Sovietwarplanes

My name is Dan Dunn. I'm here to chew bubble gum and share my unique vision of the world. And I'm all out of bubble gum.

I built this Yak-3 from the Hobbyboss 1/72 kit with a LOT of good information from this forum. I've been bitten by the Soviet Airplane Bug recently so I have a lot of models to build. Here's the Yak.

(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e18/The_Redux/2015-05-08%2015.06.31.jpg?1431188962280&1431188971401)

I've been building the same little plastic model kits for about fifty years (with some time off for romance and military service).  My methods are a bit unusual. For example, all of my models are brush painted.  (I own two airbrushes but I haven't used them for painting since about 2003.) I mix all my own paint colors.  I realize that this is weird.  Someone once told me that I like anything weird.  So true...

Hi Dan,
welcome to the forum.
The painting of this model is excellent. Could you let us know more on your brush technique?
Regards
Massimo

About five years ago I realized that while what I am doing seems simple to me, it's only because I've been doing it for a long time. It's actually a complex skill that takes years to master. Having said that, I should point out that airbrushing is a complex skill that takes years to master, also. I deliberately chose not to spray paint (for health reasons) and I don't regret it at all. I'm certainly not trying to show off and I'm not a "freak of nature" who practices magic. This is basic, simple stuff (just like spray painting) but it takes time to learn. The best way to start is to use paint that works well for brushing. I use Testor's Modelmaster Acryl. Xtracrylix and Revell Aqua Color are also good.  These are the only brands I recommend. Other acrylic paints that I have tried (including Vallejo, Humbrol, Lifecolor and "craft store" brands) do not work for me. Tamiya is good paint and I can use it but it requires a high skill level if you are going to brush it on.

The basic methods I use a easy to explain but difficult to master. You just paint the parts. Don't scrub the paint on. Let it flow. Runs and drips are expected to occur. Look for them and "pull them out" before they "set." Use SMALL brushes. No 3 is the largest I use for paint. But a brush is not "good" just because it's expensive. I use sable/squirrel hair brushes. Squirrel hair is called "camel hair" for some reason. Some of my best brushes were cheap and made in China. I buy cheap brushes by the dozen--you often find a good one or two in the pack and you can use the others for glue, etc.

Stippling can be done with a brush that is cut down. I use scissors to trim the brush into the proper shape. This is a complex topic and I can't do it justice here. But I'll just point out that the right combination of stippling brush and paint type will allow you to mimic "overspray." I use decals, printed on a color ink-jet printer, to do Luftwaffe mottling.

I've been a regular over at the Airfix Tribute Forum for years and you can go over there and see what I've been up to, as well as observe how I gradually came to understand that what seemed to "obvious" and "simple" to me was not obvious or simple at all. So, I learned.

With age, they tell me, comes wisdom.  Hurry up, wisdom!

Welcome to the site, Dan! Be careful about the Soviet aeroplane bug - once you get it, it's hard to get rid of it (but why would you want to?). Nice Yak-3 (the colours look very good), and I hope you have some Il-2's to post, since it's my particular favourite GPW Soviet aeroplane. By the way everybody, Happy 70th Victory Day (May 9, 1945)!

Best Regards,

Jason

Hi,
Welcome on board. And your Yak is really nice.
Regards,
   66misos

That's a really nice Yak, I like the paintwork

Cheers

Dennis