STEP GUIDE TO BUILD A WRECKED BOMBER (CAN BE APPLIED TO ANY PLANE OR MODEL), THIS GUIDE IS FOR THE 1/72 JUNKER JU88.
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STEP ONE
This is straight forward really, decide on the kit you wish to damage, in this case the Junkers JU88. Next if this model is to be sited on a diorama or board then position is key, as this will affect how the model will look. Once the size of board has been sorted that will suit the scale of the model next we need to think about setting-I.E, grass, tarmac, snow, mud etc. Once we have a basic idea of what we want it is time to look at the model kit itself.
STEP TWO
Now we need to look at how the aircraft is going to be damaged. In my case the idea that was formed in my head was a patrol over Russia, it got into a fire-fight but escaped, then ran out of fuel or maybe some control lines were damaged-this caused the plane to crash land. This is where the thought of damaged coupled with the board comes into play. In my case I wanted the less is more look, but I could have gone for a bigger board and added the severed wing and debris. The plane hit, slewed lost the port wing near the root, this was severed but caused damage to the port side fuselage ripping it open, luckily no fire started. Once the plane had settled and the crew removed or escaped the plane was left, local villagers turned up and scavenged it for parts, the Plexiglas canopies were taken, the port wing and engine, weapons, other metal parts, what they couldn't remove they left. It was then forgotten about for 70 odd years.
STEP THREE
When the idea is formed and you know what you want to do it is then assembling the model, standard cleaning and prep work apply, de-burring etc. In my case it was firstly doing the cockpit area, this was then fitted into the two halves of the fuselage, while this was drying the rudder, wing, engine, flaps etc were all assembled. This time painting is secondary as you can get away with out having to paint parts before you assemble, of course depending on what you build you may wish to add more paintwork to the cockpit interior or to glazed sections. Once the parts have been glued and have dried it is time to 'distress'. I used a combination fire, fine sandpaper and my grinder (course and fine). The fuselage was done on the grinder using the edge of the wheel in places to achieve the hole work. I found that a Dremel will give better results, however, it can take longer as the models plastic is thicker. Once achieved you need to remove the plastic bits from the edges of the hole, most of this will just come away in your hands, finish off using fine files or sand paper. Once happy I then moved onto the fire part, just using a lighter I applied the flame to the part I wished to mould,
DO NOT KEEP THE FLAME ON TOO LONG AND KEEP MOVING IT, this will soften the plastic without burning, I also tried the hot water method but that is too slow and gives poor results, although it is good for gently bending propellers. Once the area is softened you can use your finger or a small screwdriver to push and deform the plastic to correspond to the damage caused. I also softened up the rear fuselage, slightly twisting and bending to achieve the impact of the aluminium frame and jarring of an impact. I then took some sand paper and really sanded the damaged hole section, this producers scrapes and holes and wears away the plastic leaving a good worn look, of course if the damage is fresh you can add a small amount of sanding and the soften slightly and pull outward and inwards to produce tears, jagged edges etc. Once all done I then added some bullet holes, this was achieve by heating up a small piece of wire and piercing the plastic-issue here is that on removal you get an outward cone, this can be filed of sanded off and dinted slightly by a fine drill on a Dremel-mine is Kaput so had to use the hot-wire method. At this point I looked into adding some internal structure of the airframe, a main spar or connecting rods, I used this copper wire in the fuselage for control rods, a small bead, a small piece of Mechano-shaped on my grinder and a piece of wire, this were then added and allowed to set before painting.
STEP FOUR
This is painting the relevant sections, this was done using a grey matt aerosol rattle-can, then a sponge technique as I haven't got an
airbrush (yet
) was used to add the camouflage, it is up to you as to how you paint your model as you may need the paint job more pristine. Once all painted the sections of the aircraft were assembled and left to set. Once the paint has dried it is then a case of using various metallic colours, aluminium, greys, gun-metal, mixed with whites etc and applied using a dry brush technique, I also added some darker patches and wiped off with a sponge. The
decals were added and the a dry brush 'scuff' effect dragged across them. This overall gave the impression of paint wear over the years leaving the aluminium skin showing.
STEP FIVE
Now the plane is done I dry fitted it to the board to work out the dry and dead patches of grass and foliage around the fuselage and under wings etc. This done the model is sited into place and once happy I used various flocks and scenery to build up the area, I used a PVA sand base to give a raised uneven texture first. Once dry the scenery grasses were added. These can be added to once the others have dried. It is then a case of adding various scenery pieces to build up the picture, around the aircraft, I have a small piece of bush growing inside the open cockpit, dead foliage debris is found near the engine and other places, some greenery has grown on the fuselage also some dead plant matter leaves brown marks etc. Last for me was to add some scale figures and that's it...all finished.
Thanks for reading, maybe of some help to someone. I may have missed something off and apologise if I have, also you may use different techniques, but these worked for me
Si
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