Figuring these aircraft were operated from grass strips so they would get dirty underneath, I started weathering the underside with a series of browns sprayed through various splatter masks,
I used a series of oil paints for the stains and for the dirt on the wheels. In these images you can see the master barrels in their housing
The same approach was taken for the upper surfaces but I got so absorbed with the process that I didn’t take any photos.
I replaced the single Lewis gun in the turret with one from a Classic Airframes kit that was given to me by a club mate.
The last step, was perhaps the most frustrating. Fitting the antenna which was made with EZ Line.
And that was that. At this stage I realised I’d not applied the few maintenance stencils. I briefly considered applying them but figured it would be more trouble than it was worth. So this build has no decals at all, something of a first for me.
Paul Bentham says
Hi Callum,
Firstly, congrats on a great build and thanks for the tips re the cockpit canopy assembly. One question re the aerial wire: what material did you use and how did you fix it? I’ve recently restarted the hobby after a 49 year May off and have a couple of kits on the bench that need both rigging lines and aerial wire and I’m having issues so any tips you can pass on would be appreciated.
Many thanks
Paul B
Calum Gibson says
HI Paul, thanks for the compliment, I’m happy with the build.
As for the aerial, it is ezy line . This is an elastic type thread which I think is for tying fishing flies. The advantage of this is that it being elastic means it won’t break when it’s bumped. It’s fixed with CA glue at one end, then stretched to the other end with another small drop of CA to hold it. You don’t need to stretch it to tight, just so it is taunt.
The Isolators were just blobs of white glue painted when they have dried.
Geoff has some info in the techniques bank on Aerials as well