Hawkeye’s Squawkbox

For those of us who build scale model aircraft, one area which many of us feel the need of subject expansion is the general aviation category. Recently I’ve read more than one forum poll asking modelers for their list of suggestions and general aviation subjects rank high among them.

Aircraft such as Beechcrafts, Cessnas, Pipers both single and twins. Business jets such as Falcons, Learjets, Sabreliners and Gulfstreams. Then there are the aerobatic aircraft such as Sukhoi, Pitts and Extra. Lets also include some of the more popular homebuilt designs such as Rutan’s -Ez series, Van’s, Zenith and Kitfox to name just a few.

All these aircraft would make great scale modeling subjects and I think I have found some unique inspiration to create great paint schemes for them should any of them ever come into production. NATURE!

This Dragonfly looks similar to a scheme used on F-16s. It would also look grand on a biplane.

The list of GA aircraft is long but there are also as many resources in nature to use as paint scheme inspiration. Whether it be a Dragonfly like this or a bird or insect with striking markings or those that give it protection from predators, each probably has a aircraft that is suitable as a canvas.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

At a recent model club meeting I found amongst the kits a fellow member was selling a book titled “Enemy In The Sky” which is written by Air Vice-Marshall Sandy Johnstone. Heck for a couple of bucks it was a perfect nightstand companion to read before retiring.

This book is a diary accounting by Johnstone of his unit as it goes from being one of reserve to a very active unit providing fighter protection of his homeland during the Battle of Britain.

It contains several solid references for those who are Spitfire fans…including when the first propeller modifications started, windshield deicers were installed, the inception of the rear view mirror and when reliable VHF radios made their debut.

On the lighter side you get to experience some of the off duty activities and antics these pilots did. You’ll also meet some characters with interesting names such as Crackers and Batchy.

Reading this reminded me so much of those old black and white movies about the war, such as the Immortal Sergeant. The voice of Reginald Gardiner as the character Tom Benedict was the narrator in my mind as I read. It was in my opinion a perfect match. LOL

The exploits by these pilots is now legendary, this book casts some insight as to what they really went through to beat back the Nazis air machine that was the prelude to invasion of Britian by the Germans.

I picked this book up for a couple of dollars, a search of Amazon yielded it to be the going price. If you’re into military or aviation history you should get and read this book.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I’m puttering around with a Tamiya F-84G, probably the third I’ve built…love the kit! This is the second one I’ve finished using my Talon acrylic paints. This one I am using to test various washes to highlight the panel details. On my first pass I used the beta test samples of the new Raptor Sheen I’m developing, mixed with gray left over from my F-22 project. It worked very well by brushing it on, allowing it to dry followed by a wipe with my thinner to remove the excess. However the light gray on aluminum was too subtle for me. A darker gray would have been better for this application.

Next I used some of my thinner and darkened it up with a little gloss black ( Model Master enamel). Again using a brush I applied it to the panel lines and it wicked alone the recesses very nicely. Once it had time to dry I used a  paper towel lightly dampened with Turpenoid to remove the access.  As you can see from the picture (right) it came out nicely.

The panel details aren’t  “in your face” and will contribute well to the over all scheme and weathering I’m planning on using to finish the model. The paint colors for the NMF I used were aluminum and aluminum mixed with a little semigloss black acrylic (Tamiya) to get the slightly darker aluminum coloration mid ship. I also polished up the paint (NO powders used) with a felt wheel to give the surface some added luster after applying the wash. It is now ready for the additional scheme colors and decals.

Talon NMF Acrylic paint is easy to apply and is very durable. Low pressure and low volume,  applying several misted on coats to get the coverage desired.  If you screw something up…just use a little Windex to strip and remove, its that easy. Should you discover a blemish missed before applying the Talon, simply make your repairs and respray. You shouldn’t have any decernable color variation.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!