Over Weathering

StephenLawson · 4 March 2005, 03:13 PM

Here are some close up images to show what I mean by over varnished look of the burned castor oils

StephenLawson · 4 March 2005, 03:29 PM

Here are a couple more from directly above and below. The model is still unfinished but it illustrates how discoloured the "red' paint has become due to the "weathering" employed.

Barker · 4 March 2005, 03:34 PM

atsa nize ah.

-Chico

WarrenD · 4 March 2005, 06:19 PM

Well, everybody else has an opinion here, so I may as well voice mine too.

Fading and wear: These a/c were the F-117's of their day, and I seriously doubt that they were left out in the open more than was absolutely necessary. That is what all of those nice canvas hangars were for. Sure, you see pics of a/c with wing replacements (DH-2's come readily to mind), but I venture that those are due more to battle damage, ground-loops, and the like than they are for fabric that is worn and faded.
Cleanliness: These a/c, when coated with castor oil, attract dirt and grime worse than my boy. (Here's an experiment you can perform at home: On a July day mow the lawn, then take a boy between the ages of three and ten, give him a popsicle, tell him to eat the popsicle and run around the yard for 15-30 min and make airplane noises. Observe results.) (Note: I have done this and can supply data.

)
Now as Neil pointed out, there are a lot of men around these aerodromes whose sole purpose in life is to maintain these wondrous machines. Are they Mabel the house maid? No, but you can bet their Sgt. is keeping a keen eye on their efforts. IIRC, a friend told me about the interview with Voss' mechanic (Timm?). I believe C&C published it a long time ago. His clearest memory of Voss' Tripe? Spending the better part of everyday scraping the castor oil gunk off of it!

Used? Yes. Abused? No. However, if you want both, build IRAS a/c, or those from the RCW. They are horrid looking. Will you win the big contest if you do a lot of weathering? Probably not. If winning the contest is your goal, then my advice is to build Bf-1-oh-things.

It's only a model.

Warren

JohnReid · 5 March 2005, 04:34 AM

My opinion is that airplanes have a life like everything else,from factory fresh to the junk yard and everything in between.Some were maintained better than others.Some had strictly military lives and others went on to be civilian.There is no right or wrong way to weather an aircraft.Just have fun with it and it can be very rewarding.How about a diorama of a dirty aircraft being cleaned then you can have it both ways.As long as you dont show exhaust streaks on the wingtips anything goes as far as I am concerned.Cheers! John.

StephenLawson · 5 March 2005, 06:51 AM

WarrenD "...there are a lot of men around these aerodromes whose sole purpose in life is to maintain these wondrous machines..."

During most of the war I can generally agree. But in mid to late 1918 German aviation units were giving up more and more ground personnel for the front line duties as the war continued. They became pretty short handed.

Tim West · 5 March 2005, 08:06 AM

I may have confused some with my use of "dirty" in earlier post. In my little 3d world , dirt is often used as a general term for wear and or dirt in terms of texture maps.

Worn, used, abused and dirty "all" equate to "weathered" right?

No one seems to disagree that at times the planes were cleaned. It would also be fair to say that at times the planes were, not just worn but "dirty" also.

Photos indicate that planes existed in all forms of "love" and or lack there of

So its silly to debate that issue.

What about the first question of over weathering?

I have not built a scale model since I was a kid and was not that heavy into the hobby. What really was the "fun" part for me was the weathering and painting. I remember sneaking my dads lighter so I could heat up safety pins to put bullet holes in the models and then painting all kinds of dirt on them. That was great fun and probably over done. If I was doing scale stuff today I would probably do weathered finishes. Its just what I prefer.

Does anyone have an example of a over weathered model?

Barker · 5 March 2005, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim West

If I was doing scale stuff today I would probably do weathered finishes. Its just what I prefer.

Quote:

Does anyone have an example of a over weathered model?

Have you ever seen pictures of J Lo or any of the other hotties when not In MakeUp??

them are some over-weathered models.

John Masters · 5 March 2005, 11:32 AM

Tim, I used to build a lot of armor and vehicular stuff, back in the day. I learned that the best way to "weather" them was to look at modern day construction equipment. There was no way to over weather that stuff, as you might imagine. From all that I've read on this thread, there is almost every example of "in-between" imaginable. I would go for the less weathered look and assume there was at least someone on the ground with a little bit of pride, especially back in the 19teens when aircraft were really venerated and admired, and hand made. Just my 2 piastres.

John

StephenLawson · 5 March 2005, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barker

Have you ever seen pictures of J Lo or any of the other hotties when not In MakeUp?? They are some "over-weathered models."

So what u r try to say is that it depends on the point in their careers as to the general appearance of the bimbo, ...ah er aircraft?