Monday, December 4, 2017

1/144 Shapeways models in progress - The H-12 "Large America" Flying Boat and the Halberstadt D. V fighter

In October I orders two models from the Reduced Aircraft Factory store on Shapeways. I received a Curtis H-12 seaplane and two Halberstadt D. V fighters. As with most Shapeways models, surface preparation is an arduous task that must be done to get the best results. That was true with these two models. A lot of time was spent filling the surface grain of the black strong and flexible material. 

Fortunately, the work is not hard, but involves repeated application of a gap filling material - in this case acrylic clear coat. It took several weeks to achieve the desired result, but then applying the primer coats took a mere two days. A good thing too as winter is set to arrive this week, putting a close to the spray painting season. 

Here's some views of the primed models ready for painting. Now to come up with a choice of paint scheme. The D.V are destined for Mesopotamia and Turkish service, I wanted something 'not-CDL' for a change. The H-12 is going to take some thought as the paint schemes on those beasts can be quite complex. 

The primed H-12 next to a completed Felixstowe.

You can see the common ancestry the two planes share.


Shapeways is getting quite good at the detail, but the 3-D printers still have limits on the really small details.







There's still a little graininess visible in this image. For a gaming piece, it will be fine.