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Ross's post on a DOSAAF Spitty inspired me to pull my old Spitty out from the back of the cabinet. Blew off the dust and decided she needed a bit of an oil job to spruce her up. Probably only spent an hour of so, but it's made a bit of a difference. With a dust coat to tone down the camo, I might even enter it into Expo next year - for a bit of fun considering it was built over 15+ years ago!

It's the Tamiya 1/48 Mk.1 Spitty - beautiful kit. Decals are typically a bit heavy as are the panel lines, but the kit just falls together - insanely easy.

Nice ride. Can I take her for a spin?

Years ago, I once asked the chief engineer at the Temora Aviation Museum the same thing when sitting in their Mk.VIII in the hangar. His response - "Mate, if you can start it, go for it!".

Cheers!

What a lovely Spit!!!!
She certainly holds her age and presents very well Adam. Absolutely give her a run at Model Expo next year.
TOR

Sweet. Still looking good after all these years.

Yes, I agree with that. I like that one a lot Adam. I've yet to learn how to use oil washes.

Regards,
RHB.

Hi Ross

Thanks for your comments. Oil washes are really easy and a lot of fun. First of all, it's essential that the model has a good coat of clear acrylic (either matt or gloss, doesn't matter). This is because the sludge oil wash is mineral turps based. You do not want to ruin your paint job. I use artist oils - pick them up from any art shop. The main oils I use are Raw Umber (dark brown), Panes Grey, white and sometimes a yellow. To show fade, dust, etc, I apply little dots of the oil paint all over the upper surface. Next you blend in these dots removing most of the paint using cotton buds that are slightly damp with turps. You just move the cotton buds over the model in the desired direction. Look at how dust and grim sits on your car and how rain makes it streak down the side and blotch the paint work on the horizontal surfaces. These "filtering" techniques help break up what can be bland surfaces.
Next comes the sludge wash. I mix raw umber and pains grey with turps until I get the desired degree of "thinness". When it is nice and thin, it's great for panel lines. When it's denser, it's great for sludge washing wheel, gun and engine bays. Once you apply the sludge wash, let it dry a little. Do not worry if you've slopped too much about as your slightly damp cotton bud with wipe away however much you like. Once you have removed as much of the oil wash as you like, simply seal this in by giving your model an overall spray of acrylic clear (matt, semi-gloss, whatever).

To me, once the camo paint goes down, this is just the first step or layer if you like. The model itself is like a painting and the overall finish built up in layers.

Here's a great tutorial I found showing oil wash techniques.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfsFGZbiDLM

Here's my oiliest model - A-1J. This aeroplane was without a doubt the oiliest aeroplane ever and nicknamed the "Self-lubrating aeroplane" as it could spit out something like 6-7 gallons of oil per hour! So, I went to town on it - in reference to a photo of the actual aeroplane.



Give it a go on a older model - it's great fun and makes your model come alive! The limit is just how worn and dirty you want to make your model look. My "hero" and greatest inspiration in this regard is a UK modeller called Jamie Haggo (his day job being a pilot in the RAF). His models are hyper-real I think. Here's one of his examples.

Wow! Your models and Jamie Haggo's are sensational in my eyes. At the moment my skills are way down the scale but
I'm willing to learn.

Regards,
RHB.