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1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282V21 Kolibri scratchbuild

1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

Thanks for clarifying my question. It strikes me as a good idea to overcome the resistance to flow that would be induced by the long run of the exhaust pipe.

Realistically one fan is only capable of moving that much air if it is running without anything to impede the flow like ducting or a bend in the ducting.

By adding the second fan , you probably overcame the resistance to flow caused by the duct work .

At any rate, you definitely found more flow than what is needed (y)

Cheers, Christian B)
 
1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

phantom II said:
Thanks for clarifying my question. It strikes me as a good idea to overcome the resistance to flow that would be induced by the long run of the exhaust pipe. Realistically one fan is only capable of moving that much air if it is running without anything to impede the flow like ducting or a bend in the ducting. By adding the second fan , you probably overcame the resistance to flow caused by the duct work . At any rate, you definitely found more flow than what is needed
Click to expand...
@ Christian,

The actual length of the tube in which the air flows (measuring from entrance untill exit outside of room) is about 75 cm. The fact that there was a 120 mm wide opening on the wall (right next to hobby bench) available to exit off the air flow, helped a lot to keep the total pipe length as short as possible. I hope that the pictures, can give you an idea and inspire you to build something similar.
 
1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

Nick_Karatzides said:
phantom II said:
Thanks for clarifying my question. It strikes me as a good idea to overcome the resistance to flow that would be induced by the long run of the exhaust pipe. Realistically one fan is only capable of moving that much air if it is running without anything to impede the flow like ducting or a bend in the ducting. By adding the second fan , you probably overcame the resistance to flow caused by the duct work . At any rate, you definitely found more flow than what is needed
Click to expand...
@ Christian,

The actual length of the tube in which the air flows (measuring from entrance untill exit outside of room) is about 75 cm. The fact that there was a 120 mm wide opening on the wall (right next to hobby bench) available to exit off the air flow, helped a lot to keep the total pipe length as short as possible. I hope that the pictures, can give you an idea and inspire you to build something similar.
Click to expand...
 
1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

It is indeed very helpful . I have contemplated building one from a plastic container for some time now.

My main problem is where to store the booth when not in use.

I am currently using a double fan ( side by side ) at my window but frankly it cannot be as efficient at removing 100 % of spray matter as a booth.

Cheers, Christian B)
 
1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

Hello Nick. First off sorry for your loss. Now as per your request, very nice paint extraction system. I saw your stuff on Shapeways a few weeks ago and wondered if it was you. Very cool that you have started the store. I have a question though. Can any of those be down sized toy 1/32 scale ? I would really like the Bleriot, but I'd like to keep at my chosen scale a bit longer. Your other aircraft are also very neat and I'd love to do them, but at the moment the exchange rate is making that a dream and no where near reality.
All the best.
James
 
1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

The goal of modulation technique is to artificially enhance the model so the viewer sees more than what is really there. This is nothing new to us; figure modelers and 2D illustrators have been using this idea for years. Verlinden-era dry-brushing and even current post-shading trends dance around this same idea. To break it down even further, the fundamental theory of modulation effect is based upon using a singular light source, and the level to which you take this idea is inherently flexible. One of the beauties of the technique is that you can add a little, or a lot of it to your model.

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Modulations effect requires three main levels of color (light, medium and dark) to achieve proper gradations between the values, which are broken into stages as you lighten each progressive step. To do so, lot of airbrushing is required to add some just a little paint layer every time. First, I had to choose a source from which the lighter areas originate. I decide to keep it very simple and intend to have the light coming from the center upper frontal area of the helicopter and will also work well with the downward slope of the top areas. The basic processes and techniques involved are designed to enhance the 3D volumes and details of a model by playing up the balance between dark VS light, shadow VS highlights and so forth. Executing this goal is accomplished primarily with an airbrush by applying gradations of color to give the model more depth. Use of masking paint is essential, in order to focus the airbrush lighter colours spraying onto specific areas only.

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Because of the subject itself, the model is predetermined to have a base coat of dark green. Thus the first layer of color I apply is a coat of very thin Life Color UA502 Dark Green acrylic paint layer, very diluted with Life Color’s acrylic thinner in a 30% paint to 70% thinner ratio. The darkest recesses sprayed first, gradually working my way up to the lighter upper surfaces. You can already see the intentional spray pattern developing from the darker lower right to the lighter upper left areas. I will maintain this pattern throughout the entire painting process to preserve continuity with the light source.

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The subsequent spraying sessions will continue to utilize very thin Life Color UA502 Dark Green acrylic paint layers as a base to varying degrees because it is the source of the dark green. I will gradually lighten the model with each successive layer as the modulation painting process continues, so the second layer of Life Color UA502 Dark Green acrylic paint as the medium layer of the base coat, is based upon a less diluted 50% paint to 50% thinner ratio. Note that the darker lower areas receive less paint as the shades are carefully blended together, as seen above. Then, I add just a few drops of Life Color UA081 Sand Yellow FS30257 acrylic paint into the mixture to lighten up this stage of paint application, being very careful to always follow the established gradation pattern. The contrast between light and dark is now starting to become more apparent here.

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Following same painting procedures, all additional kit parts got some basic Life Color UA502 Dark Green and Life Color UA503 Light Blue acrylic paint and then gradually lighten up or became darker as required. As usual, painted parts placed onto toothpicks for better handling during airbrushing and later pinned onto cork sheet while allowed to dry overnight.

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1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

Wonderful paint work!

(y)
 
1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

Very nice light and shadow effect :coolio

Cheers, Christian B)
 
1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

Nick, you are a titan of the modeling world- cheers! The Flettner is truly a landmark creation- simply brilliant. I'd also like to thank you for the clear presentation of your spray booth- I'm going to need one in my new studio.

Cheers!
chuk
 
1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

Wow Nick nice presentation ... Sorry for your loss ... but sounds like you know that all will be alright soon ... thanks for the painting steps and that one heck of a model ... Fantastic is a very good description ... but awesome is better ... Thanks a lot ... :salute (y) :pilot
 
1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

CHAPTER V - Fuselage tubular frame painting​

Most of the FL-282 related WWII era pictures reveal that the fuselage truss-type welded steel tube frame on the Kriegsmarine’s early helicopters was painted light grey colour, following the general idea of the RLM 63 Light Bluegrey on fuselage fabric cover. On the other hand, the Luftwaffe’s Kolibris seem to had the fuselage steel tube frame painted in some dark colour (RLM 71 Dunkelgrün?) following the doped fabric cover designations. However, it is noticed that few Luftwaffe’s helicopters were appeared once to have the fuselage steel tube frame painted with dark green colour and later with light grey or even having a frame which individual tubes were painted in different colors. This might have happened due the fact that the Kriegsmarine’s helicopters later received by Luftwaffe kept original grey frame colour and just paint the doped fabric cover only or because the damaged helicopters were used as a source of spare parts for the remaining Kolibris.

A fellow scale modeler from UK, sent me a photograph showing the actual Flettner Fl-282 V20 helicopter frame relic as seen at Midland Air Museum on September 25th 1987, before maintenance crew attempts to restore it into normal condition. Although the helicopter’s frame looks in bad condition, it is easy to observe that it was painted with at least three or four different colours. Ofcourse, I cannot be sure if this was the actual appearance of Luftwaffe’s operational helicopters during WWII or if it is a result of poor maintenance, corrosion or even vandalism. Anyway, as long as we accept that the apparently light blue & light grey colours are WWII Luftwafe authentic and not some post-War overpainting job, the picture is a valuable reference source and offers a general view of the paint used on the fuselage & undercarriage frame.

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Because of the subject itself, the model is predetermined to have a base coat. Thus the first layer of color I applied was a coat of very thin Life Color UA503 Light Blue acrylic paint layer, very diluted with Life Color’s acrylic thinner in a 30% paint to 70% thinner ratio. The darkest recesses sprayed first, gradually working my way up the frame, keeping to the lighter areas on central parts of each tubular part. Same pattern maintained throughout the entire painting process to preserve continuity with the light source and subsequent spraying sessions continued to utilize very thin Life Color UA503 Light Blue acrylic paint layers as a base to varying degrees because it is the source of the light colour. The tubular frame got gradually lighten with each successive layer as the painting process continued, so the second layer of paint as the medium layer of the base coat, is based upon a less diluted 50% paint to 50% thinner ratio. Note that the darker areas receive less paint as the shades are carefully blended together. Then, I added just a few drops of Life Color LC01 Matt White FS37925 acrylic paint into the mixture to lighten up this stage of paint application, being very careful to always follow the established gradation pattern, untill contrast between light and dark started to become apparent.

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Following same painting procedures, each part (except the parts related to the engine and the drive transmitter) of the kit got some basic Life Color UA503 Light Blue acrylic paint and then gradually lighten up or became darker as required. The kit parts that were supposed to be painted in shades of wood, also got some acrylic base paint. As usual, each part placed onto a toothpick for better handling during airbrushing and later pinned onto cork sheet while allowed to dry overnight.

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1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

Replicating wood is one of those feared tasks in modeling that many try to avoid at all costs. Having a couple of different methods in mind to simulate wood in scale, but knowing that the following method is much accurate and easier to re-do if something goes wrong, I found good idea to follow some tricks I learned from other builders and changing things that works for me. To simulate the look of rough wood from which was made the helicopter’s tail section frame, I split the areas to be painted in different categories and sprayed four different primary colors on each area. I used the following colors, which seemed to work OK for me. It is important to use an acrylic base colour because it is chemically impervious to the steps that follow.

  • FS31643 available by Life Color as LC21 Matt Flesh Carnicino acrylic paint,
  • FS30400 available by Life Color as UA084 German Desert Yellow acrylic paint,
  • FS30257 available by Life Color as UA081 Sand Yellow RLM79VAR acrylic paint and
  • FS30140 available by Life Color as UA085 US Brown Marrone acrylic paint.

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Because the wood composition and quality was not same everywhere, I also use the Life Color's “Weathered Wood” 6-pack set, of 22 ml bottles and repeatedly covered some areas with different shades of very very very diluted (10% paint to 90% thinner ratio) light layers over the previously applied base colours. To do so, I used the following:

  • Life Color UA717 Wood Cold light base acrylic paint,
  • Life Color UA718 Wood Cold light shade acrylic paint,
  • Life Color UA715 Wood Warm light shade acrylic paint,
  • Life Color UA716 Wood Warm light shade 2 acrylic paint,
  • Life Color UA714 Wood Warm light base acrylic paint and
  • Life Color UA713 Wood Warm dark shade acrylic paint.

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I'm not really sure if it is actually vissible into following pictures, but repeatedly applied very diluted & light layers, resulted more natural look of wood shades, without even aplly any oil colours yet. The first applied base colours, are visible under the later applied layers of the “Weathered Wood” shades, setting a base for the next process. As soon as paint dried, I repeatedly sprayed a very diluted mixture of thinner, Life Color UA717 Wood Cold light base acrylic and Life Color UA716 Wood Warm light shade 2 acrylic at a ratio of 90% to 5% to 5%, over selected areas such as the leading edges and a few other points, that should look more enlightened.

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To apply the wood grain on wide areas covered with plywood, I used wood grain colour from artists oil paints. The higher quality artists grade paints work much better because the pigments are much more finely ground. I believe that “502 Abteilung” by MIG Productions, “Van Gogh” and “Talens” are good brands. The colour of the background coat and the oils may be varied for different kinds of wood. However, be aware that selecting a good colour combination that gives that natural look is tricky. I recommend experimenting on a test piece first before committing yourself to apply the mixture on your latest wondermodel. I arrived at my blend of Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre and Raw Umber in a ratio of 25% to 25% to 50% after trying with Raw Sienna (too red), Yellow Ochre (too orange), and one or two mixed combinations.

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1/18 scale Flettner Fl-282 V21 Kolibri scratchbuil

Once the base coat has cured, I brushed the oils with a broad, soft brush and spread the paint around until the desired colour density is achieved. Because working in oils is a little bit goes a long way, I started by putting just a little bit of paint on the end of the brush. I kept the brush strokes going in one direction and didn’t really worry about leaving brush strokes - I wanted them there for the wood grain. I tried not to spread it on too thick, or it would make the next step more difficult.

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At this point the oils would be workable for several hours. With a broad, soft, clean and completely dry paint brush, I draged over the oil paint, leaving wood grain streaks. I jiggled the brush every now and then to give the grain a bit of variation. As the brush picked up the paint, I wiped it off on a clean, lint free cloth and continue process. “Lint free is the key phrase, as any speck of lint would adhere to the oil paint and destroy the finish. The beauty of this technique is that you can clean the oils off and try again if you goof up. Use a clean cloth and paint thinner (mineral spirits or turpenoid - not lacquer thinner) to wipe clean any mistakes and start over again. For the 1/18 scale Kolibri helicopter frame, it took me about two or three tries to get the paint density and colour right, but it really was quite painless.

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In some parts of the model which should look more bright, I slightly toned up with "Buff" & "Yellow Ochre" mixtures, or even pure “Basic Flesh Tone" and “Sunny Flesh Tone", while some others had to show darker, using "Brown" or "Raw Umber" color and blend naturally. Meanwhile, I tried same painting procedures on the wooden 3-steps ladder (used by Luftwaffe WWII ground crews and technician personnel for ground vehicle & aircraft maintenance procedures), which also got CAD designed & 3D printed with the helicopter kit parts to be used as a diorama accessory.

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As soon as the result was OK for me, I left it alone to dry for few days and then sprayed over selected areas with Tamiya Color X-24 Clear Yellow acrylic, because it also helps bring the grain color out more.

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