Official FlightLine RC 1600mm Spitfire Mk. IX Thread

[Grossman56]

Remember, the skin is not one tone, but colors made from the light hitting the flesh, the blood and the veins, all different colors. You'll see on the close up of the marine pilot that the cheeks are slightly redder than the upper lips, things like that really give it life.

[Grossman56]

Any time Rex!
BTW, the eyes and lips have a coat of clear gloss varathane, brings them alive.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[jetfool]

Dangerous Dan.
Great instructions on how you do your pilots. I bet those guys sitting around are telling great war stories. Pictures are worth a thousand words. I sprayed the khaki/tan first over a complete black undercoat as Elbee did then using small artists brushes on face and other details. I'm not an artist but looking at your pictures my pilots are looking more realistic after each color is applied. I'm letting my wife detail the eyes/facial features. If I did it, they would look like Kuppy Dolls. LOL. I use vallejo acrylic paint also. Have the set of facial/uniform paint.
Thank you for guiding me in the right direction.

Best Regards, Rex

[Grossman56]

mix your washes with say 6 drops of water and add paint with a brush and mix, small amounts, like one drop at a time. try it on a piece of paper and you can see how much color you'll add at that mix, a hair dryer is indispensable. You can even go so far as to use the colors that you're putting on the figure on a piece of paper and try using a was over it. You'll get the hang of it

[Grossman56]

Just went downstairs and shot some pics of the boys hanging out and discussing tactics.

That's the hole in the bottom of his head, I inset a toothpick to hold it as I paint. The guy in the middle will be going into Big Beautiful Doll and he's not finished yet.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Grossman56]

I used Vallejo paint and started with a dark blue undercoat for the whole model. Then, using my air brush, I sprayed a lighter blue, aiming from the top of the head to show the effect of the light hitting the figure. Note, the head was kept separate, so the body got the same spray vertically. This gives you an idea of the 3d effect. On the Corsair pilot, I played around with washes at first, just to build up some color but not totally blocking out the blue, acrylics are great for that, I've seen paintings with literally 100s of washes to the point where they actually looked 3D. Finally, I broke down and started using my experience painting portraits and finished him up. Took pics of him
The paint was 'warm flesh' varied with 'basic flesh', slight variations will make it smoother.

You can see here, where a pic is worth a thousand words, the eyes look Egyptian and feminine. back to washes to dull down the dark color, the upper eye lids are a darker flesh than the rest also, under the brow.
This is Elbee's original undercoat
Back to mixing paint and using a second, dry brush to either remove mistakes or smoothen the paint out. If you get frustrated, set it aside, it always looks better the next day, fresh eyes really help. BTW, so does a set of 3x magnifying glasses! very small brushes as well. Oh, and one other thing I've learned, start with the deepest recesses in the uniform and work your way out, saves a lot of time repainting the oops moments.

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This might help...

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[jetfool]

Grossman,
Wife and I are painting my Corsair and P-47 pilots. Did you add a wash after painting to blend the colors together? If so, how did you accomplish this? What did the wash consist of? Your pilots look great.

Best Regards, Rex

[Grossman56]

[Elbee]

It's like when my ex would go to the Macy's Cosmetic Counter, sit there for an hour getting whatever done, and then spend a zillion bucks...only your pilots look better.

Best, LB

[Grossman56]

Here's something interesting, the same pilot sculp, different nationalities.




Interesting what a little bit of paint can do!

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Grossman56]

Ah, now that's a thought....

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[boomer108]

True, there's a P51B that's begging me to continue the repair work on it. My biggest hurdle was how to attach the wings as , for some reason, the mounting 'posts' disappeared. I think I can get away with using anchor wall mounts, those little plastic things you insert into the hole in the wall to put a screw into? I'd sure like to see that bird fly again, since the kit has been out of production for quite a while now and I've given up on Motion to build one. That Nexa thing does not look very scale to me.


Now that's a P51B!

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

I had the same problem with my FMS Corsair. I used threaded brass wood inserts and epoxyed them in worked great. You can find them at any hardware store in various sizes. Hope that helps. Boomer

[Elbee]

Ding Hao!

That's paint scheme that came with the Jim Meister Master Scale Kit.

Best, LB

[Grossman56]

FMS had a malcom hood for the B model when it was on the market, I kick myself for not picking one up at the time. Hind sight is the art of look through your A**!!
Anyway, that poor plane piled in once and I rebuilt it, don't know what went wrong, but I got a few flights out of her until she went into a spin and augured in again.
Now, I I said, everything is probably repairable, it was just that the wing/ fuse joiners, somehow disappeared. I could probably buy a spare 'D' fuse and dig them out of that, but what a waist.
I think the wall anchor idea is the most viable. As for servos and retracts, I have two Avanti's and a cracked up F7F to salvage plenty of them from. The Avanti only had 1 1/2 flights on it,
I have planes to buy the motorless kit soon and install the new motor from the new / destroyed Avanti (Don't tell the wife)

Anyway, if I could just get that B to fly again, she'd be a real rarity. I'm looking at "Ding Hao" for a paint scheme, but lets not get ahead of ourselves..

Is that James on the wing!?!? Sure looks like him, he aged well!!



Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Elbee]

Elbee.
Brian Taylor offered a 69" p-51D after the 60" P-51B. When I ordered the George canopy and cowling in Jan. I thought they still offered the P-51B plans, Canopy, cowl, and laser cut parts. Personally, I would cut my own parts as the Taylor parts are small glued around a basic frame. Lazor-cut parts shipped from England would cost more than making your own. Just my .02

Best Regards, Rex

Rex,

Paraphrasing Rudyard Kipling, "you are a better man than I, Gunga Din."

! Best, LB

ps: I have not 'cut' a kit in more than 40 years, not gonna start today. Not sure if I have enough time left, the willingness, and space to do it.

[jetfool]

Elbee.
Brian Taylor offered a 69" p-51D after the 60" P-51B. When I ordered the George canopy and cowling in Jan. I thought they still offered the P-51B plans, Canopy, cowl, and laser cut parts. Personally, I would cut my own parts as the Taylor parts are small glued around a basic frame. Lazor-cut parts shipped from England would cost more than making your own. Just my .02

Best Regards, Rex

[Elbee]

Elbee,
I have the Brian Taylor 60" P-51B plans and these would make a very scale electric model. Plans show flaps but fixed gear that you could easily convert. There is a model built from these plans in the Air Force Museum under glass. It has Rhom retracts and is beautiful. I can take a picture of my plans if you'd like.

Best Regards, Rex

Rex,

I looked at the BT Mustang as a solution, but I think the one listed at Sarik Hobbies is a "D" Model by Taylor.

I have considered the FMS 1700mm D and doing a B Mod, but I would still need to vacuform a Malcolm Hood style canopy.

Again, so many models and so little time....

Thanks for the offer my friend.

Best, LB

[jetfool]

Elbee,
I have the Brian Taylor 60" P-51B plans and these would make a very scale electric model. Plans show flaps but fixed gear that you could easily convert. There is a model built from these plans in the Air Force Museum under glass. It has Rhom retracts and is beautiful. I can take a picture of my plans if you'd like.

Best Regards, Rex

[Elbee]

Grossman56

Dan, you are killin' me with that picture.

I've wanted a "B" with the Malcolm Hood like forever.

I would take any "B" that is 1600mm to 2000mm though.

I had the Jim Meister MasterScale Kit but regrettably sold it during some tougher times.

I've looked for a Gold Series Top-Flite kit, only to find scammers and disappointment.

Anyway, enough of my pity-party, great Mustang.

Keep up the superb reworks and repaints.

Best, LB

[Grossman56]

True, there's a P51B that's begging me to continue the repair work on it. My biggest hurdle was how to attach the wings as , for some reason, the mounting 'posts' disappeared. I think I can get away with using anchor wall mounts, those little plastic things you insert into the hole in the wall to put a screw into? I'd sure like to see that bird fly again, since the kit has been out of production for quite a while now and I've given up on Motion to build one. That Nexa thing does not look very scale to me.


Now that's a P51B!

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)