1/18 scale Instytucie Szybownictwa IS-A Salamandra 53

Bonsoir Nick Karatzides et félicitation pour ton travail. je crois bien que ce type de fabrication est une première.

If you followed this WIP during the earlier weeks, you might remember the update few weeks ago, when left home for a much needed vacation to the beach. I am having a difficult time transitioning back from vacation. I had an amazing month living on the beach, playing and soaking in sunshine and honestly I want to still be there instead of writing a new post. It has been less than 24 hours since we arrived home and I can already feel the pull of the day-in-day-out routines. I know that the cat in following picture might looks really silly, but it does capture how truly happy I was on vacation. Transitioning back to reality after vacation, is not easy and I need to get my non-vacation groove back. Any suggestions?

O yeah, anwsome work.      

Didier NISI a écrit:  super la plongée avec les gros poissons  

Dolphins are not "fishes". Dolphins are mammals with social behavior and character. They think, they breath air, they talk to each other, they fall in love and build families just like us. I had the joy to swim with them a few times, on the surface or underwater with SCUBA and I can assure you that dolphins could sence my happiness (perhaps by my heart beating sound) and played with me. An unexpected Santa Claus gift, during summer time.

Magnifique!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sweet Lord it's pure marvel. I'm really knocked down by your work, that I just discovered today.
Not only a great building job , but showing us many huge improvements in technics.
I can't do anything but sit right here and watch the rest of the creation (yes, this level deserves the word creation)

PS en français pour rester poli, moi avec un général comme ça, je ne fais plus de maquettes, mais c'est personnel 

mlasouris a écrit:I'm really knocked down by your work, that I just discovered today.

May I also propose the following?

• 1/18 scale Tervamaki Engineering JT-9T autogyro scratchbuild model
  
• 1/18 scale Bolkow Bo-102 Helitrainer scratchbuild model
  
• 1/18 scale Lockheed Martin F-16CJ Fighting Falcon Block 52 HAF conversion & scratchbuild
  
• 1/18 scale Focke Wulf FW-190D9 Dora & Fieseler Fi-103R2 Reichenberg Mistel conversion & scratchbuild
  
• 1/18 scale Schweizer S-300C / Breda Nardi Hughes NH-300C scratchbuild model
  
• 1/35 scale FDCV - Fire Direction Center Vehicle Hellenic Army
  model by White Tower Models
  
• 1/35 scale Rheinmetall Mk 20 RH-202 2x20mm Hellenic Army
  towed anti aircraft system model by Hecker & Goros

I hope you 'll find interesting as well.

Please have mercy for my poor eyes, I'm bound for sunglasses for the next three months !
Looks really great, added to the documentations you gather each time...
For me I don't have any, I build my models like the Beatles said, "With some little help from my friends  ". It's a kind of group build everytime  
 By the way, my results are far behind yours, of course, but I'm not in desperation...

Oh my god !

This is just awesome ! Jesus you're good !

I'm gonna just take a seat and wait for the end !

Incredible !

The whole grass field scene would require a 50x40 cm display base, considering that glider measures approx 70 cm wingspan in 1/18 scale. That could be a problem for my show case in home, which yes, it is big, but not big as an elephant. From the MDC - Model Display Cases store, I bought a 50x40 cm base, made of polished beechwood with MDF core.


Those who have read my previously uploaded projects, might remember that I prefer using plaster powder to build the section that recreates the ground, especially if it is asphalt. However, the 50x40 cm dimensions of the scene dictate plaster quantity more (and therefore heavier) than usual and for this reason I chose to use another material, because my goal was to build a “grass field display base” instead of weightlifting equipment for champs. For this reason, I purchased a 50x40 cm size & 10 mm thick sheet of balsa wood from my local hobby shop, which I cut & shaped around with my cheaper than dirt Black & Decker 400 W / 3000 spm jigsaw bought for 20 ¤ only. The basic idea, is to produce a thick & flat surface which protrudes approx 10 mm beyond the polished beechwood base, on which later green grass & extra stuff will be added where is needed.


Remember that operating a freehand held jigsaw could be a bad idea if not pay attention on job. Sawdust may also cause problems when breath or shallow. A powerful vacuum system to suck away the dust should be used all time to keep the workbench area clean. Using a breathing mask & pair of protection glasses to prevent dust contact with lungs & eyes, is also an important matter that you should seriously take care of. My recommendation is to also wear working gloves - made of kevlar if possible.

Unlike the regular practice followed in my previous projects, in which I glued static grass & plants directly on ground untill filling the whole area, I decided to change for an easier and more appropriate method, taking into account the increased surface to be covered. To do so, I bought a 50x40 cm size green grass carpet, made by Busch which specializes mostly in train dioramas. The green grass carpet will be glued on the 10 mm thick sheet of balsa wood and will become the main substrate of a dense grass covered ground. Later, I plan to add more static grass & plants, to avoid the monotonous flat football field alike green pattern and make it look closer to reality.


Using scissors, I cut around the Busch's grass carpet, according to contour of the 10 mm thick balsa wood sheet. The grass carpet was secured in place with steel pins and glued onto balsa using water based white glue for wood, which becomes transparent when it dries. Once the process complete and the glue dried, the steel pins which kept the grass carpet nailed on balsa sheet, were carefully removed.

This second floor is a brilliant option, right between the flat floor, (as you say, so annoying) and the complicated sculpture of a diorama ground (though I prefer this last one).
Guess I shall chose this way to build display stands from now on
It's a fine and clean work you do, congratulations
PS I never used so many protections, even building my inside at home     

C'est juste pas possible.   

As previously stated, the scene supposed to takes place in Spring. Next job is to plant an additional static grass layer over the grass carpet. To do so, I used different colours of Heki static grass found at my local hobby shop. Heki, also specializes mostly in train dioramas. Someone might ask, why I had to apply the grass carpet first and then spread additional layer of static grass, rather than just settle for 2nd option only. The reason that I followed this tactic, is to ensure that the density of the grass would be satisfactory, such that the soil underneath, would not be visible. It could be arguable, that this tactic might be double work for nothing. Well, I only hope that the final result will worth the experimentation & risk taken.


So, I pick a small quantity of water based white glue, placed it into a small metal container, add just few drops of water with a syringe to make the right mixture and finally I applied on the desired areas to be filled with additional static grass & plants, using a wet brush. Because the mixture is enriched with water based glue, it is easy to correct possible mistakes.


No, this is not the final form of grass - be patient for next WIP updates. For the moment, I am watering the base twice a day, hoping the grass to grow soon.

 your work is fantastic

Jean

Hi,

Don't wait such a long time, otherwise we have to lend U a lawn mower ...

Amazing work, waiting the next WIP

So Long

The windsock presented earlier, needed a pole to be placed on. I thought it would be a good idea to build the windsock pole to look like it's made of weathered wood, instead of some metal structure. To achieve the wanted effect, I used a 7.5 mm diameter wooden rod, which I managed to scribe with a wire brush, to obtain wood traces and look more realistic. Later, the radomly scribed wooden rod, repeatedly washed with diluted mixture of 5% "Raw Umber" oil colour and 95% White Spirit thinner, until get the desired tonality. Once the result was OK for me, I left it alone to dry for two days and then I tried some drybrushing with "Yellow Ochre" oil colour, to slightly tone up over selected areas that IMHO should look more enlightened. Finally, I sprayed over with hairspray - the cheapest I found at my local supermarket - to prepare the surface for paintscratching.


To paint the pole, I used the FS37925 "Matt White" and the FS31302 "Matt Red", available by Life Color as LC01 and LC06 acrylics, applied with a soft brush. I would say the pole is drybrushed more, than painted actually.


I left the red & white acrylic paint on windsock pole to dry for few hours and then I tried some paint scratching with an old toothbrush, previously moistened with water. The hairspray layer onto which the red & while acrylics had been dyed, began to dissolve and to drift along the overlying paintjob, giving the impression of weathering on wood pole. Additional details such as bolts were also placed and painted with the "Dark Rust", available by Vallejo as 302 acrylic. Rust stains and slimy grime streaking, later apllied on selected areas, using the "Light Rust Brown" & "Dark Rust" oil paints by 502 Abteilung & AK Interactive series and the "Slimy Grime Dark" & "Winter Streaking Grime", available by AK Interactive as AK026 and AK014 filters.

Waouh !!!!!

Wonderful!

As previously wrote, my objective is to establish a scene of terse abandonment, without extreme features that could distract viewer¢s attention, keeping the glider as the main protagonist of the story. The addition of a deflated windsock and a couple of Marsden matting / PSP - Pierced Steel Planking plates, seemed good idea to me. The PSP plates, were used during WWII to lay down airstrips. These mats were large perforated steel sheets each measuring 300x30 cm and weighing around 30 kg. They quickly interlink and with a bulldozer for levelling and enough manpower for the laying, an airstrip could be created overnight. The post WWII years, farmers and home owners used them to build garden fences, pig sties, chicken coops, benches, improvised bridges & ramps or as reinforcing panels in concrete buildings.


As earlier described in detail. the windsock was built by Milliput putty. On the other hand, the PSP plates construction, would follow the 3D printing way. It took only 15 minutes of CAD work on my laptop and voilà, we have a winner! A new 1/18 scale PSP plate virtual model, is ready to be forwarded to the 3D printer and become an actual object, within few minutes only. As previously described, the file can be scaled up or down to reach the desired dimensions, with few mouse clicks only and later be 3D printed under any scale. Yes, I could scratchbuild some PSP plates with my own hands, using metal foil or by vaccumforming styrene sheet, but I would surely spend much more time. The easier, the better! Actually, I'm not really sure if the handmade result would be so accurate in scale or if I could possibly build it within few minutes only.


The material used for the 3D printing, is a white plastic (not rubber) that can be handled just like any other styrene part, but its surprisingly durable and incredibly flexible. Additionally, the side hooks on 3D printed PSP plates, can be used to interlink the parts - just like the real one.


The 3D printed PSP plates washed with liquid soap and warm water and sprayed over with Humbrol acrylic primer to spot any mistakes and prepare for painting. At first, I was planning to leave the PSP plates on ground and let the grass grow through the perforated sheet. Considering the dense green grass covering, I thought that it would be better idea to place them as a part of a rusty fence. The fact is that actual PSP plates do rust when left abandoned for long period of time and available photographs proove it. Since I had in mind to build these plates to look abandoned, I had no reason to avoid an overall rusty colour tones & weathered effects painting.

Replicating rusty metal, sounds like the Quest for the Holy Grail for an average scale modeler like me. Of course, the books, the videos and the tutorial seminars provided by famous scale model masters, helps a lot to understand some basic principles. Furthermore, the available tools & materials today, makes our life much easier. However, whenever I attempt to recreate rusty metal, I feel like a rookie and I'm never entirely satisfied with the result. In my attempt to recreate rusty PSP plates, I did use the Life Color's "Dust & Rust diorama" 6-pack set, of 22 ml bottles.

• Life Color UA701 "Rust Dark Shadow" acrylic,
  
• Life Color UA702 "Rust Base Color" acrylic,
  
• Life Color UA703 "Rust Light Shadow 1" acrylic,
  
• Life Color UA704 "Rust Light Shadow 2" acrylic,
  
• Life Color UA705 "Dust Type 1" acrylic and
  
• Life Color UA706 "Dust Type 2" acrylic.

The first thing I had to do, was apply a base colour on the PSP plates. For a base colour of steel plate I did use the FS3004 "Matt Burnt Umber" available by Life Color as LC37 acrylic.


Later, using a fine brush and the Life Color UA702 "Rust Base Color" acrylic, from the previously mentioned "Dust & Rust diorama" 6-pack set, I covered the area with irregular spots. What I noticed while using the Life Color's rust shades, is that although the paints appear to be bright in color, they dry darker and are a perfect match to the real thing.


The next two steps involve the use of the sponge technique to add the small chips, which will give visual interest to the base colour. To get best results, I did use a fine textured sponge like those used for packing of electrical items.


For the first colour, I chose the Life Color UA701 "Rust Dark Shadow" acrylic. For the second colour, I chose a rust tone that is brighter and lighter than the previous base colours. First dipped the sponge in the Life Color UA703 "Rust Light Shadow 1" acrylic, then remove the excess on a paper towel - otherwise it would end up with large blobs of paint on surface instead of a chipping effect.


Following, a dense oil paint filter should be applied. In this case, I did use "Vandyke Brown" available by Winsor & Newton, thinned with White Spirit thinner to a consistency between a filter and a wash. This would help to unify the previous effects and tones.

PSP verry good      

Once the "Vandyke Brown" filter was fully dry, the next step was to apply a paint layer, to create the chipping effect. This could be done using the hairspray technique and in this case I did use the AK Interactive¢s "Worn Effects" which has been developed for exactly this type of effect and would guarantee consistent results.


With the "Worn Effects" coat dry, some Life Color UA512 "Light Blue RLM 78" acrylic airbrushed on, in a random cloud pattern. Once dried, more sponge chipping added, using the Life Color UA704 "Rust Light Shadow 2" acrylic.



The paint allowed to dry for about an hour before starting the chipping process. To chip the paint, I simply wet the PSP plate surface with warm tap water and let it soften the paint. Some old stiff bristled brushes & toothpicks were used to scrub and dab the plate¢s surface, to create the chipping effects on the light greyblue areas.


Fresh rust marks also added in some selected points, with some of the Life Color UA704 "Rust Light Shadow 2" acrylic. Using a fine tipped brush, the "Light Rust Brown" & "Dark Rust" oil paints by 502 Abteilung & AK Interactive series painted in vertical lines from various chips and scratched added earlier. Once the oil paints had been allowed to dry for a short while, a brush dampered in White Spirit used to blend and soften these streaks for a more subtle effect and obtain visible signs of wear & oxidation.


Hmmm, is the camera too far to see details? OK, let¢s zoom and get a closer look on oxidation effects & light greyblue paint chipping. To be honest, I'm starting to believe, that my attempt to turn a pigs ear to silk purse, is quite possible to succeed.

Wow your work on the PSP plates is really awesome !

I think, you nailed it, great job.