The Black Knight of Berlin (Me262)

Greg Baker
Ok... I was pushed over the edge. Since this build is going to be wheels up, with a pilot in the cockpit, it really shouldn't take very long... famous last words.

Spanjaard
me too 🙂

Jan Peters
Following this as well🙂

Erik De Smet
Must be much easier to put LED s in this one than in the 1/144 voir et savoir 43

Alec K
Following as well. I have the Hasegawa 262 in my stash, so all I want to hear is how great this kit it😉

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Following 😄

Nathan Dempsey
I'm here to watch too 🙂

Cuajete
I can't stay behind. Following!

S M
Like a moth I'm following blue LEDs 😄

Juergen Klinglhuber
following of course....

Slavo Hazucha
You can have it in any color as long as it's black...😉

Jeramy Boileau
Neat!

Greg Baker
All right... blue LEDs installed... the Black Knight of Berlin is in the cockpit... but some putty required on the seams.

Greg Baker
One thing about semi-gloss black... it shows a lot. I see I need a bit more sanding.

Greg Baker
Ok... more sanding, repainted... not sure what difference it made. Yep. Sounds about right.

Spanjaard
you may want to look at upper panel lines of left engine. it looks that you are missing a bit of it😉

Lode Schildermans
It looks great in black too (and already liked the red one)

Greg Baker
This one isn't really working out like I thought. I had to repaint the whole thing after I discovered Testors enamel and Tamiya enamel thinner are NOT the same thing. However, using Tamiya thinner on the Testors didn't work as well as I thought.

I'm starting to doubt that white panel lines are worth the effort. Anyone want to try and talk me out of it?

Greg Baker
I like the idea of the white on black... but it just isn't working for me. I keep getting uneven lines and a white "mist". I can't be sure, but I believe I had better results with the Tamiya enamels. I stripped the paint for the third time, so once I get it "back in black" I'll make a decision. Is there something easy I can use to seal the black acrylic undercoat and then use acrylics on top? Future is no help in that regard.

Spanjaard
panel lines look great. although i would have maybe used a bit darker tone

Greg Baker
A darker tone of bright white?

Spanjaard
light grey?

Spanjaard
after the disaster with my NXR-700 I started using Flory Models washes.... they can be user over all paints. water based clay. if you do not like, you can be remove them with water and start over. Work like a charm.

Spanjaard
although I wonder if chalk dissolved with water would not do the same trick, and a lot cheaper 😛

Spanjaard
ok, the drops of washing liquid to change surface tension would certainly make the trick 🙂 thanks Roland!

Alec K
I kinda agree with Spanjaard's suggestion to try a gray wash instead.

Martin Oostrom
A blueish grey?

Juergen Klinglhuber
Greg - how is it going on the black knight?

Greg Baker
Well, I repainted it black for the third time... now I'm waiting for something to happen. I'm not quite sure what though.😉

Greg Baker
Yeah. The debate is really if I'm up to try that chalk wash idea. I guess I'd need some chalk...😉

Alec K
I am trying the Tamiya weathering powders and really like the effects. I believe they have a set with white. Just FYI.

Chaz Gordon
Just love the dude hanging out in the corner of Pic 19, waiting for his plane to be next on the block.

Greg Baker
I got a white weathering pencil of some kind, but the results were a bit limited. The oil paints and the Tamiya weathering powders are both interesting options. ?

Chaz - haha! That's Hans von Hammer waiting for me to get busy with his "Red Baron" Fokker tri-wing.😉

Greg Baker
Ok... so I finally gathered up enough courage to try the chalk wash technique... and I like it!

It's going to take a bit of practice to not wash out the chalk while trying to fill in the blank spots, but since I only need a dry cloth to wipe it up, I'm willing to spend some time to get it right. Unlike the other paint washes, the excess really does clean up - without taking off the paint underneath too.

I was a bit incredulous, but... there you go.

Spanjaard
looks good 🙂 glad it worked ok for you 🙂

Cuajete
I agree with Spanjaard and Roland 👍

Lode Schildermans
Wonderful result, Greg. A nice asset to your already impressive collection

Daniel Klink
Very cool Greg.The chalk weathering is perfectly implemented from my point of view..
Looking great your Blackbird 👍

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Good to see you're back working on the Black Knight, Greg. 👍
I think it looks good with the chalk weathering. Weathering dark or let's say black models seems to be rather different.

Jim J
Looks great. Black is a challenging color to weather convincingly and your is just right.

Slavo Hazucha
Very nice lining - it really grabs the B/W comic atmosphere and transfers it to the model 👍

Chalk wash sounds interesting - I like to work with Oil for the same reasons (apply generously, then reduce effect...) - does it allow a good measure of hue control, or is it more of a on/off affair?

Daniel Klink
Oil is also a good choice but you have to be careful when washing it out
Heinkel He 219B-1 Dragon | Album by Springbank (1:72)

Spanjaard
and very careful with using too much white spirit with unprimed parts.... or you can have a model crumbling in front of your own eyes..... i have been there 🙁

Daniel Klink
Yap thats the point.. I mean it is a cool sideeffect pic.12 somehow on my Uhu but also firnis isn't save of being resolved by it.

Greg Baker
I declare a do-over!

Martin Oostrom
It needs quite a bit of nose weight. I waited with glueing the gun cover until she was on her feet, so I could add some more

Greg Baker
Thanks Martin. I discovered that when I built my red "Enemy Ace" one as well. However this one will be wheels up, so it doesn't matter.

Alex K
Errr... perhaps I wasn't paying attention - but what happened between pic 20 and 21? Why the do-over?

Lode Schildermans
Alex, exactly my question. Greg, why a do-over? It looked as a picture of a comic as shown in the project photo

Greg Baker
Well, let's just say that I was never quite happy with the result. A lot of painting and repainting had taken a toll on the plastic, and after 5 months of sitting neglected, I didn't have the heart to try any more salvage operations. The decals for this project are really what makes it, and I didn't want to apply them on a kit that I felt was sub-par…

That and I found an Academy kit on sale at the LHS… so… do-over!

Peter Hardy
Cool!

Daniel Klink
Well, i'll keep my eyes on this!👍👍
Fit was ok with the Academy jet engines?😉

Greg Baker
I had trouble with the engines with my red "Enemy Ace" build, so I was extra careful this time. It was a bit trickier because I was using prewired lights. So I had to drill some bigger than average holes to accommodate.

Bruce Huxtable
Loving the lights, Greg 🙂

Paweł W.
👍

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Back in black! This looks great.

Gary Victory
That's a really cool build. Lovely job Greg.

Daniel Klink
👍👍👍

Slavo Hazucha
Looks very cool indeed, with the smooth black finish, hi-contrast panel lining and the marking - really fits the story/background! 👍

Simon Nagorsnik
Cool jet 👍 is it based on an anime theme?

Spanjaard
beautiful. now for the base 🙂

Nils Steyaert
nicely done 🙂

Erik De Smet
It is definitely better than the first. Waiting to see the engines running...

Juergen Klinglhuber
WOW...quite cool !!! 👍

Bruce Huxtable
Very impressive 👍 Very purposeful machine 🙂

Lode Schildermans
I understand, Greg, why you started from scratch. This is a true beauty

Peter Hardy
The Black Knight reimagined! Eye catching Greg! Nice job!

Alec K
Looks great Greg. The panel lines on the Academy kit seem to be much more even.

Greg Baker
Thanks guys. One thing (besides a better kit in my opinion) that made a big difference is suddenly getting access to Tamiya enamel paint. I used it a lot in Korea (mainly for brush painting some details) but couldn't find it anywhere since I returned to Canada… and Testors was a poor substitute. Using a carefully diluted Tamiya enamel panel wash made a huge difference.

Cuajete
This black looks great, Greg!

Matthew A
Shiny 👍

Greg Baker
Added a few final images of the model mounted on the base.

Simon Nagorsnik
Great idea and it fits very well to the boxart an impressive effect
I congratulate you on your work 👌

Daniel Klink
Grrrrrreat Mate!!!!!!!👍👍👍
The white Panelwash worked very well sir 👍

Eric Thornton
Never seen this series this is cool! 👍

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Awesome display, Greg!
The LED and the smoke from the engines are a nice touch.

Robert Podkoński
Wow! Fantastic effect!

Greg Baker
Thanks guys! I'm happy with how it turned out (except that the final coat of Future was a bit splotchy). Besides the Tamiya enamels, I think the panel lines worked much better the second time around, because the Academy kit has better details. I haven't quite given up on the chalk wash technique though... it's still got lots of uses I think.

Alec K
Looks great Greg 👍

Bruce Huxtable
Full of drama, for sure 👍 Brilliant results 🙂 Spectacular 🙂

Nathan Dempsey
Awesome finish Greg. The lighted exhaust looks really cool 👍

Spanjaard
Great finish Greg!

S M
Fantastic! The LEDs make it perfect! 5/5

Cuajete
Fantastic, Greg. Congrats!

Lode Schildermans
mind-blowing result, Greg. Your signature once more delivered in capital letters

Spanjaard
i am actually missing part of the usual signature.... no decal on the base this time, Greg?

Guillaume Blanchet
Really nice presentation! 👍👍

Jan Peters
Not my cup of tea, but very nicely done with the light effects 🙂

Matthew A
Great photos - really captures the action

Nils Steyaert
great work 👍

Greg Baker
Thanks guys. I added this to my blog as well, so feel free to check it out if you'd like a bit of information on the story this build is based on. strobez.ca/wp/index...ck-knight-of-berlin/

Villiers de Vos
Very creative and an accurate depiction of the box art. Great work.