The sample models from the new Tumbling Dice French WW1 range have been painted up and I think they came out looking okay. The Nieuport 24 scheme in Warpaints Gorgon Hide is definitely better than using metallic aluminium, so I'll be sticking with that approach for the rest of the squadron. The SPAD VII looks the part but I'm not sure about the sculpt itself which, unlike most TD models, hasn't really captured the shape of the actual aircraft. A bit of a shame but it will have to do. Tally Ho!
An unexpected day off work due to the ridiculous heat meant I could crack on with the French aircraft for Algernon Pulls It Off! and other WW1 rules today. The Breguet XIV flight is almost ready for an ink wash, while two test models of a SPAD VII and Nieuport 24 are also moving along nicely. If the latter turn out well I'll add more of both to fill up my storage tin as well as some early war Morane Saulnier N 'bullets' and some perhaps a few observation machines.
I used some cheapo decals from eBay for these, which are good enough in 1/600th scale to be passable but not as crisp as the usual sheets that I use from Flightdeckdecals or the old Doms Decals range. I think it's the heat but my painting isn't quite up to scratch at the moment either, although these three seems to have turned out okay. It's back to the French now, which are easier to paint and for which I have some proper decal sheets, so I'm hoping for better end results.
I finished off the decals on a Tumbling Dice Nieuport 17 (upper wing pinched from a Nieuport 11) and an Albatros CIII this afternoon, the former based on one of Albert Ball's scouts in mid-1916. This turned out okay but I think was less successful than my earlier Breguet XIV paint job, mainly due to the decals being a bit cramped. Tally Ho!
Despite having a bout of man flu, in June of all months, I've bumped along the 1/600th scale Rolands, Albatros and Nieuport to the ink wash stage, ready to be cleaned up with highlights and detailing. They look pretty grubby at the moment but will be much better after some highlights and touch ups, which don't take long to do but really make a difference. I should get these finished at the weekend.
A wet and windy afternoon better spent at the workbench rather than outdoors. Here we have three 1/600th scale Tumbling Dice Roland C.II two seaters, an Albatros C.III observation machine and Albert Ball's Nieuport 17, the latter a Tumbling Dice Nieuport 17 with the upper wing pinched from a Nieuport 11 model. I'm away tomorrow but hope to start painting these after the weekend.
I bought some 0.3mm brass rod by mistake a couple of weeks ago, intended for 1/3000th scale warship masts but too thin for the job. Instead, I thought I'd try to use it for observer's Lewis guns on 1/600th First World War two seater aircraft. I had a go with a Tumbling Dice Breguet XIV model and I think it turned out looking not too shabby. It wasn't particularly tricky to do either, especially as superglue goes off at the speed of light in his hot weather. I might go back and add some guns to my painted models but I will definitely be using the brass rod on any new aircraft I assemble in the future.
As Paul Sulley put a lot of time and effort into expanding the 1/600th scale French range, it is only fair that I order some of the models and paint them up! I've ordered some packs of Breguet XIV bombers and SPAD VII scouts, which I will paint up for late 1917 in the distinctive, but simple scheme before three tone camouflage was adopted, so a nice and easy job. I've also ordered a pack of the Morane Saulnier N 'bullet' monoplane scouts, which will be painted as RFC machines of No.60 Squadron, with bright red engine cowlings and spinners. Tally Ho!
After a bit of a delay due to work and family stuff, I wrapped up the 1/600th scale Albatros D.II of Ltn.Manfred Von Richthofen today, applying the decals and then a wash over of diluted Warpaints Pure Red. The upper wing crosses should really have white squares underneath but my I-94 decals were badly off register, so I just used the later ones instead. I will use this model for the McCudden's Cut and Run scenario, which I'm hoping to play over the next couple of days. Tally Ho!
I repainted the skull insignia on the 1/600tg scale Albatros D.III today, having originally painted it facing the wrong way, then added some decals to finish off Godwin Von Brumovski's aircraft, or one of them at least. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out in the end and quite fancy converting and painting some more Austro Hungarian Albatros scouts to go alongside this one. Tally Ho! or whatever the Austrian equivalent is?
A wet and windy Sunday meant I was able to sit down at the workbench and assemble some Tumbling Dice Fokker DVII models for Jasta 40. If I chicken out of the lozenge upper wing camouflage, which is a distinct possibility, these can double up as Jasta 7 machines, which were all black apart from white tail fin. There's an additional lone Fokker Dr.1 in the line up, which will be painted up in a matching black and white scheme. Tally Ho!
I finished the Albatros D.II models today by adding the decals from Dan at Flight Deck, which means I've wrapped them up by the deadline despite not having access to the workbench for two weeks. I'm quite happy with how they came out in the end but I'm taking a break from tiddly planes for the run up to Xmas!