Jump to content

1/32 Czech FA2-3 Buffalo


Recommended Posts

Russ,

I guess you could just Glosscoat the areas that the decals would be placed if you weren't going to be doing any weathering. The raw paint needs to be sealed as a general rule before weathering. Also there is a good chance that the unsealed areas would look somewhat different then the glossed areas when you apply the Matt coats.

Joel

Makes sense. Thanks!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Great results so far Joel,

The top blue work has paid off. The slight tonal difference between flying surfaces and the fuselage has come up a treat.

Regards,

Kent,

Thanks so much for appreciating the how the paint fading turned out. The real challenge is to get the dark blue of the insignias to fade, especially since I had to use to different sources for the decals. More on that when I post pictures of the decals stage.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey Joel! The paint is coming along great. As striker8241 has said, "I am out of my element"..... so am I but, I had wondered about the white underside demarcation and the topside paint. The illustration you show shows a straight demarcation while yours shows the wavy type. Was most of that done at random on the actual aircraft? Or perhaps by unit? You have a great faded look with your progress thus far but, I had wondered if the "base" color wasn't a little darker on the actual aircraft? Accounting for sea spray and weathering I would imagine regular touch-ups of "base" color would have been usual SOP, however, during combat I would guess there would be no time for such things. What I am suggesting is some less subtle shades of the base color perhaps? I can't tell from the illustration you posted but, it almost looks like some intermediate blue transitioning to the color you have. Please forgive my ignorance of the subject. It looks great Joel, As usual I am looking forward to your application of the markings. My favorite part of any build is always the paint and markings!

-Mark

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey Joel! The paint is coming along great. As striker8241 has said, "I am out of my element"..... so am I but, I had wondered about the white underside demarcation and the topside paint. The illustration you show shows a straight demarcation while yours shows the wavy type. Was most of that done at random on the actual aircraft? Or perhaps by unit? You have a great faded look with your progress thus far but, I had wondered if the "base" color wasn't a little darker on the actual aircraft? Accounting for sea spray and weathering I would imagine regular touch-ups of "base" color would have been usual SOP, however, during combat I would guess there would be no time for such things. What I am suggesting is some less subtle shades of the base color perhaps? I can't tell from the illustration you posted but, it almost looks like some intermediate blue transitioning to the color you have. Please forgive my ignorance of the subject. It looks great Joel, As usual I am looking forward to your application of the markings. My favorite part of any build is always the paint and markings!

-Mark

Mark,

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my paint work. It's much appreciated.

As for your questions about the demarcation line, between the topside Blue/Gray FS35189 and the bottom side Light Gray FS36440, it was a free hand unmasked, should be a kind of wavy line. But it was up to the painter to actually follow the base instructions. Hence, it varied all over the place. Here's two more photos. The 1st is another painting of the aircraft I'm actually modeling where the wavy line is really waving and uneven:

buffalo_blue_art.jpg

This is an actual inflight picture of a well worn F2A-3 back in the states being used as a advanced training aircraft. It's hard to see, but the demarcation line does wave quite a bit, and the line from the front of the cowl to the exhaust is much lower then I've ever seen before. That's just an example of how much variation there was.

id_fighters_f2a_02_700.jpg

As for the base colors, they were mixed according to Swedish IPMS site for both colors using Tamiya paints. Once the fading, Bleaching, and a little oil grease darkening added in, the color and blotchiness varied all over the place. Checkout the 2nd picture for how badly these little guys ended up looking.

Joel

Edited by Joel_W
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey Joel! Thanks for that information. Your paint is "spot on" for the aircraft you are modeling! It's nice to be able to find some accurate information on your subject. I say that because I have been reading quite a few books on the Tomahawks of the AVG and boy, what discrepancies! Too much information has been lost over the years and some "details" about the aircraft have to be "inferred" from what is known. I have really invested of myself to research the old long nose export P-40's (Tomahawk IIB or 81-A2's)and I was really getting discouraged at the "lost" bits about the planes going to China for the AVG but, it will be a good exercise in making an "educated guess" whenever I get to the kit! Anyhow, sorry about the rant! Looking forward to your next bits of progress!

-Mark

Link to post
Share on other sites

<p>

Mark,</p><p>  As you've discovered, finding accurate and enough information including photographs of aircraft from WW11 isn't very easy, especially when they're early variants or from the early years of the war.  Color photographs as well as B&W ones have deteriorated over time, and we're talking 74 plus years. Surviving aircraft have weathered, faded, been restored with what could be accurate paint schemes, and parts. For me it's just doing the best I can with what I can find. Some times I'm right, and a lot of the times I'm just plain wrong. </p><p>  I lucked out on the Buffalo build when Jim Maas, a leading expert and author on the subject became my mentor. Even Jim has questions that need clarification. </p><p> As for that painting of the aircraft I'm modeling, it's wrong. The -3s didn't have that look down window, but rather a solid plate with the two exhaust gas holes since the added gas tank blocked the view. </p><p>As for your research on the AVG P-40s, Here's two pictures taken in 1942 of the AVGs Flying Tigers. At least there a starting point. </p><p>Hells_Angels_Flying_Tigers_1942.jpg</p><p>Flying_tigers_pilot.jpg</p><p>Joel<br></p>

Link to post
Share on other sites

As for that painting of the aircraft I'm modeling, it's wrong. The -3s didn't have that look down window, but rather a solid plate with the two exhaust gas holes since the added gas tank blocked the view.

I have to admit, I know what you mean with the "artists renderings" being inaccurate. I have come across some that don't accurately show some details of the aircraft as you mention. Namely for my A-10 research. Thanks for the pictures! Seems like the "Hell's Angels" always get the limelight with pictures! Haha.

-Mark

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, the mini decal session was more painful then I expected. The decals were made by Cartograf, so I assumed that they would behave as all the other Cartograf decals I've used, but that just wasn't going to be the case, as the decals were old since the Czech kit isn't exactly new.

My new standardized decaling procedure that I've used on the last two models is basically Paul's Budzik's method, and it's worked flawlessly for me.

This time the 1st decal didn't like the final application of Solvaset, so I didn't use it on the rest of the decals. The decals took 3-5 min to loosen up from the backing paper, then didn't want to slide around on the gloss surface wetted with warm water and Flow Enhancer. They tended to crack especially the letters, and one fuselage national insignia decal was ruined in the process. I was able to find a duplicate sized decal in my decal box, but the blue is completely different.

F3A-2_006.jpg

F3A-2_005.jpg

After re-glossing the decals, I'm ready to continue with the weathering process. But 1st I need to tone down the really dark blue and mid blue to resemble a more homogeneous and weathered look. I really just can't over spray the insignias with the same lightened Blue Gray as the white stars will take on a bluish tone. So I'm thinking of masking out all the insignias and then toning them down with a light gray over spray.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice progress, looks great.

Rocat,

Thanks for stopping by and liking what I've accomplished so far.

Once I get past this decal issue, the sailing should be a whole lot easier, or so I hope.

Joel

Edited by Joel_W
Link to post
Share on other sites

Joel, nice work so far, the blue looks really nice and faded as should be in real life, for sure when the paneling time comes it will give more life to the airplane, one tip, when you do the paneling go with a gray color on the panel lines, black will be to strong for the light blue, the gray will give the buffalo an elegant touch on the panel lines, one thing i learned from the corsair is that in 1/32 airplanes the best approach to insignias and numbers is painting them and not using decals, i know is pain in the a.... using those mask, but at the end it pays the effort, also let you play and do faded insignias.

Keep up the great work, you will have a nice looking bird.

Jorge

Link to post
Share on other sites

Joel, nice work so far, the blue looks really nice and faded as should be in real life, for sure when the paneling time comes it will give more life to the airplane, one tip, when you do the paneling go with a gray color on the panel lines, black will be to strong for the light blue, the gray will give the buffalo an elegant touch on the panel lines, one thing i learned from the corsair is that in 1/32 airplanes the best approach to insignias and numbers is painting them and not using decals, i know is pain in the a.... using those mask, but at the end it pays the effort, also let you play and do faded insignias.

Keep up the great work, you will have a nice looking bird.

Jorge

Jorge,

Thanks for the guidance.

For panels lines I'm going to be using Artist oils and Mineral Spirits, not just Model Master enamels. My plan is to do the flying surface demarcation lines that I re-scribed to make them much deeper and more pronounced is to go with a black pin wash. All the rest of the recessed panels will be done with various shades of Black and White oils. Top sides the lightest, lower sides the darkest. The bottom will be almost black as there I'm dealing with shoot, oils, dirt, and the like.

I thought about actually trying to make my own templates for masks, but just didn't have enough confidence in my abilities at this point to try going that route. But that time is coming.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Great job Joel! When that baby has decals and weathering it will really look great. Sorry I haven't noticed your build until now, but the word "Buffalo" didn't catch my eye- until now. Looking forward to the finish line.

Cheers,

Chuck

Link to post
Share on other sites

Great job Joel! When that baby has decals and weathering it will really look great. Sorry I haven't noticed your build until now, but the word "Buffalo" didn't catch my eye- until now. Looking forward to the finish line.

Cheers,

Chuck

Chuck,

Thank you so much for stopping by and appreciating my efforts.

As for decaling, I've once again changed direction about how to deal with that drastic difference in color between the Cartograf insignias and the one from my spares box other then over weathering to compensate for it. I actually found another decal the correct size with a much closer color match. I just finished applying it. Boy did I luck out as the colors are really close. Now I can concentrate on just weathering the insignias without being concerned about color match.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Beautiful weathering! : ) And thanks for that ugly duckling pic -- airbrushing/weathering isn't my strongest suit so I love looking at painting progress shots.

Crackerjazz,

Thanks you for those more then kind words. The transformation still has a way to go.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, as I replied to Brian, I was lucky enough to find almost an exact replacement decal for the fuselage side. IN all honesty, I really don't think that I would have been that successful in getting the lighter fuselage decal to look like the other insignia decals even with heavy weathering.

F3A-2_007.jpg

I applied an black oil pin wash in all the flying surfaces recesses. Then I mixed equal parts of Flory Dark and Light washes to create a gray sludge wash, that I applied on the upper and sides of the aircraft. Then I applied just a dark wash on the bottom. When dry, I removed the washes in a more or less a uneven pattern trying to leave a staining effect.

F3A-2_024.jpg

F3A-2_027.jpg

F3A-2_025.jpg

All the flying surfaces except the trim tabs are fabric, and should have faded/bleached more then the painted aluminum skin. So I started to lighten up those surfaces with a light gray wash. I still have to highlight the ribs and add a little more depth with a darker wash between them.

F3A-2_028.jpg

F3A-2_029.jpg

The bottom of the Buffalo now shows a lot of grime and dirt.

F3A-2_016.jpg

F3A-2_017.jpg

And the engine cowl was weathered as well, but kept somewhat cleaner then the rest of the aircraft as most pictures show.

F3A-2_022.jpg

After wiping down the FA2-3 with a tack cloth, I applied a few heavy coats of Testors Dullcoat with my M-1 Air Brush. Unfortunately, the small size of the bowl required me to refill it no less then 8 times, so I'm finding out it does have limitations. I'm looking into purchasing either a M-2 or the Paasche SI internal single action AB. I do like the fact that the SI has a .5mm cone while the M-2 only has a .4mm cone. Not to mention that it's a lot less expensive. as it's only function will be for primer and clear coating.

And once again, you're now up to speed on my build.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey Joel! I can really see Jorge's influence! Your painting has always been good but, I think it just got better looking at your work here. Very impressive!

-Mark

Mark,

Thank you so much for that compliment. But my painting isn't anywhere near to what a master like Jorge does. But I am getting a little better at it one model at a time.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Great looking build Joel,

The only nit pick I can see is the panel lines do not appear throughout decal areas. The great work stops at the borders of the decals. Do you intend to slice and then Micro sol (or similar)them to conform and add some more panel wash?

Regards,

Link to post
Share on other sites

Great looking build Joel,

The only nit pick I can see is the panel lines do not appear throughout decal areas. The great work stops at the borders of the decals. Do you intend to slice and then Micro sol (or similar)them to conform and add some more panel wash?

Regards,

Kent,

Usually I use Solvaset as the final setting solution on each decal, but these old Cartograf decals didn't react very will with it, and they were kind of brittle. At this point, I'm really leery about cutting them and applying more Micro Sol. Like just about every other step in this build, the Buffalo has fought me tooth and nail.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Excellent & tidy work on this kit looking forward to watching the last steps of this great build....

Lee.

Lee,

Thanks for those more then kind words. But the sad fact is that I still have a fair way to go. The landing gear has some issues that need to be addressed, including adding metal pins to the rods that pull the gear up and push it down into place. As there really isn't a definite place that they should be securely glued to.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

I knew there would be a reasonable explanation. Solvaset is my"go to" for problem decals but it is probably not a good idea if the decals are a bit fragile. I am confident you will get it sorted.

Regards,

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...