Italeri 1/48 Douglas P70 by Andrea

[Andy the Sheep]

Thank you Andrzej. Here are the results:



The gloss coat is not completely satisfactory, but I like it so I'll go on. The props and the landing gear doors have been coated with another product, a spray wax for wood (the closest thing I could find similar to Klear here in Italy) and I'm not displeased about the final effect, even if it is not easy to spray a thin and uniform coat (the still wet and uneven coat is clearly visible on the landing gears doors, but when it dries it's not as bad as one could suppose).
Decalling is still ongoing: today I managed to apply the stars and those on the prop blades. The decals are a bit on the thick side, but better thick than fragile.
Probably tomorrow there will be a second, and hopefully final, decalling round with plenty of small, red decals, mainly on the wings and a large nose art.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Andrea

[yak face]

Looking excellent andrea , an all over black scheme is tricky to get looking right but youve nailed it . Cheers tony

[arb65912]

This is really nice looking, Andy!!!!
Almost complete. :tongue-out3: :tongue-out3:

[Andy the Sheep]

Gents, thank you for the nice comments.
The night lady in her full dress:

It took me almost 3 hours to stick all those decals on her and some are still wet. I do not think I'll ever try a 1:48 or larger scale modern aircraft kit: too much stencils.:dizzy:
I think next time I'll paint the lines on the wings; using the decals is really a PITA even if precision masking isn't exactly one of my favourite activities :anguished:.
As already said, decals are good but rather thick and the supporting film is still very visible in spite of the gloss undercoat and a liberal use of Decalfix. I've begun to sink them into the fuselage details but they are offering a stiff resistance.
Next step (don't know when): a protective gloss coat, the landing gear, propellers, the radar aerials on and some weathering before the final matt coat. Then the critical moment, unmasking the cockpit...:fearful::cold-sweat::rolling: but I' rather confident about the outcomes of the landing lights, at least...:thinking:

Andrea

[Allen Dewire]

Hi Andrea,

Sorry that I'm late to this party and just had a good catch up. Not being a big wing thingy expert, I think you have done a great job despite the problems along the way. The paint turned out well and I feel your pain about the decals and so many of them. Chin up Sir, she will be beautiful when you get her finished, I'm sure of that! Hope you and yours are well in uptown Italy......

Prost
Allen

[Andy the Sheep]

Thank you Allen, the advantage of being a slow builder is that those who are late do not have to spend a lot of time to catch up :tongue-out3: .
We are all fine, thanks, in spite of the damp hot weather (sweating while typing!).

Andrea

[arb65912]

Hi Andy, 3 hours??? I will take me 3 days with the same number of decals, and I will most likely mess them up. :tongue-out3:

Great job!!!

[Tim Marlow]

Looks very good to me Andy. Decals, like masking, are a tedious but necessary part of aircraft building. Surprised the decals are a bit thick though. Italeri decals are usually excellent, far better than the stickers that Tamiya supply.

[Andy the Sheep]

Gloss coat on, some masking off, some colour retouching and front gear added.
The destructions are less than clear about the front landing gear but I hope I put it together correctly.
The landing gear is not very strong: the main legs are fixed to frames instead of being directly connected to the wings or the nose. I hope it won't break when that lady in black will stand on her feet for the first time.
The model is resting "nose down" to allow the front landing gear to cure in the correct position.



Andrea

[Tim Marlow]

Blimey, bigger than expected……if you build more like this you will need a bigger spray booth Andy….

[colin m]

Great work Andrea. Sometimes black can be too black, but not here. Your tonal variations are spot on to me.

[Andy the Sheep]

Blimey, bigger than expected……if you build more like this you will need a bigger spray booth Andy….

Yes. Tim; me too I thought it was a little smaller than this.
I have a couple of "big" aircrafts in the stash (a P40 N and a Harrier Gr1 in 1:32) but I think they will not be a lot larger than this 1:48 P70. Being more on the 1:35 tank and 1:48 single seat fighter side, I think that this booth is good for painting (as Nancy Sinatra almost sang :tongue-out3

Great work Andrea. Sometimes black can be too black, but not here. Your tonal variations are spot on to me.

Thank you, Colin. In fact, there's very little black; German panzer grey and NATO black in various percentages are the main ingredients of that livery; black is present only on the underside but just a pair of drops.
As a first trial in tonal variations, I'm rather satisfied. I'm toying with the idea to go directly to the natural metal finish on my next build (a 1:48 Spit) even if the Centauro 8x8 armoured car is as attractive as the Spit.
Probably I'll toss a coin to decide.:smiling:

Andrea

[arb65912]

Hi Andy, watching the progress and liking it a lot!!! Keep it up, despite little "obstacles".

Looking forward to seeing her on her feet.

[Andy the Sheep]

Almost there. The P70 needs some more touch ups but I think the next set of pics will be in the "Completed aircraft" section.
Here she is after the matt coat and some dusting

a detail of the front landing gear

and now with all masking removed


Andrea

[adt70hk]

Andy,

That's coming on beautifully!!! I'm about to do black undersides for the first time on my 109s, so have been following this with interest.

ATB.

Andrew