I’m
happy to present my first submission to ARC.
I
love to represent military aircraft used in the Cold War period conflicts
related with counterinsurgency, independency movements or wars between
developing countries. My building speed is very slow, but I’m happy to
be back again in this wonderful hobby. This is my second 1/72 airplane in
this year, but I don’t have the pictures of the first yet, so I present
this one in advance…
This
time I chose the venerable T6G Texan in service with the E.A.L.A.
(Escadrilles d'Aviation Légères d'Appui) that served with
France
in
North Africa. These veteran trainers saw intensive action in Algeria
during the independence fight that lasted from 1954 to 1962.
Click on
images below to see larger images
THE
KIT
Lodela
used to be a successful Mexican manufacturer of plastic model kits, using
molds from Revell, Heller and others. This one was molded in yellow
plastic, had raised but fine panel lines and although it has few details,
it was easy and fun to build. No aftermarket items. I only added seatbelts
made with masking tape and aluminum foil, the original tires were finely
marked with my cutting knife to make them a little bit more realistic and
finally, I added some fine cooper wire for the motor.
PAINTING
As
a trainer, the E.A.L.A. Texans were left in their original Insignia Yellow
overall color, with flat black antiglare and walking panels. The rudder
was painted with Flat White, Italian Red and a mix of White + Insignia
Blue to get the right tone of the French flag. All Model Master acrylics
were diluted with alcohol.
DECALS
I
used those included with the kit. The small sheet offered two versions:
The French E.A.L.A. and the Presidential Guard from Gabon. The latter showed a very rude set, so I preferred the French version.
Decals were really fragile and even handling them with extreme care, the
“shark mouth” decal broke entirely, forcing me to paint it with a fine
artist brush. There was no decal for the rudder, so it was also painted
with my airbrush.
WEATHERING
After
the coat of Future, the plane received an oil wash with Dark Umber and
Yellow to highlight the effects of the environment in Argelia. At the end,
some Tamiya pastels and a coat of Flat Clear.
CONCLUSION
Another
nice kit to acquire modeling skills, and also an opportunity to show
something different! Thank you all and regards from Monterrey, México.
Fernando
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