At this point
the model is ready for paint. Since I was doing the JV-44 scheme several colors
were going to be needed than just the standard RLM 82/83/76. I masked off the
windscreen and cockpit area first. The bottom was first sprayed with Floquil’s
reefer white. When this was dry I applied masking tape cut to the width of the
decal stripes and placed them by eye. The decals provided have the white stripes
but white decals are notorious for their lack of opacity. The kit decals would
also be too ‘perfectly’ placed. In the field these stripes would not be even
due to where they were applied and the difficulty of painting the underside of
the A/C (trust me I have done this in real life and it’s no fun!). Once the
stripes were masked off I applied several thin coats of Model Master RLM 23 rot.
The model was then set aside to dry for a day or so before I masked the bottom
from over spray of the upper cammo colors.
The base color of Model Master RLM 76
was applied since this was the lighter of the three shades. I then applied Model
master RLM 83 and free handed the camo pattern where it met the RLM 76 on the
fuse sides. Lastly Model Master RLM 82 was applied the upper fuse and wings.
Again the cammo pattern was free handed. I prefer this method to hard edge
masks. I then applied some rust brown using Humbrol 113. I’ve seen this before
in other Doras. I’m not sure how accurate it is but I like the look of it.
This color was applied very sparingly. The primary painting was done and once
that was dry I gave the model a good gloss coat of clear lacquer in preparation
for the decals.
Although there
are now a plethora of aftermarket decals for the Dora available I chose to go
with the kit ones since they included the JV-44 markings I was interested in.
They depict Hptm. Waldemar Wubke’s Dora from the Papagei Staffel ca. April
1945. The Hasegawa decals were actually quite good and settled nicely with some
Micro-Sol. Once the decals were dry I accented the panel lines with a mix of
black enamel wash and black acrylic craft paint. The exhaust stains were done
with Floquil’s grimy black and regular MM flat black airbrushed on. Paint
chipping was simulated with MM’s aluminum with fine tipped brush. This is the
first time I tried chipping and I have mixed feelings about the results. I tried
to limit the chipping to along panel lines. The propellor blades were painted
with an extra dark mix of MM RLM 71 (MM’s RLM 71 straight from the jar is too
light for props) Finally the spinner was masked and given a coat of MM’s RLM
04 on the front end.
Once everything
was painted and weathered I added the landing gear. It fits perfectly due to the
properly aligned square pegs on the gear struts that fit receptacles in the
wheel wells. I added brake lines with .015” wire. The tire rubber is painted
with grimy black and the hubs are gloss black. The gear doors were attached and
the model was ready for the final clear coat. I applied Model Master dead flat,
clear lacquer with my Badger 150. I had intended to install an antenna wire but
I couldn’t get it to drape properly along the fuselage with the canopy open so
I left it off.
This was a fun
build and went very quickly. I highly recommend this kit to anyone interested in
large scale, WWII aircraft.
Jeff
|