Battle hardened…
Most photos and reference materials show that aircraft during the Battle of Britain were battle hardened and weathered. Getting a good balance of weathering at any scale is a challenge. My aim is always to suggest through light weathering these aircraft are well used, this is achieved through a couple of processes. The first is a panel wash, for this I used the same dark wash as earlier. I then use AK Interactive metallic pencils AK10046 To add some chipping and scuffing, followed by some Tamiya pigments set B 87080, applying light mud, rust, and oil and soot. These can be done dry using a cotton bud or can be watered and ‘streaked’ with a weathering brush of choice. Finally in the more heavily used areas I added a drop of Ammo MIG Oil (ochre) AIMG3515 and again with a weathering brush of choice ‘streaked’ the oil appropriately.
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The final weathering process was to apply some wear to the cowling where the exhaust from the engine causes heat and soot marks. This was achieved by a really light dark brown (again by adding white to do so) and very lightly airbrushing until the desired effect was reached.
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Vital Supporting Role…
The Airfix Ready for Battle set is packed with supporting vehicles and ground equipment, the detail isn’t spectacular, but the individual models provide a good representation of the support required to get the aircraft flying. The build process is relatively straight forward for the Albion AM463 3 point refueller. Having assembled the chassis and body work separately they were painted in Olive Drab MRP-234 (for the chassis, and body work respectively) and dark green mixed with black for a darker shade for the camouflage, weathering was completed after the decals were applied in the similar methods already used.
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Howard Kilburn says
Just fantastic !!! and great model builds
regards Howard