World War I aircraft are fascinating subjects featuring an endless array of colorful markings. After a long period when there were only a few large-scale WWI aircraft kits, recent years have seen dozens of new releases, including several from new manufacturers such as Wingnut Wings. One of Wingnut s first releases was a 1/32 scale Albatros D.Va, and with an enormous variety of paint schemes to choose from, and the stunning quality of the kit, it immediately went to the top of my list of "must-do" projects. I decided to model a black aircraft with five-color lozenge on the wings from Jasta 37, flown by Lt. Gerhard Schreiber. The kit doesn't come with lozenge decals, so I used decals from Wingnut Wings'LVG. (I'll build that model as the prototype with painted wings.) Wingnut Wings now offers separate lozenge decals for the D.Va. WWI aircraft modelers express two major concerns — rigging and getting plastic to look like wood. Rigging is tedious, but not so difficult that an average builder can't learn it. Believable wood grain is another story. I cut the interior parts from the sprue and airbrushed them with Gunze Sangyo sandy yellow (H79), 1. A coat of Pledge Future floor polish followed. Then I let the parts dry overnight. Using a cotton swab, I applied a dab of burnt sienna oil paint and spread it over the area, 2.Then I used a flat, dry brush to remove most of the oil, working the paint in one direction and leaving a streaked appearance to simulate wood grain, 3.I allowed the parts to dry for 24 hours before applying another coat of Future. A burnt umber acrylic wash brought out details.
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