B17's up close and personal

I’m always amazed by the paneling work on your planes. Very crisp. Is that just watered down black paint? The lines look very faint.

Thanks for sharing!

jwo, these are incredible. Cyanight, they look like they are real. Super fan of your work.

Spitfire will have the Pacific done, probably, in the next few weeks. He will probably take pictures of them, and I will take some on my global metal map.

It will be awhile before I have some, but I will post some as I do them, at a later date.

Good to have you back. Merry Christmas, and hope you have a happy New Year. :-D

John

The watered down black works well. I have decided against washing my planes, as I feel like it doesn’t turn out well.

One effect that I really like but haven’t figured out how to replicate is the powder burns where the cannons would be on the fighter jets. For example, the P-50 Mustang or the Spitfire have a few .50 cals that look very snappy if you put some powder burns on the wings. It really brings a sense of realism if you do it right, but it’s difficult to pull off without overdoing it.

@jwo1984:

Are you still working on JB’s big project? anything coming up in the new year from your studio? Always have enjoyed your showcases!

Yes, I am coming along with JB’s project! The semester is over, so I have some more time to get work done. The air force and navy are done except for the decals, and the rest are coming shortly. JB’s schemes he picked are turning out nicely, so hopefully I’ll have some good work to show you all soon! Thanks for posting your pieces in the interim.

Nice job!

Nice work, time consuming and needing a very steady hand, well done

Holy crap those B-17s are nice. Amazing work man.

@Spitfire38:

One effect that I really like but haven’t figured out how to replicate is the powder burns where the cannons would be on the fighter jets. For example, the P-50 Mustang or the Spitfire have a few .50 cals that look very snappy if you put some powder burns on the wings. It really brings a sense of realism if you do it right, but it’s difficult to pull off without overdoing it.

Spitfire…

Yeah, I agree. Here are a couple that I did a while back for Tall Paul. He wanted his Marine Corps fighters to have a more used/worn look.

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=26127.msg1158351#msg1158351

He requested the powder stains on the top of the wings, though I believe they would be more pronounced on the bottoms. Literal downside is that you can’t see them on the bottom though. I even did a little bit on the engine cowling (from oil leaks/wear), which I think added a nice touch. It is hard to notice on these planes though, so in the future I may darken it up a bit.

It is difficult to do in a subtle manner. Upon re-evaluation of my technique here, I would tone it down a bit or diffuse the effect for the guns. I used a watered down black ink, but even then you have to be extremely conservative on how much you apply. It is perhaps easier with fighters because you can pinpoint their guns more easily than you can a bomber. You want it to be noticeable, but not stark. It is a fine line to be sure.

@LHoffman:

Holy crap those B-17s are nice. Amazing work man.

@Spitfire38:

One effect that I really like but haven’t figured out how to replicate is the powder burns where the cannons would be on the fighter jets. For example, the P-50 Mustang or the Spitfire have a few .50 cals that look very snappy if you put some powder burns on the wings. It really brings a sense of realism if you do it right, but it’s difficult to pull off without overdoing it.

Spitfire…

Yeah, I agree. Here are a couple that I did a while back for Tall Paul. He wanted his Marine Corps fighters to have a more used/worn look.

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=26127.msg1158351#msg1158351

He requested the powder stains on the top of the wings, though I believe they would be more pronounced on the bottoms. Literal downside is that you can’t see them on the bottom though. I even did a little bit on the engine cowling (from oil leaks/wear), which I think added a nice touch. It is hard to notice on these planes though, so in the future I may darken it up a bit.

It is difficult to do in a subtle manner. Upon re-evaluation of my technique here, I would tone it down a bit or diffuse the effect for the guns. I used a watered down black ink, but even then you have to be extremely conservative on how much you apply. It is perhaps easier with fighters because you can pinpoint their guns more easily than you can a bomber. You want it to be noticeable, but not stark. It is a fine line to be sure.

Thanks for the link. Those are the pieces I was thinking of.

Like you said, diffusing it even more would likely be a good idea. I think it would be more forgiving if the plane was more weathered and dirty in general, as jwo1984 was pointing out. When I get around to painting some of my own pieces I’ll probably try it out!

@jwo1984:

I think your examples turned out pretty good Hoffman! If you perhaps weathered your hellcats abit on the blues…maybe some silver chipping exposed, or a light wash to dirty them ever so slightly it would help die down some of the aggressiveness of the powder stains so they don’t pop out as much. Just making the plane look more used and rugged from some pacific sorties!

Thanks guys. But yes, I do agree about dirtying them up a bit. If they were pieces for myself I probably would have done that. I think paint flecks and chips showing the aluminum underneath would be the coolest weathering so I will have to experiment with that.

@jwo1984:

Have you painted anything new in the last while Lhoffman?  your own personals or Tall (awol?) Paul commissions ? your work was really good man I enjoyed it.

Naw man I haven’t. Lost track of it amid other cares in life. However, I have been getting the itch lately. I have a bunch of HBG pieces sitting in boxes waiting for me. Maybe I will again soon. I do still have a few American planes left to finish up for Tall Paul, though that has been on hold for some time.

@jwo1984:

Yeah that’s understandable. I’m the same too with the bulk of pieces already painted it really takes a new HBG expansion set to get my brushes out again. Or right now my buddy and I are trying out Guadalcanal for the first time. And I noticed the US start out with a generous amount of b17 fortresses so I wanted to repaint some for the game. Well whenever you get inspired again I will look forward to more showcases from you.

I hope I can get to it… maybe after a few things clear out of my schedule in the coming weeks. I always feel the need to paint when I see the cool stuff you guys are working on.