Thanks. It’s a very nice kit. Not difficult to do either.
And like a wally I forgot about the tail antenna mast and managed to break it with that photo. Whoops!
Couldn’t find the thing either, so just had to make one from some plastic rod. Easy fix, but a moment of silly forgetfulness.
What would be a good colour to use for a panel wash on the black and white bottom? Thinking light grey?
I’ll be using a dark brownish was on the upper and fuselage side.
Grey should be good.
Thanks. Did the upper side the weekend with some brown which has turned out nice. Used some as sort of filter to make the wing roots and sides of the cockpit dirty. Will add paint some chipping and dust next. These Hurricanes went through a pretty rough time in Malta so want to emulate that as best I can. This will not be show room condition!
Grey wash on my Lancaster. I wanted to put this photo earlier but I had some problems with this forum.
That looks great. Sort of what I’m aiming for. Is that the Revell or Airfix Lanc?
I did the white side of the wings the other day with the grey and it turned out quite well. Wiping the excess off gave a subtle dirty look. Did a bit extra around the inboard section under the nose and wheel wells to give the impression of oil leaks and dirt kicked up from the wheels.
Now the photo problems are solved, I’ll get some images up at the weekend.
It’s a new moulds of Airfix Dambuster Lanc. Exactly 09007 Avro Lancaster B.III ‘Dambusters’ (Anniversary Edition).
Nice.
I’ve got the Hercules radial engine boxing to do myself. Makes a very different looking beast to the more common Merlin’s. I think it’s got a belly turret too? Maybe in the new year I’ll get started on it.
Underside finished up today. The wash on the black doesn’t really show up in the photos. Probably because of the light and reflectivity of the gloss. Looks good to the naked eye.
The white really benefits as it now looks less toylike. I imagine they didn’t stay pristine for very long no matter what theatre they operated in this scheme!
This is what I used, Migs grey panel wash I’ve had at the back of the paint draw for ages. Worked really well.
Will give it all a few days to dry properly before I spray some matt.
Little more weathering today, some scratches and chips in the paint. Most references, including the instructions, state this aircraft has it’s dark green over painted with mid-stone before being put aboard HMS Argus on it’s journey to Malta. So first step was to put a few green chips in those areas first, then some aluminium after. Remembering of course to limit those to the metal areas of the airframe. The Hurricane had a lot of fabric and wood panelling on the fuselage. Also did some on the underneath, around flaps, radiator and carburettor intakes, around the wheel wells. Generally anywhere that looked like it would get blasted with sand and grit when it landed or took off. The runways on Malta were subjected to heavy bombing and despite the efforts to repair, pilots often had to put up with debris. In his book ‘Fortress Malta’s, James Holland recounts a story of newly repaired Spitfire which lost an undercarriage leg when it clipped a UXB embedded in the runway!
The final coat of dust should help tone down and blend everything together.
Dust wash applied. Don’t think it’s turned out too bad. Will add a little more with weathering powders after the final matt coat.
Applied the coat of clear matt today. I used Vallejo’s Ultra Matt Polyurethane. Bought a big bottle yesterday as I figured it was more cost effective. Have used the small bottles in the past and I like the finish. Just needed a little bit of thinning with their own airbrush thinner and it brushed on quite nicely. Smooth, thin, flat and no brush marks. It’s toned everything down nicely, the dust wash/filter is barely visible in the photos but I think it looks good. Some pigments will add to the effect later.
That’ll do for now. If I get a chance over the next few days I’ll do the last finishing bits.
Hope everyone has a great Christmas and thanks for following.
Looking good, Stephen…
Have a great Christmas
It’s that quiet time between Christmas and New Year, so I had a bit of time this afternoon to do some of the final bits.
Did some exhaust and gun smoke staining with the black smoke from Tamiya’s weathering compound set. Also fitted the undercarriage legs. Had a brief moment of panic as I couldn’t find the legs. Luckily they turned up after a search, I’d inadvertently put them in the Hasegawa Phantom box I’d been doing at the same time as this.
That’ll be it for now until everything sets.
Getting closer to finishing.
Fitted the prop and wing lights today. I did find with some test fitting that the kits prop shaft is a bit too short and I struggled to get the washer behind to fit and hold it. So, I drilled out and replaced it with a longer but of brass rod.
The belly landing light was also painted with a spot of Tamiya clear orange.
That’s a neat Hurricane! I did one each of the Mk I and the Mk II when they were originally released but I do feel tempted to do a desert machine when I see your’s!
You wrote about your decal water temperature troubles. I got myself a cheap USB-driven cup warmer, it is perfect for keeping the decal water warm and can be driven by most smartphone chargers.
Magnus
Thanks. I have been on the lookout for one of those for just that purpose. I did put one on the works secret Santa wishlist, but no luck. I did get a couple of Terry Pratchett books so I won’t complain about that. I’ll keep my eyes peeled.
The Hurricane does look good in the desert colours, if you give one a go it will be great to see it.
I’ve re-read “Going postal” and “Making money” over Christmas. There seems to be a correlation between plastic modelling and books by Terry Pratchett!
Magnus
Those two are on my read list, pretty sure I have them somewhere. I liked Raising Steam, I especially liked how the goblins became train spotters and secretly built their own underground railway. It is one that divides opinion with older fans and it is very different to the earlier books. But it was the first of his I read, so I didn’t pick up on that.
I got Reaper Man and Night Watch this Christmas. Going to be a busy year of reading I think.
@phantom_phanatic We really hit on the important things here after we had finished discussing that lovely Hurricane of your’s 
!
Going Postal and Making Money are the two predecessors to Raising Steam. If you liked that one, you are in for a treat with the other two. If I wasn’t Magnus, I would really like to be Moist von Lipwig !
My first Terry Pratchett book was Thief of Time about 20 years ago. I haven’t read them all but quite many of them.
Magnus
