Air Sea Rescue water vignette
The making of a water diorama with Water Texture from Vallejo
First I sealed the MDF base with styrene sheets and tape. With a few drops of Vallejo “air” colours I coloured the water texture in shades of blue and green. With a palette knife I mixed the texture and applied it roughly. After 48 hours, the layer was still not completely dry. I probably should have applied it in thinner layers. Because I was getting impatient, I simply glazed the still slightly white areas with Vallejo colours.
Then I applied a second, also coarse layer. Here I tried to model the final wave movement. This layer was also coloured with one or two drops of paint. After 24 hours this layer was dry. After correcting the edges with a hobby knife, I applied the last layer thinly and evenly. This time without paint. With the back of a pencil I pressed in the structure. After drying, I applied a layer of gloss varnish to even out small imperfections. Now I painted the whitecaps of the waves with paint and a fine brush.
Finally, I sealed everything with matt clear lacquer from the Mr Colour series. I think that from a distance rough sea doesn’t look shiny. On a small scale, you always look from a distance – an important observation brought to my attention by my friend and inspiring small scale modeller Mike Harris!
I hope this little guide is helpful.
MDF base, sealed with styrene sheets and tape / coloured water texture
Water texture applied roughly
the first layer is drying
The life raft in the water
The second layer is drying – P-47 fitting test
With the back of a pencil I pressed the structure into the third, transparent layer
Gloss varnish to even out small imperfections
Whitecaps of the waves painted on with a fine brush
War-Weary Saviour
May 1944: An old P-47 Razorback armed with lifeboats and smoke markers circles above a ditched B-17 crew – the USAAF Air Sea Rescue unit detachment B of the 65th fighter wing, later known as the 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron was born.
Scratch building a life raft for air sea rescue vignette
Modification of 1/144 resin figures and scratchbuilding a life raft from styrene.
Painting and weathering A war-weary P-47D
Painting and weathing a war-weary P-47D Razorback of 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron without decals in 1/144 scale
Building a war-weary Air Sea Rescue P-47 Razorback in 1/144 scale
Building an 1944 USAAF Air Sea Rescue P-47D Razorback from the 1/144 Eduard/Platz kit and scratch building dinghy packs and smoke markers
1/144 P-47D Thunderbolt kit (Platz / Eduard)
The top-class P-47D Thunderbolt Razorback and Bubble Top kits from Platz/Eduard in 1/144 scale – Kit review