Guys, what is an easy and semi-attractive way to do that streaky olivey green paint scheme on WWI German aircraft? The one where vertical streaks of olive green are applied very heavily over a color that looks a bit like unbleached linen?
Ahmm… try to airbrush it?? heavily thinned paint low pressure (to produce very fine lines) and quick up and down wrist movement. I guess…
Larry;
The factory method was to clear dope the fabric first, then apply the color by hand brushing stains with a wide flat brush. The brush was loaded and paint was applied to the fabric in straight strokes until the brush was nearly dry. The brush was reloaded and the streaking continued with no attempt to even out the color. On the fuselage, the painter started at the front so that the streaks are progressively lighter toward the rear with a fairly sharp demarcation where the brush was reloaded and the next set began. On the wings, the streaks were usually at about a 20Âş angle. The fuselage sides were streaked vertically, while the fuselage top was streaked at between 20Âş and 45Âş. Wheel covers were painted by touching the brush to the outside of a spinning wheel, moving toward the center producing a vignetted appearance.
The easiest way is simulate this is to first paint the airframe with acrylics in an unbleached linen color. When thoroughly dry, hand brush the streaks with well thinned oil or enamel. Use a 1/4" flat brush (if you’re doing 1/48 scale) in the same load/brush-until-dry/reload method.
As an aside, Fokker factory build sheets specify both vert green and mocha brown stains. It an open debate as to whether the two were mixed to produce an olive color, painted one stain over the other, or painted on in some combination of alternating streaks. Whatever the finish, it was topped with a coat of varnish for waterproofing.
Phil Schenfeld - Hoping this sheds some light on this streaky process
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Thanks Phil – varnish, eh? Were these aircraft actually glossy in appearance, even after being in the field for a while?
Unrelated question – how dirty would thew undercarriage and machine gun areas get, and would it get cleaned up or just left on there? In other words, should one “weather” one of these birds?
As you can tell, I have no idea how to paint a WWI aircraft, but I’m willing to give it a go.
Larry:
I’m gonna asume (let’s not go into the dangers therein) that you are building a Fokker Dr.I or D.VII, since these are the types normally associated with this finish.
The Dr.I Oberursel engine used a total-oil-loss lubrication system. The castor oil wuld build up and stain the lower longerons, sometimes to behind the cockpit. Some of the oil would creep up the internal tube structure as well. The face of the engine cowl could get very oily, and the axle wing would get stained from dripping oil when the aircraft was parked.
For the D.VII, there would be a minimum of staining from engine oil, but the starboard side could become quite stained around the oil and fuel filler caps. You could darken the panel lines around the engine to indicate the rather minimum oil seepage.
The area directly in front of the guns could get grungy from gun oil and propellant soot.
Add dings and chips from flying through weather and debris, as well as miantenance chipping around frequently removed engine panels. Actually, most airframes didn’t last long enough in front line service to get badly weathered. The gloss of the varnish may have faded a bit, but the biggest effect was field-applied markings deteriorating under the constant flexing of the fabric “canvas”
Blue Skies - Phil Schenfeld
It’s a Dr.I – and thanks for the advice. I think I may heavily glosscoat, then lightly dullcoat. The engine exhaust information will be very useful.
Silverback, that’s the most learned discourse on WW I colors and markings I’ve ever heard. Where in the world did you attain this body of knowledge. (And I know it’s hard to tell among this nest of wise guys, and as one of the worst offending wise guys, you should know I am being quite serious.)
I agree with sharkskin, you have been very informative.
BTW, I have seen this “streaky” scheme done well on models, but they were done by very accomplished model painters. Unfortunately, we modelers tend to have our strengths and weaknesses, and they tend to break down along the lines of those of us who are better artists, and those who are better engineers, and the cream of the crop among us are those who are both. I’ve always regretted that I tend to be among the engineers. I regret that because what I appreciate most in a model is an exquisitely realistic, and colorful, and just generally well finished model.
Tom