Finally, I can present a half-ready cockpit. It has been a while since the last update, but that’s how it is now with small kids around you.
The exact cockpit color is a mystery. The plane was an ex-Soviet trainer, overhauled and converted to a glider tug by a local flying club. The original colors might have been kept inside, but nobody knows for sure. I took an educated guess, and decided to try Tamiya’s good old neutral gray over black base. It is a bit dark, but it will stay like this. The pin wash is made from my small stash of oil colors. I went for a mixture of Payne’s gray and black. The floor and lower part of the cockpit sides received a small amount of dust pigments, but I have to practice more. It simply looks messy.
The leather parts were made with a simple technique. I found this recently on a figure painting forum. Painting leather and wood is always a challenge, but this technique gives good results.
The base color is mahogany brown, the highlights and worn out parts are sand, all acrylics from Vallejo. The top layer is Vallejo’s smoke paint - simply dilute it with water, and use it as a wash. This layer will create the final leather effect.
I still have to clean up the seat belts, and apply the final matt varnish. And then? I will glue the fuselage, yay! 🙂
BTW, I found out that I have an unlimited source of “weathering pencils”. My wife has a lot of coloring pencils, and this Prismacolor set is basically the same (or very-very close) as the pencils offered by companies for modelers. I used these pencils to apply highlights, but it is barely visible on the photos, probably because of the gloss varnish. I also have to work more on my technique to get more contrast. Simply, I must be braver than before, and use a wider range of highlights and shadows.
