[Rush104]

Good start to the collection, kwiky.
Nice job on weathering the Super Hornets, do you have any tips that you can pass along?

[smartd]

Originally Posted by tank nut

That what happed to you dave?? lol

Both went but I kept my models.

[kwiky]

thanks guys, i didnt think after only 1 month collecting i'd be here giving you lot tips lol,

the weathering was done differently on each hornet, one is done in a way so that is permanant the other can be washed off with soapy water at any time,

removable weathering

this technique involved using charcoal pencils and water, i sharpened a soft grade pencil and dipped it into some water then ran it down the panel lines a few times, i let that dry off slightly then took a cotton bud (cotton swab) and wet it slightly and rubbed away the excess, for darker marking let it dry longer and use less water on the cotton bud, do the opposite for lighter, the water dissolves the charcoal which stains the model but can be wiped away easily if you make a mistake,
next i wanted to weather it so, using the same technique i drew triangle shapes on the wing leading edges and smudged backwards in the direction of the airflow, i also marked a few stripes on the mid part of the wings and fuselage and blended them, again always working from front to back, i didnt want it to look too uniformed so i used different sized shapes and spread them around ramdonly, lastly i added some soap to the water and using a clean cotton bud i added lighter striping and cleaned up the areas between the heavy stains until i was happy with it,


permanant weathering

this was done in a very similar way to the above technique only this time i used water soluble tamiya acrylic paints i made a wash using flat black, probably in the ratio of 1 part paint to 5 parts water, using a very fine brush i applied the wash to the panel lines, the wash collects in the recesses so the more wash gets in there the darker it looks, this also means that the edges of the panel lines still get a slightly darker look to them so i use a cotton bud dipped in clean water to remove or blend the areas around the panel lines,
for the actual weathering i simply dipped a cotton bud into the wash and working front to back i created stripes along the wings and fuselage, at the same time i used a clean damp cotton bud to blend the striping in, in areas i wanted the planes original colour to show through i used a dry cotton bud while the wash was still wet,




left is non permanant (charcoal) right is permanant (paint)

regards............kwiky

[Rush104]

Thanks for the tips, man! Someday when I get brave enough I may try these out on a couple of models...

[valkyrie]

Hi kwiky, is the carrier deck from Dragon? If yes, how did you modify its appearance to look so much better.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by tank nut

Before long your wife, girlfriend will be telling you that you have to much....

Of course, this is nothing tank nut ever worried about hearing from any girlfriend or wife.

Nice job with the weathering, kwiky...

[kwiky]

Originally Posted by valkyrie

Hi kwiky, is the carrier deck from Dragon? If yes, how did you modify its appearance to look so much better.

yeah its from dragon, thats why i have 2 hornets, i bought the second one solely for the carrier deck lol


basically i just used tape to mask the areas where i wanted to paint the deck markings although in a few areas i did it free hand using a fine brush,




the white area that would mark the edge of landing strip was masked as 2 parrallel lines running the full length of the deck from corner to corner, i carefully masked the catapult area aswell, i painted the stripes using tamiya flat white acrylic, once the 2 parrallel lines had dried i masked the rectangle that sits between them and painted that aswell, on areas where your masking over paint stick the tape to your clothing a few times first so its not as sticky and therefore wont ruin it when its time to remove it,



next i masked the area for the red and white safety stripe and the yellow and red hazard markings that go around the little observation thingy, the red and white stripe runs parrallel to the white markings, i painted the lighter colour first and then the darker, so white for the strip and yellow for the hazard markings, once the strip had dried i masked and painted the red stripes across it,

for the red and yellow hazard markings mask around the observation thing leaving a small areas visible, remove the plastic part and paint, i painted these stripes free hand, dont worry about how it looks closer to the inside because that is covered by the observation thing



the edge of the jet blast deflecter was painted free hand,



the edge of the JBD recess was masked and painted with tamiya flat yellow, i then painted the landing centre line, remember, it must run perfectly parrallel with the white markins and the red and white striping



finally i weather the surfaces using the same method as the permanant weathering on the super hornet, i dipped a cotton bud into a wash made of flat black and water the applied it in areas that would attract rubber and dirt, the landing centre line in particular gets very dirty indeed, for the general dirt the wash was applied with a brush and the excess wiped away to smudge it


now all i need to do is find someone who sells these seperately, im ever hopeful of century doing one, maybe made from resin......... well i can dream lol


regards...........kwiky

[flyXwire]

Thanks for that awesome graphic tutorial on the flight deck, kwiky! If you don't mind, I'll use the same techniques you employed for painting one of mine. I felt compelled to order the Dragon F/A-18F dio set upon seeing your excellently dressed up Tomcat launching diorama!

[kwiky]

no problem mate, glad i can help,
keep me updated on your progress and if you need any help or tips or anything gimme a shout

[JustPlaneNuttz]

Well, today, it is a 'humble' collection, but give it 6 months and you'll be moaning the same blues as the rest of us -- "Were do I put this stuff -- Any tips on rotation?" etc., etc.

I have ZERO display space due to the fact my wife and I live in a small apartment. My only space is on the top of my desk. Does it stop me from buying more? Nope -- I just have to think about my purchases more carefully, because I have to rotate 'themes'. I currently have 4 Themes in play. Below is a 4 plane group (soon to be 5!) from my Early War theme.



What I didn't count on was organization of my storage spaces. After doing a locker search for additional aircraft, I found I have aircraft I didn't even know I had bought 4 years ago! Oh well, 'it's a tough hobby, but someone's gotta do it, right?!'

Organization is key to this whole thing no matter how large the display gets -- and Welcome!

JPN