires. As the
fuselage wall is rather thick
we need to thin it first and the
best tool to do so is modellers
chisel or in this case, Unimat
MetalLine woodturning chisel.
Start by scraping inside
section of the wall roughly
10mm around the hatch to get
large enough flat surface to
accommodate hatch frame.
Extra care must be taken here
as we do not want to thin the
wall too much and to ruin
the part so after every few
scraps with the chisel check
the progress by placing the
part in front of the light bulb
and by looking through it,
more transparent the section
is means it is thinner. Once we
are done with the chisel, sand
the surface smooth. Next step
is cutting the radio hatch out
either by using sharp pointed
modelling knife and working
over recessed panel line or by
drilling holes through the panel
and cutting our way outward

which is rather easier way.
Once we drill a couple of holes
it is easy to connect them with
sharp pointed knife and then
carefully continue by cutting
small amounts of plastic at a
time and once you come to
the panel line continue with
fine grain sanding paper to
smooth corners and edges of
the hatch opening. Steel rod
wrapped with fine sanding
paper is the best tool for
rounded corners. Next thing
is to make inner frame of the
hatch opening, that is where
the access door is fastened
to, First, we place a piece of
masking tape over the hatch
opening from the outside of
fuselage half leaving roughly
10mm of the tape around the
opening, then mark the line
on the tape by gently rubbing
graphite pencil on the edge
of panel opening until we get
a clear line of the panel. We
will now transfer that marked
piece of tape on 0.25mm

styrene sheet. If we cut the
opening on the styrene sheet
now by scoring marked line
on the tape with sharp pointed
knife, we would get the access
door and to get the frame
we actually need to make
the opening smaller than the
door. First, we will lay some
masking tape on the cutting
surface and by using ruler and
sharp knife cut 1mm strips.
Masking strip is now carefully
laid inside of the marked panel
line on the piece of tape we
placed on styrene sheet earlier.
Be patient and careful to get
a neat bend of the masking
strip as that strip is actually
width of our hatch frame. Once
masking strip is on, sharp
pointed X-Acto knife is used
to carefully cut the opening
by using masking strip as a
guide, it is even better to cut a
bit away of masking strip and
to touch it up with sanding
paper afterward. Dry fitting the
frame is necessary to align
everything properly and to
ensure best result at the end.
With the radio door frame
now in its place we would
need to make two rib sections
that would go on either side
of the opening just like on the

real Spitfire, once done it will
look busier and more realistic.
The same 0.25mm styrene
sheets is used to cut the rough
shape of the fuselage and
then sanded and dry-fitted a
couple of times until we get a
nice fit. Here again, 3mm wide
masking strip is laid to follow
the curve of newly made part
and to help us get consistent
width of the rib section.
Before we cut the section out,
a couple of 2mm holes are
drilled to along the rib part.
Since the cross section of
fuselage is slightly different
on each side of the opening,
we will repeat the process to
make second rib part instead
of just copying the first one. To
finish the radio bay we need to
make two 'L' shaped rails on
each side of the door as those
are holding the radio receiver
in place. 3mm wide styrene
strip is used for lover section
and the same strip with drilled
holes for sides. Side strip is cut
at an angle so that one end
is wider than the other while
the holes are drilled to follow
this geometry. With everything
positioned and glued our radio
bay is finished and we can
08/10/2014 11:30
Chapter III
Level and quality of the details out of the box is amazing, however, a few wires and cables are necessary to make it complete.
Copper, lead and plastic wrapped wires are used to make the cockpit wall busy and
realistic.
move to the cockpit walls.

Since the kit parts for the
cockpit are detailed and crisp
enough we will only be adding
a few wires here and there and
a few resin bits from Barracuda
Studios. Kit instructions are
suggesting that we should
paint and assemble the cockpit
wall sections separately that
is, lower wall section should
be first mated with the rest of
cockpit elements before finally
being glued to the fuselage.
In our case, when we want to

add more details and wiring
to the walls this is not the best
or easiest way to go, instead
we will glue the wall sections
to the fuselage before doing
the rest. It is a good idea to
have your reference photos
and books at hand at this
stage to help position all the
wires and lines at the right
places. Copper wire and
various gauges of plastic
wrapped wires are used for
the job. There is no too much

philosophy here, small holes
drilled to accommodate and
better hold the wires when
appropriate, CA glue applied
sparingly with the toothpick
and we are pretty much done.
When the glue is cured, gently
press the wires with fine
pointed tweezers co conform
them on the wall bumps. A
few dry-fit tests are necessary
when adding wires to the
cockpit as the fit without them
is perfect and we want to avoid
mess-ups later. Oxygen hose
is missing in the kit so we must
make one. Plastic wrapped
wire is first stretched between
two fingers and the lead wire
is wrapped around it tightly to
simulate flexible hose surface.
When we get desired length
of the hose, both ends will be
glued with CA glue and cut
to measure. Small pieces of

copper wire are now inserted
on both ends and will help us
secure the hose to the wall
and oxygen bottle.
By the time i have finished
adding all the wiring to the
cockpit walls an idea of
exposing upper fuel tank
seemed more and more
tempting and interesting so
i have decided to go with it.
Removing sections of fuselage
halves should be, indeed,
done before anything has
been done on the cockpit walls
simply to avoid any mess but
it should not be a problem
either way. Upper fuel tank
cover is slightly raised from the
rest of the airframe and it is
actually very easy to cut it out.
Sharp pointed curved blade
is used for the job, first make
a few light pressure passes
Thin lead wire wrapped around a flexible wire makes a perfect oxygen hose.
08/10/2014 11:30
along the line where the fuel

tank cover meets the fuselage
to make a good guide and then
a few passes of the knife with a
little pressure applied will do it.
Once the fuel cover section is
removed a fine sanding paper is
used to smooth the cut line.
With everything done on the
fuselage halves we will move
to the cockpit interior. Since we
are now making the aircraft with
fuel tank cover removed, some
further amends of the kit parts
are needed. First thing that will
be visible behind upper fuel tank
is the back of instrument panel
with all the wires, cables and
gauges, none of it present in the
kit so we will have to make it.
Also, since we are introducing
a fuel tank, some of the parts
will have to be removed to
accommodate the tank in that
space. Kit instrument panel and
if just perfect but we have to
remove everything behind it and
make new back panel which
will then hold the instrument
panel. We will use the kit part
to outline its shape on styrene
sheet and cut a new one out
of it, basically we will have the
lower section with rudder pedals
and instrument panel separated.
New instrument panel backside
which we have made from the
styrene sheets will now get all
the gauges made from various
radius styrene rod sections.
Each gauge will then get a
small extension made from a lot
smaller radius styrene rod, which
is where the wires and cables
will go into. To better position
and secure the wires, we will drill
a hole in each gauge extension.
Copper, lead as well as plastic
wrapped wires are used here
for a few reasons, copper and
lead wire is used for rigid lines
as those can be easily bent and
curved while the soft plastic
wrapped wires are used for
rubber cables and lines which
have a non linear or non uniform
shape.
The best tool for accurate and

clean cuts and the fuel tank cover
cut out from the fuselage. Note
the red line marking the point up
to which the fuel tank goes.
New instrument panel backside

which we have made from the
styrene sheets with gauges and
all the wiring in place.
Once painted with dark grey and

all the beautiful details of the
instrument panel backside come to
life. Simple but effective.
08/10/2014 11:30
Chapter III
Fine pointed brush is used for all the little details to help
create three dimensional and busy look. For best results
without over-painting surrounding areas keep the brush
almost parallel with the part surface while painting.
With everything in place,

two thin coats of LifeColor
UA207 Schwarzgrau are
applied as that will be our final
colour for these parts. The
details are now more visible
and looking good except
for one thing, instrument
panel kit part is now too thick
and we will need to sand it
down. Take a larger sheet
White or wood glue which dries clear is used to secure

the decal on the back of the instrument panel. Front
side of the decal has been covered with transparent
tape to represent the dial glass covers.
of medium coarse sanding

paper and start sliding the
part over it, back side of the
part of course. Try to change
direction with every stroke to
prevent thinning it too much
on the edges, also try to press
it down with equal pressure.
Check the part thickness after
every few strokes, 0.2 - 0.3mm
thickness will do. Our next task
Hand painted details on the instrument panel and the

decals with dials will make it look superb once finished.
is painting the front side of

instrument panel as explained
in previous chapter, fine
pointed brush is used for all
the little details to help create
three dimensional and busy
look. For best results without
over-painting surrounding
areas keep the brush almost
parallel with the part surface
while painting. With the
painting done next step is to

sort out the dials. Tamiya has
made a very smart choice here
with the decals which look like
plain black dots on the decal
sheet due to the fact that dials
are painted on the bottom
side, so no panic. Decals that
come with this kit are more
than bad and i really hope it is
only my kit with this problem.
Back side with wires and gauges is brush

painted in a few shades of grey and brown
followed by light grey highlights applied at
the top edges of gauges and top sides of
wires and cables. Highlights are important
for better visual appearance just as much
as wash or shading.
08/10/2014 11:30
Primer coat is airbrushed

on all cockpit elements
to cover different colours
we got with added wires,
metal and resin parts.
Centre front section is raised with a piece of styrene sheet and the dial
panel is fixed to it with white or wood glue to prevent decal damage.
Finished instrument panel is well detailed and ready to be fitted in the

cockpit later on.
Rigid, fragile and almost no

adhesive are just some of the
things i have noticed here. To
fix this problem i am going to
use clear tape placed over the
decal face and then cut it to
shape, this will have two effects,
first the tape will represent
the glass on the dials and will
reinforce the decal. Also, we
are not going to use clear parts
supplied in the kit for instrument
panel. Fine pointed brush is
used to apply and distribute
evenly white glue on the back
of instrument panel part where
our over-taped decals will be
placed. After nicely positioning
each decal w will set it aside for
an hour or so before joining the
two parts of instrument panel
together. In a meanwhile, back
side with wires and gauges is
brush painted in a few shades
of grey and brown followed by
light grey highlights applied at
the top edges of gauges and
top sides of wires and cables.
Highlights are important for
better visual appearance just
as much as wash or shading.
Finally, front and back panel
are glued together with Tamiya

cement used sparingly and
away from areas with decals,
two or three tiny drops are
more than enough. Centre front
section is raised with a piece
of styrene sheet and the dial
panel is fixed to it with white
or wood glue to prevent decal
damage. Our instrument panel
is now done and ready to be
installed later.
Primer coat is now airbrushed
on all cockpit elements to
cover all the different colours
we got with added wires, metal
and resin parts. Acrylic green
paints are known for their poor
coverage and we would need
to airbrush a few thicker layers
on in order to cover all colour
variations and get even and
consistent green surface so the
primer coat is very important
here, even a grey acrylic paint
will do. Pilot seat is our next
step, beautifully detailed and
casted by BarracudaCast,
much better option that the
kit seat. Primer or grey paint
is applied first followed by
two coats of LifeColor UA205
08/10/2014 11:30
Chapter III
LifeColor UA205 Rotbraun is airbrushed on the seat and followed by a thin coat of
LC06 Matt Red to make a perfect base colour for overall oil wash.
Burnt Umber artist oil is diluted to the consistency of melted butter and applied with
large soft brush over the entire seat. Once the piece is covered in oil, use a clean soft
brush and keep brushing until you cannot see any brush strokes visible and the entire
surface is smooth and even.
Rotbraun. The seat now looks

too brown and to get the
correct shade we will airbrush
a thin coat of LifeColor LC06
Matt Red which is somewhat
translucent as a result of
poor coverage properties,
this will make our job easier
and also give us the perfect
colour at the end. For the final
makeup, Burnt Umber artist oil
is diluted to the consistency
of melted butter and applied
with large soft brush over the
entire seat. Once the piece
is covered in oil, use a clean
soft brush and keep brushing
until you cannot see any brush
strokes visible and the entire
surface is smooth and even.
Wipe the brush after every few
strokes to remove excess oil
faster and better. Highlights
are now created by applying
small dots of white artist oil
to raised surfaces which is
then blended in with clean
and dry brush. When blending
artist oils over artist oils use
gentle stubbing motions with
the brush to get very soft and
smooth transitions between
the two colours. Set everything
aside for a day or so for oils to
cure. Artist oils dry by oxidation
instead of evaporation as
modelling paints do and thus
oil drying time can range
from a few days up to a few
months. I am always using
enamel thinner to thin oils
which make them dry much
faster and do not smell even
as close as bad as turpentine.
Beautiful thing about working
with oils is their drying time
which allows us to mix and
blend them on a model for a
longer period. Oils diluted with
enamel thinners will dry in one
or two days depending on how
much thinner we use. When
buying artist oils you really
need just a few: white, black,
red, blue, yellow, burnt umber,
burnt sienna and that is pretty
much everything we need to
mix any colour we would ever
need. Since those will last for a
lifetime it is a good idea to go

with more expensive ones for
their superb quality.
As i am going to use oils
for the rest of the cockpit
elements a proper light green
paint has been made by
mixing LifeColor LC03 Matt
Yellow and LifeColor UA511
Hellgrun in 2 to 5 ratio. When
mixing paints make sure to
get enough of the mixture
as we will use that later as
well. Two light coats of our
green are now airbrushed on
cockpit walls and the rest of
the cockpit elements. Before
we start brush painting small
elements and details, subtle
shading and fading is done
with Tamiya acrylic paints
to enhance all the beautiful
details of the cockpit and to
get more three dimensional
look. First, Tamiya X-1 Gloss
Black is highly diluted with
medical alcohol in 1 part of
paint to 9 parts of alcohol
ratio. Important thing here
is to use alcohol instead of
Tamiya thinner or water for
one simple reason, alcohol
evaporates very fast and since
the paint is highly diluted
this fast evaporation will
allow it to dry instantly when
airbrushed from very close
range instead of running all
over the surface if we have
used water or original thinner.
Shading is done from very
close range, keep the airbrush
nozzle 5 - 10mm above the
surface, make the air flowing
at all times and release very
small amounts of paint by
pulling the airbrush trigger just
a tiny bit backwards. I have
found the best results to be if
sprayed at 2 bar (22-23 PSI)
pressure. Good thing with
many airbrush guns these
days is the locking system at
the back of it which is used to
limit the trigger movement. To
test the paint flow and adjust
the locking system, we will use
a sheet of paper and make
a few runs with the airbrush
When blending artist oils over artist oils use gentle stubbing motions with the brush to
get very soft and smooth transitions between the two colours.
08/10/2014 11:30
over it, keep the distance

between 5 - 10mm and keep
going until you get very narrow
black paint trail similar to one
made with the pencil. Once
we get nice, sharp and narrow
paint trail we are ready to start
shading the cockpit. Shading
is done around all the raised
details mainly to accentuate
the shadows and thus give
us more three dimensional

appearance.
Next thing is fading of the
surfaces between the raised
details and cockpit wall lines.
To avoid getting too much of
a contrast we will use highly
diluted Tamiya XF-60 Dark
Yellow in just one or two light
passes over those surfaces.
This process is very easily
overdone so check your work

after each pass of the airbrush
until you are satisfied with the
results. Our goal is to make
subtle variations which will
be a base for further steps
in painting. Lead pencil is
now used to accentuate dark
lines and edges where flat
surfaces meet raised details,
we can also use it to make
scratches and paints chips
where appropriate, although i
sometimes use dark grey paint
for this job. Finishing one by
one of the cockpit elements
starts with oxygen bottles. To
get more details out of the
simple kit part the first thing
we will do is to paint on some
placards. Masking strips or
hand cut square mask can
be used to airbrush LifeColor
Lead pencil is used for tiny scratches

and for enhancing recessed lines and
corners.
A drop or two of yellow is mixed with

base green and brushed on edges and
raised details for more three dimensional
appearance.
Subtle shading and fading is done with Tamiya acrylic paints to enhance all the
beautiful details of the cockpit and to get more three dimensional look.
Main cockpit elements after shading and fading process is done. Fading
is done with very diluted Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow.
08/10/2014 11:30
Chapter III
Masking strips or hand cut square mask

can be used to paint placards.
Dark grey is airbrushed and ready to get

the final touch, the text.
Fine pointed brush and light white paint

are now used for placard text. Note the
scratches which further adds to the final
appearance.
To finish, we will apply diluted Burnt

Umber artist oils and treat it with clean
dry brush until we get smooth surface
free of any brush strokes. Connecting
pipes at the top are now painted with
Gunze Sangyo MC218 Aluminium.
UA207 Schwarz Grau on.

Try not to use black paint as
there is nothing absolutely
black from the moment aircraft
leaves the factory, first layer
of dust will make the black
to become dark grey. Fine

pointed brush and light white
paint are now used for placard
text. Use white paint diluted
1 to 1, wipe the brush on
paper towel and make dotted
horizontal lines to represent

the writings. You can also use
red paint for some parts of the
text. Scratches on the bottles
are done with fine pointed
brush and LifeColor UA208
Anthrazitgrau, a few random

irregular shapes and splotches
are painted here and there.
To finish, we will apply diluted
Burnt Umber artist oils and
treat it with clean dry brush
The rest of the cockpit details are now brush painted and some random paint chipping and scratches done with Anthrazitgrau. All the tiny bits brush painted, note the writings on
some of the details done by fine pointed brush and white paint.
08/10/2014 11:30
Importance of detail painting

is obvious here, right hand side
cockpit wall looks busy and
lifelike while the floor and behind
the seat section looks boring and
featureless in spite of the great
surface details present.
until we get smooth surface

free of any brush strokes.
Connecting pipes at the top
are now painted with Gunze
Sangyo MC218 Aluminium.
The rest of the cockpit
details are now brush painted
and some random paint
chipping and scratches done
with Anthrazitgrau. To make the
cockpit look more used, dirty
and interesting, i am going to
treat it with Burnt Umber oil
which will further enhance and
accentuate subtle shading
and colour variations giving it
more depth. Burnt Umber is

diluted to roughly the same
consistency of LifeColor paints
and applied over the entire
cockpit wall are with large flat
brush, gently to avoid any
parts breaking off. Again, large
flat, clean and dry brush is
used to remove the excess
oil from the cockpit wall with
gentle strokes as if you were
wiping the dust off. Clean the
brush with paper towel after
every few strokes and repeat
the process until you get very
smooth and even surface
Burnt Umber is diluted to roughly the same consistency of LifeColor paints and
applied over the entire cockpit wall are with large flat brush, gently to avoid any parts
breaking off.
free of visible brush strokes.

Small amount of white artist
oil is then applied on surfaces
between raised details and
blended in with clean dry
brush by using gentle stubbing
motions. Wiping or classic
brushing motion is not good
for blending oils as it will
basically move the paint from
one side to the other making
areas with visible border lines
between paint shades. On the
other hand, stubbing motions
of the brush will make very
subtle and smooth transitions
between colours. Again, wipe

the brush clean after every few
seconds to remove the excess
oil paint. At this stage we will
also use small amounts of
green artist oil on some areas
to create more green colour
variation since blending white
over Burnt Umber is toned
down green shades. Repeat
the process for the rest of the
cockpit area and always make
sure that you do not apply the
oils over enamel paint as this
will result in mixing the base
paint with overall wash and
Small amount of white artist oil is then applied on surfaces between raised details and
blended in with clean dry brush by using gentle stubbing motions. Wiping or classic
brushing motion is not good for blending oils as it will basically move the paint from
one side to the other making areas with visible border lines between paint shades.
08/10/2014 11:31
Chapter III
Blended oils always look good and always give us that worn out look and feel.
Green oil mix is blended in next to avoid too much fading with white since blending
white over Burnt Umber is toned down beautiful green shades of the cockpit wall.
ruin everything. If you are using

enamel paints for the base
airbrushing seal it with two light
coats of clear matt varnish.
Also important thing to mention
is that the surface must be
matt in order to apply overall
oil wash with success.
With overall wash applied to
all cockpit parts the final touch
to this area is to accentuate
highlights of edges. Light
green colour is applied on
all edges with fine brush in
perfect. While the fuselage is

in one piece, we will prepare
everything for upper fuel tank
installation but first, we have
to scratchbuild it. Making this
type of fuel tank is fairly easy,
the most important thing is to
get the cross section correctly.
First step is to glue together
the two pieces of the fuselage
we cut out before, the tank
cover. Once done, it will serve
as our template for the tank
cross section. Once we mark
a way that we actually paint

with brush sides and not
with the brush tip to prevent
over-painting other areas.
Edge highlights have to be
very subtle to avoid too much
contrast but to make edges
stand up a bit from the other
areas. Now is the time to dry
fit all the cockpit parts and
two fuselage halves to see if
everything goes along nicely.
After a few nudges here and
there the fit seems to be
the section on a piece of

styrene sheets and cut it out
we will use that cut out shape
to make a few more copies.
Front side of the tank feature
an inspection opening, simply
a round hole. As for the tank
skin we will use rectangular
piece of styrene sheet 0.25mm
thick reinforced with another
one slightly smaller piece to
prevent deformations in the
next step. This skin is treated
with rivet wheel from the outer
Oxygen bottles installed and because been weathered separately of the

cockpit wall they will look a bit different which is a good thing as this
will create more interesting looking cockpit.
08/10/2014 11:31
Cockpit is dry fitted to check and see that everything fits nicely
and tightly before we mate two fuselage halves together.
The same overall oil wash applied to the rest of

cockpit elements followed by edge highlighting to
further accentuate three dimensional effect and
to make to cockpit even more interesting.
side. Tank front and back caps

are now glued upside down
positioned to touch the smaller
reinforcing rectangle so that
the outer skin overhangs the
caps. Make sure that the caps
are positioned at the centre so
that the skin ends meet at the
centre once wrapped around.
Tamiya cement is now
applied along the cap edges
and the rectangular styrene
part is gently wrapped around.
Once both ends meet, tight

wrap the tank with masking
tape to hold everything firmly
pressed. Gently roll the tank
back and forth on the table
to help the skin to conform
evenly without any gaps on
the tank side, at this point
you can tighten the tape if
necessary. All this sounds just
a bit easier than it is to do, do
not give up if your first attempt
is unsuccessful as mine was
Tank front and back caps are glued upside down

positioned to touch the smaller reinforcing rectangle so
that the outer skin overhangs the caps. Make sure that
the caps are positioned at the centre so that the skin
ends meet at the centre once wrapped around.
too! After a few hour and when

properly cured we will continue
adding fuel lines to the tank
but also filler cap ring and the
filler cap which is taken from
the kit. Fuel lines are made
from styrene rods and bent
with tweezers to simulate rigid
pipes. Primer coat or in this
case LifeColor UA046 Neutral
Grey is airbrushed on and our
fuel tank is ready to be test
fitted and further detailed later.
Fuel tank is further detailed with styrene rod and sheet

sections which will contribute to the final look of the
Spitfire front Section.
Fuel tank and tank cover

fasteners are made from
styrene channel sections,
top part is cut at an angle to
accommodate the fuel tank
and small holes drilled where
the tank cover fasteners are
screwed. When making these
holders, make one and then
use it as a template for all the
others to have them all the
same. Place one on the left
side and one on the opposite
Once painted, all the details of the tank simply pop out
allowing us to spot any mistakes or gaps we would need
to take care of before the final paint layer comes on.
09/10/2014 13:32
08/10/2014 11:31
08/10/2014 11:31
Chapter III
Tank cover plate holders are made from styrene

channel sections cut at an angle, simple to make but
hyghly effective detail.
Front fuselage sections are masked of and tank cover

holders sprayed with interior green mix. Airbrush from
the outside and with the airbrush close to the surface
to prevent over-painting other areas inside the cockpit.
Fuel tank cover holders are treated the same way as the
rest of the cockpit and the tank is test fitted in to check
if everything comes along nicely.
side, when two are in place

gently position the fuel tank
to test if it fits tightly between
them. Continue adding two
by two along the edge of
fuselage section until you
have them all lined up, keep
constantly placing the tank in
place to check the fit. If the
glue cures and you need to
reposition the piece simply
touch it with Tamiya Extra Thin
cement to melt the joint and
reposition the part. Six more
holders are positioned to the
back of instrument panel area
and after an hour of curing
time, they are ready to be
painted. Same procedure as
for the rest of the cockpit,
fuselage is masked off, light
green mix is airbrushed on
and then finished with oils.
Fuel tank is now test fitted
again to check once more if
everything is as it should be.
Instrument panel is now
also test fitted and any fit
issues sorted out at this
point so everything can be
just positioned on its place
once the model is finished.
Instrument panel will remain
separated from the lower
section until the very end as
otherwise it would be more
difficult to handle the model
with all the wires in place. Top
half of the kit part G6 has to
be cut off to the middle of
locator pins to accommodate
the fuel tank. Test fitting the
Instrument panel dry fitted to the lower
section, note scraped paint from the
panel top and side sections to help glue
to make better bond once we install it.
08/10/2014 11:31
Fuselage halves glued together and the instrument panel dry fitted for one more check
that everything fits without any problems.
Once fully cured, Magic Sculpt can be worked just like any other resin casted art.
Here, a piece of it is machine sanded to form the basic shape for radio receiver.
Styrene strip, rod and sheet sections are

used to add all the details on the radio
receiver. Small pieces of vinyl are placed
as placards.
Simple but effective, it does not matter

how much visible the piece will be, every
single piece we dedicate our time to will
help to create award winning model at
the end.
Radio receiver test fitted to the radio bay

to see if how far back it needs to go, we
must be careful now not to nudge it over
the rails as it would be hard to get it out
since the fuselage is now permanently
glued.
Radio hatch door temporarily attached

with BluTac.
fuel tank with G6 part in place

will necessary of course. Our
job with the cockpit is almost
done and the only thing left
to be made is radio receiver.
A solid piece of Magic Sculpt
is first cut to basic shape
and then sanded on Unimat
machine. Steel vice is used
to support the piece while it
has been shaped to form the
receiver. With the main shape

being done, various details
have been made with styrene
strips, rods and sections,
everything is then airbrushed
with LifeColor UA207
Schwarzgrau. Fine pointed
brush is then used to paint all
the details, placards and edge
highlights. Radio bay cover is
made from 0.25mm styrene
sheet and slightly curved by

pressing it on one of the Small
Shop brass rolling cylinders.
Rivet wheel is used to make
the rivets before the part has
been curved.
With the cockpit being
done it is time to start putting
the airframe together which
is rather straightforward and
a bit boring task as with
every Tamiya kit, so there is

really no point in explaining
already simple steps from the
instructions. Instead, we will
continue with preparations for
painting the model. As with all
of my builds, canopy sections
are masked first but fixed on
the model at the very end of
the build. This will ensure that
the canopy stays clean and
Proper masking requires time and patience to ensure no paint will enter the cockpit and all the small details will stay where they
should be. Kit cockpit door have came handy to and save some time masking the door opening.
08/10/2014 11:31
Chapter III
Behind the wings section on the lower

side of the model is outlined with
narrow masking strips and filled in
with larger pieces of masking tape.
No need to mask the lower wing area
as we are going to airbrush from
the top side mostly. Two bamboo
sticks have been pushed through the
opening on both sides of the cockpit
and will help hold the model for
painting.
polished, if we attach it at the

beginning there is always a risk
of paint sneaking in under the
masks and ruining it. Masking
off the cockpit and fuel tank
areas is time consuming tasks

but otherwise pretty simple
and straightforward. The only
thing we should be careful with
are those fuel tank holders and
tank cover fasteners which

can easily broke off. Kit door
is used to fill the gap and
secured with a few little blobs
of BluTac from the inside.
Underside of the Spitfire is
airbrushed first with custom
mixed Medium Sea Grey,
LifeColor UA028 and LC01 in
1:1 ratio. Two thin coats are
enough to cover everything
nicely and to preserve all the
delicate and crisp surface
details.
Tamiya masking tape is
then used to mask off lower
sections of the fuselage while

the wings lower section is left
unmasked as there is really
no need. Ocean Grey is next
to be airbrushed on upper
surfaces and here is where i
did some experimenting with
a few shades and layers of
grey. First, two thin coats of
LifeColor UA524 US Neutral
Grey are airbrushed on, this
is slightly a lighter shade than
we need but will serve as a
base for panel fading and
darker shade finish. Fading
of panels is now done with
Two thin coats of LifeColor UA524 US Neutral Grey are airbrushed on, this
is slightly a lighter shade than we need but will serve as a base for panel
fading and darker shade finish.
08/10/2014 11:31
Fading of panels is now done with Tamiya light grey mix, Flat White XF-2 and
Neutral Grey XF-53 in 1:3 ratio highly diluted with alcohol. A bit heavier layer
is applied on the top sections of the fuselage and leading edges to create more
pronounced highlight effect.
LifeColor UA605 Dunkelgrau is thinned 1:1 paint to thinner ratio and airbrushed over
the entire upper surface in one thin layer to tone down faded surfaces and to slightly
darken everything.
Tamiya light grey mix, Flat

White XF-2 and Neutral Grey
XF-53 in 1:3 ratio highly diluted
with alcohol. A bit heavier
layer is applied on the top
sections of the fuselage and
leading edges to create more
pronounced highlight effect.
When fading panels, keep the
airbrush roughly 15mm above
the model surface and keep
moving the airbrush constantly
to prevent too much paint in
intensity and tone variations

should only be noticeable
when holding the model
at arms length distance.
LifeColor UA605 Dunkelgrau
is thinned 1:1 paint to thinner
ratio and airbrushed over the
entire upper surface in one
thin layer to tone down faded
surfaces and to slightly darken
everything.
As the line between Ocean
Grey and Dark Green should
one spot. Pull the airbrush

trigger just enough for a very
faint mixture flow. Generally,
proper alcohol to paint ratio for
fading is 9:1, airbrushed at 2
Bar or 22 PSI pressure. Proper
fading should look random,
uneven and very subtle. From
my experience, if you can see
the difference in colour tone
when holding the model and
working with the airbrush,
you have gone too far. Colour
be feathered and soft we

will use BluTac sausages for
masking. Since the model is
painted with acrylic paints, one
very important thing should
be done before proceeding
with BluTac application, two
coats of flat clear cote. If we
place the BluTac without a
flat clear layer it will leave
nasty and greasy looking
stains on the paint surface
and those will not simply dry
Since the model is painted

with acrylic paints, one
very important thing should
be done before proceeding
with BluTac application, two
coats of flat clear cote. If
we place the BluTac without
a flat clear layer it will leave
nasty and greasy looking
stains on the paint surface
and those will not simply dry
and vanish.
08/10/2014 11:32
Chapter III
For easier masking and painting of the engine covers simply put a ball of BluTac on
a barbeque stick and then position the covers on to it.
and vanish. I have found that

Humbrol aerosol clear matt is
the best solution for this while
LifeColor or Tamiya flat cote
will not do. With the flat cote
dry, BluTac is rolled in thin and
long sausages and carefully
positioned on the model, no
need to press it down. Areas
that should stay in Ocean Grey
are now filled with masking
tape while Post It notes can
be used as well. Do not try to
fill those areas with masking
liquids like Maskol as you will

never be able to separate it
from the BluTac. For easier
masking and painting of the
engine covers simply put a ball
of BluTac on a barbeque stick
and then position the covers
on to it. Dark Green custom
made mix is now
airbrushed on.
Keep the airbrush
perpendicular to the model
surface to get nice and soft
line between the colours
Dark Green is now airbrushed and faded in the same fashion as the Ocean
Grey before.
and to prevent the paint

from running underneath the
BluTac. Dark Green is now
faded in the same fashion
as the Ocean Grey before.
My Dark Green mix has been
intentionally made lighter than
it should be to demonstrate
darkening with oils. Once the
masks are removed from the
model there is no an easy
way to make that green darker
without reapplying the masks.
This process may seem
unnecessary but there are

cases when we want to lighten
or darken some areas and oils
are simply the best and easiest
way to do it. Yellow and Black
artist oils are mixed to get the
green and then the shade is
fine tuned with adding more
of either colour. Oil mix is then
diluted with enamel thinner in
1:1 ratio and carefully applied
on green surfaces in thin
layer. The best way it to put
some at the centre on the
General problem with LifeColor paints is that they get lighter as they dry and in this
case make a perfect setting for darkening with oils.
08/10/2014 11:32
Top engine cover is treated with dark green oil mix and compared to our airbrushed
LifeColor Dark Green, difference is obvious.
Oil green mix is diluted to consistency of melted butter and carefully applied on the
green areas of the model, flat clean brush is then used to distribute and blend oil mix
but also to remove excess paint.
green areas and distribute it

outwards. Keep the oils away
from the green border line
for about 2-3mm as that area
will be filled in when we start
smoothing the mix with clean
brush. Large flat and clean
brush is now used to remove
excess oil and to smooth
the surface. Brush strokes
final oil layer is very thin all the

fading we have done on the
base green is still visible, of
course small amounts of white
oil paint can be used in some
areas if needed and blended
with clean and dry brush. We
will leave the model aside
for 48 hours to allow oils to
properly cure before sealing
should start from the edge of

the green area and towards
the centre of it. Repeat the
process until you get smooth
and even surface with no
visible brush marks. IF some
of the oil paint crosses onto
the grey areas simply wipe
it out with a q-tip moistened
with enamel thinner. As the
everything with flat clear.

While the paint is drying, i
will start working on the engine
which is quite a kit on its own.
Actually, Tamiyas kit engine is
quite better detailed than many
of the aftermarket resin engine
sets i have seen. With just a
few bits and wires added it
should look beautiful. I will
As the final oil layer is very

thin all the fading we have
done on the base green is
still visible, of course small
amounts of white oil paint
can be used in some areas
if needed and blended with
clean and dry brush.
08/10/2014 11:32
Chapter III
08/10/2014 11:32
08/10/2014 11:32
Chapter III
Drilling small holes on some of the engine parts will

help us fix the wires later.
start with drilling holes in all

the places where the cables
and wiring will be placed.
Holes will also be drilled on the
frame that holds side engine
covers where the fasteners are
screwed. Firewall section is
well detailed and it is a perfect
Engine side panel frame is well detailed but we need to

drill through the locking nuts to make it more realistic.
base for further improvements,

mainly cables, wires and
hydraulic lines. Again, copper
and plastic wrapped wire is
used to add more realism and
life to this section. Styrene
rod is bent and used to
represent rigid hydraulic lines.
More holes have been drilled on the main engine section

to easily attach copper wires and plastic wrapped cables.
All the wires are now bent and

connected to various firewall
parts. Detailing now continues
with the main section of
Rolls-Royce engine. A piece
of styrene rod is glued on the
right hand side between the
two engine blocks and twelve
holes are then drilled trough to

accommodate ignition cables.
Instead of just using the wire,
we are going to cut off small
pieces of plastic wire wrapping
and place it on one side of
each of the twelve copper wire
pieces to simulate caps and to
Basic engine assembly look great even just out of the box, with some wires and extra details it will look better than most of the aftermarket resin engines.
08/10/2014 11:32
Firewall section is well detailed and it is a perfect base for further improvements,
mainly cables, wires and hydraulic lines. Styrene rod is bent and used to represent
rigid hydraulic lines.
All the wires are now bent and connected to various firewall parts.
A piece of styrene rod is glued on the right hand side between the two engine blocks
and twelve holes are then drilled trough to accommodate ignition cables. Instead of
just using the wire, we are going to cut off small pieces of plastic wire wrapping and
place it on one side of each of the twelve copper wire pieces to simulate caps and
to further add more realism.
Thicker plastic ends of wires are then glued in the holes with small amount of
superglue.
Wires are now carefully bent inwards.
Same goes for the engine sides where pieces of styrene rod will be used together with
ignition wires we just made.
08/10/2014 11:32
Chapter III
further add more realism.
Thicker plastic ends of wires
are then glued in the holes
and bent inwards. Same goes
for the engine sides where
pieces of styrene rod will be
used together with ignition
wires we just made. More
copper wire is then used to
add various installation lines
to the engine body. Keeping
the wire straight and bent at
an angle is important when
simulating rigid lines and
metal pipes. Flexible plastic
wrapped wires are now added
to the engine supporting
frame. As majority of these
Copper wire is then

used to add various
installation lines to the
engine body. Keeping the
wire straight and bent
at an angle is important
when simulating rigid
lines and metal pipes.
Flexible plastic wrapped wires are now added to the engine

supporting frame. As majority of these lines run along the
metal bars they should be properly fastened. Thin strips of
self-adhesive aluminium foil are used to fasten the cables
to the frame.
Dry fitting and constant checking is needed at this stage as we

are adding a lot of extra details which can disrupt the perfect fit
of the parts.
lines run along the metal

bars they should be properly
fastened. Thin strips of selfadhesive aluminium foil are
used to fasten the cables to
the frame. Aluminium strips
are wrapped toward the inside
so that both ends are hidden
when looked from the outside.
Fine pointed tweezers are now
used to squeeze aluminium
strips so that they conform to
the cable for more natural look.
Dry fitting and constant
checking is needed at this
stage as we are adding a lot of
extra details which can disrupt
the perfect fit of the parts.
Some wires and cable need to
be trimmed in order to make
everything fit together nicely.
Hydraulic fluid tanks got their
pipes as well as pipe fasteners
made with aluminium strips.
With wide variety of colour
elements used in detailing the
engine area, primer coat is
airbrushed on everything for
easier inspection and further
detailing if desired. Uniform
colour of the entire assembly
makes it easier to spot any
mistakes and messed up
areas. Everything is now
Addition of simple elements

and details makes a great
improvement of the kit parts.
08/10/2014 11:32
With wide variety of colour

elements used in detailing the
engine area, primer coat is
airbrushed on everything for
easier inspection and further
detailing if desired.
divided in to two groups for

painting, engine parts are
airbrushed with LifeColor
UA207 Schwarzgrau mixed
with a drop of gloss cote
for satin like finish while the
engine frame and the firewall
section have received two thin
coats of our cockpit green
mix. One side of the engine
supporting frame is left loose
as if assembled now it would

be difficult to paint all the
details from the inside. Green
colour is followed by shading
with Tamiya X-1 Black to create
more contrast and a base for
further detail enhancement.
Fine pointed brush is now
used to paint all the details.
Aluminium strip fasteners are
painted with black in a way
Constant dry fitting of all the parts is essential when adding extra details to the kit parts.
that we paint two narrow strips

on each side of the fastener
so it would look like the real
thing where the rubber piece
is placed under the fastener
ring. All the screws and rivets
are painted with slightly lighter
shade of yellow-green which
is then used for raised details
and edge highlights. Cables
and wires are painted in a
few different shades of dark

grey to avoid even and boring
single colour elements. Some
placards have been painted
on hydraulic fluid tanks in the
same way we did it for oxygen
bottles earlier. Burnt Umber
overall oil wash is now applied
to all firewall and supporting
frame elements, everything
except the engine itself. Oil
Some of the wires and cables will be trimmed off later.
08/10/2014 11:32
Chapter III
The engine frame and the firewall section
have received two thin coats of our cockpit
green mix. Note that one side of the
engine supporting frame is left loose as if
assembled now it would be difficult to paint
all the details from the inside.
Shading with Tamiya X-1 Black is applied to create more contrast and a base for further
detail enhancement.
Fine pointed brush is now used to paint all the details. Aluminium strip fasteners
are painted with black in a way that we paint two narrow strips on each side of the
fastener so it would look like the real thing where the rubber piece is placed under the
fastener ring.
wash is applied to tone down

all the colours and to make
everything look heavily used,
dusty and dirty. Great care
must be taken here when
applying the ways because
of all the small and fragile
elements so take your time
to do it gently and slowly.
Side panel fastening frames
are treated more heavily to
simulate wear and tear of
frequent panel removal and
servicing. Paint chipping is
applied with light yellow-green
and fine pointed brush around
screw holes. Area around
exhaust is further treated with
black-brown oil mix to simulate
deep shadows, heavily burnt
oil stains and dirt.
Oil tank and carburettor air
intake will be painted in natural
metal finish and before doing
so, some surface preparations
are needed in order to get
the metal finish to look right.
First, both parts are sanded
so that there are no perfectly
smooth areas, then they are

treated with micromesh cloth
to make the surface even and
with tiny scratches all around.
Gunze Sangyo Mr Metal 218
Aluminium is now applied with
large flat brush without any
special procedure just simply
brushed on and left aside to
dry. Some twelve hours later
a soft paper towel is used to
rub the parts for some twenty
minutes or so, slowly and
by applying just a little bit of
pressure. Buffing the painted
surface will make it shiny
but because of tiny surface
scratches it will look more like
the real aluminium than if we
simply brushed it onto smooth
surface of the part.
There is really no accurate
recipe here, once you start
buffing you will know when to
stop once you are satisfied
with the final metal look. When
buffing is done, some subtle
shading is applied and then
the part is gently rubbed with
08/10/2014 11:33
Some placards have been painted on hydraulic fluid tanks as well as paint
chipping on side panel supporting frames.
micromesh cloth to accentuate

the scratches and used look a
bit more. The only drawback
of Gunze Sangyo Mr Metal
Good looking natural metal finish
is always difficult to achieve,
simple technique of buffing
and burnishing Gunze Sangyo
Mr Metal 218 Aluminium is my
favourite.
Burnt Umber overall oil wash is now applied to all firewall and supporting frame elements. Oil
wash is applied to tone down all the colours and to make everything look heavily used, dusty
and dirty.
paints is the fact that they

will leave metal particles on
your fingers if touched which
really depends on how much
you buff them, more buffing

means less paint residue on
your fingers. One option is to
spray flat or satin cote over it
but that would then
give us more oxidised
aluminium look. I
simply leave it as is
and i do not touch it,
simple and effective enough.

Engine coolant tank is painted
and weathered in the same
manner.
Now, the engine! LifeColor
UA207 Schwarzgrau mixed
with LifeColor gloss cote in 3:1
ratio is airbrushed as a base
colour. Before the dry-brush
Oil tank looks shiny

and scratched, some
weathering and shading
will make it look more
realistic.
08/10/2014 11:33
Chapter III
08/10/2014 11:33
08/10/2014 11:33
Chapter III
Main engine
parts are
airbrushed with
LifeColor UA207
Schwarzgrau
mixed with a
drop of gloss
cote for satin
like finish.
We will use
Gunze Sangyo
Mr Metal 218
Aluminium as
main dry-brush
paint and Mr
Metal 214 Dark
Iron for getting
the dark shine
on some of the
engine sections.
The brush
should not leave
any traces on a
flat surface but
should make
nice highlights
on the raised
details and
edges. Note
when drybrushing,
always use
a side of the
brush only,
never the tip!
process i would like to explain some

basics of dry-brushing with metallic
paints. Again, we are using Gunze
Sangyo Mr Metal 218 Aluminium as
main dry-brush paint and Mr Metal 214
Dark Iron for getting the dark shine on
some of the engine sections. Medium
size flat brush is used for this task.
Shake and open the paint bottle, dip
the brush in the paint that is left on
the bottle cap and brush will pick up
enough of it. Now, start brushing the
paper towel until no more paint trails
are visible and then continue for a
few more strokes, we want the brush
completely dry! Take a piece of painted
plastic from spares box and test it, the
brush should not leave any traces on
a flat surface but should make nice
highlights on the edges. Also, when
dry-brushing always use a side of the
brush only, never the tip!
Start with gently brushing all the
raised edges and details while holding
the brush at low angle so that the
side of the brush is touching the part.
Brush strokes should be as if you were
wiping the dust off, light and gentle.
This engine is simple perfect for this
type of work and as soon as you start
you will notice a huge difference and
amazing level of details. Once the
entire engine is brushed go for one
more round and do not touch it with
your hands. This is all done with just
one brush dip into the paint, if the trail
becomes faint simply apply little more
pressure. Some of the parts have to be
painted in natural metal and to do so,
gently brush the part with brush tip or
even stubbing motions with the brush
will do. As only the finest metal paint
particles are left in the brush, the finish
of those metal parts will look fabulous.
The same process is repeated with
Dark Iron paint which is applied to the
large and flat areas of the engine to
give it dark metallic shine. The engine
is now carefully fitted to the frame and
the firewall section, some nudges and
cable rearrangements are necessary
for everything to fit together nicely. I
will not glue the engine as some more
adjustments may be needed later,
the fit is so nice and tight that glue
is not required anyway. Side cover
holders are now fitted as well although
with some minor issues caused by
cables and wires, again a few nudges
with tweezers and everything is in its
08/10/2014 11:33
Some of the parts have to be painted in natural metal and to do so, gently brush the
part with brush tip or even stubbing motions with the brush will do.
The main engine section is now warn off enough and all the details are highly visible.
place, safe and sound. Engine

cover frame is locked in place
with tiny drops of super glue
applied with the toothpick.
Exhaust pipes are painted
Schwarzgrau and then Burnt
Umber oil was is applied.
the exhaust parts onto a piece

of BluTac wrapped around
the barbecue stick. Engine
assembly is now complete
and ready for one final touch
to be perfect and almost ready
for ignition. Another drybrush
round over the entire thing,
While the wash is still wet we

will dust it with rust coloured
pigments or dry pastel powder.
Pigments will stick to wet oil
and create irregular coarse
surface just like on the real
thing. For easier handling and
painting i have arranged all
this time more subtle so we

do not end up with all metal
looking front section of the
Spitfire. The brush is this time
wipe off even more vigorously
than before for the engine. We
will concentrate on the cables
and wires and then engine
The engine is now carefully

fitted to the frame and the
firewall section, some nudges
and cable rearrangements are
necessary for everything to fit
together nicely.
08/10/2014 11:33
Chapter III
No glue is used until side panel frames are fitted in.
Exhaust pipes are painted with LifeColor UA207 Schwarzgrau and then Burnt Umber oil was is applied.
While the wash is still wet we will dust it with rust coloured pigments or dry pastel powder.
Side panel frames are now fitted as well although with some minor issues caused by cables and wires.
08/10/2014 11:33
The engine and firewall assembly is now compact, solid and well detailed.
Another dry-brush round over the entire thing, this time more subtle so we do
not end up with all metal looking front section of the Spitfire.
frame and supporting bars.

Very light and gentle brush
motions will create barely
noticeable but highly effective
edge highlights. As for the
cables, only the top sections
are treated which makes
them more noticeable and the
whole area to look busier and
complex. Some modellers like
to use light grey or white paint
for the dry-brush of the engine
and surrounding elements
while metallic paint works the
best for me. It is easy to work
with, produces very smooth
and realistic highlights and one
brush dip can last for hours
of dry-brushing. As the finest
metal particles from the paint
will remain in the brush after it
has been wiped off, the final

result is guaranteed to
be perfect.
With the engine section
now being done i will sort out
all the other details before
continuing the paint job and
the markings placement.
Upper fuel tank is next. Subtle
shading is done with Tamiya
X-1 Black highly diluted with
alcohol which will be our base
for further weathering with
oils. A piece of 0.4mm thick
aluminium sheet is now cut
to measure and shaped to
form the tank cover. Shaping
is done by simple conforming
the piece on the kit tank cover
that we have separated from
the fuselage earlier. Fuel filler
cap hole and fastener holes

have been drilled before we
shaped the piece. Size of the
piece is 28.5mm wide and
44.5mm long. If you do not
want to mess around with
aluminium tank cover even
though it is really easy job,
you can thin out the kit piece
and get almost the same

result. I could not resist to
test Gunze Sangyo Mr Metal
218 Aluminium here and paint
the kit tank cover with it just
for comparison with the real
aluminium piece, the result i
have got looks pretty close to
the real thing. Burnt umber oils
Side panel frames are locked in place with tiny drops of super glue
applied with the toothpick.
08/10/2014 11:33
Chapter III
Subtle shading on the fuel tank is done

with Tamiya X-1 Black highly diluted with
alcohol which will be our base for further
weathering with oils.
Aluminium tank cover is formed by

bending the piece of aluminium sheet
over the kit part.
Kit part representing the fuel tank cover

is brush painted with Gunze Sangyo Mr
Metal 218 Aluminium and compared to
the real aluminium piece, looks pretty
close to the real thing.
Cover now fits perfectly to the fuel tank

which means we will be able to show it
in its place once everything is done.
are now used to make the fuel

tank and its cover dirty and
with fuel stains concentrated
around the filler cap. Oil paint
is diluted with enamel thinner
in 1:1 ratio, applied in very
small dots around the filler cap
and then blended with clean
and dry brush. Process is

the repeated once more with
black oil paint applied in even
smaller amounts around the
filler cap and blended in. Same
procedure is followed on the
tank cover which is previously
been painted in Ocean Grey
and Dark Green. A few light

strokes with micromesh cloth
along the cover edges will
reveal bare aluminium and
make the piece look more
warn out. Cover now fits
perfectly to the fuel tank which
means we will be able to show
it in its place once everything

is done.
Landing gear is then
treated the same way with
the shading first and a few
dots of Burnt Umber in the
most recessed areas. Wheels
are painted black and then
Oil paint is diluted with enamel thinner in

1:1 ratio, applied in very small dots around
the filler cap and then blended with clean
and dry brush to create fuel stains on the
fuel tank as well as on the cover. A few light
strokes with micromesh cloth along the cover
edges will reveal bare aluminium and make
the piece look more warn out.
08/10/2014 11:33
Landing gear assembled, painted and shaded with Tamiya X-1 Black. Gunze Sangyo Mr Metal 218
Aluminium is brushed on the rims.
drybrushed for a few minutes

with Gunze Sangyo Mr Metal
218 Aluminium until completely
covered. Radiator air intakes
are painted with LifeColor
UA207 Schwarzgrau and
then drybrushed with Gunze
Sangyo Mr Metal 218 to bring
out all the fine surface details.
Landing flaps are now
prepared for panting in bare
metal finish as i am going to
place them in down position.
Ejection pin marks are all over
the inside area of the flaps and
we need to remove them on
order to get satisfying results.
Since all the pins are located

between flap ribs we cannot
just sand them dawn, instead
we will use curved blade knife
to scrape them away first.
Curved section of the blade is
pressed beside the ping and
pulled over it while applying a
little pressure to it. Scraping
motion is done in one direction
only and until the pin mark is
flush with the surface. Fine
sanding paper is then rolled in
a cylinder and gently rubbed
back and forth to smooth the
surface and make it even.
With all the details done and
Curved blade is used to scrape off ejector pin marks

from the landing flaps.
Again, Mr Metal 218 Aluminium is used to accentuate all the

beautiful details of the radiator intakes.
oil paint dry on the Spitfire it is

time to move on with finishing
the model. Further random
fading of green areas is now
done with Tamiya paints XF-65
Field Grey, XF-62 Olive Drab
and XF-58 Olive green, each
mixes with a little bit of XF-3
Flat Yellow. Important thing
here is the fact that this fading
is done with matt instead
of gloss paints which make
things a bit more difficult. Matt
paints dry faster than gloss
paints which also have a
better flow in the airbrush. To
compensate for this fast drying
Fine sanding paper is wrapped around a piece of brass

tube and used to smooth down any imperfections on
landing flaps.
we will add distilled water to

the mix so the final mix ratios
for the fading would be 1 part
paint, 5 parts alcohol and 3
parts water. After the fading
process, the entire model will
receive a thin coat of matt
varnish and it is ready for
masking and painting of the
markings. With no particular
reason, fuselage code letters,
band and tail letter are the
first to be painted with custom
made Sky mix consisting of
LifeColor UA095 Sky, UA204
Dunkelgelb and LC01 White
in 5:4:1 ratio. LifeColor UA095
Craw bar is easily made from a piece of styrene rod.
08/10/2014 11:34
Chapter III
08/10/2014 11:34
08/10/2014 11:34
Chapter III
Further random fading of green areas is now done with Tamiya paints XF-65 Field
Grey, XF-62 Olive Drab and XF-58 Olive green, each mixes with a little bit of XF-3 Flat
Yellow.
Fuselage code letters, band and tail letter are the first to be painted with custom
made Sky mix consisting of LifeColor UA095 Sky, UA204 Dunkelgelb and LC01 White
in 5:4:1 ratio.
White is airbrushed first for fuselage roundels and tail fin flash.
Followed with dark red mix made of Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red and XF-63 German Grey in
8:1 ratio.
Sky can be used here alone

but it simple did not look right
to me, apart from the fact that i
really enjoy mixing paints. Poor
coverage of the mix requires
three or four coats instead
of two so be careful when
removing the masks not to tear
the paint which is now a bit
thick. Roundel masks are now
positioned and surrounding
areas additionally masked off.
roundels and then covered

with masking elements for
the next colour. When placing
roundel masks use a few strips
of Tamiya tape over the mask
and lift all masking elements in
one go, together with masking
frame. When positioned on
the model, remove all masking
elements leaving just the frame
on. Spray red mix for upper
wing roundels and then put
White is airbrushed first for

fuselage roundels followed
by dark red mix for the wing
roundels. Dark red mix consist
of Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red and
XF-63 German Grey in 8:1
ratio. Do not worry if the red
now looks a bit too light, i
will look just perfect once the
clear cote is on. Red mix is
sprayed at the centre section
of wing upper and lower side
back the mask elements so

that they fit the frame. Now
remove outer ring leaving
the centre ring in place and
covering the red area. Blue mix
is now sprayed on the outer
ring of the roundel. Dark blue
mix consists of Tamiya XF-8
Flat Blue, XF-7 Flat Red and
X-1 Black in 4:1:1 ratio, again
this will look a bit lighter than
we need but will be good once
08/10/2014 11:34
All the markings are now sprayed and unmasked, roundels still looks a bit too
light which will be taken care of with a thin coat of mat varnish.
Fuselage roundel masks have lifted some of the paint of the

fuselage code, fine pointed brush is then used to touch up
chipped letters with our custom made Sky mix.
we spray the clear coat on.

As i have not waited
long enough for the paint on
the fuselage codes to dry
properly i have to deal with
consequences. Fuselage
roundel masks have lifted
some of the paint of the
fuselage code, not a big deal
but unnecessary step in the
process. Fine pointed brush
is used to touch up chipped
letters with our custom made
Sky mix. upper wing walking
area lines are masked and
painted together with fuselage

code MK126 in LifeColor
UA207 Schwarzgrau. Entire
model is now airbrushed with
Future floor wax polish to
prepare the surface for panel
line oil wash. You can now
notice that our roundels are
darker and looking perfect. Mix
of Burnt Umber and Black oil
is prepared and diluted with
enamel thinner in 9:1 paint to
thinner ratio and applied with
round medium sized brush.
Brush is first soaked in oil
A small lump behind the empty cartridge ejection hole will make it impossible to apply
the kit decals, masks have done excellent job here.
08/10/2014 11:34
Chapter III
Lower side of the model is now treated with oil wash with more mess to simulate heavier oil streaks, dirt, wear and tear. Wash is applied without too much
care, along the panel lines, here and there.
wash and then we just have

to touch recessed panel lines
with the brush tip and capillary
force will do the rest. Best
points for applying the wash
are places where two or more
panel lines meet, that way we
cover larger areas with each
brush to model contact. As oils

tend to settle down in enamel
thinner, shake the bottle
every so often to get the best
consistency of the mix.
Lower side of the model
is now treated with oil wash
and rather with more mess to
simulate heavier oil streaks,

dirt, wear and tear. As the
entire surface is covered in
rivets we will apply the wash
to only some of them to avoid
too many rivets shadowing the
other details. Wash is applied
without too much care, along
the panel lines, here and there.

Few hours later when the wash
is dry we will start working
our way from front to tail with
thinner moistened cotton
swab, few light strokes and the
rotating the swab tip to start
again with clean section. Keep
the cleaning strokes in the air
flow directions as that way we
will get very nice looking oil
and dirt streaks going from the
front sections of airplane. Try
not to be too neat and clean
everything to be like new, lower
areas of the aircraft do need
to look dirty! Sometimes when
working with enamel thinner
When the wash is dry, we will
start working our way from front
to tail with thinner moistened
cotton swab, few light strokes
and the rotating the swab tip to
start again with clean section.
Keep the cleaning strokes in the
air flow directions as that way we
will get very nice looking oil and
dirt streaks going from the front
sections of airplane.
08/10/2014 11:34
Airbrush shading is just as important as the oil wash for highly effective weathering.
A thin layer of future is sprayed on for placement of decals and stencils. Note how
that one layer affects the colour of roundels which are now just perfect.
Kit decals have proved to be rather difficult to apply, poor adhesive resulted in
silvering on every single decal element. To fix this, a drop of white glue diluted with
water is brushed on the spot and decals applied while it is still wet.
Humbrol matt clear is now de-canned into an empty jar and airbrushed on the model
to seal everything. Flat surface now looks good but some more panel fading can be
done, Tamiya XF-53 Neutral Grey mixed with white in 1:1 ratio is randomly sprayed on
some panels, gun bay covers and fuselage spine line.
over Future, we can encounter

colour lightening and
discolouration on some areas,
nothing be worried about as
the top flat coat will straighten
this out. Panel line shading is
next to be done on lower sides
with highly diluted Tamiya X-1
Black. Keep the airbrush very
close to the model and spray
with barely visible mixture flow.
Again, shading should not be
very noticeable when looking
from close range. A bit heavier
shading is done around empty
cartridge disposal openings, at
the root of Hispano cannons
and in the wheel bays. When
done, another layer of future
is sprayed on for placement
of decals and stencils. I have
tried every possible solution
but the kit decals are simply
relentless, silvering no matter
what you do. Almost at the
end of my patience i got an
in warm water for about 10

seconds and then dip just the
decal without backing sheet
idea to try and sort it out with

white glue diluted with water,
and it worked! Dip the decal
in diluted white glue, once

positioned on the model gently
remove excess glue mix with
Highly diluted Tamiya

X-1 is now used for
panel line shading
and creating dirt
streaks on upper
surfaces.
08/10/2014 11:34
Chapter III
08/10/2014 11:35
08/10/2014 11:35
Chapter III
Pieces of Tamiya tape
have been used along
panel lines to airbrush the
streaks and dirt marks
on some panels, mainly
behind gun covers, on
ailerons and rear moving
surfaces.
Shading should be subtle

and barely noticeable.
A bit heavier shading

is done on ailerons and
recessed areas where they
meet the wing.
Well diluted is much more

easy to control and we can
always make another pass
with the airbrush contrary
to thick mixture where
mistakes are highly visible
and hard to fix.
wet brush which is also used

to position the decal in its
place. This has been the only
problem with the build so far,
not sure if it is just my kit or
Tamiya got it wrong somehow
with this one.
Humbrol matt clear is now
de-canned into an empty jar
and airbrushed on the model
to seal everything. Flat surface
now looks good but some
more panel fading can be
done, Tamiya XF-53 Neutral
Grey mixed with white in 1:1
ratio is randomly sprayed on
some panels, gun bay covers
and fuselage spine line. Light
grey fading can be applied
on green surfaces as well as
long as it is barely noticeable.
Highly diluted Tamiya X-1
is now used for panel line
shading and creating dirt
streaks on upper surfaces.
Pieces of Tamiya tape have
been used along panel lines
to airbrush the streaks and
dirt marks on some panels,
mainly behind gun covers,
on ailerons and rear moving
surfaces. Black mixture for
shading is barely noticeable
on yellow Tamiya tape which
shows how diluted the mixture
is, almost transparent. Mixture
well diluted is much more
easy to control and we can
always make another pass
with the airbrush contrary to
thick mixture where mistakes
are highly visible and hard
to fix. Canopy placement is
next, it has been masked
off and painted each time
we were painting the main
airframe so the colour is
consistent. We could attach
it at the beginning but then
the masking has to be done
much more carefully to
prevent any misting of the
clear parts from the inside
which them implicated their
removal, polishing and so
on. Attaching clear parts et
the very end ensures that
they stay clean and clear,

polished and shiny. Small
amount of Pacer Formula 560
Canopy Glue is applied along
the contact surface with the
toothpick and the parts are
then carefully positioned and
adjusted so that the fit and
alignment is perfect. Cotton
swab is moistened with water
and excess glue is gently
wiped off, away from the clear
area to prevent smudges.
Sliding canopy section is
simply placed on the top
of fixed clear part once
everything else is done.
Instrument panel backside
wires and cables are now
trimmed and carefully diverted
to go below the fuel tank and
trough the holes we drilled
trough the surface where the
instrument panel is mounted.
We will also gently press all
the wires slightly backward to
get enough room to insert the
fuel tank but also to get more
realistic look of that section
with all the wires cramped
in that little space. The fuel
tank is not glued in place as
there is no need for it, wires
and firewall section will hold
it in place firmly enough so
it does not pops out when
you move the model. Another
option is to fix it with a little bit
of BluTac at the bottom. A tiny
holes are now drilled at the tip
of both horizontal stabilizers
to accommodate the antenna
wire which is made from
stretched sprue. One end
of antenna wire is inserted
in the hole on the tip of left
stabilizer and secured with
tiny drop of superglue applied
with a piece of copper wire.
Now, we will drill two holes
on each side of the fuselage
just a little behind the radio
door, its already marked on
the model and we need to
drill trough. Antenna wire is
now patiently pushed through
one hole and a few seconds
08/10/2014 11:35
Instrument panel backside wires and cables are now trimmed and carefully
diverted to go below the fuel tank and trough the holes we drilled trough the
surface where the instrument panel is mounted.
Attaching clear parts et the very end ensures that they stay clean and clear,
polished and shiny. Small amount of Pacer Formula 560 Canopy Glue is applied
along the contact surface with the toothpick and the parts are then carefully
positioned and adjusted so that the fit and alignment is perfect.
All the little pieces are now fitted in except for the fuel tank which is fixed in
placed with a little bit of BluTac so we can nudge it if needed when installing
the engine assembly.
later it came out at the other

side of the fuselage. This end
is now carefully tightened with
tweezers, trimmed to measure
and inserted into the hole at
the tip of right stabilizer and
fixed with superglue. This
way seems easier to me
while it is not the only way
to do it. Engine assembly is
now carefully mounted to the
fuselage and the radio door is
glued in its place with a little
bit of superglue. Radio door
supporting bar is made from
thin styrene rod. Our Spitfire
is now done and ready to be
displayed. Just a little effort for
a great reward!
Tamiyas Spitfire is easily
one of the nicest models i
have ever assembled, pure
joy in every possible way.
Almost completely a care free
build with no need of planning
twenty steps in advance
or constantly wondering is
everything going fit nicely at
the end, in fact i do not think
that you can mess it up even
if you want to. Now, i must
mention that it would be nice
if we got those gun bays a bit
more detailed and a couple of
Hispano cannons but hey, lets
not be too picky.
Landing flaps mechanism which protrudes the upper wing is glued with
superglue and brush painted with Mr Metal 218 Aluminium.
08/10/2014 11:35
Chapter III
If you decide to leave the spinner cap

off, paint the inside area with LifeColor
UA207 Schwarzgrau and dry-brush it with
Mr Metal 218 Aluminium.
08/10/2014 11:35
Chapter III
P-47D THUNDERBOLT
08/10/2014 11:37
Chapter III
P-47D THUNDERBOLT
Kit summary
Trumpeters P-47D Razorback looks like a perfect kit from the moment you open the box, but after detailed check of all the parts
some things start to look wrong. Trumpeter is known for their rivet mania and this kit is no exception. I actually do like riveted kits as
they can really improve overall look and add to realism of the model. There is no doubt that every single rivet that was present on
real Thunderbolt is represented here and that is not the problem, however, their size is. Deep and rather large rivets are not in scale
here, fortunately there are ways to make them look just right. Another thing is the firewall area which is taken from their P-47N version
of the kit and certainly not suitable for our Razorback. Wings to the fuselage fit could be better as well as the tail fin root filet which
is present on one fuselage half while simply not there on the other. On the other hand, engine and cockpit parts are crisply and well
detailed and fairly accurate. Good selection and amount of bombs, rockets, rocket launchers, fuel tanks, spinners and propeller
variants is another bonus and high point. What looks like a mixed bag here is actually a good kit which can be easily turned into a
great looking model with a little time and effort, even for not so advanced modeller.
78 BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT - P-47D THUNDERBOLT
08/10/2014 11:37
08/10/2014 11:37
Chapter III
BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT - P-47D THUNDERBOLT
BEFORE WE START
Eduard BigED BIG3266 P-47D-20
Vector Scale Resin Engines 32001 Pratt & Whitney
R-2800 A/B style
Hobby Decal ST32001V1 P-47 Dry Transfer Stencils
Maketar Paint Masks - 32039 P-47D Thunderbolt
Lethal Liz II
Cyanoacrylate glue
Tamiya cement
Drilling pin vise
BluTack
Magic Sculpt modelling clay
Brass tubes
Modellers saw
Paints used:
Artist oils:
Burnt Umber
Black
White
Yellow
LC27 Matt Clear
LC01 Matt White
UA042 Chrome Yellow
UA006 Green
UA045 Non Specular Intermediate Blue
UA207 Schwarz Grau
Side panels have been cut out with sharp pointed blade and the edges smoothed with fine sanding
paper. Top side panel covering hydraulic tanks and lines has been removed as well.
THE BUILD
The build starts with inspection of
the fuselage and making plans for
panel openings, what can be done
to make the model look dynamic
and interesting and above all, whats
the easiest way to do it. First thing
that i would like to be visible is the
rear compartment of the engine and
the firewall area. Side panels have
been cut out with sharp pointed
blade and the edges smoothed with
fine sanding paper. Top side panel
covering hydraulic tanks and lines
has been removed as well. P-47N

variant had this section opened
towards the engine area while
P-47D Razorback variant had a
closed sections for hydraulic tanks
and various installation lines which
means that we will have to make that
container from styrene sheet. With
closer inspection it is pretty much
clear that everything from the firewall
area has to go as almost nothing is
done right. Oil tank is a bit strange
in shape and size as well as the
water tank which is somewhat too

X-1 Gloss Black
XF-64 Red Brown
X-32 Titanium Silver
XF-10 Flat Brown
Alclad II Lacquers:
Duraluminium ALC-102
Dark Aluminium ALC-103
Semi Matt Aluminium ALC-116
White Aluminium ALC-106
Polished Aluminium ALC-105
Polished Brass ALC-109
Gunze Sangyo paints and primers:
Mr. Metal Color 218 Aluminium
Mr. Surfacer 1000
Testors Model Master enamel paints:
1790 Chrome Silver
Revell enamel paints
09 Matt Anthracite Grey
036 Matt Carmine Red
Firewall frame part is made from styrene sheet by outlining the original part first. Bottom section is then
glued first and left aside to cure before we press it against the firewall part to conform to its shape.
08/10/2014 11:37
Hydraulic tank container which

sits at the top of the firewall
is made from 0.25mm thick
styrene sheet.
flat and too wide. Considering

that we need to make new
tank another problem arises,
engine supporting frame
which would be too narrow
to accommodate the oil tank.
Kit part which represents
the firewall frame has some
junction boxes that are out of
place and the part itself was
a bit twisted, not sure this is
a general problem or just with
my kit. Firewall frame part is
made from styrene sheet by
outlining the original part first.
Bottom section is then glued
first and left aside to cure
before we press it against the
firewall part to conform to its
shape. Clamps are now used
to hold the pieces together for
an hour or so.
Hydraulic tank container
which sits at the top of the
firewall is made from 0.25mm
thick styrene sheet. Two
rectangular lumps found at the
bottom of that upper sections
have been removed and the
opening is then measured.
Magic Sculpt is used to make most of the details behind the

engine. Note the bad shaped water tank at the far back.
Some pieces of the new part

have been cut and trimmed
a few times in order to get
perfect fit. Once the part is
done and fits tightly into the
opening we will make the top
frame where fasteners are
screwed into and glue it in its
place. New part is now glued
to the firewall section while
the two fuselage halves are
dry fitted. This is important
as if we simply glued it to
the firewall while detached
from the fuselage it may not
fit the fuselage opening later.
Container is glued to the
firewall only and not to the
Clamps have been used to hold the new firewall frame in place
until the glue fully cures. New firewall frame is thinner and
better looking.
fuselage halves too.

Engine supporting frame is
next. Styrene rod 1.8mm thick
is used for the main frame
bars and 1.4mm diameter rod
for the cross bars and oil tank
support. A bit larger diameter
styrene rod is used for the
base structure which is bolted
to the firewall frame, 2.5mm
diameter will do. This rod is
now drilled with 2.2mm drill bit
to make a pipe of it. We could
use a styrene pipe in the first
place but the pipe walls are
too thick to look good. Next
step is to cut one end at very
high angle to get sharp cone.
Another one, thinner piece of

styrene rod is now inserted into
newly formed pipe from the
back side and to about 1mm
from the coned opening. Small
and shallow hole is now drilled
here to simulate the screw
head opening. Four of these
pieces are requires and all of
them are the same size and
length, approximately 6mm
long from the base to the cone
tip. Smaller diameter piece
which was inserted from the
back side of the coned pipe
will be left to stick out some
2mm and would be fitted into
the hole on the firewall frame.
08/10/2014 11:37
Chapter III
Scratchbuilt engine supporting frame, oil tank and upper container dry
fitted to check for any eventual fit problems.
Four holes are now marked

and drilled in the firewall frame
and four coned pieces dry
fitted in place. Cone opening is
facing outwards and an angle
of 45 degrees. A piece of
styrene rod 1.4mm in diameter
is now measured and cut to fit
between the upper two coned

pieces and then glued to those
two carefully not to glue it to
the firewall.
Pieces of 1.8mm diameter
styrene rod are now measured
to fit between coned pieces
and the forward engine firewall.
More panels have been cut open by using drill and cut technique. Metal strip with
fastener holes is made from narrow piece of styrene sheet and glued in place.
New pieces will be glued

roughly at the same position
where the kit frame would go.
One end of each bar is not
also cut at an angle to form
the cone. It is hard to explain
at which angle this should be
cut but it is very easy to get
it right. First, cut the cone at
approximately 60 degrees
angle and then dry fit it, coned
side should go on the base
structure piece and the other
end should go the forward
engine firewall inner ring. Now
just correct the cone angle is if
does not sit tight on the base
structure coned pipe. Sounds
complicated but it is not, a
few test fits and some wasted
styrene rod and we are done.
Photos will actually explain
it a bit better and show how
simple the structure is.
With the engine support
frame now done i have got
the urge to open two more

little panels going from the
junction box panel towards
the front. Holes are drilled
along the panel line and then
connected with sharp pointed
blade. Opening edges are
then sanded with small square
file and later with fine sanding
paper wrapped around the file.
Styrene strip is then glued to
the forward opening edge, the
thing that holds the side panel.
Lower section between the
two side panels did not have
this piece where fasteners are
screwed into. When cutting
narrow strips from the styrene
sheet use steel ruler and very
sharp blade. Do not cut all
the way trough in one go as
the will deform and twirl the
strip, instead do it with a few
light passes of the blade until
the strip is separated from
the sheet. When attaching
08/10/2014 11:39
Again, Eduard photo

etched parts are a
great improvement
over kit part for the
gun sight.
Eduard photo etched set is welcomed addition to the cockpit. Kit

instrument panel back plate is used and further detailed with lead,
copper and plastic wrapped wires.
the strip to the curved edge

first glue one end and leave
it to fully cure the apply glue
along the entire edge and
slowly conform the strip to the
edge shape and hold it a few
seconds with tweezers.
Once i get a bit tired from
working on one section of the
model i simply start working
on something else. This
helps me not to try to finish
something at all cost and as
soon as possible just because
i got tired of it which usually
ends up with not satisfying
results. As the cockpit does
not require too much work and
improvements we will start
working on it now and finish
it before getting back to the
firewall and engine area.
Kit cockpit features fairly
large amount of crisp details
and the only thing missing
here is a few bundles of
cables, wires and pipelines
to make it look decent. I
will be using Eduards pre
painted photo etched parts
for further detailing, not all
of them though. Lead wire,
soft and flexible

plastic wrapped
wire and stretched
sprue are used for
cockpit detailing.
Floor section of the
cockpit received
a few hydraulic
and installation
lines mainly in the
forward section
behind rudder
pedals. Cockpit
heating pipes are
represented with
thin styrene rods at
the centre forward
section. Styrene rods and
stretched sprue are ideal for
these kinds of tasks, they are
easily conformed to any shape
and glued in place with a drop
of Tamiya extra thin cement.
Another advantage is the fact
that you can stretch a sprue
in any desirable thickness. Kit
instrument panel back side
features some basic details
but considering the fact that
just a very small part of this
section will be visible at the
end, it is enough to make it
0.25mm thick
styrene sheet
section is fitted to
the cockpit wall
to as a base for
further detailing.
Piece of styrene
sheet is use used
to make two rib
sections, one for
each side of the
junction box.
Different gauges
of styrene rod
sections are now
glued to this
square section
to represent
connection
points for various
installation lines.
look good. Different thickness

of lead wire and plastic
wrapped wire have been used
for lines and cables, some of
very thin wires were twisted
and bundled together for more
realistic look. Upper sections
of the instrument panel part
are trimmed with modelling
knife as they are sticking out
when Eduards pre-painted
photo etched instrument panel
is fitted. Bundled thin wires,
lead wires and stretched sprue
are used to detail cockpit
walls in the same manner as

the floor. Section of styrene
rod is added as the cockpit
light on the left hand side wall.
Eduards back side section
is a great addition and just a
shame it would not be fully
visible once the pilot seat is
installed. With the cockpit tub
and most of its details now
in place, gun sight is next
before we can start painting.
Combination of kit parts and
Eduards photo etched parts
will make this highly visible
08/10/2014 11:39
Chapter III
part a real eye candy. Thick
lead wire is also added and
inserted through the upper
side hole to represent a tube
for delivering hot air to the gun
sight glass. Some care must
be taken when adding details
to the gun sight assembly as
tiny photo etched parts are
making it fragile.
We are now going to add
details to the outer left side
cockpit wall which would be
visible through the opened
access panels. Larger access
panel that we have opened
reveals the junction box with
various kinds of hydraulic
and electrical lines and

installations. The easiest and
most convenient thing is to
add all the parts and details
directly to the cockpit wall
rather than directly on to the
fuselage. With supercharger
cold air pipes glued in place,
the cockpit wall fits perfectly to
the fuselage half and makes
just enough space in between
to fit all the details of the
junction box. Now a 0.25mm
thick styrene sheet section is
fitted to the cockpit wall to as
a base for further detailing,
better solution than filling and
sanding all the gaps on the
outer cockpit
wall section.
Piece of styrene
sheet is now
use used to make two rib

sections, one for each side
of the junction box. These
parts are not that important as
they will be visible only when
looking from certain angle
from the front and back of the
airplane, enough for a little
extra effort to make them and
to add more realism. Dry fitting
the parts is necessary with
addition of each new element
to this section to ensure that
everything fits together nicely
and to avoid fixing things
later. Cockpit wall is now dry
fitted to the fuselage and
lead pencil is used from the
outside of the fuselage and
trough the opened access
panel to mark the spot where
we should place the main
parts of the junction box.

Square section made from
2mm thick styrene strip is now
glued to the cockpit wall as
a base for all the little details.
Different gauges of styrene rod
sections are now glued to this
square section to represent
connection points for various
installation lines. Smaller
gauge rod sections are then
glued to the side of some of
the larger rod sections to make
junction connectors and further
add more life to this area. Fine
pointed tweezers are used to
hold and position all the small
elements, to glue them in
place it is enough just to touch
the brush of Tamiya extra thin
cement with the part.
Stretched sprue and styrene
Junction box with various installation lines will add more life to the model.
One more dry fit before we start painting just to

make sure everything fits nicely and all of the
elements are visible trough the panel openings.
Even without the paint everything looks nice and
busy with lots of fine and crisp details.
08/10/2014 11:40
Panel frames have been recessed slightly for more

interesting and three dimensional look.
rod are now used to make

installation lines which can
be nicely bent by twisting
them around a piece of brass
tube. To add more diversity
and realism we are going to
make T sections by using
two pieces of styrene rod to
represent junction connectors
often found in junction boxes.
Each end of this connector is
fitted with pieces of styrene
rod or stretched sprue. Two
parallel styrene rod parts are
now added the forward section
of the cockpit wall to be visible

trough the two small access
panels, like on the real Jug.
One more dry fit before we
start painting just to make sure
everything fits nicely and all of
the elements are visible trough
the panel openings. Even
without the paint everything
looks nice and busy with lots
of fine and crisp details.
As previously with the
Spitfire, cockpit is primed in
grey before painting to get all
the parts in one colour and to
LifeColor UA042 Chrome Yellow is airbrushed in three thicker coats to get good
enough coverage, as the paint is semi gloss leave a few minutes between coats to
allow it to dry.
avoid too many paint coats

as the green paints used
have terribly poor coverage
properties, especially LifeColor
UA042 Chrome Yellow. Outer
side of the cockpit wall with
all the installations is painted
first. LifeColor UA042 Chrome
Yellow is airbrushed in three
thicker coats to get good
enough coverage, as the
paint is semi gloss leave a
few minutes between coats to
allow it to dry. LifeColor UA006
Green is mixed with LifeColor
UA042 Chrome Yellow in 1

to 1 ratio and airbrushed on
all cockpit parts in two light
coats. Fuselage area behind
the cockpit is also airbrushed
with interior green mix and
everything is ready for some
fading and shading. Tamiya
X-1 Black is highly diluted with
alcohol and airbrushed from
very close range around raised
detailed on all cockpit parts
as well as on the fuselage
section behind the cockpit.
Cockpit floor is more heavily
LifeColor UA006 Green is mixed with LifeColor UA042 Chrome Yellow in 1 to 1 ratio and
airbrushed on all cockpit parts in two light coats.
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Chapter III
Tamiya X-1 Black is highly diluted with alcohol and airbrushed from very close range around raised detailed on all cockpit parts.
treated than the other parts

as the floor is naturally dirtiest
section of the cockpit. We can
as well use overall oil wash
here but a bit heavier shading
will do. A drop of yellow paint
is now mixed with our interior
green mix and airbrushed on

open areas between raised
details to create more contrast
and colour variation. Any light
yellow-green mix of Tamiya
paints can be used as well,
diluted with alcohol, high
pressure and close range

works the best. A few drops
of white is now added to
interior green mix and used
for dry-brushing of the parts
as they still look a bit too flat
even after fading and shading.
Light brush strokes over
raised details will do the trick,
remember that we are dry
brushing with brush sides and
not with the tip, actually it is
more like dragging a flat brush
over the details.
Gunze Sangyo Mr. Metal
Color 218 Aluminium can
be used for dry brushing on
the cockpit floor around the
pedals and areas where pilots
feet would wear and tear
the surface. All the cockpit
features and details are to
be painted next, fine pointed
brush and LifeColor paints are

used for the job. Constantly
cleaning the brush with water
after every few details painted
will keep it soft and flexible,
otherwise it would stiffen and
make the painting difficult.
Brush is lightly wiped off after
every dip in the paint so that
just small amount is left on the
brush to prevent over-painting
surrounding elements. Cable
ties and fasteners are also
simulated by painting light grey
or black stripes across some
of the wires and installation
lines. For some of the smallest
details we will use Eduards
pre-painted photo etched
parts, mainly placards, throttle
side cover and map and
document case cover. Those
few details are very nicely
Fuselage section behind the cockpit has received the same shading treatment.
08/10/2014 11:40
Eduards photo etched pilots

seat looks much better than the
kit part, its much thinner and
more detailed.
Cockpit floor is more heavily
treated than the other parts as
the floor is naturally dirtiest
section of the cockpit. We can
as well use overall oil wash here
but a bit heavier shading will do.
represented with photo etched

parts and look more realistic
than if painted on. Other
cockpit parts are present in
the pack as well but those are
simply too flat and certainly
not appropriate for 32nd scale,
instead i will rather paint the
kit parts which would give us
more three dimensional look.
Switch boards and all the
switches are carefully painted
and the final result is superior
to any pre-painted aftermarket
part. When painting switches, it
is enough just to paint the top
face rather than painting sides
as well, those are to small and
delicate and i would eventually
paint the area around it.
Edges of larger cockpit
elements are carefully painted
in light grey for black parts and
light yellow-green for green
parts to simulate highlights
and add better feeling of
depth. Air hose is painted
black and dry brushed with
light grey to accentuate fine
A few drops of white is now added to interior green mix and used for dry brushing of the cockpit parts.
surface details. Pilot seat is

treated in the same manner as
the rest of the cockpit, edges
are painted in light grey to
add highlights. Magic Sculpt
All the cockpit features and details are painted with

fine pointed brush and LifeColor acrylic paints.
is used to make the seat

cushion, after combining the
two components we will set it
aside for some two hours until
it hardens enough for easier
All the cockpit features and details are painted with

fine pointed brush and Life Eduards photo etched
placards are used in the cockpit but all the other
elements are brush painted as photo etched parts look
too flat in this scale while the kit parts have perfect
surface details. Color acrylic paints.
sculpting. Aluminium rollers

are used to thin the piece to
1.5mm in thickness, a square
shaped piece is then cut out
with sharp pointed blade to
Simple but very busy looking cockpit wall. Eduard photo

etched document case cover is used to replace kit part.
08/10/2014 11:40
Chapter III
Gunze Sangyo Mr. Metal
Color 218 Aluminium can
be used for dry brushing
on the cockpit floor around
the pedals and areas where
pilots feet would wear and
tear the surface.
Seat cushion is made with Magic Sculpt and improves overall appearance of the seat.
fit the seat. While still barely

workable, we will add seams
along the edges by lightly
pressing the modellers saw
teeth into the part. Last thing

to do is to slightly deform
corners so they are not sharp
and perfect and to bend the
cushion so it conforms the
seat shape. Cushion is then
painted with Tamiya XF-64 Red
Cockpit is carefully dry fitted to check for any potential problems, so far so good.
Brown followed by an overall

oil wash to give it more leather
like look.
Gun sight is the last part
left, even though overall black
it does not have to be lifeless
and boring. After carefully
inserting transparent film in

to the frame. Reflector part
is carefully cut out from the
transparent film and glued
in place with white glue as
superglue would mist it. Photo
etched crosshair is glued last
Another angle shows opened panels, junction box and installation lines a bit better.
08/10/2014 11:40
Even though overall black, the gun sight does not have to be lifeless and boring.
Eduards photo etched parts make a great deal of difference on this part.
Photo etched instrument panel is now glued in place together with side gauge panels.
As a final step, rudder pedals are dry brushed with Gunze Sangyo Mr. Metal Color 218
Aluminium.
as the most fragile part. By

holding the assembly for the
plastic section we will add
some edge highlights and
do some light dry brushing,
just enough to accentuate
more details. To get the effect
instrument panel is now glued

in place together with side
gauge panels. As a final step,
rudder pedals are dry brushed
with Gunze Sangyo Mr. Metal
Color 218 Aluminium. Cockpit
tub is now carefully assembled
of shiny optics we will add a

drop of Testors Model Master
1790 Chrome Silver at the top
part of the optics tube, do not
brush it on just touch the part
with the brush and the paint
will cover it. Photo etched
and ready to be fitted later on.

With the cockpit finished, we
are now getting back to the
engine and firewall section. As
the kit water tank is incorrect
in shape and size we need to
make a new one, with Magic
Assembled cockpit tub ready to be fitted in

the fuselage. Note the instrument panel wires,
carefully painted and bent downward.
Another angle shows instrument

panel dials and beautiful details of
the cockpit wall.
Pilot seat is still missing seatbelts

which would be fitted at the end.
08/10/2014 11:40
Chapter III
08/10/2014 11:40
08/10/2014 11:40
Chapter III
As the kit water tank is incorrect in shape and size we will make a new one with
Magic Sculpt, tank left hand side is then drilled to accommodate filler tube which
is made from a piece of styrene rod.
Before we fit the

water tank in the
firewall section,
some details have
been made from
styrene rod and
sheet sections to
recreate hydraulic
lines and cables.
New water tank

fits perfectly and
will look good
once painted and
weathered, a piece
of BluTac can be
used to temporarily
hold the tank in
place while adding
some of the cables
and installation
lines.
Sculpt of course. After mixing

equal proportions of the two
components we will leave it
aside for some two hours to
harden and become more
workable. Magic Sculpt can
be worked right after mixing
the two components but at
that point it is too soft and
sticky, we would need to use
a lot of water on our fingers as
well as on tools to prevent the
mass sticking to everything it
touches. We can also use talc
powder as well but either way
the mass will still be very soft
and difficult to keep its shape.
If we leave it aside to harden,
the mass become more solid
and easier to work with, it does
not stick as much and does
not deform easily. Making of
the water tank starts with the
cube shape which is placed on
a piece of styrene sheet just
to avoid sticking the mass on
the work surface. Plastic ruler
is now moistened with water
and we can start deforming
the cube to get desired shape.
Place the ruler at the top of the
mass to make a seesaw and

start pressing one end of the
ruler so it touches the table
and then do the same with the
other, repeat a few times with
light pressure applied, just
like the seesaw. This process
will give us sort of rectangular
cross section of the piece but
without sharp angles. Now,
wet your fingers with water
and start rounding the piece
around the sides by moving
index fingers around the piece.
When we get the desired
shape, we will smooth the
entire piece by gently rubbing
it with wet index fingers. we
can also use sculpting or
dentists tools. The piece is
now set aside to fully cure
overnight, we will then use
some sanding paper to correct
its shape if needed. Smoothing
with wet fingers will make the
surface as smooth as glass
and to paint it we would need
to do some sanding with fine
sanding paper.
Water tank left hand side is
then drilled to accommodate
08/10/2014 11:40
Junction boxes of various shapes

and sizes are made from styrene
rod and strip sections and
attached to the frame beams.
Holes are drilled on each of the
junction boxes for easier addition
of the wires and cables.
filler tube which is made

from a piece of styrene rod.
Larger diameter rod section
is used to make a filler cap.
Sections of styrene rod, tube
and strip are used to make
most of the firewall installation
elements. Rigid hydraulic lines
have been made from 0.4
and 0.5mm styrene rod bent
over brass tube to get nice
bevelled angles. Tamiya extra
thin cement is used to glue
everything the main firewall
part. Small pieces of styrene
strip are glued to the firewall
frame and some holes are
drilled trough to accommodate
lines and cables coming from
and to the fuselage and the
cockpit. Water tank is dry
Firewall elements dry fitted to the fuselage for one last time to check if anything needs to be fixed before the painting.
fitted a few times to check if

everything goes along nicely,
a piece of BluTac can be used
to temporarily hold the tank
in place while adding some
of the cables and installation
lines.
Engine supporting frame
is now detailed furthermore
before the painting. Junction
boxes of various shapes and
sizes are made from styrene
rod and strip sections and
attached to the frame beams.
Holes are drilled on each of
Main firewall section is airbrushed with Alclad II

Duraluminium ALC-102 without any primer or special
surface preparation in two light coats and left aside to
fully dry.
the junction boxes for easier

addition of the wires and
cables. Small rectangular
pieces of self adhesive vinyl
are placed on some of the
boxes to represent placards.
Some ring clamps are placed
randomly on the frame beams
as well as behind the junction
boxes for more realistic look
and feel. To make a ring
clamp simply wrap a tiny strip
of styrene around the frame
beam, hold the ends with fine
pointed tweezers and apply a
Tamiya X-1 Black is used for shading which is now

rather random than just concentrated around recessed
areas and angles. This area of the aircraft is very
dirty, dusty and oily and so the shading is a bit heavier.
Overall oil wash can be applied as well.
tiny drop of Tamiya extra thin

cement, when the glue cures
simply cut off excess material
with sharp pointed blade or
small scissors. Everything is
now dry fitted to the fuselage
for one last time to check if
anything needs to be fixed
before the painting.
Main firewall section is
now airbrushed with Alclad II
Duraluminium ALC-102 without
any primer or special surface
preparation. Two light coats
are sprayed on and left aside
Water tank is painted with Alclad II Semi Matt

Aluminium ALC-116 and then sealed with LifeColor
LC27 Matt Clear. Two vertical strips are now masked of
and painted black to represent the tank fastener belts,
actually the black strips are rubber that goes beneath
the steel belts.
08/10/2014 11:41
Chapter III
Forward fuselage inside sections are airbrushed with Alclad II White Aluminium ALC106 also without previously priming the surface.
LifeColor LC27 Matt Clear is applied next followed by shading with Tamiya X-1 mixed
with XF-64 Red Brown.
Heavily weathered and stained, our firewall now looks like it really saw some action. Dry fit test before we glue fuselage halves together.
08/10/2014 11:41
When using LifeColor paints on multi coloured parts, it is necessary to prime all the
parts to avoid different tones of the paint as a result of poor coverage.
Painting the two sections of engine supporting frame and forward firewall separately,
not necessary but gives more control of the final appearance as the front part will be
more weathered and warn off.
The same interior green mix we used

for the cockpit is now airbrushed on the
front section.
Overall Burnt Umber oil wash is applied

next.
Large clean brush is used to remove

excess oils and to blend everything
nicely. More black oil paint can be
added to darken this area further as it is
located behind the engine and some soot
and black dust would be present.
Details on the oil cooler air intake

tube are painted with fine pointed
brush, aluminium section between belt
fasteners is painted with Gunze Sangyo
Mr. Metal Color 218 Aluminium. This
section is now done and awaiting the
engine to be fitted.
to dry for an hour or so. Alclad

II Dark Aluminium ALC-103 is
then sprayed in cloud pattern
to make subtle variation in
colour. Water tank is painted
with Alclad II Semi Matt
Aluminium ALC-116 and then
sealed with LifeColor LC27
Matt Clear. It is not necessary
or advisable to seal Alclad
Lacquers but in this case
it will provide a good base
for weathering. Two vertical
strips are now masked of and
painted black to represent the
tank fastener belts, actually
the black strips are rubber
that goes beneath the steel
belts. Before masking over any
kind of varnish applied over
Alclad, use masks on palms
of your hands a few time until
the adhesive is almost all
gone otherwise it will easily
lift varnish of the surface. To

simulate those, we will cut
two thin strips of self adhesive
aluminium tape and place it
over the two black strips so
that a little bit of black is visible
from both sides of aluminium
strip. Highly diluted Tamiya
X-1 Black is used for shading
which is now rather random
than just concentrated around
recessed areas and angles.
This area of the aircraft is very
dirty, dusty and oily and so the
shading is a bit heavier. Overall
oil wash can be applied as
well. Once everything is dry we
will take a mesh cloth and start
rubbing the parts gently and
randomly. Any paint applied
over Alclad is removed easily
while Alclad surface is very
tough, this will make our job
easier and the final result will
look good. Mesh cloth will

remove layers of Tamiya paint
and oil wash leaving very fine
and nice looking scratches
where the clean aluminium
paint breaks trough. Same
procedure is now used on the
water tank.
Forward fuselage inside
sections are airbrushed with
Alclad II White Aluminium ALC106 also without previously
priming the surface. LifeColor
LC27 Matt Clear is applied
next followed by shading with
Tamiya X-1 mixed with XF-64
Red Brown. Mesh cloth can
be used here as well to gently
rub off some of the shading
and clear varnish. Overall Burnt
Umber oil wash is applied
and everything set aside for
a few hours to fully dry. With
the cockpit and the firewall
section now done we will dry

fit everything once more before
the fuselage halves are glued
together. Some extra care is
needed when mating fuselage
halves together as some
pieces will need to be nudged
a little before everything seats
together nicely. Next in line is
the engine supporting frame
and forward firewall. As we
have white parts here we will
airbrush it with the primer first
as the green paint will turn out
lighter if sprayed directly on to
the white surface. The same
interior green mix we used for
the cockpit is then airbrushed
followed by shading with
Tamiya X-1 Black. Overall Burnt
Umber oil wash is applied
next. Details on the oil cooler
air intake tube are painted with
fine pointed brush, aluminium
08/10/2014 11:41
Chapter III
Our first step is to add some details to the back side of the engine, starter and
high speed generator are made from Magic Sculpt parts turned on Unimat lathe.
Supercharger to carburettor pipe mount is taken from the kit and attached to the
upper back side of the engine as it will be visible once everything is finished.
LifeColor UA045 Non Specular Intermediate Blue is mixed with equal portion of LC01
Matt White and airbrushed on the engine in two light coats.
Tamiya X-1 Black is now used for shading to create shadows and more depth to all the
beautiful details present on this part.
Burnt Umber overall oil wash is next to give the engine oily and used look, generously
applied and then smoothed and blended with clean and dry flat brush. Back section of
the engine is further treated with black oil paint nicely blended with layer below.
Gear box cover, centre front

section, is now gently rubbed
with clean and dry paper towel
to remove as much oil paint as
possible so it becomes more
blue-grey than brown. This
section of the engine is usually
a bit cleaner than the rest of it.
section between belt fasteners

is painted with Gunze Sangyo
Mr. Metal Color 218 Aluminium.
This section is now done and
awaiting the engine to be
fitted.
Kit engine assembly is a
build on its own, a lot of crisply
moulded parts and details
combined with Eduards
photo etched set will look
amazing once assembled
and painted, however, another
thing got my attention a lot
before i even started working
on the Thunderbolt - Vector
resin #32001 Pratt & Whitney
R-2800A/B. This is my first
resin engine from Vector and i
must say it is simply amazing
down to the smallest detail, it
does require some additions
and will look superb once
finished. Our first step is to
add some details to the back
side of the engine, starter
and high speed generator
08/10/2014 11:42
Cylinders are now painted with LifeColor

UA207 Schwarz Grau as a base for drybrushing with Tamiya X-32 Titanium
Silver.
Dry-brushing is done by brushing the

cylinder vertically to avoid silver paint of
getting into recessed areas.
Burnt Umber is then mixed with small

amount of black oil and applied over the
entire surface.
Clean brush is used to remove excess

oil paint and restore metallic look to the
cylinder.
are made from Magic Sculpt

parts turned on Unimat lathe.
Supercharger to carburettor
pipe mount is taken from
the kit and attached to the
upper back side of the engine
as it will be visible once
everything is finished. Main
engine section is now ready
for painting. LifeColor UA045
Non Specular Intermediate
Blue is mixed with equal
portion of LC01 Matt White
and airbrushed on the engine

in two light coats. Tamiya X-1
Black is now used for shading
to create shadows and more
depth to all the beautiful details
present on this part. Burnt
Umber overall oil wash is next
to give the engine oily and
used look, generously applied
and then smoothed and
blended with clean and dry
flat brush. Back section of the
engine is further treated with
black oil paint nicely blended

with layer below. Gear box
cover, centre front section, is
now gently rubbed with clean
and dry paper towel to remove
as much oil paint as possible
so it becomes more blue-grey
than brown. This section of the
engine is usually a bit cleaner
than the rest of it.
Cylinders are now painted
Schwarz Grau as a base for
dry-brushing with Tamiya

X-32 Titanium Silver. This
combination will leave
recessed areas painted black
while all of the raised details
will be nicely accentuated with
silver. Dry-brushing is done by
brushing the cylinder vertically
Cylinders are now carefully

positioned and glued with
superglue to the main engine
part, one by one making sure
they are all aligned properly and
facing the right direction.
08/10/2014 11:42
Chapter III
Exhaust pipes are painted with LifeColor UA207 Schwarz

Grau followed by random dry-brush painting with Tamiya
X-32 Titanium Silver.
to avoid silver paint of getting

into recessed areas. Burnt
Umber is then mixed with
small amount of black oil and
applied over the entire surface.
Clean brush is used to remove
excess oil mix from the part
followed by more cleaning of
the lower cylinder section with
paper towel or cotton swab to
get more of burnt oil stain look.
As with any other area with
many same parts it is the best
to work on all of them at the
Burnt Umber mixed with black oil paint is applied next.
same time, is does not only

saves time but ensures that all
of the cylinders are finished in
the same manner. Cylinders
are now carefully positioned
and glued with superglue to
the main engine part, one by
one making sure they are all
aligned properly and facing the
right direction. The engine now
looks very nice, dirty and used
even with just a few basic parts
on. Before we continue adding
wires and all the other small
Some careful manoeuvres and a few nudges are required to insert the engine into the
opening mainly because of that carburettor intake we fitted from the kit.
Excess oil is removed with clean brush.
and fragile details, it is a good

idea add exhaust pipes first.
By doing this we are trying to
avoid handling the engine too
much with all the tiny parts
mounted on. Exhaust pipes
are treated the same way as
the cylinders, LifeColor UA207
Schwarz Grau is airbrushed
first followed by random drybrush painting with Tamiya
X-32 Titanium Silver. Classic
dry-brushing is a bit different
from dry-brush painting which
is done by stabbing motions

of the brush rather than if we
were wiping the dust from the
part. Brush is dipped in paint
and cleaned on the paper
towel until the point when no
more visible traces of the paint
are present on the paper. Part
is now dry-brush painted with
stabbing motions of the brush,
some force is used in order to
transfer small traces of paint to
the part. We are after the effect
of bare metal pipe blackened
Tight fit and almost no glue required, shame that the back side of the engine will be
barely visible once everything comes together.
08/10/2014 11:42
from smoke and oil stains

even though our painting
process is reversed.
Engine is now test
fitted to the frame and
forward firewall to check
if everything fits nicely.
Some careful manoeuvres
and a few nudges are
required to insert the
engine into the opening
mainly because of that
carburettor intake we fitted
from the kit. Kit forward
cowl supporting ring is
correct in shape and
size but it is a solid ring
while we need a channel
section. Triangle shaped
file is used to score the
shallow channel along
rings outer surface,
Tamiya scriber is then
used to make it deeper
and wider so we can
shape it further with the
sanding paper. A small
square piece of medium

coarse sanding paper
is bent in half and used
along the channel so
that both channel walls
are sanded at the same
time. Be careful here not
to thin the walls too much
by carefully pushing the
sanding paper all the
way around the ring in
one stroke. Small holes
are then drilled trough
the ring in pairs of two
to simulate cowl fastener
holes. BluTac is used to
temporarily fit the ring
to the engine so we can
mark contact points
between cylinders and
the ring. Small pieces
of 0.5mm styrene rod
are then glued on those
marked points also in
pairs of two with small
space between them to
accommodate cylinder
heads. Magnetos are

painted with LifeColor
UA207 Schwarz Grau and
glued in place. Pushrods
are made from styrene
rod, painted with Tamiya
X-1 Black and carefully
mounted with fine pointed
tweezers. Ignition ring
holes are now made
wider and deeper to
accommodate copper wire
used for ignition cables.
When adding ignition
wires we will go in pairs
of two again, adding two
wires and then securing
them with a drop of
superglue. Once the
glue is fully cured we will
adjust the wires and trim
of the excess with small
sharp scissors. With all
the wires in place it is time
to paint them brown, fine
pointed brush is used for
this. Small strips of self
Triangle shaped file is used on the

forward cowl supporting ring to
score the shallow channel along
rings outer surface, Tamiya scriber
is then used to make it deeper and
wider so we can shape it further
with the sanding paper.
Connection points between ignition ring and wires are then painted silver as well as some rings
above the strips. Our Pratt & Whitney R-2800 is now finished.
Magnetos are painted with LifeColor

UA207 Schwarz Grau and glued
in place. Pushrods are made from
styrene rod, painted with Tamiya X-1
Black and carefully mounted with fine
pointed tweezers. Copper wire is used
for ignition wires.
Ignition wires are painted brown

and small strips of self adhesive
aluminium tape are then wrapped
around each pair of wires roughly
around the mid section of cylinders.
08/10/2014 11:42
Chapter III
08/10/2014 11:43
08/10/2014 11:43
Chapter III
All the fasteners are now removed from the cowl supporting ring located in front of
the cowl flaps in order to use it as a template for bending aluminium channel.
adhesive aluminium tape are

then wrapped around each
pair of wires roughly around
the mid section of cylinders.
Strips are wrapped from front
to back so we can hide strip
ends behind. Fine pointed
tweezers are then used to
press mid section of the
strip between the two wires.
Connection points between
ignition ring and wires are then

painted silver as well as some
rings above the strips. With this
last step our engine is finished.
As new resin engine will be
fitted to the model a few more
kit parts need to be sorted out
in order for everything to come
together. Cowl supporting ring
located in front of the cowl
flaps does not fit anymore
Six tubes are cut to match the length of kit launchers

and then glued together with superglue.
so we have to make a new

one. Thin aluminium strip
3mm wide is used to make
U channel with a little help
of The Small Shops large
photo etch bending tool. With
3mm wide aluminium strip,
we will have 1mm for each
channel wall and 1mm for
the bottom section. All the
fasteners are now removed
from the kit part in order to use
it as a template for bending
aluminium channel. One end
of the kit part is placed in the
channel which is then carefully
conformed to the part from
the inside and thus forming
a new ring. At the end, a kit
part should end up fitting the
channel from the outside.
To drill the holes perfectly aligned with the top of the

tube, both launchers are place next to each other and
the still ruler is then pulled a few times over the tubes,
it will leave visible trace that is at centred at the top.
Instead of making one fragile

and delicate assembly i will
simply glue all of the cowl flaps
on to the kit part.
Small jewellers hammer is

then used to flatten the sides
of aluminium part after which
the kit part is removed.
Although Eduard has
supplied all the bits and
pieces to assemble cowling
flaps i have decided to go
with a little different approach.
Instead of making one fragile
and delicate assembly i will
simply glue all of the cowl
flaps on to the kit part. Easier
to assemble and looks equally
good. Kit part recessed lines
between the flaps are first filled
with Tamiya putty and then
the entire surface is sanded
with coarse sanding paper
Kit assembly compared to our scratchbuilt rocket

launchers, the difference is obvious.
08/10/2014 11:43
to make a better surface for

superglue to get a grip on.
Same thing is then done with
photo etched flaps, back side
is sanded with coarse sanding
paper while the parts are still
on their sprues. One by one
flaps are detached from the
sprue and then slightly curved
by pressing them on top of
aluminium cylinder from The
Small Shops rolling set. We
need to make a perfect fit with
entire part surface. One by
one flaps are then glued with
superglue to the kit part. Photo
etched cowl flaps are then
sanded with very fine sanding
paper in order to get a good
surface for the paint. With the
engine area now done, we
will move on to the fuselage
corrections, armament and
ordnance before we start with
painting of the model.
I have always loved the
look of those 4.5 inch rocket
launchers hanging under the
wings and decided to skip
the bombs and mount rocket
launchers only. After inspection
of box parts it is obvious that
those are unusable. They do
Eduard photo
etched parts will
greatly improve
back side of the
rocket launcher.
All the tiny bits
should glued just
before the painting
to avoid breaking
them off.
have some details but the

assembly looks like a part of
a cheap toy. Fasteners are
moulded together with the
tubes which are not hollow,
back end looks funny and i
doubt it would be acceptable
for 72nd scale let alone
anything bigger. As those belt
fasteners are the worst part
and cannot be fixed i have
decided to make everything

from scratch rather than spend
hours of correcting kit parts,
how complicated can it be
anyway. For 4.5 inch rockets
in 32nd scale, our new tubes
should have 3.5mm inner
diameter, that is 4mm outer
diameter if we use brass tubes.
Six tubes are cut to match
the length of kit launchers
and then glued together with

superglue. When gluing the
tubes together align them
first, tape them with a piece
of masking tape and then
pour some superglue in to the
centre opening between the
tubes. Few drops at a time
so that the glue can slowly
run down between the pipes.
Keep a paper town bellow to
Belt fasteners are made from self adhesive vinyl cut in 1.5mm strips and wrapped around the tubes.
08/10/2014 11:43
Chapter III
prevent overspill. Once the glue
is fully cured, we will use Tamiya
putty to seal centre opening
between the pipes and later
smooth everything with sanding
paper, coarse first and then very
fine to get nice and smooth
surface. Next step is to drill two
holes on top of each launcher to
fix the top supporting tube and
hangers. As the holes need to
be perfectly aligned we will use
a little trick to mark the top line
on the tubes. Both launchers
are place next to each other
and the still ruler is then pulled
a few times over the tubes, it
will leave visible trace that is
at centred at the top. Distance
from each end of the launcher
to the hanger hole is measured
and holes drilled. Hangers are
made from hypodermic needles
and styrene rod. Supporting
tube is made from 1.5mm brass
Fuel tank is now put together and sanded with

very fine wet sanding paper just enough to leave
barely visible surface scratches as a base for
Alclad paint. Eduard photo etched parts have
been added after sanding.
Wheel wells are painted with LifeColor UA042 Chrome Yellow
in a few thicker coats. Tamiya X-1 Black is then used for a bit
heavier shading followed by overall Burnt Umber oil wash.
08/10/2014 11:43
tube which has been drilled to

accommodate hangers. With
the top section mounted, brass
tube sections are inserted at
the back end of launchers so
that the section left outside is
7mm long. Back end tubes
which are then sealed with
pieces of sprue which is then
dome shaped with sanding
sticks. Eduard photo etched
parts are then mounted on
the back end tubes. To make
belt fasteners i am going to
use self adhesive vinyl, cut in
1.5mm strips and wrapped
around the tubes starting at
the base of the top supporting
tube. All of the strips are then
further secured in place with
a touch of superglue at the
starting and ending point.
Everything is now painted
in olive drab and shaded
with Tamiya X-1 Black along
recessed areas and the
front section. I have spent
a couple of hours making
rocket launchers but the end
result is highly superior to kit
parts, well worth the effort.
Fuel tank is now put together
and sanded with very fine wet

sanding paper just enough
to leave barely visible surface
scratches. As we are going
to paint the tank with Alclad
II lacquers surface has to be
flat rather than very smooth to
get the best effect of used and
weathered aluminium. Eduard
photo etched parts are glued
on at the end before panting to
avoid breaking anything of.
Our next task is to paint
wheel bays and covers before
we mate wing halves together.
LifeColor UA042 Chrome
Yellow is airbrushed in a few
thicker coats because of its
poor coverage. Tamiya X-1
Black is then used for a bit
heavier shading followed
by overall Burnt Umber oil
wash. Wheel well covers are
painted and weathered in the
same way. Wings are now
assembled and all the seams
sanded. I am going to display
the model with one gun bay
opened so the next thing is
to add all of the photo etched
parts to the gun bay, very
welcomed addition which will
Wheel well covers are

treated in the same way.
really make a huge difference.

Wings are now carefully glued
to the fuselage with a lot of
aligning and nudging. Model
is now set aside for the glue
to fully cure. Before we start
painting the model there are
a few things that we need to
take care of. When applying
natural metal finish to a model
even the smallest surface
deformation or crack will be
highly visible because metallic
paint reflects light very well
and any deformation will reflect

the light in different direction
thus making it to stick out from
surrounding. As i have already
mentioned, Trumpeters kit has
its flaws and we need to sort
those out in order to get not
only satisfying but superb paint
finish. First thing is the gun
barrel cover on both wings.
Once glued in place these
parts will sink into the wing
leading edge which is a bit of
a problem.
Fillet between vertical and horizontal stabilizer is present on the right hand side while it is barely visible on the
opposite side. Narrow vinyl strip is used to mark the filet line and placed on the model to meet the fillet from the
front side of the model. Tamiya putty is now used in a few thin layers to raise the surface on the left hand side
and make the fillet clearly visible and in level with the opposite side of the fuselage.
Masking tape is used to mark the gun barrel cover

outline used for cutting vinyl template later.
Gun barrel cover area is masked off and

Tamiya putty applied in a few thin coats. Wet
and dry sanding paper is then used to level
and smooth filled area.
08/10/2014 11:43
Chapter III
Wheel bay is filled with paper tissue
to support masking tape. Use sharp
pointed blade to cut the tape along
the edge of the wheel bay.
Gun barrel covers should

actually be slightly raised from
the wing leading edge surface
due to the fact that those were
metal sheets placed on top
of the wing surface. This is an
easy correction which starts
with marking the cover on a
piece of Tamiya masking tape
so we can make the proper
cover later. Now, masking
tape is used to mask off the
area in question so we can
fill it with Tamiya putty, 3 - 4
layers should be enough but
make sure to leave some
curing time between layers.

Once the putty is fully cured,
sand everything with medium
coarse sanding paper while
masking tape is still on. Fine
wet sanding paper is used
next to smooth everything flat
with the wing surface after the
tape has been removed. Piece
of tape with marked cover on
it is now placed over thicker
self adhesive vinyl and cut
out by using steel ruler and
sharp pointed blade. Vinyl
adhesive is strong and long
lasting so there is no need to
use any other glue. Vinyl can

also be painted over just like
the plastic. Another correction
is also needed at the tail
section of the kit. As a result of
poor moulding, fillet between
vertical and horizontal stabilizer
is present on the right hand
side while it is barely visible
on the opposite side. If we
paint the model without doing
anything about this it would
certainly look bad. Narrow vinyl
strip is used to mark the filet
line and placed on the model
to meet the fillet from the front
side of the model. Tamiya
putty is now used in a few thin
layers to raise the surface on
the left hand side and make
the fillet clearly visible and in
level with the opposite side of
the fuselage. After a few hours
of drying time, filler is gently
sanded with fine wet sanding
paper while the vinyl strip is
still on the model, just like we
did on the gun barrel cover
earlier. Last thing before we
start airbrushing is to mask off
wheel bays, cockpit and the
engine area. Since we have

painted everything with water
based acrylic paints a thin coat
of lacquer matt varnish will be
sprayed on the wheel bays if
we are to use so called wet
masking. Wet paper tissue
is like a sculpting clay and
makes a perfect material for
masking areas like the wheel
bay. Pieces of paper tissue
are soaked in water and then
used to fill the bays up the
top. Sculpting tool or tweezers
can be used to refine the
top edges. In this case, i am
going to use another masking
system with Tamiya masking
tape. Pieces of tape are placed
over the wheel bay so that they
cover the surrounding areas
as well. Sharp pointed blade
is then used to cut the tape
along the edge of wheel bay.
Before placing the tape we can
put some dry paper tissues in
the wheel bay to support the
tape even though there is a
step along the edge that can
do the job.
The tape is then carefully
Cockpit and the firewall

areas is carefully masked
with Tamiya masking tape
and small gaps filled with
BluTac.
08/10/2014 11:43
Placed under the lamp for inspection, light is making a clear shadow along the gap that stretches almost along the entire models lower surface.
placed along the drilled strips

that support the engine bay
covers and if needed some
tape is placed from the inside
to fill any gaps on the side.
Cockpit is masked with small
pieces of masking tape and
any gaps filled with BluTac.
You can notice that the canopy
will be masked and painted
separately and then mounted
at the end. This way the
canopy will be well protected
and cleaned after painting
to remain crystal clear. Side
openings are masked with
pieces of semi transparent
vinyl.
When painting models
with metalizer paints it is
necessary to apply the primer
coat for one reason, primer
will reveal any gaps and
surface errors which would
be highly visible once the

metalizer is airbrushed on.
Also, when priming a model as
a preparation for natural metal
finish it is advisable to use
primer-filler instead of just any
grey paint. My choice is Gunze
Sangyo Mr Surfacer 1000
which is a liquid filler-primer
ideal as a base for metallic
paints. A drop or two of
lacquer thinner is added to the
primer before we airbrush it on
the model. Primer is airbrushed
at a bit higher pressure at
20PSI and in two or three
thin layers with a few minutes
of drying time between the
layers. Once done we will set
the model aside for a couple
of hours so the primer can
fully dry. We will then carefully
inspect the entire surface of
the model for possible gaps,
deformations and errors. Place

the model under the lamp and
rotate it slowly while looking
the surface for any dark
shadow spots marking the
gaps. Mark any problematic
areas with highlight marker or
lead pencil.
The most noticeable is the
bottom side seam between
the two fuselage halves which
was invisible before the primer.
This gap is filled with Tamiya
putty and sanded smooth with
very fine wet sanding paper.
After filling and sanding all the
gaps the primer is airbrushed
again for another check. Once
everything looks good it is time
to polish the model with Alclad
Micromesh Cloth, keep the
model surface wet and gently
rub with the cloth until it is like
a glass, smooth and shiny.
You will notice that a few coats

of primer are toned down the
rivets a bit and they are not as
deep and noticeable as before
which is a good thing.
Now to the metal finish.
There is no best or ultimate
method for achieving natural
metal finish and every single
model that i have done has
been painted in slightly
different way. Experimenting
is a key word here especially
having in mind that not all of
the real natural metal aircraft
were the same as aluminium
can vary from bright and
shiny to dark and dull, this
depends on many factors
like age, weather conditions,
theatre of operations and so
on. I will try to explain one
of my techniques for natural
metal painting using Alclad II
08/10/2014 11:43
Chapter III
08/10/2014 11:44
08/10/2014 11:44
Chapter III
Painting starts with two lights
coats of Alclad II Polished
Aluminium ALC-105 which will
be our base for further painting
techniques.
Alclad II is a great thing for

metal finishes but simply
airbrushing it on the model
would not make a masterpiece
of it. Paint finish now looks too
uniform and shiny.
lacquers and Gunze Sangyo

Mr Metal paints. Painting
starts with two lights coats of
Alclad II Polished Aluminium
ALC-105 which will be our
base for further painting
techniques. An hour later, a
thin coat of Duraluminium
ALC-102 is airbrushed on to
tone down polished look and
to give some colour variation.

After one overall coat with
Duraluminium we can spray
more of it on the model in
cloudy pattern to further create
difference in shininess for more
realistic look.
Randomly chosen panels
are now masked off and
sprayed with Dark Aluminium
ALC-103, one light coat on

some of the panels and two or
three coats on some others to
further create slight differences
between panels. We are after
a subtle variation in shininess
and colour, nothing too vibrant.
D-Day stripes and markings
are next and before we start
playing with effects on metal
finish again. All the markings,
roundels, fuselage and tail
codes and D-Day stripes
are painted on using masks
while Hobby Decal P-47 dry
transfer stencils are used for
small elements like propeller
blade logos, pilot name and
similar. When working with
dry transfers, make sure
you keep them in resealable
bag as they will become
rigid and difficult to apply
otherwise. The tail numbers
and identification stripes are
masked off first followed by
wings and fuselage masking.
As we are going to paint
D-Day stripes, outline of entire
stripe area is masked of first
by using narrow strips of
masking tape as narrow strips
are more flexible as easier
to work with on curved and
irregular surfaces. To keep
the straight line try to follow
panel lines that is to keep the
masking strip parallel to those
lines. When we have outlined
D-Day stripe sections on wings
and fuselage, LifeColor LC01
Matt White is airbrushed on
in two or three thicker coats
and left to fully dry. Pieces
of plastic bag can be used
to cover larger areas instead
of using masking tape. We
will now make invasion line
spacers to help us make
them all the same width. Wing
08/10/2014 11:44
Randomly chosen panels are now masked off and

sprayed with Dark Aluminium ALC-103, one light
coat on some of the panels and two or three coats
on some others to further create slight differences
between panels.
invasions stripes are 16mm wide,

fuselage stripes 14.3mm while
the tail identification stripes are
12mm wide. 16mm long masking
strips are placed on the wings so
that they touch the outline masks
and then mask the area between
those markers which should
remain white. Roundel masks are
now placed on the white area of
the fuselage followed by 14.3mm
long markers and masking of
the section between them. Same
masking procedure is now used
for the landing flaps. Cowl and
propeller are masked as well as we
are going to use the same paint for
invasion stripe, tail stripe, propeller
and all the other black painted
areas. Everything is now airbrushed
with LifeColor UA207 Schwarz Grau
or Revell Enamel 09 Matt Anthracite
Grey, again no absolute and pure
black but rather a bit faded black.
Wing roundel outline masks are
The tail numbers and identification stripes are masked

off first followed by wings and fuselage masking as we
want to paint all black areas in one go.
D-Day stripe areas is outlined and the rest of the model

can be masked of with a piece of plastic bag, much
simpler and faster than covering the entire thing with
masking tape.
Landing flaps are masked for the white paint to be

airbrushed first.
16mm long masking strips are placed on the wings so

that they touch the outline masks and we then mask the
area between those markers strips which should remain
white. Use of these marker strip will make it easier for
us to get equal invasion stripe widths.
08/10/2014 11:44
Chapter III
Invasion stripe areas on the fuselage is outlined with masking strips,

painted white and the roundel mask placed on. Once we pant the black
stripe, area underneath the mask will remain white for the star while the
dark blue will be airbrushed later.
All the parts have been masked and ready to receive a coat of
LifeColor UA207 Schwarz Grau or Revell Enamel 09 Matt Anthracite
Grey, no pure black paint.
08/10/2014 11:44
placed next and first painted

white and then with star back
in place surrounding area is
painted dark blue. Nose art
is also painted using masks
and Revell 36 Matt Carmine
Red which is also used on
landing flaps to paint red
squares. Everything is now
set aside overnight to fully dry
and later gently wet sanded
with Alclad Micromesh cloths
to smooth the surface to satin
finish. Properly dried LifeColor
paints can be wet sanded just
like any enamel or lacquer
paint. Gunze Sangyo Mr. Metal
Color 218 Aluminium is now
used to create realistic metal
finish effects on the model.
Propeller spinner is treated
first but before doing so, we
have to prepare the surface.
Alclad Micromesh cloths are
used wet from medium to very
fine to smooth and polish the
spinner. Tamiya fine polishing
compound is then applied
with paper tissue and rubbed
for a few minutes until the
part becomes shiny like gloss
coated. Very small amount of
Mr. Metal Color 218 Aluminium
is now applied on the top
of the spinner with small
flat brush. We will now hold
the propeller assembly from
the back side and cover the
spinner with paper tissue, now
by twisting the spinner in the
paper tissues we are actually
dispersing the metalizer in
very thin layer and polishing
it at the same time. It is
wise to mask propellers and
everything except of spinner
cap to prevent transferring
metalizer paint. Two minutes
or so of spinning the prop
assembly left and right should
do the trick, spinner is now
very shiny and looks like it
was actually made from metal.
Same technique is now used
on the rest of the model, Mr.
Metal Color 218 Aluminium
is first applied randomly with
flat brush and a few moments
later polished and dispersed
with clean paper tissue
wrapped around index finger.
When applying Mr. Metal Color
metalizers with brush, clean
the brush with paper tissue
first so that very small amount
08/10/2014 11:44
Chapter III
Fresh from the factory, clean and shiny, we are going to change that now.
Nose art is painted using masks and Revell 36 Matt Carmine Red.
Very small amount of Mr. Metal Color 218 Aluminium is applied on the top of the
spinner with small flat brush and then buffed with clean paper tissue for a couple of
minutes for shiny and realistic metal finish.
08/10/2014 11:44
Mr. Metal Color 218 Aluminium is applied randomly on metal surfaces of the model
and gently buffed with paper tissue, not too much buffing to avoid shiny finish.
Different spots will get different amount of buffing to create more interesting and
realistic metal finish. The main goal is to get some areas more shiny than the others.
of paint remains on the brush,

do not brush the model with
soaked brush as this will
accumulate too much of the
paint on the model surface
and will not look good once
polished. Try to make random
scratches and splotches with
dry-brush technique but with
some pressure applied so that
enough paint remains on the
model. When polishing and
dispersing the metalizer do it
randomly and with different
pressure of the finger so that
some areas are more shiny
than the others, this will also
create slight colour intensity
variation which further adds to
realism.
During the polishing some
metalizer paint will end up on
invasion stripes, anti glare
surface and markings which
tend to mix with each other,

something that we would never
normally do will now actually
create interesting effect. A
couple of hours later when oil
wash is dry we will repeat the
process of polishing with clean
paper tissue wrapped around
the index finger, this tame
gently and without too much
pressure and until oil wash
smudges start to disappear. As
oil wash is now mixing with the
base metalizer paint, we are
getting darker and smudged
surface areas. More oil that
mix with the base paint will
create less reflective spots
and will give us weathered
and distressed look of the
model. Once again, metalizer
over-paint is cleaned with
cotton swab soaked in enamel
thinner. Same procedure is
is not a problem as all those

elements are painted with
acrylic paints while Mr. Metal
Color 218 Aluminium is enamel
based paint and it is easily
removed with cotton swab
soaked in enamel thinner.
Natural metal finish now looks
good and uneven but still a
bit flat so we are going to
do panel line wash with oils
next. Burnt Umber oil paint is
mixed with a little bit of black
oil and highly diluted with
enamel thinner. Small fine
pointed brush is now used
to apply the wash on panel
lines and most of the rivets.
Generally try to keep as little
mess as possible by drawing
straight lines with the brush
over rivet and panel lines. As
both metalizer paint and wash
are oil-enamel based they will
Small fine pointed brush is now used to apply the wash on panel lines and most of the
rivets. Generally try to keep as little mess as possible by drawing straight lines with
the brush over rivet and panel lines.
used on the canopy while it

is still masked to prevent any
paint crossing over on to the
clear areas. Removing the
paint from transparent parts
with enamel thinner would
damage and mist them. Gun
bay has been masked off
and airbrushed with LifeColor
UA042 Chrome Yellow. Highly
diluted Tamiya X-1 Black is
now used for shading areas
in the gun bay and along the
main panel lines on the aircraft
but also behind exhausts as a
dark base before more brown
is airbrushed on. Mix of Tamiya
X-1 Black and XF-10 Flat
Brown is used for landing flaps
shading as well as for wing
leading edges, aircraft bottom
side, landing gear and behind
exhausts.
Kit .50 cal Browning guns
As both metalizer paint and wash are oil-enamel based they will tend to mix with each
other, something that we would never normally do will now actually create interesting
effect. Once oil wash is dry, more buffing will mix the base Mr. Metal Color 218
Aluminium with oil wash which will further create more diverse surface appearance.
08/10/2014 11:45
Chapter III
08/10/2014 11:45
08/10/2014 11:45
Chapter III
Kit .50 cal Browning guns have

been assembled without barrels
and painted with LifeColor UA207
Schwarz Grau as a base for
dry-brushing which is done with
Mr. Metal Color 218 Aluminium.
After dry-brushing the guns are
airbrushed with very thin coat of
Tamiya X-1 Black to tone down
shininess and make the finish
more like gun metal.
Hypodermic needles are used to make gun barrels after which everything is carefully fitted to the gun bay. Kit vinyl
ammo belts are used as being more realistic than Eduard photo etched parts.
have been assembled without

barrels and painted with
LifeColor UA207 Schwarz Grau
as a base for dry-brushing
which is done with Mr. Metal
Color 218 Aluminium, our all
purpose magical paint. After
dry-brushing the guns are
airbrushed with very thin coat
of Tamiya X-1 Black to tone
down shininess and make the
finish more like gun metal.
Hypodermic needles are then
used to make gun barrels and
everything is carefully fitted
to the gun bay. Eduard photo
etched parts are used to make
gun feed belts while the ammo
belts are taken from the kit,
they still look more realistic
than photo etched ones.
Ammo belts are painted with
08/10/2014 11:45
Mix of Tamiya X-1 Black and XF-10 Flat Brown is used for landing flaps shading as
well as for wing leading edges, aircraft bottom side, landing gear and behind exhausts
area. Access panel frames are brush painted with LifeColor UA042 Chrome Yellow and
later received thin layer of Burnt Umber oil wash.
Fat bird looks mean even without the engine.
Alclad II Polished Brass ALC109 without any prior priming.

Black paint is then brushed
along the centre section of the
belt to simulate joints.
Access panel frames are
brush painted with LifeColor
in the same manner as the

rest of the aircraft with more
accentuated brown shading to
simulate ground dust and dirt
accumulated on lower sections
of the aircraft.
We are now getting back
UA042 Chrome Yellow and

later received thin layer of
Burnt Umber oil paint diluted
with enamel thinner for more
weathered look. Wheels,
wheel bay covers and landing
gear struts are weathered
to the engine area for the last

time to add wires and cable
lines but also to make new
supercharger to carburettor
pipes as those from the kit
are no longer fitting in. All the
small details have already
Wheels, wheel bay covers and landing gear struts are weathered in the same manner as the rest of the aircraft with more accentuated brown shading to simulate ground
dust and dirt accumulated on lower sections of the aircraft.
08/10/2014 11:45
Chapter III
Engine assembly still

looks a bit barren
without all the wires
and cables.
Lead and plastic flexible wires

are used for most of the lines with
thicker plastic wires used from and
to the oil tank and oil cooler while
the lead wires have been used for
rigid lines and hydraulic pipes.
been painted on the firewall

and engine supporting frame
and we will now start adding
hydraulic lines and electrical
installation cables. Lead and
plastic flexible wires are used
for most of the lines with
thicker plastic wires used
from and to the oil tank and
oil cooler while the lead wires
have been used for rigid lines
and hydraulic pipes. Fine
pointed brush is used to paint
ring clamps on most of the
cables and lines with metallic,
white and black paint. Four

holes have been drilled trough
the forward firewall for the oil
line going from the oil tank to
the oil cooler on one side and
vice versa on the other side of
the engine. Engine assembly
is now ready to be fitted to the
aircraft and since we have a
perfectly tight fit of the engine
supporting frame and the
firewall, no glue will be used.
[fig289]
[fig290]
[fig291]
Magic Sculpt is now used

to make thin and perfectly
cylindrical sausage for new
supercharger to carburettor
pipes. Once you have a piece
of Magic Sculpt mixed simply
roll it between two sheets of
thicker styrene to get perfectly
cylindrical rod, this is done
some two hours after we mix
the clay to prevent sticking it
on everything and for easier
sculpting. When rolled to
proper diameter, like the kit
pieces, and almost completely
cured we will then gently shape

it to fit behind the forward
firewall and the main firewall.
In this stage the pieces are
almost like wire and will retain
any shape. When both pieces
are bent and shaped to fit we
will leave them aside for a few
more hours until completely
solid. Pipes are then brush
painted with Mr. Metal Color
218 Aluminium, polished like
we did it earlier and the last
touch is optional, satin varnish
and some shading with Tamiya
08/10/2014 11:45
Magic Sculpt is used to

make thin and perfectly
cylindrical sausage for
new supercharger to
carburettor pipes.
Fine pointed brush is used to paint ring

clamps on most of the cables and lines with
metallic, white and black paint.
When Magic Sculpt sausage is almost completely cured we will then gently shape it to fit behind the forward firewall and the main firewall area.
08/10/2014 11:45
Chapter III
A small hole is drilled half way through

the back side of the navigation light
clear part.
A drop of red and blue paint is now

applied to the inside of the hole, one
light red and the other blue. Final
result is coloured bulb beneath the light
transparent cover.
Pipes are brush painted with Mr. Metal Color 218 Aluminium, polished
and shaded with Tamiya X-1 Black. Black vinyl strips are used to
make flexible rubber joints followed by a slightly narrower strip of self
adhesive aluminium foil to recreate metal ring clamps.
X-1 Black. Black vinyl strips

are now used to make flexible
rubber joints followed by a
slightly narrower strip of self
adhesive aluminium foil which
represents metal ring clamps
or fasteners.
Navigation lights are one
of final touches on the model
and to make them look good
we are going to drill a small
hole through the back side of
the clear part. Hole is drilled
at an angle so it is pointed to
the mid section of the outer
light arch. A drop of red and
blue paint is now applied to
the inside of the hole, one light
red and the other blue. Final
result is coloured bulb beneath
the light transparent cover.
Cowl flaps are now carefully

mounted from the top together
with cowl holding frames and
our Razorback is ready to be
placed on diorama which we
are going to build later.
At the end, Trumpeter has
offered a decent kit with a few
flaws here and there. Those
often discussed rivets proved
to be a good and nice looking
detail after all and as long as
they are not accentuated too
much. Few coats of surface
filler-primer also helped here
by making them less deep
and pronounced. Some minor
fit issues around lower side
wing root section and miss
configuration of the firewall
area can be sorted out with
08/10/2014 11:46
Small hydraulic tanks are made with Unimat lathe and fitted to the supper firewall container. Wires and hydraulic lines are made from lead and copper wire.
Cowl flaps are now carefully

mounted from the top together
with cowl holding frames.
08/10/2014 11:46
very little effort and some

scratchbuilding. The decals
are something that is a total
miss here, poor register,

questionable colours and small
elements so poorly printed that
they are completely unusable,

luckily there are plenty
alternatives here whether you
decide to go with aftermarket

decal or paint mask set.
08/10/2014 11:46
Chapter III
JU-87D STUKA
08/10/2014 11:46
Chapter III
JU-87D
STUKA
Kit summary
Revell re-box of Hasegawas kit is supposed to cover 3 Ju87 variants: D1,
D3 and D5 but unfortunately this is not exactly the case. Just to clarify things,
to build Ju87-D1 variant you need a partial shroud of the exhaust that is just
not there on the model although someone was aware of it judging by the box
art. One of the main differences between D1 and D3 variants was this partial
shroud that was cut back on D3 variant for installation of flame concealing
exhaust pies and that is what you get in the box, so there is no out of the box
D1. To build early variant of Ju87-D3 you need to sand down metal non-slip
skids on the wing roots as early D3 had flat rubber surfaces instead. Not so
much of the hard work but the thing is that it cannot be build straight out of
the box that is, without minor interventions. All in all, a large box full of very
fine details, a bit shallow panel lines and maybe too thick transparencies
to my taste, enough ordnance, two external fuel tanks and two little fellows,
pilot and a gunner together with the large decal sheet, everything together
suggesting many hours of fun.
126 BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT - JU-87D STUKA
08/10/2014 11:47
08/10/2014 11:47
Chapter III
BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT - JU-87D STUKA
BEFORE WE START
Eduard - Biged photo etched set 3254
Aires - Ju87 D/G cockpit set 2068
QuickBoost - Ju87D propeller QB-32022
MDC - SC1000 Bomb CV32046
Maketar Paint Masks - Junkers Ju87D Desert Doras
MM32002
Cyanoacrylate glue
Tamiya cement
Drilling pin vise
BluTack
Modellers Saw
Paints used:
Revell enamel:
84 Leather Brown
15 Yellow
05 White
09 Anthracite Gray
330 Fire red
Model Master enamel:
2088 Sand Yellow RLM79
1701E Military Brown Flat FS30117
Tamiya acrylic:
XF-23 Light Blue
XF-22 RLM Grey
XF-16 Flat Aluminum
X-19 Smoke
Oil paints:
Raw Umber
Burnt Sienna
Kit cockpit looks decent with addition of Eduards PE parts and some wires but still lacks some major
details. Most of the photo-etched parts have been fitted in using Formula 560 white glue applied with
a toothpick rather than CA glue that tends to go all around and even to ruin the work. White glue
leaves you more freedom in positioning the parts, its much cleaner to work with and can be removed
with water.
THE BUILD
The build starts with careful study of
the instruction as blindly following it
may get you into troubles just a few
steps later. The cockpit is first and in
this build the biggest task due to its
complexity and all the photo-etched
parts that needs to be fitted in. For
a worm up, i will drill the holes in the
fuselage for installation of the armour
plates for just in case that i decide to
incorporate them later, if not, those
are just four tiny holes that needs to
be filled with putty and sanded in a
minute but for sure easier than trying
to drill the holes when the cockpit is
assembled and glued to the fuselage
Aires cockpit set really is a great addition to the model, just looking at all
those detailed pars, makes you inpatient to start working on it.
halves. Now, when i already have

a drill chuck in my hands why not
take care of those holes in the wings
for installation of the wing racks, as
those are easily forgotten once you
start putting the wing halves together
and your bird starts to look right.
Cockpit itself has very nice details
and with a bit of scratchbuilding,
mainly wiring and other installations,
it will be a real beauty. Interior
assembly is pretty much straight
forward with a few exceptions: its not
a good idea to assemble the zwilling
MG81Z twin machine guns and glue
it to its holder at this stage as it can
be easily broken during further work
First coat of Tamiya XF-63 German Grey applied and the cockpit looks
busy already.
08/10/2014 11:47
Fine pointed brush is used for painting small details.
Initial dusting of the cockpit floor with pastel powder.
on the cockpit. Its a good idea

to paint the section behind the
pilot seat - the radio section,
separately and attach it to the
cockpit floor just before closing
the fuselage thus making sure
that everything is painted and
taken care of properly, but
before we get to the painting
part, a lot of metal parts needs
to be fitted in first. Its time for
opening the Eduards BigED
photo-etched set that contains
more than enough parts to turn
the model into a master piece
with four photo-etched frets
just for interior, three containing
the parts for the cockpit and
one fret with the seatbelts, the
much that i am using it more

and more on some other
parts too. With the most of the
photo-etched parts glued on,
various gauges of lead wire,
copper wire, stretched sprue
and plastic coated wires from
some old or broken electronic
device comes into play now
for different types of cockpit
installations and wiring, the
part that requires more time
than photo-etched parts but
the result is worth it. Now
that everything is in its place,
its time for airbrushing the
interior in RLM66 black-grey
and for this we can use Tamiya
XF-63 German Grey or Revell
fun starts... When it comes to

the glue for photo-etched part
there is no too many options,
we can use cyanoacrylate or
the better option, water soluble
white glue. Great thing about
white glue is that it gives you
more than enough time to
position part, it will not run
over and ruin anything, has
no ugly smell and if anything
goes wrong, just wash it
out with warm water and a
cotton swab. I prefer to use
Formula 560 - the worlds
best canopy glue as its very
strong, versatile and for sure,
the best canopy glue i have
ever used, in fact i like it so
74 Gunship Grey, either way

the results will be almost the
same once the clear matt is
on. Once the paint is dry,
remaining pre-painted photoetched parts can be glued on
and everything is ready for a
bit of weathering just to make
it look used. For the most of
weathering part i am using
dry pastel powder which gives
great results and in case that i
overdo, very possible scenario,
it can always be washed off
with water and redone.
With the cockpit being
almost done and ready to
be fitted into the fuselage,
i was now determined to
Cockpit floor with the radio section temporary fixed

on. Subtle shading, dust and dirt is achieved by using
dry pastel powder. Try to do it with subtle and gentle
movements of the brush almost like wiping of the dust
from a delicate piece of art.
08/10/2014 11:47
Chapter III
Side walls received the same treatment with pastel powder. For chipped paint i am
using Tamiya XF16 Flat Aluminum and a fine pointed brush followed by another round
of dusting with dry pastel just to blend everything.
Eduards PE instrument panel dressed up with some control sticks made from
stretched sprue together with Aires gun sight.
do another one, Aires resin

cockpit set and to compare
the two. The moment after
opening Aires box i had a
feeling i wont regret doing
this just by looking at all those
beautifully casted resin parts.
The scalpel was already in my
hands and minutes later all
the parts were cleaned free
of casting flesh. This time, we
will use cyanoacrylate glue
light coats. Cockpit now looks

even more busy and detailed
and one simply cannot resist
to start brush painting all those
crisp details. Fine pointed
brush is now used to paint all
the small elements, cables,
wires, junction boxes, controls
and everything else that
is there.
With all the details now
painted we will add some paint
to fix resin parts to where

they belong making sure to
leave the radio section to be
fitted in at the end. Cockpit
sidewalls have been glued to
the fuselage before painting for
easier handling and to avoid
possible mess and damage by
gluing it later. All of the cockpit
elements are now airbrushed
with RLM66 that is, Tamiya
XF-63 German Grey in two
chipping with Tamiya XF-16

Flat Aluminum. Paint is slightly
thinned and applied randomly
with small fine pointed brush
mainly along the edges and
raised details but still mostly at
lower sections of the cockpit
walls. Cockpit floor is treated a
bit heavier around the places
where the pilot and gunners
feet would be to simulate more
pronounced wear and tear.
Colourful and busy interior is almost
done. Majority of details has been
painted with fine pointed brush, a lot
of time spent here but the result is
worth it.
08/10/2014 11:47
Result of combining Eduards

PE parts with Aires cockpit set
is maybe the most visible here,
shame as a lot of it will be
invisible once the two fuselage
halves are glued together.
Its never too much wires and

installations, boxes, dials... note
the beautifully detailed Aires seat
with Eduards photo etched seat
belts.
A must have for any serious modeller, grey scale pastels as well as all the other
coloured, mainly earthy, sandy and yellowish. A few different brushes kept just for
pastel jobs.
More weathering, fading and

shading is now done with dry
pastels as opposed to airbrush
technique used in previous
builds. Dry pastels are very
interesting to work with, they
are applied easily and just as

easily removed if needed, also
you can find them in a great
range of colours. Important
thing if you intend to do paint
chipping is that you do it
Photo etched parts for radiators took

almost the same amount of time as the
cockpit.
Everything looks ok so far but the

problem now is, if we turn the model on
its belly we can damage the radiators
and all the hard work. Note the jig made
from 3mm styrene sheet to support the
model and lift it up.
before the dry pastels as that

way chipped areas will be
under the dust and dirt and
will look more realistic then
if we did it after dry pastels.
As i am going for the desert
camouflage and having in
mind that this particular aircraft
was stationed in the desert, we
are going to do a bit heavier
dusting with dry pastels.
We will start with the darker
earthy colours and going to
lighter tones and sand colours
to almost white at the end.
Good idea is to have dry
pastel grey scale set as those
are the most used for shading
and fading. To make the
powder out of dry pastel sticks

we are going to use a scalper
or a piece of medium coarse
sanding paper. If using scalpel,
simply scrape the pastel stick
with light pressure strokes of
the scalpel and collect the
powder on a piece of paper or
in a plastic cup. Easier option
is to rub the pastel stick on a
piece of sanding paper and
get the powder. Light grey
pastel powder is brushed on
the cockpit floor areas first
followed with sandy and earthy
brown shades. Use large flat
and soft brush to apply the
powder with soft brush strokes
as if you are brushing the dust
08/10/2014 11:47
Chapter III
Eduards photo etched
parts may be tiny but
they greatly improve
the level of detail.
off. Fuselage and the wings

are the next stage of our build,
photo-etched radiators are
now test fitted in as it is much
easier to fit them now then
with the fuselage and wings
assembled. With everything
double checked, the two
halves of the fuselage are
first dry fitted a couple of time
to make sure the cockpit fits
nicely and everything is as it
should be, in the right spot.
As with previous builds, i
do not like the look of the tail
section, it looks a bit boring
and the rudder perfectly lined
up with the vertical stabilizer,
maybe if we do a minor
surgery to separate the rudder

and then turn it a bit to the
right it will look better. I just
love the look of the rudder
slightly turned to the side,
really adds more life to the
aircraft. Cutting the rudder off
is not too much of a trouble,
sharp pointed modellers knife
does the trick. Now, filing the
seams, restoring the rounded
pivot edge of the rudder and
the thing is ready to be fitted
back on the tail but this time
turned a bit to the right side to
make it look more interesting.
Edges of vertical stabilizer are
thinned with file and sanding
paper to accommodate new
Best way to separate the rudder from the fuselage is by using sharp pointed blade
instead of scriber as it will remove some plastic from it and we want to avoid that.
Several light pressured passes with the blade will do the trick.
rudder pivot cylinder and to

look more realistic. Gap at the
top of vertical stabilizer is filled
with a piece of styrene strip
and sanded flat. Cylindrical
pivot edge of the rudder is
made from a piece of sprue
glued to the rudder and the
sanded off to fit the vertical
stabilizer. Fuselage halves are
now glued together and seams
sanded smooth few hours later
when the glue is fully dry.
Joining the wings to the
fuselage proved to more
difficult thing that anticipated.
Right hand side wing was the
most problematic and almost
as if it was taken from another
Back to the rudder or actually filling the

gap on top of it and thinning the edges
where the rounded rudder edge needs to
be fitted later.
model and another scale, a

whole day of work just to sort
it out. With the wings and
landing gear in place we can
If they had Stukas in World War One, it would look something like this.
08/10/2014 11:47
Olfa compass cutter is a must have tool for any modeller.

All kinds of circular shapes are easily cut from styrene
sheet, in this case mass balance parts for elevators.
Elevator and its mass balance lowered down a bit.

Separating the mass balance part is easiest with sharp
pointed blade.
move on to the tail section

again. Dry fitting of the rudder
showed no problems but
before fitting it permanently
we will separate elevators
from horizontal stabilizer and
drop them down a bit. Same
procedure as with the rudder,
sharp pointed blade is used to
separate them and a piece of
styrene rod to make cylindrical
pivot edge. Some care must
be taken when cutting of the
mass balance part as it can
Horizontal stabilizers and the rudder ready to be fitted

on the model.
be tricky but a few very light

moves with the scriber and
then pointed scalpel blade
will do the trick. Dry fitting of
all pieces is a must here if we
are going to do everything
properly.
Lowering the landing flaps
is our next task. Stuka had
very distinctive flaps and
they really look much more
interesting when displayed in
down position. Here again,
constant dry fitting of the parts
Flaps control rod just doesnt look up the scale so

the new one has to be made from 0.6mm hypodermic
needle.
The tails section looks more dynamic and interesting

then if it was left the way it was.
is necessary as each flap

consists of 3 main parts and
bunch of smaller ones. Flap
controlling rods have been cut
off and pieces of hypodermic
needle used instead to make
it more down to scale. When
installing the flaps we have
two options, two do it now and
before the painting or to do
it at the end when painting is
done. If we do it now, we must
be careful later when handling
the model as the flaps are very
And looks good once fitted to the wing.
fragile but also sanding of the

lower wing sections would be
difficult with flaps on. On the
other hand, painting itself will
be much easier of we have the
flaps on the model at the same
time. I have decided to glue
them on now and to solve any
problems later.
We will now make a new
wing leading edge light, first
a small hole is drilled trough
the centre of a piece of sprue.
Much larger drill bit is then
Flaps down and rudder tilted to the side really add to

dynamic look and feel.
08/10/2014 11:48
Chapter III
08/10/2014 11:48
08/10/2014 11:48
Chapter III
Making of a new landing light starts with drilling a

piece of sprue with 0.8mm drill.
used to widen the hole so

that we get doomed hole as
deep as it is wide. Now, a
small piece of self adhesive
aluminium foil is placed on
top of the doomed hole and
burnished in with cotton swab.
Small drill bit is used to drill a
hole through the centre again
to accommodate the bulb
which is made from a piece of
stretched sprue exposed to a
candle flame for a second just
enough to melt
the tip and get
a small bulb like
form. Stretched
sprue tip is then
Continue with the drill bit that is almost as the sprue

piece in diameter and just make a few twists, enough
to make a shallow coned hole.
cut off and inserted into the

hole in the light base, Testors
Model Master 1790 Chrome
Silver is then used to paint
the bulb.
Once the light has
been installed, a piece of
transparent self adhesive tape
is placed over the opening and
Eduards photo etched light
frame is glued over the tape.
The tape is then cut around
the frame with sharp pointed
blade and
removed.
Now we
A piece of self adhesive aluminium foil is used to make

the light look more real and a cotton swab to press it
into the hole and polish it at the same time.
have a perfect and very thin

clear cover for the light which
is now going to be more
visible and realistic. We are
now going to mask the cockpit
and prepare the model for
painting. While masking the
canopy i have noticed some
problems that we will have to
sort out before we start mixing
paints and airbrushing the
canopy and the model. For
some reason, Hesegawa has
messed up the sliding canopy
section and while its all ok if
you plan to place it in a closed
position, which would be a true

shame with all the beautiful
cockpit details, it simply cannot
fit on the middle, fixed canopy
part. As the part is too small
to fit the fixed canopy section
we have two options here, we
can make a silicone rubber
mould of the original part then
make a plaster copy and then
vacuform a new part over that
plaster cat and the second, we
can try to adjust the original
part which would be very
tricky thing to do and avoid
tiny cracks that will ruin the
Take a piece of stretched sprue, bring it near the candle light just for a second and itll make a perfect bulb
cap. Cut it off so that you have something like 3mm of the sprue to hold it, using fine pointed brush touch it
with the Tamiya XF16 Flat Aluminum, pierce the aluminium foil and insert the stretched sprue with the bulb
cap on it into the hole.
Finished landing lights now looks great. For

protective glass we are using transparent self
adhesive tape.
08/10/2014 11:48
Italian sand
sprayed on.
BluTac sausages
arranged on the model.
whole job. In I have opted for

the second choice here. First
cleaning the part of the sprue
and then the tricky job begins.
Point is to slowly heat the part
above the electric stove with
the heat protecting gloves to
save our fingers for the later
part. So, put on the gloves and
start by holding the part some
10cm above the heated stove
for 4 or 5 seconds and the
very gently push the side walls
of the part away from each
other but again, very gently
to avoid the damage. Repeat
the process a few more time
while constantly checking if
the part is nicely fitting the
fixed canopy part. The whole
point is to do it very slowly
and gently while making sure
you dont melt the part, its
always better to heat it more
times than to try to heat it once
and to ruin the part. Process
can take up to 10-20 minutes
warming and pushing the walls
of the part and eventually it
will fit perfectly. Just to make
things clear, make sure you do
it slowly and gently otherwise
start looking for a replacement

part somewhere.
Detailed research on a
subject started a few weeks
before i even opened the
model box and now i just
remembered one particular
scheme that caught my
attention, desert Ju87
suspected to wear Italian
paints, a combination of
Giallo Mimetico - Sand and
Marrone Mimetico - Brown, a
very unusual and distinctive
camouflage that simply had
to be used in this build but
also, i want to avoid boring
standard Ju87D scheme and
paint it in unusual and less
used desert colours. There
were just a few Ju87 Doras
wearing the desert colours and
my choice is a D-3 variant with
the markings S7+KS on the
fuselage. This particular aircraft
belonged to 8. /StG 3 in Derna,
Libya and was shot down on
November the 1st 1942 by an
allied fighter, both the pilot and
gunner captured wounded. It
was not unusual for Luftwaffe
aircraft to wear Italian paints
in Africa as they were often

forced to over-paint standard
camouflage with desert colours
to avoid being spotted by
allied bombers while being on
the ground. When modelling
a WWII subject with unusual
and not standardised paint
scheme, its a bit difficult
to get the colours just right
especially with limited colour
photo references available and
in many cases we must rely
on colour profiles and hours
and hours of research. After

collecting data from more than
30 books written about air war
in Africa, Italian squadrons in
Africa and of course, about
Ju87 in Africa, i came to
conclusion that this particular
Stuka wore Italian paints:
Giallo Mimetico - Sand and
Marrone Mimetico - Brown,
knowing that, some more
research and comparing of the
paints and i can start mixing
my own shades.
An hour later and the masking job is done. Remember, if you want to reuse BluTack,
use the Tamiya tape. Avoid using Maskol, although, there are situation when you just
have to use it, like on the right hand side stabilizer.
08/10/2014 11:48
Chapter III
After the brown is sprayed over and masks removed,

Stuka now looks like chocolate and vanilla cake. Too
strong contrast will be sorted out with fading and
shading.
My closest match for Giallo

Mimetico - Sand is Model
Master Sand Yellow RLM79
mixed with a few drops of
white and Revell 015 - yellow.
Closest match to Marrone
Mimetico - Brown is Revell
084 - Leather Brown which

will be properly faded and
lightened later on the model.
With 60 to 40 paint to thinner
ratio i have a very thin mixture
that will allow me to build up
the paint coats very slowly
Initial shading solved the contrast problem, now thats better.
and get the effect that is

satisfactory. Upper side is first
to be painted in this case as
its easier to mask the upper
side rather than the lower with
all those radiators, lowered
flaps, bomb racks etc, so
the first comes Italian sand.
Since i dont like pre-shading
or anything that goes under
the paint, this first round
is very simple. Overnight
drying time is plenty and we
can start thinking about the
second colour and the best
way to mask the pattern.
There is variety of ways to
mask irregular pattern on
the model, using cut-out
paper masks, self adhesive
vinyl masks or my favourite,
BluTack sausages and Tamiya
masking tape. Masking a
scheme pattern using BluTack

is great for both, sharp and
soft transitions between
colours and the best thing is,
you can reuse BluTack over
and over for years even if its
heavily painted you can just
play with it with your hands
and it will turn blue again.
First steps is to make long
and slim sausages using a
ruler or your fingers and then
laying those on the model in
a pattern you want to achieve.
The next step is masking the
parts we dont want to paint
with brown colour with either
Tamiya masking tape or with
Maskol but be careful, Tamiya
tape will easily come of the
BluTack and youll be able to
reuse it and in case that you
want to use Maskol or any
08/10/2014 11:48
other masking solution, you

can say goodbye to BluTack
as its impossible to separate
those two but in same case we
simply do not have the choice.
With the brown paint on
and a few hours later the
model looks a bit like vanilla
and chocolate cake with that
strong contrast which we need
to soften down radically by
using light shades of brown
and sand colour. Shading
and blending part is all about
mixing original colours with
white, yellow, light brown
and then spraying a very thin
mixture of it over the model,
about 80 to 20 thinner to paint
ratio is used for shading and
fading with enamel paints.
I started with already mixed
Italian sand adding a few
drops of white and a drop of
yellow, keeping in mind that
this aircraft was in the desert
and the sun, heat, sand and
dust did their part to make
it look faded, dusty and with
desaturated colours. Start
working from the inside of the
yellow areas making it lighter
to the outside where they
meet the brown making it a bit

darker. With yellow areas now
properly faded but still looking
a bit strange and uniform, its
time to darken the panel lines
using Model Master Sand
Yellow RLM79 that will look
perfect on faded Italian sand
paint. A bit different procedure
goes for the brown areas
where i want to make panels
more visible by spraying thin
coats of light brown on the
central parts of the panels and
thus leaving the darker areas
on the panel lines, another eye
catching and very effective
technique. After the brown
areas are done, i will get back
to the yellow areas and touch
it up a bit more where the light
brown paint has over sprayed
the yellow and, with both
colours now faded and shaded
i can amend it a bit more here
and here until i am satisfied
with the results.
Another thing that i did in
this stage is spraying the fuel
stains and streaks from the
main fuel filler points with very
thin darkish brown shades but
be careful not to overdo. Now,
With the markings sprayed on we can proceed with some more shading and fading but
also adding the fuel streaks and panel lines.
Walking surface received some paint chipping again by using Tamiya XF16 Flat
Aluminum and a lead pencil. Stencils are on as well and the brown wash has been
applied to subtly enhance the lines.
Exhaust pipes and front canopy temporarily fixed into place. Note that the radio
section behind the pilots seat is missing primarily for easier masking of the interior.
Fine wet sanding pads

have been used to wear
of fuselage markings.
08/10/2014 11:48
Chapter III
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08/10/2014 11:48
Chapter III
A piece of styrene strip is wrapped around the bomb as this detail is missing
on the kit part.
Pieces of styrene rod as well as some photo etched parts are now used to
create more details.
The bomb is now painted with Alclad II Dark Aluminium ALC-103 as a base
for paint chipping.
Medium coarse sanding pads are used to sand off some of the paint and to
reveal metal beneath.
Maketar Paint Masks Desert

Doras mask set is used for
the markings. From the kit
decal sheet, we can use just
a few stencils, everything else
is dry and cured for about 24

hours, some very fine sanding
pads and water are used to
fade sprayed markings and
blend it with the rest of the
paint job, thing that is
hard to achieve with
decals. Part of the job
that consists of masking
entire upper surface
is always a bit tricky
and the least thing we
want now is to ruin the
paint job that has been
done so some extra
care is needed to mask
it all properly and with
accuracy. Spraying
the lower surfaces
is a routine followed
with spraying of the
markings and then
darkening of the panel
will be sprayed using masks

prior to applying the first gloss
coat for the stencils and panel
line wash. After the markings
are sprayed on and the paint
lines and recreating some

dirt and oil leaks and streaks.
Gloss coat is on and the
stencils as well, followed by
the sandy-brown wash and the
matt coat at the end. Its time
to unmask the cockpit and
start assembling small parts,
canopy, belly SC1000 bomb,
radio antenna and machine
guns.
We are now going to add
some details to the SC1000
bomb by using styrene strips
and sheet. First, a piece
of styrene strip is wrapped
around the bomb as this detail
is missing on the kit part. After
measuring the exact length of
the styrene piece, we will glue
one end in place and wait until
the glue is fully cured before
wrapping the strip around the
MDC SC1000 bomb is a beauty for itself, very easy to assemble and it simply must look good.
08/10/2014 11:48
This time the chipping has been done with a

lead pencil only.
Kit machine guns with Eduards photo

etched barrel and the gun sight.
bomb completely. This will

ensure that the styrene piece
does not move when we bent
it. Before applying the glue to
the rest of the strip section, we
will secure it in place with a
piece of masking tape. Pieces
of styrene rod are now used
to create other details that will
make an average piece of the
kit into a detailed model for
itself. Bomb is now painted
with Alclad II Dark Aluminium
ALC-103 as a base for paint
chipping. Hellblau, the same
paint we used for lower
sections of the Stuka is now
airbrushed on the bomb and
set aside to fully dry. Medium
coarse sanding pads are used
to sand off some of the paint
and to reveal metal beneath.
I will also assemble and paint

a resin casted SC1000 Bomb
from MDC, very well detailed
and very fast to assemble.
This time, the bomb is painted
in Sand Yellow and paint
chipping is done with soft lead
pencil randomly rubbed here

and there for highly effective
finish.
Zwilling MG81Z gun barrels
are made from Eduards photo
etched parts wrapped around
hypodermic needle and rolled
over the table by pressing it

with steel ruler to get perfectly
cylindrical form. I have decided
to go with QuickBoost resin
propeller blades but as they
are just slightly different from
the kit parts, no one would
08/10/2014 11:48
Chapter III
Stuka had some canopy frames mounted from the

inside and some from the outside and it needs to be
represented correctly. Final touch ups on this canopy
part by adding frame rivets with Maketar rivet masks.
even notice the difference

whichever ones you decide
to go with. Spinner is sprayed
with II Dark Aluminium ALC103 first and then all the other
colours are applied, masking
of spinner rings is done with
thin masking strips. Fine
sanding pads are used to wear
of some of the black paint from
Combination of Eduards PE parts and Aires resin parts

is visible here too.
the propeller blade root area.

Maketar Paint Masks used
for painting the rivets on the
canopy makes the job easier
and produces excellent finish.
For attaching canopy parts,
we will using Formula 560
glue, its simply the best.
Adding the details is pretty a
straight forward task and that
Kit propeller blade on the left and QuickBoost blades

on the right hand side, its not so much of a difference
but its noticeable.
being done, we will do some

more touch ups with the brush
and dry pastels powder. Some
paint chipping is now done
on the wing
root where the
crew would
normally
walk. Subtle
blending of all
parts is essential as we dont

want anything to out of the
picture but again, be careful
not to overdo, use different
brush sizes
and do it in
passes rather
than saturating
one area with
the powder
All canopy parts ready to be placed where they belong.
Spinner is sprayed with II

Dark Aluminium ALC-103 first
and then all the other colours
are applied, masking of
spinner rings is done with thin
masking strips. Fine sanding
pads are used to wear of
some of the black paint from
the propeller blade root area.
08/10/2014 11:49
With the huge bomb mounted on its belly, Stuka looks

mean now. Wheels are also fitted in and dusted with dry
pastels to simulate the desert ground dirt.
before moving to another.

Looking at some photos of
the real thing will help more
than anything else in getting
the feel for the weathering
and blending, a bit of
patience and subtlety will for
sure, provide very rewarding
final result.
At the end, another
excellent model from
Hasegawa in Revell box
which makes it even better
when you consider the price.
The model has its flaws with
the right side wing and the
sliding canopy section but

for sure nothing that will ruin
the joy of building it. Eduard
BigED PE set is excellent and
always welcomed addition,
and even with a bit high
price its still a great value
for money having in mind the
quality and the quantity of
the parts that you get. Aires
resin cockpit set speaks for
itself, high quality resin, crisp
and very detailed casting
does the trick every time.
Combined with Eduard BigED
PE set opens the door to
Another view of the cockpit, radio antenna

and the guns. Pacer Formula 560 - Canopy
Glue is used to attach canopy parts.
endless possibilities for detailing

the cockpit. QuickBoost - Ju87D
propeller is more accurately
represented than the kit propeller
blade but nothing too serious that
we could not live with it. MDC SC1000 Bomb is really beautiful
and detailed but as with the
propeller blade, bomb provided in
the kit can be a bit detailed up to
a very satisfactory level.
Sliding canopy sections sits funny on the top

of the fixed middle canopy part, something
Hasegawa did before on a couple of other
models and something that we need to take
care of.
08/10/2014 11:49
Chapter III
08/10/2014 11:49
08/10/2014 11:49
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
MAKING A
DIORAMA
FIELD EQUIPMENT AND ORDNANCE
Building and painting field equipment slightly differs from building and
painting aircraft models. Ground equipment is usually much more stained,
dusty and muddy. In this case, its more of armour modelling than really
anything related to aircraft and in terms of techniques used, its a matter
of making everything more worn out and neglected with no air stream
stains, of course.
148 BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT - MAKING A DIORAMA
08/10/2014 11:50
08/10/2014 11:50
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
BEFORE WE START
Signifer - SN32001 Forked lift USAF WWII

Signifer - SN32004 Starter cart USAF WWII
Hornet - HH4 Bare Heads With WWII Haircuts
Pegaso Models - PM-PT026 SS Tank Crewman, 1944
Verlinden - 1108 Oil Barrels
Verlinden - 2706 USAAF WWII Refuelling Unit
Verlinden - 1856 M5 Halftrack Stowage Set
MiniArt - 35101 U.S. Motorcycle Repair Crew
Cyanoacrylate glue
Tamiya cement
Drilling pin vise
BluTack
Magic Sculpt
Unimat Lathe
Parts layout of Signifers SN32004 Starter cart USAF WWII kit. Crisply casted with plenty of detail and
simple to assemble, Very effective for any maintenance diorama.
Paints used:
Artist oils:
Burnt Umber
Black
White
Yellow
LifeColor LC27 Matt Clear
UA207 Schwarzgrau
UA205 Rotbraun
LC06 Matt Red
LC03 Matt Yellow
UA511 Hellgrun
UA208 Anthrazitgrau
UA046 Neutral Grey
UA028 Grey
LC01 Matt White
UA524 US Neutral Grey
UA605 Dunkelgrau
UA095 Sky
X-1 Gloss Black
XF-2 Flat White
XF-3 Flat Yellow
XF-7 Flat Red
XF-8 Flat Blue
XF-53 Neutral Grey
XF-58 Olive green
XF-60 Dark Yellow
XF-62 Olive Drab
XF-63 German Grey
XF-65 Field Grey
Humbrol acrylic paints:
Matt clear cote - aerosol
Starter cart painted in green mix and fixed to aluminium strip by BluTac for easier holding and painting.
First element of our ground

equipment will be Signifer - SN32004
Starter cart USAF WWII, resin model
with only a couple of elements.
Two thin coats of light green are
airbrushed on the main cart part,
same mixture as we were using for
our Spitfire interior made by mixing
LifeColor LC03 Matt Yellow and
LifeColor UA511 Hellgrun in 2 to 5
ratio. Scratches have been applied
heavily with fine pointed brush and
LifeColor UA208 Anthrazitgrau,

making sure we do not overdo. Try to
keep shapes irregular and random,
try to source some photographs
from the internet of similar ground
equipment and look for areas that
have been beaten the most. Most
heavily scratched areas are those
most exposed or most touched/
stepped on. Small details like
voltage gauges, various switches
and buttons have been painted in
08/10/2014 11:50
Fine pointed brush is used for painting

on scratches and peeled paint.
few different colours, mostly

as seen on some reference
photos as those of this
particular cart are a bit difficult
to find. Next step is application
of diluted Burnt Umber artist
oils and we then treat it with
clean dry brush until the
surface is smooth and free
of any brush strokes, we will

repeat this process one more
time to enhance heavy usage
look. Exhaust drum and pipe
system has been hand painted
in dark brown then treated with
diluted Burnt Umber and then
heavily saturated with rust
dry pigments to achieve burnt
Every single detail counts. By painting gauges, buttons and placards we are breathing
in life into our model.
and rusty look. Lead wire have

been used for power lines,
painted in different colours,
again more by hunch as I just
could not find a reference for
those. Leave the part aside
to allow oil paints to dry
completely, for some 24 hours.
Next and final step would be
some drybrushing, again we

will use Gunze Sangyo Mr
Metal 218 Aluminium paint.
Lightly dip flat brush into the
paint and make sure to give it
a good clean with the paper
towel before using it on the
model. Start by gently brushing
all sharp edges and raised
Burnt Umber artists oil paint has been heavily applied in order to make our cart look
heavily used, stained and warn out.
08/10/2014 11:50
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
Lead wire has been
cut and used as
cables, different
colours are a guess
in this case due to
lack of reference.
Dry pigments applied

to entire model by
clean brush simulate
dust and dried oil
stains. Wheels would
be treated with earth
like colour pigments.
Drybrushing with
Gunze Sangyo Mr
Metal 218 Aluminium
paint will further
enhance details.
Lead wire is used for
power supply cable
and placed hanging
over the bar.
details to give it nice highlight

and more three dimensional
look. Oil paint and pigments
were used on wheels as well,
for this one its best to choose
dark brown pigments but this
will depend, of course, on the
type and colour of the surface
of our diorama. For a desert
diorama we would use sand
pigments rather than dark
brown mud, and so on.
Next, we are going to
add more elements to our
diorama setup to make it
more alive and realistic.
Here again, take your time to
study WWII photos of aircraft
undergoing maintenance to
best understand the setup and
everything that your diorama
should have. In this case with
my diorama, it was not done
by specific photo or situation,
its rather made up setup
while different scene elements
come from various photos,
mainly from French airfields.
Most of those scenes had
various wooden crates with
spare parts and so we are
going to add a couple. Styrene
sheets 0.4mm have been cut
to approximate measure for
each side of the crate. Each
piece has then been sanded
with coarse sand paper to
achieve natural wood texture
and grain, here we would like
to draw sand paper in only
one direction, along the longer
axis. Now, to make it to look
like it was assembled out of
a couple of wooden slats, we
will measure equal spacing
along shorter axis and draw
lines with Tamiya scriber,
to represent recessed lines
between wooden planks. We
can do the same procedure
for our makeshift work bench
and just add connecting
planks made out of styrene
beams, 3mmx0.4mm. Yellow
paint will be sprayed on all
wooden elements and later
washed with Burnt Umber oil
paint. Oil and dirt stains on the
workbench can be done by
dripping a few drops of gloss
08/10/2014 11:50
Exhaust system has been painted brown, washed in oils and saturated with rust dry pigments.
black mixed with dark brown

paint. Cargo trailer has been
scratch build out of styrene
sheets 0.3mm thick. Reference
photos and dimensions of

G-518 Ben Hur cargo trailer
can be found on the internet.
The only thing that we would
need to source for the trailer

are the wheels and those can
be taken from 1:32 Tamiya US
2 Cargo Truck kit or you can
purchase resin wheels set for

the same kit, it cheaper.
Painting airfield ordnance is
pretty much straight forward,
Wooden crate and makeshift workbench

placed on top of Verlinden oil barrels, a
simple test of the layout.
08/10/2014 11:50
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
Unimat lathe is an amazing and easy to use tool for making various diorama elements, in this case a barrel has been turned in just three minutes.
Fire extinguisher is another thing you will always find on any aircraft
maintenance site.
4.5 inch rocket is something rarely available as aftermarket parts, easy and simple to
turn it on Unimat lathe. For turning various pieces you can use modellers wax, resin
sticks, aluminium or brass rod, with amazing results.
08/10/2014 11:50
Another test for diorama layout. Frequent layout tests can help us see
if something would need to be added or taken away.
first of all, a couple of

light coats of our green
mix, LifeColor LC03 Matt
Yellow and LifeColor
UA511 Hellgrun in 2 to 5
ratio. Scratches are done
with sharp pointed brush
and LifeColor UA208
Anthrazitgrau. At this point,
Bomb attachment rings have been made

from lead wire wrapped around brass
tube and then cut with sharp blade.
we can play with airbrush

shading, first is always light
shading with much diluted
yellow paint followed by dark
shades of black. Shading
process has been described
in detail already in previous
chapters. Again, Burnt Umber
artist oil paint has been used
Finished bomb rings ready to be glued to

the bomb.
Eduard PE bomb parts, scratch built bomb

stand and lead wire rings will greatly
improve appearance over kit original part.
08/10/2014 11:50
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
08/10/2014 11:50
08/10/2014 11:54
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
Custom text cut on vinyl foil will serve as a stencil for spraying markings on our wooden crate.
to finish everything of to get

a nice looking olive drab
colour. Bombs have been
further treated with mesh cloth
dipped in Anthrazitgrau and
then randomly blotched on the
bomb creating impression of

peeled paint.
With our ground equipment
sorted it is time to take care of
the ground crew. I was trying
to find a suitable atmosphere
for my diorama and so the

figures had to match that
peaceful moment I was trying
to achieve. Initial plan was
to have two figures standing
and talking but it felt too busy
so Ive decided to go with

one ground crew member
comfortably sitting on an
ammo crate while cleaning
a small engine part. Heres
where it gets tricky as we are
Wooden crate containing aircraft
spare parts is now ready for oil
wash.
I thought it would be interesting
to have a cargo trailer somewhere
on my diorama especially if loaded
with various accessories we would
usually find on maintenance area
of an airfield. The trailer is quite
simple in shape and can be easily
scratch built.
08/10/2014 11:54
Finished and ready to be

painted, G-518 Ben Hur
trailer was often seen
in Europe after D-day
landing.
Light and dark shading

creates contrast and
excellent base for overall
oil wash.
08/10/2014 11:55
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
Signifer - SN32001 Forked lift, shading and scratches make a simple part look busy
and detail rich.
Small details and big difference. Attachment rings and fuse took a few moments to
scratch build and the results are very rewarding.
Mesh cloth dipped in Anthrazitgrau and then randomly blotched on the bomb creating
impression of peeled paint.
Oil spills and stains can be achieved with airbrush. Hold airbrush close to workbench
part and without pressing the trigger, pull it back and quickly release so the needle
spits highly diluted gloss black.
Difference between airbrushed and oil washed barrels. Burnt umber on light green
creates fantastic olive drab shades.
Small parts have been turned on Unimate lathe, rockets, fire extinguishers, spinner
caps, oil cans cargo trailer oil washed and ready to be loaded.
08/10/2014 11:55
Scratch built barrel and fire extinguishers next to Verlinden oil can. Painted markings on fire extinguisher add to realism.
Fine sharp pointed

brush has been used
to outline figure
details. All recessed
areas can be
painted with diluted
dark brown paint to
simulate shadows.
Boots and belt have
been painted black.
Injection plastic figure from Dragon feature a lot of nice details. Milling bit is used to
make space for Hornet resin head placement.
After careful sanding of any seams figures received two light coats of XF-49 Khaki as
a base for oils.
08/10/2014 11:55
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
08/10/2014 11:55
08/10/2014 11:55
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
Overall oil wash with diluted Burnt Umber works

like a charm creating nice shades and warn out
look on our guys clothes.
Airbrushing skin tone colour paint on figures

face and then washing it in oil will create
realistic skin appearance. Boots have been
further treated with earth tone dry pigments
while oil wash was still wet.
Final pose for our mechanic.
Hair can be painted black or dark brown with lighter colour drybrush to enhance details. Figure is placed on ammo crate to see if any reposing need to be done before
gluing everything together. You can easily repose a figure slightly by heating it with hair dryer first.
08/10/2014 11:56
Fine pointed brush has been used to paint eye

brows and eye balls. Ears can be drybrushed
with white to accent highlights.
limited with 1:32 figures, you cannot

simply imagine a pose for your figure
unless you are prepared to do major
re-posing of the figure, which I was
not. So, what I could do is to browse
the internet for every possible figure
or figure set in 1:35 scale as those
are much more common. A German
soldier figure posing as serviceman
on USAF P-47, why not! With proper
colours of his clothes he is just
another poor guy trying to play his
part in the war. I really do not go
to extremes but rather like to make
my work easier when possible, at
the end who is going to notice any
difference?! Hornet resin heads came
in handy as original figure heads
were lacking details.
For more realism our seating guy got a new, smiling face. It would be a bit unnatural
to have two mechanics facing each other with serious face expressions and just
looking at each other. New head comes from Hornet head collection as well.
Yet another test pose with a few accessories around. Maps and mechanic manuals can be simply painted on any home
printer, treated with oils and folded a few times to appear more real.
08/10/2014 11:56
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
08/10/2014 11:56
08/10/2014 11:56
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
Main material for diorama ground work is actually sand and dirt collected by the side
of the road. Also keep handy a couple of sand paper sheets, wood glue and mesh
cloth. Bamboo stick is used for levelling sand.
Diluted wood glues is poured on our plaster rock as well as on area around it, next we
would scatter fine sand and dust on it.
Another view showing our diorama base sprinkled with diluted wood glue. At this point
we can use fingers or bamboo stick to level sand and remove excess.
Once were done with groundwork setup we would seal it with sprayed diluted wood
glue and leave a couple of hours to set. Wood glue dries clear.
Further airbrush shading can be done with various colours

to touch up anything we are not happy with but also to
create more contrast and add realism.
08/10/2014 11:56
Autumn yellow grass has been poured on wet wood glue first. Be careful when
applying wood glue as glued grass is hard to remove later on.
GROUNDWORKS
With diorama layout planned
and everything else finished,
our last step is building diorama base. After mocking the
layout of all object on a piece
of paper in roughly 1:1 scale
we can easily determine the
size of base for our diorama.
Custom made picture frame
will be perfect in this case just
replace the glass with thin
plywood sheet and we are
ready for the next step. Using
sand, dirt and materials found
outside to make a diorama
base usually makes a mess so
I always do this part outside,
balcony will do as well. To
protect diorama base frame
we are going to mask it off with
any sort of tape you have available, in this case I am using
wide Tamiya tape. Also keep
handy a couple of sand paper
sheets, wood glue and mesh
cloth. To start applying sand
and dirt collected by the side
of the road, we will first spread
a thick layer of wood glue onto

plywood sheet and simply
just spread the sand and dirt
over it, let the small pebbles
and larger chunks go in as
well. Start spreading sand in
thinner layer and allow each
layer to soak in the glue before
spreading another layer. White
glue will stay wet for about 30
minutes, more than enough
time to finish this step. After
spreading the sand and dirt on
the base, we can place larger
pebbles and chunks here and
there where we see fit and to
avoid getting our diorama too
flat. Ive made a plaster rock
cast in Woodland Scenics rubber moulds and placed it into
the base corner to make it look
more natural and interesting.
With everything in place the
best way to seal everything
in place is to spray on diluted
wood glue with water and
spray it on the base using
empty window washer bottle
with sprayer on top. While still
A couple of larger stones showing trough the grass, those can be added before or
after we apply the glue and pour the static grass.
wet, press down some areas

of the diorama by your hands
to make nice and smooth
area where most of equipment
and our ground crew will be
placed. Set it aside to dry for a
couple of hours.
Once the base has set and
dried, we will proceed with
airbrush shading by spraying
diluted XF55 Deck Tan on
some areas to get some
contrast and variety of colours.
To apply grass, a diluted white
glue has been spread on the
base in blotches by large flat
brush. For grass, I am using
static grass and it comes from
a few brands, Javis, WWS,
Woodland Scenics etc. Now,
for nice, rich and thick grass

we are going to pour the stuff
straight from the bag and a
lot of it. Good thing here us to
mix a few different static grass
colours like autumn, spring
or summer with emphasis
on summer green. Keep in
mind that there would be no
grass on areas where our
ground crew works and walk,
pathways would also have no
grass.
I have deliberately placed
different grass colours on
different areas to demonstrate
that it can be easily painted
with airbrush into any colour.
Set everything aside for a
few hours to dry before using
08/10/2014 11:56
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
08/10/2014 11:56
08/10/2014 11:56
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
Larger area has been treated with wood glues and to be covered with green summer
grass. Try to keep grassy areas irregular and random in shape. Also, note a few
different colours of grass being placed on our diorama, some will be airbrushed and
retouched later.
Various shades of green and yellow have been airbrushed on grass areas. This is t
show that no matter what colour your grass is, we can always easily retouch it either
by brush or airbrush. Note small piles of rocks, removed from work area and piled up,
washed with oils and drybrushed with off white paint. Detail easy to make but greatly
improves realism and overall appearance.
large clean brush to brush

off excess grass from the
base. You can now play with
yellow grass and sprinkle a
little bit here and there to give
impression of burnt grass. You
can add crushed dried leaves
small branches and so on. As
a last thing, yes again, I like to
add highly diluted black artist
oil to areas without grass and
after that has dried, drybrush
falls onto the base like a rain,

otherwise if too close it can
blow off some of the stuff, like
that fine sand we added. All we
have to do now is to carefully
arrange all diorama elements
onto the base. I dont use
any glue to fix models to the
base, theres simply no need
for that. There you go, making
a nice looking diorama is not
a big deal of effort or time.
those areas with light brown

and tan colours. We can also
scatter around fine white sand
as well, just to give more
contrast to our ground work.
Before placing everything on
the base, we will apply one
final spray with Humbrol Matt
clear cote to seal everything
in place. While spraying from
the can, keep it at least 30cm
from the base so it basically
This type of diorama base

will take a few hours of your
time but will add a lot to your
scale models appearance.
As for photographing your
models and diorama, play
with different light setups and
try using printed background
image, this is effective way of
showing different backgrounds
and diorama moods. Happy
modelling!
Basic diorama elements

placed for a test, nothing
will be glued in place as I
am never sure where some
of it will end up on our
layout. Bare ground treated
with oils and drybrushed
with various brown pants.
Some yellow static grass
was scattered over some
areas of green grass. Dried
leaves can be crushed and
scattered around as well.
08/10/2014 11:56
08/10/2014 11:57
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
08/10/2014 11:57
08/10/2014 11:57
Chapter IV
MAKING A DIORAMA
08/10/2014 11:57
08/10/2014 11:57
08/10/2014 11:57
The Modellers Guide: Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering Aircraft of WWII

ADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Beds. LU6 1QX
08/10/2014 11:57
Everything you knew about plastic modelling, every model

you built, all that you have learnt and researched, it needs
to be done all over again, old knowledge is out, new
technologies are in. If youve been into modelling for 30
years or just starting, obvious starting point is the Internet.
And there it is, product of global informational revolution
under your fingertips, all the information youll ever need just
few clicks away: modelling techniques, tools, which airbrush
nozzle you need, what type of cement to use, exact colour
shades, the right brands and manufacturers, whats inside
that box, hows the plastic looking, is it accurate enough,
decal and paint options, aftermarket parts. Then
countless references, photos, texts, book excerpts,
walkarounds showing all possible details, forums,
blogs, mailing lists, social network groups, SIGs,
instant contact with thousands of fellow modellers
around the globe, some more or less keen to
help you, various experts and hexperts advices,
endless debates over historical accuracy of some
oddball scheme or Spitfire prop shape...
With plastic models being my main focus

for years now it is still hard to simply build a
model out of the box without trying to add
some scratch build parts, just to make the
work more interesting. Over the years, my
skills have evolved and been refined with
constant modeling experiments. My models
have been published numerous time in
various modeling magazines and since I am
not attending any competitions, seeing my
models published is the right kind of food
for my peculiar modelers ego. Now, i am
a father of a wonderful boy named Marko,
aged three, who is already showing his
interest in scale models by going through the
kit boxes and dry fitting parts as he sees
fit. Soon, I am about to become a father
for the second time, this time a baby girl,
Aleksandra. As for scale modelling, that will
wait for some time...
Cover photos by
Aleksandar Pou
For details of other books in our range visit:
www.adhpublishing.com
The Modellers Guide to Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering Aircraft of WWII

ADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Beds. LU6 1QX
P180 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 1
08/10/2014 17:13

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The Modellers Guide

Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering

Aircraft of WWII, with airfield accessories, ordnance and diorama

P001 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 1

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 2

The Modellers Guide:

To my lovely 3 year old son Marko, gifted model breaker!

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 3

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 14

The Modellers Guide to Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering Aircraft of WWII 5

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 15

THE MODELLERS GUIDE TO SUPERDETAILING, PAINTING AND WEATHERING AIRCRAFT OF WWII

CHAPTER 1: TOOLS AND MATERIALS 14

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 16

y story as being a modeller

With kind regards,

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 17

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 18

ooking back to the mid-1980s one remembers how

The Modellers Guide to Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering Aircraft of WWII 9

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 19

SCALE MODELLING: A LOVE STORY READY TO ASSEMBLE

verything you knew about plastic

Its good to be a kit modeller these

10 SCALE MODELLING - A LOVE STORY READY TO ASSEMBLE

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 20

preshading, postshading, pin-washing,

a clue. Maybe I could sneak into junior

The Modellers Guide to Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering Aircraft of WWII 11

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 21

and magazines, ask other

Going further, we get ourselves into

12 SCALE MODELLING - A LOVE STORY READY TO ASSEMBLE

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 22

Shermans. With wrong tracks.

The Modellers Guide to Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering Aircraft of WWII 13

P002-013 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 23

here is no trade without proper tools and the same

Basic cutting tools every

14 CHAPTER I - TOOLS AND MATERIALS

P014-017 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 14

caution so be sure to wear

modeller who in some stage

dry to a hard surface which can

a couple of hours and can be

The Modellers Guide to Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering Aircraft of WWII 15

P014-017 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 15

Never settle with one type or brand of paint as

paints we have now days are

paints for airbrushing. My

that water based acrylics are

elements and of course model

16 CHAPTER I - TOOLS AND MATERIALS

P014-017 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 16

above all, paint surface was not

acrylics as they are durable,

Before You Start

it on no matter what you did to

to fit imperfections and that

Primers, micro fillers and putties.

The Modellers Guide to Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering Aircraft of WWII 17

P014-017 - WWII AIRCRAFT BOOK.indd 17

there are a few more parts

to scratchbuild. We will start