Overview of Dragon's SPAD XIII with Aeromaster decals. Note rounded wingtips of early SPAD XIII. I used the Squadron "Spad Fighters in Action" as a reference for making the cuts and the curve. Dragon kit went together easier'n'a late '90s Tamiya tank model (other than the rigging, of course, which was quite another matter). I'm serious. It hardly felt like I was building a WWI model at all, after sweating all those Eduard kits for the last couple of years.
This shot, especially around the tail area, really gives a good sense of how I accomplished the "clear doped linen" look with my Q-tip pastel technique. Just grind that good dust right in between the ribs. Clear doped linen color combo would be Gunze 45 "Sail Color" with light brown pastel rubbed into the recesses, then oversprayed with gloss. Put decals on AFTER that.
Ah, yes...the...ahem...aforementioned "cockhead". While macho Anglo-Saxon types would certainly hesitate before painting a giant chicken on their aircraft (we might make an exception for Foghorn Leghorn, though), it should be remembered that the "Crowing Cock" symbology is very near and dear to those possessing La Coeur Francaise. It is patriotic imagery dating from the French Revolution, when the Guillotine Gang chose it as one of their symbols (along with the pike and the red cap deal), intending it to evoke the idea that a "new dawn" for France, and thus, for mankind was at hand. Get it? "New dawn"..."Sunrise"..."Rooster"..."Cock-a-doodle-doo"...The Frenchies still use it on a lot of other stuff, most recently, for the World Cup '98 mascot. Just a little color'n'commentary in between all the model geek talk, folks...
This shot gives a good idea of the sheer level of insanity needed to go through with a full rigging of the SPAD. I need therapy...
If you can make out the windshield there, you can see the results of my second successful CAD (Computer Assisted Design) modeling effort (first was the masking tape stencil for the cowling on the Fokker D.VIII). I thought the windshield on the kit looked thick enough for a Brinks car or a sub window out of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", so I set out to make one of my own with proper scale thickness; I drew up the design to precise scale on Illustrator, then printed it up with a laser printer on OHP transparency, then cut it out with scissors. Bent it by hand, then white-glued it to the fuselage. Perfect. If you want the file, I'm prepared to trade for Pamela and Tommy Lee honeymoon stills...