FW200C-3 Condor. 1/72 Trumpeter kit

[steve131]

Great work so far , masks good idea.

[casper]

Great work Mark

[Mark]

Even with the Eduard masks, it still took me two evenings!!

IMG_3864 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

IMG_3865 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

IMG_3866 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

You apply liquid mask inside the border for the bulbous windows.

IMG_3867 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Foam was used to mask the engines and u/c bays.

IMG_3880 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

I used wet tissue for the tricky area, masking the open window where the gun sticks out. The yellow strip is also painted. There is actually a decal for this, but I decided to paint it so it's the same colour as the wing tip yellow. As usual with yellow, you need a white undercoat, then about 4 coats of yellow.

IMG_3881 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

The yellow underside to the wing tip.

IMG_3879 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Now I will leave the paint to harden for a few days, mask the yellow, and spray the underside.

Not looking forward to masking the underside - there's a lot of area to cover!
Not looking forward to masking the camp pattern either. It's a big area, and no straight lines!! (unless somebody knows of a version with a splinter pattern ?)
In fact, to be honest, I don't really enjoy masking.....

[steve131]

Not a masking fan myself especially when it bleeds after your hard work . Great yellow work

[royjess]

You have a lot of patience masking those windows, I just would give up masking after a few minutes

[Mark]

I'd have got fed up if it wasn't for the pre-cut Eduard masks. A few pounds well spent!

[snapdragon]

Mark, both splinter pattern and non splinter pattern were used on these aircraft. Your choice.

RLM 65 for the undersurface upper surface of RLM 82/83 for Maritime aircraft

[Mark]

Thanks James. I have the right paints. I shall have a Google for suitable references.

[Mark]

Masking hell!! I really don't enjoy masking the underside of aircraft (hence I don't build too many aircraft!)

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Without wishing to state the obvious, the yellow was masked, then the light blue sprayed and left to harden. Now the underside is being masked in preparation for the lighter green. Obviously followed by yet more masking, and the darker green. I shall be so hacked off if the paint comes off with the tape!!

[snapdragon]

This is looking really good, Mark. I'm dealing with a shed load of Ammo at the moment which is slowing me down.

I agree that painting can be a frustrating process and when I mask I always take the tape and stick it to my hand first to remove some of the glue and with panel lines on aircraft use a cocktail stick, suitably altered to make sure that the tape gets in there and there's no bleeding.

It's the painting which brings these things to life and the longest part of the build. As you have to give primer and paints long enough to settle, cure and harden. There's less opportunity then for the stuff to come off the plastic.

Will you be doing a hard line splinter pattern or a late war hand done soft edge?

Use the lighter green as the upper surface base coat. Makes things so much easier.

James

[Mark]

Thanks James. I'm going for a hard edged camo. Not sure if it will be a straight line splinter, or the wavy line shown on the painting guide yet.

When painting, I always work from lightest to darkest.

[wingnut2]

Hi Mark, what a "behemoth" of a build, that has been some masking job "to boot" good to see you have your "colours" right sorry I could not resist
Where are you going to keep it ?

[Mark]

This one has been sitting on the shelf of doom for the last 5 months. Time to rescue it. I finally plucked up the courage to mask the camp pattern. It's vaguely similar to the paint scheme.

IMG_4776 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Now it's getting a coat of RLM 72. It's all looking very dark to be host, so I shall probably fade it all down with some very dilute pale grey.

I just hope the masking tape comes off OK after being on their for what is far too long!

[snapdragon]

should be good once the other camo colour is done. These maritime aircraft upper surface were indeed dark but once done and dried you will notice a difference.


James

[Mark]

I've unmasked the model now. It is very dark, and not much contrast between the two colours. However, I guess that's realistic.

IMG_4779 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

IMG_4780 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

IMG_4781 by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

The masking went well. Just a few tiny chips, and a couple of tiny bleeds to touch up.

What are the Trumpeters decals like going on to a satin surface, or should I give it a coat of glass first? I don't want to risk any silvering.

[Morris]

Mark, your Condor is starting to pop !! Be a shame to apply the decals and see the carrier film after that awesome paint job - I would gloss and re-Matt after application myself...

[snapdragon]

Get insignia paint masks from Maketar. They would be better than the decals.

Great looking paint job! The colours are close, but that's the correct maritime colours. Try the kit outside in good light for correct photos.

[Mark]

Well, this one has been languishing on the shelf of doom for far too long. I applied the decals a while ago, but have only just got round to doing the undercarriage.

Here's the underside of the model with the decals and the window masks removed. The masks worked perfectly!

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

A close-up of the u/c. I elected to go with the same green as the bay. Dunno if it's right or not, but it looks right.

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Here's the overall shot of the plane.

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

I'm pleased with the way she's come out. What's left? exhausts, props, and torpedoes. I'm not planning on doing any weathering. Perhaps just a little exhaust stain....

[Morris]

I think I want to do one seeing this - awesome !

[Mark]

I'm calling this one finished now! Torpedos done, and the props done as well. Torpedos are just painted dark green to match the fuz. I touched in the detonator and props in brass. Well, Tamiya Gold Leaf, but it looks the same over a dark undercoat.

The aircraft props are just black. No yellow tips, presumably because it's a night time bomber.

It's a nice, large, impressive model, but quite a basic kit. Not heavy on the detail. The interior is completely invisible, so money spent on the Eduard interior detail set would be a complete waste (but you know it's there!!) Many thanks to Nick for donating the kit. A most enjoyable build!

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr

Untitled by Mark Wakelin, on Flickr