So, after painting and varnishing the whole giant aircraft /and it is big, believe me!/ I discovered another wonderful thing out there, in the modeling market: LindenHill decals. Thanks to Guy from Linden, I got those amazing decals:
If you didn’t scrolled down to the end of the page, you would still want to see the pictures at the end of the article.
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decals makes it a whole new aircraft… |
These are absolutely the best decals I’ve ever
worked with. Note that I am not making publicity for Linden. Not a chance! But hey, they are so cool looking and easy to work with! Actually, you might skip the decal solutions with those if you are working with the right water temperature. At this stage I discovered that not all of the stencils that I got with Begemot sheet are needed. The Ukrainian birds were repainted and eventually lost some of the markings.
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note the different coloring of this picture and the previous one |
As it appears on the pictures, there were no issues with the decals. No torn ones, no smashed or damaged ones. So this went very smooth.
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Nozzle removed for easier access |
After completing all the decal work, I varnished all with gloss Vallejo varnish, and immediately, before it cured, with Satin Vallejo varnish. This gave the aircraft more “metal” look. All gloss is never good for a model. All matt either. If you get close and personal with a real jet you will realize that it is glossy. Its made from metal after all. Anyway, in a model, in order to make it look more realistic, you need to have dull finish. But again, to dull will be too much. So you gotta learn the trick to make it look real when looked from close distance.
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almost done here |
After all that amazing decal experience, I added some stains, some weathering caused by flying through clouds and moist areas, some stains blown from the moving parts access points and joints.
Special thanx to Guy from Linden and Olivier “Red Dog”! Without your help this project would not see the light of the day!