[Ross_Moorhouse]

Thought it would be a great idea if we had a tread for hints and tips. So to start off...

My Wood Grain Method.... http://www.network54.com/Forum/messa...eid=1077082169

Simulating Wood Grain
Simulating wood grain is one of the toughest tasks a modeler can attempt. I don’t like decals as the solution since by its nature decals can only be printed with a few colors and this does not represent the differing tones you see in wood. In addition, most decals “overdo” the grain and make it much too prominent. If you took a piece of wood and shrunk it to 1/48 scale you would not be able to see the individual grain, you would see a series of differing color tones. Unfortunately, there is only one solution, you must hand paint it!

There are two choices of wood color for the Albatros fuselage, a lighter honey-yellow color or a darker reddish-brown color. As far as I know there are no pictures of 491/16 so you can pick either (there is a picture of Richthofen and some Jasta 2 mates standing in front of an Albatros D.II that has a darker fuselage with a small white stripe on the engine cowl and Windhoff radiators, but there are no stenciling or markings visible that could firmly identify it as 491/16). I chose the darker color because: 1) I already have a ton of Albatros fighters finished in the yellow color; 2) early Albatros fighters were often stained a deep red-brown; and 3) several artist renderings of 491/16 have it depicted in the darker color.

I have had good success using a dry brushing technique with a rake brush that I used for simulating wood grain finishes. A rake (or comb) brush is a specialty brush that has the filaments spread apart to provide a “streaky” type effect. Picture in your mind what a rake or comb looks like in profile and that is an apt description. These brushes are difficult to find, but many specialty art stores do stock them and in a pinch you can use a well “worn” standard flat brush instead. I highly recommend them because you can do some interesting effects using them.

Starting with a base coat of Model Master Military Brown airbrushed on, I lightly dry brushed with a rake brush successive colors of MM Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber atop each other in a random pattern. The beauty of MM paints is that even after they dry, they can be blended with the successive dry brushed paint, giving a wide range of tones in the finish.

The real key to the wood finish on the Albatros is really the “varnish” layer you apply after your dry brushing session. It is this last “layer” that really blends, accentuates, and adds depth to the finish. Take a peek at the picture of the final dry brushed finish and then compare that to the final finish, it is amazing what this “varnish” layer accomplishes.

I let the dry brush layer cure overnight and then I airbrushed many coats of Gunze Sangyo (GS) Clear Orange (H92) mixed 1:1 with Tamiya Smoke (X-19) thinned with Polly Scale Airbrush Thinner 2:1 to simulate the stained wood varnish. A word of caution, you must apply many, many, many coats of this mix (I probably did about 10-12) to get that nice rich reddish-brown hue.

by Bob Laskodi