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Kit: Eduard (1:48)
It's my second WWI aircraft I've finished. I was a WWII aircraft modeler for a long time and recently got interested in the First Great War. The aircraft was built out of box with the kit decals, including the lozenges. It is finished as Ltn. Georg von Hantelmann's aircraft of Jasta 15. I will admit that I didn't do a ton of research on this specific aircraft, so there are undoubtedly mistakes. Rigging is 2lb fishing line, paints are a combination of Model Master acrylics, Tamiya acrylics, Polyscale acrylics. Weathering was done with pastels and artist's oil paints. The exhaust manifold is finished with Sophisticated Finishes' antiquing metal system, using their iron for the base and the antiquing solution to rust it.
Kit: Roden (1:48)
The markings are of Ltn Stark's October of 1918 machine. It's a scheme I hadn't seen done very often, and I thought it would be nice to see done. The decals for this machine are Eagle Strike and the lozenges are the kit ones. An Eduard seat belt was used to finish up the interior. Most of my usual techniques are used for the wooden and the rusty parts. Polly Scale acrylics were used for the majority of the finish. Tamiya, and Model Master acrylics were used as well for the details. The "lilac" I used came out a bit darker than I'd have liked, but when I realized it, it was too late to change it. The weathering was done very lightly with artist's oils and oil washes. This is the fastest built aircraft I've done since I was little. The whole project took less than 4 weeks.
Kit: Copper State Models (1:48)
This is Copper State Models' excellent 1/48 scale Pfalz DR.I. I picked up this kit in person from Eric. I was visiting my sister and noticed that the phone number was a local one. I picked up the phone and a couple hours later Eric and I were going on about models and cars. After he let me pour over the kits he had after nationals, I bought this one. I can't think of any model company that would let you hang out for an afternoon. It was also very cool to see first hand how a premier limited run model company works. Eric gave me many, many tips and directions to go for reference material as I was just starting out on WWI models after a long WWII stint. I can't compliment Eric enough for his personal customer service. He even replaced the center wings I screwed up when I got a little over anxious with a sanding stick and the wheels that were lost to the model gnomes. I have 2 more of CSM's kits in the stash and a handful of detail accessories. I can't wait to add to the list. This kit represents a number of firsts for me. It is the first full resin kit I've completed(not started, though, there's a WWII subject that's been half finished on the work bench for over a year now). It's also my first triplane and my first model to be photographed with anything but my camera's automatic settings. These photos came out so much better, I'm considering re-taking the others. On to the model itself. This sat unfinished on the work bench for about 4 months because of the center wings. Not that it took Eric that long to replace them, I just never asked until my last order with him. I got the wings less than a week and a half after I asked. The Pfalz silbergrau is Polly Scale acrylic US LT Gull Gray with a good dose of SNJ aluminum powder mixed in. I was very happy with the way this originally turned out and the pictures don't show the very mild aluminum sheen. The major problem with this was that it looks completely different brush painted and airbrushed, so touch up was a nightmare. The paint also seemed to have completely changed shades in the 2 weeks between initial painting and touch ups, so that, even airbrushed, it looked different. Next time, I'm going to mix the aluminum powder right before I spray and only mix up what I'll use, not the whole bottle. The surface was buffed with a Novus polishing cloth to bring out the aluminum. Other than that, the construction was fairly straight foward. The kit decals were excellent. Stretched sprue was used instead of the kit's photo etched engine pushrods. The tail skid was scratched from plastic stock since the kit's probably ended up with the wheels. A CSM prop carved by Marty Digmayer was used and is easily the best looking part of the model. Weathering was done with airbrush shading and oil washes. There are countless coats of Future on this aircraft because of the number of times I found myself touch sections up. 4lb test monofiliment line was used for the rigging and the control lines are 8 guage guitar string.