Wednesday 20 April 2016

Nakajima A6M2-N "Rufe" by Eric Vogel

Buying bread from a man in Brussels
 He was six-foot-four and full of muscles
 I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
 He just smiled and gave me a vegemite...Rufe???

Here are some pictures of my Nakajima A6M2-N "Rufe" project of last year (Tamiya 1/48). I still need to take some pictures of the finished model. But with these pictures you get an idea of the progress of the model. I used liquid mask and Vegemite to make some chipping, painted the Hinomaru on it and finished everything with some oil washes.
This was the first plane I worked on since 1997 and I am satisfied with the result so far. Despite its age the kit is still very enjoyable to work on and fits very well. The green colour is based on Nato green, just my personal touch instead of the dark green colour.
The Vegemite method was used before the now famous "hairspray technique". You dip a sponge in the Vegemite and then on a piece of paper until you have a real fine pattern. Then place the sponge on the area you like to have the chips or scratches. Apply a thin layer of paint over it ( Tamiya, Vallejo, Hobby color), wait for 15 minutes. Take a soft brush, make it a little wet with water and start rubbing over the areas. The Vegemite will dissolve and you remove it with the paint with a soft tissue.
I found this method more in control than the Hairspray, you can make real small chips. I have done it now again on my N1K1 (photos soon) and I like the result very much.

Eric Vogel - Rotterdam, The Netherlands

 


 
 


 

3 comments:

David Brizzard said...

At last, another Floatplane. Thank you.
When finished, please post more photos.

D. Chouinard said...

Really nice! Interesting technique, too!

Yes, I find that those older Tamiya kits still hold up well, and give you plenty of room if you want to go crazy with the details.

I'm sure the N1K1 will look just as good!

Bob Alford said...

And all these years I've been having Vegemite on my toast... A novel use for it in this very effective weathering technique though. A lovely model.

Bob Alford
Lampang Thailand