Pfalz Weathering, Rigging and Final Assembly

With the model painted and the decals applied, it was time for the next stages. I started by finishing various subassemblies such as the propeller and machine guns. Then came another important phase: weathering. After that I moved on to rigging this thing – definitely the most challenging aspect of the whole build. Finally, I assembled everything, added the last weathering touches, and the model was done.

Read on to see what each step looked like in detail.

Subassemblies

In this part I’ll focus on the build process for the various subassemblies of the biplane. For me, the most challenging element was the propeller blades. It was the first time I tried to replicate a wood pattern on a part like this. The trickiest part was masking to get the correct shape of the laminated wood pattern. All the other parts followed more or less a standard procedure.

Propeller

The hub is just a single small part that I painted appropriately – nothing fancy there.

The blades are moulded as one piece. First, I applied Bilmodel primer. Once it was dry, I airbrushed H27 (Tan), and on top of that a thin layer of H37 (Wood Brown). At this point I had my basic wood imitation ready.

Then came a very meticulous masking process. It took a lot of time and patience to get shapes that looked right for the lamination pattern. I used different types of Tamiya masking tape. With the masks in place, I airbrushed another layer of paint, this time Tamiya XF-64 (Red Brown). After unmasking, a very nice wood pattern was revealed on the blades.

To make it look more realistic, I brush-painted smaller wood grain lines on top in a slightly different shade. Then everything was protected with a layer of H30 gloss varnish. Finally, I used a mix (1:5:5) of Mr. Color Brown (7), GX Clear Brown (109) and GX Clear Black (101) as a filter, which blended everything together and darkened the wood pattern nicely.

Machine Guns

I started by adding the photo-etched parts. I cut them out, cleaned them up and glued them to the main plastic parts using CA glue. Then everything was primed and, once dry, I airbrushed a layer of Mr. Color GX2 gloss black. The final metallic effect was achieved by polishing the machine guns with Uschi Metal Polishing Powder (Iron).

Cabane and Interplane Struts

As soon as I cut the struts from the sprues, it was clear there was a lot of cleanup ahead. These parts had quite a bit of flash and visible parting lines that needed to be removed. Once cleaned, I primed them using Bilmodel primer.

After the primer dried, I airbrushed a layer of GX2 gloss black and then followed with a layer of Silver (C8). Everything was sealed with thin layers of gloss varnish. In the next stage I applied the small decals.

While handling the parts I wasn’t careful enough and damaged some of the silver paint, so I had to respray certain areas. Lesson learned: handle finished metallic parts as little as possible.

Exhaust

After cutting the exhaust part out and cleaning it up, I drilled out the exhaust opening using a pin vies and drill bits of different diameters. Then I primed it and painted it gloss black as a base for later weathering.

Landing gear

For the landing gear struts, I followed exactly the same procedure as for the cabane struts.

For the wheels I used resin replacements, mainly because of the very nice “weight on wheels” effect. I cleaned them up, primed them and painted them gloss black (GX2). Next, I airbrushed a layer of Silver (C8) and sealed it with gloss varnish.

In the following stage I masked the hubs, painted the tyres in rubber black, and then removed the masks.

Weathering-wise, I started with the hubs. I applied oil washes (Light Brown, Earthy Grime, Black Brown), blending each one in with cotton swabs to build up a subtle, layered effect.

General Weathering

Looking at the many photos in the publications I mentioned in the earlier Pfalz D.IIIa post, it was quite clear that these aircraft were often very dirty. A lot of grime and staining accumulated simply because there were no paved runways at the time. Biplanes operated from grassy fields which, after rain, turned into muddy, waterlogged surfaces. That environment heavily contributed to the messy, weather-beaten appearance of the aircraft.

I started with general oil washes from Modelers World to create the first layer of dirt. The dark green parts of the fuselage received a thinned Black Brown wash. After applying it with a brush, I waited a bit and then removed the excess with cotton swabs.

Surfaces with Lozenge camouflage were treated with Earthy Grime in a thicker consistency. This time, I waited until it was touch-dry and then removed the excess with cotton pads. This created a nice effect of splatter marks. To enhance this effect on the upper surfaces of the top wing and on the fuselage sides, I repeated the process with Black Brown wash, again in a thicker mix.

Next, I airbrushed a layer of satin acrylic varnish to protect the work and prepare the surface for further weathering stages.

In the following stage, I added more variation to the colour of the top wing’s upper surface. To achieve that, I used the well-known oil dot technique, applying several Oilbrushers (Dark Blue, Dark Mud, Weed Green, Red and Black). Blending these created a rich variety of tones and subtle shifts, which really added depth to the base colours.

After that, I introduced more smudges and general grime to the fuselage sides by applying Africa Korps and Starship washes on the wet surface. After a while, I gently moved the product around with a brush to create areas with different density. Once it was almost touch dry, I blended it with a clean flat brush. On the underside of the fuselage, I used the same approach, but with Industrial Dirt oil wash instead.

Next, I emphasized panel lines using a Dark Green Grey wash. Structural separation lines were treated with a Black wash to further enhance the effect.

To push the overall dirty look of certain areas, such as the bottom of the vertical stabiliser, I used Black Brown and Industrial Dirt washes once more. Finally, I added streaks, leaks and spills using products from the Ammo Streaking range.

Final Assembly & Weathering

I started final assembly by attaching the machine guns with CA glue. It was a bit tricky, as the slots in the fuselage didn’t perfectly fit the resin parts and, unfortunately, I had forgotten to dry-fit them beforehand. Despite that, I managed to glue them in place just fine. In the next step I added the exhaust on the right side of the engine.

Then I moved on to the struts and the top wing – a decision which later complicated the rigging process. Using a small amount of Extra Thin Cement, I first glued the interplane struts to the upper surface of the bottom wing and cabane sturts to the fuselage. This gave me enough working time to position and attach the top wing. The whole process was a bit fiddly, but in the end, I managed to align the wings properly. As soon as they were in position, I added small droplets of CA glue to the attachment points to strengthen the bond and stiffen the whole structure.

In the following stage, I started the rigging process, which I describe in detail in the next section.

Next, I took care of the landing gear support struts. This turned out to be one of the weakest parts of the kit design-wise. The gear support is made of three parts: left and right V-shaped struts and a horizontal connector to which the wheels are later attached. The horizontal connector was far from a perfect fit, which made the whole gear assembly quite wobbly. Fortunately, after reinforcing the attachment points with CA glue, the structure became stable enough.

With the rigging in place, I brush-painted the turnbuckles using black acrylic as a base, then applied AK Oily Steel on top. After that, I attached the tail skid and moved on to the front wheels, which I fixed with Tamiya Epoxy Glue. This product is perfect for such parts because it gives enough time to adjust the alignment and then creates a very strong bond after several minutes.

Next, I attached the propeller and all the small details, and began the final phase of touch-ups, small corrections and additional weathering. I started by carefully airbrushing matte varnish over all spots where shiny CA glue was visible. Then I added grease effects to the struts and turnbuckles using oil washes (Earthy Grime and Black Brown). I also used these washes to introduce more dirt on the belly of the model. To simulate dirt on the turnbuckles, I added another layer of Earth liquid pigment.

After that, I moved on to the exhaust weathering. First, I applied Track Wash, concentrating mainly on the end of the exhaust. Once it was dry, I applied pigments – starting with Dark Rust and then adding Black only around the exhaust tip. I also used a dark wash inside the exhaust opening. External engine parts were weathered with AK Engine Grime.

Some of the turnbuckle attachment points received additional Shafts & Bearings Grease to boost the oily, filthy look.

Next, I imitated splashes of mud and earth on the bottom of the model, especially aft of the wheels and all the way back to the empennage. Here I used the classic “flicking” technique: loading a brush with product, removing the excess, and then flicking the bristles with a toothbrush to create random specks. I used two products: North Africa Dust (Nature Effects) and Earth (Nature Effects). After each application, I waited a couple of minutes and then blended the effect slightly with a clean flat brush.

Then I added extra weathering to the wheels. First, I applied pigments (Heavy European Earth and Cultivated Earth) and followed with liquid pigments (Dark Earth and Dry Mud).

For the propeller weathering I used the same splatter technique as on the underside of the model, but with slightly different washes. As a final step, I added small amounts of AK Aircraft Engine Oil around the engine, and then permanently attached the propeller.

Rigging

This was my first model where I had to deal with full rigging, so the whole process was new and a bit intimidating. I started by watching a few videos of other modellers and reading about different techniques. I also bought several types of turnbuckles (resin and metal) from Gaspatch Models, mainly to experiment and see what would work best for me.

My first attempt used Resin Turnbuckles One End together with Albion Alloys 0.3 mm tubes and AK High Elastic Stretch Rigging (Thin). I threaded the line through a 2 mm length of tube, then through the eye of the turnbuckle, and looped it back through the other side of the tube, leaving a small gap between the tube and the turnbuckle.

I didn’t like the result. The tube diameter looked too large compared to the turnbuckle, and there was another problem: I had to eyeball the exact angle at which the turnbuckle would be glued to the surface so that it pointed in the direction of the rigging line. If the angle was off, it looked like the line had no tension. Because of these issues, I decided to change the approach.

Instead, I used Resin Turnbuckle Type C, abandoned the Albion tubes, and introduced thin copper wire. My goal was to have the turnbuckles remain movable after being glued to the surface. For that, I needed a sort of hinge.

I created the hinge by threading a piece of thin wire through one end of the turnbuckle, looping it back, and then twisting it with tweezers. I added a small amount of CA glue to strengthen the twisted wire and, after it cured, cut off the excess with small scissors. In the next stage, I attached each prepared turnbuckle into pre-drilled holes.

Unfortunately, since my original plan had been to glue the “one end” turnbuckles directly into the surface, the holes I drilled were too small – the twisted copper wire had a larger diameter. I had to carefully enlarge each hole with a pin vise and a slightly bigger drill bit. This gave me enough freedom of movement to position each turnbuckle correctly later on. These turnbuckles were used on the upper surface of the bottom wing and on the fuselage.

On the underside of the top wing, the landing gear and the empennage, I went for a simpler solution. I used Metal Anchor Points, which protrude slightly from the surface and don’t need to be angled in any specific direction.

After removing and cleaning each anchor point, I threaded a line through the eyelet, tied a knot and secured it with a tiny amount of CA glue. Then I trimmed the excess line with small scissors. The prepared anchor point was glued to the surface with CA glue. After a while, I took the free end of the line and threaded it through the eye of the corresponding Type C turnbuckle. Using tweezers, I stretched the line to create tension and then fixed it with a drop of CA glue. Finally, I tied a knot, added CA glue once more to secure it, and cut off the excess.

For the landing gear and empennage, the process was similar but simpler, as I didn’t use Type C turnbuckles there – only the metal anchor points.

Summary

All in all, this was a fairly straightforward and enjoyable build – with the obvious exception of the rigging. The model went together nicely, and the only really challenging parts were aligning and gluing the top wing and the landing gear assembly. The aircraft is very small, so painting doesn’t take too long, even if you use multiple layers like I did.

I’m quite happy with how the camouflage turned out. I aimed for the look of worn and slightly faded linen, and I think I managed to achieve that, at least to a reasonable degree. The Eduard decals contributed a lot to the final appearance – especially the Lozenge camouflage – and the fact that the carrier film could be removed fairly easily helped achieve a convincing painted-on look.

I wouldn’t recommend this kit to a complete beginner, mainly because it’s a biplane. Attaching the top wing requires some effort and patience, and for a realistic finish you really need to add the rigging. That said, I really like the final result, and I’ve learned a lot from the rigging process, including:

• Figure out the whole approach beforehand, if possible.

• Keep the top wing separate until at least the turnbuckles are attached.

• Double-check that all holes are drilled and have the correct diameter before painting.

• Work out a way to create turnbuckles that can still be adjusted after they’re attached to the surface.

  
  

As always, I’m attaching a number of photos of the finished model to this post. For more, click through to the full gallery in the garage. Even though the Pfalz is finished, this is not the final chapter for this subject – you’ll see why soon.

The next project is already underway, but I’ll keep it to myself for a little while. Until then, enjoy the photos of the Pfalz D.III a.