Whether to weather

[StephenLawson]

Greetings all;

Its been a while since we collectively probed each others ideas on presentation. How do you like your finishes? There are pros and cons to each side of the matter. Just looking at the most memorable builds and dioramas thread lets us see what others favor. Recently I ran into a fellow who likes to do his kits "clean". No weathering, no texturing (simulating the fabric finish on lozenge decaled surfaces) fully marked in a pilot's scheme but sparkling clean. My recent studies into the end of war turn in points for German Jastas indicate these birds were far from "clean" so I have been focusing on simulating specific areas to show "war weary" machines.

I realize as many of you that it depends on what you want to do with your kit. Yet newer builders may find some of these differences curious. Just how much is too much. What do you as a builder try to avoid to stay within an area that you feel safe in. This is strictly personal opinion and everyone has the right to theirs. A matter of taste if you will. What do you find striking or too much?

[John Masters]

Just my opinion:

The planes rolled and dragged their tails on the ground, which was either muddy, dusty, or anything in between.

Although there were crews to clean up the machines, there would still be stains from fuel, exhaust, water, and the above mentioned dirt in the proper places..

Weathering should be subtle, especially in smaller scales, and never approach the level of weathering on soft-skinned or armored ground vehicles.

Even though the average lifespan of an average aircraft was something less than a month, these ships were flown pretty hard, in different weather conditions.

Weather them appropriately. Do the research needed to pinpoint a place and a time of usage

From the Factory on the hill,
John

[aviators6]

to me is anything that will distract my attention from the aircraft itself to the weathering. i do favor weathered a/c over 'clean' birds, it is as if i'm painting a picture on a assembled piece of plastic instead of a canvas. i want to create a visual impact within the form of the airframe (am i making any sence?)
in a way weathering has shown that you have done your research for that particular bird. i studied Voss' F.I for a month trying to get it right. replicating weathering details shows that you have invested a certain amount of time into research

[JohnReid]

I love weathering everything!It is just a hell of a lot of fun.
Cheers! John.

[Lufbery]

Hi all,

This is an interesting discussion. Generally speaking, I like my builds to be pretty clean. This is partially because nearly every airplane I've seen in museums, at airshows, or in magazine photos has been pretty clean. Naturally, those planes have not been war-weary, beaten up fighting planes, but lovingly restored planes or built replicas.
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Another reason I tend to like cleaner looking models is that a lot of the weathering I see is drastically overdone. I've looked at a lot of airplanes over the years, and I almost never see panel lines as prominent as what I've seen on a lot of models -- especially WWII and later planes.

Weathering on WWI-era planes would require even more subtlety than for later, metal-skinned planes. Aviators6's Fokker Dr.1 is a shining example of very subtle, realistic weathering.

But the biggest reason I build clean models is that I haven't yet tried to dirty one up.

The key, I think, is to study a lot of photos of the plane one is trying to build, and to not go overboard.

My 2¢

Regards,

[Rittersbach]

Personally I am not a fan of clean builds. I try to portray reality as close as I can. Having said that, I realize that the aircraft were clean at one time in their short life, but that’s not how I ever saw them. And it depends on how much free time I have to do research to depict just how weathered a particular aircraft may be. I like subtle weathering, just enough to add a sense of realism, and wear. I feel a certain amount of weathering adds character to the build.

ritt

[buzz1941]

If you're going to use washes and drybrushing in the cockpit and engine, why not on the exterior as well?

Great War planes were generally dirtier than those of World War II -- unpaved fields and sticky castor oil, etc.

It all depends on whether you're aiming for a representation of the real bird or a miniature of one.

[drIace]

Whatever floats your boat--- doing a proper job on either clean or dirty is the goal.

[LedZepplane]

Originally Posted by JohnReid

I love weathering everything!It is just a hell of a lot of fun.
Cheers! John.

I like my models absolutely grungy and filthy, and my favorite aspect of modeling is weathering also. I think when ground crews would “cleaned up” aircraft I think all they where really doing was spereding greasy filth around with a rag.

Danny

[StephenLawson]

Another interesting point is that in the last months of the war German mechanics and riggers were being pulled away from the aviation units and sent to frontline infantry duties. I'm sure that it is not a surprise the allies had no such concerns.