Black and White album
For years I have loved trying to emulate the old b/w photos of WWII. I used to do this when I worked in photography and had access to b/w darkroom facilities, but those days are long gone and I have only recently discovered the joys of Photoshop. Here are the results of quite a few hours of experimentation and luck. I have included the original colour shots at the bottom of the post.
Hasegawa 1/32 Me bf 109 G6 as flown by Lt Eric Hartman Russian front ’43.
Hasegawa 1/32 Me bf 109 G6, Eric Hartman. From the other side.
Hasegawa 1/32 Fw 190 D9 of JV44 as flown by Lt Heinz Sachsenburg. The slogan on the fuselage is a Bavarian saying and reads ‘Verkaaft’s mei Gwand ‘I foahr in himmel!’ (Sell my Clothes I’m going to heaven!). There were several of these D9s that flew top cover for the units Me 262s when they were in their vulnerable takeoff and landing stages. These Fw 190s had their bellies painted red with white stripes so as to be more easily identified by their own AA gunners.
Hasegawa 1/32 Fw 190 D9 of JV44 as flown by Lt Heinz Sachsenburg.
Dragon 1/35 Sd.Kfz. 251/22 Ausf. D Czechoslovakia May ’45.The 251/22 with its Pak 40 gun is a real favourite of mine. I shot this one in black and white so there is no colour original.
Original colour shots before Photoshop
Revell 1/32 Messerschmitt Bf109G-10 Erla.
STATIC CAPITAL 
Hey Chris, I love the photo’s, very nice indeed. I’ve been a huge fan of your work for quite some time now !!! One of my favorite models of yours was the 1:32 Zm Ta 152 you did in MIM. Inspirational work !!!
Well, I hope the summer isn’t to hot down there in Sydney,
all the best Cheers,
Peter.
P.s what have you got on the bench at the moment ?
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Hi Peter, thanks for the kind words. The Ta152 has always been a favourite of mine which is probably why I put a little extra effort into the build. I will take some better shots of it soon and will give it the b/w treatment too.
The weather here is all over the place. At the moment it’s quite cool and wet after a real scorcher on Friday and Saturday. Crazy!
My next project is the 1/35 Tamiya Elephant. Not one of my favourites, but it is a commission so I will give it my best. But probably not until after Christmas.
Have a good one,
Best wishes,
Chris.
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Tamiya Elephant eh……sounds interesting, I’m looking forward to it ! Speaking of the animal kingdom, I have a Resin copy of the Horizon Jurassic Rark T-Rex which would make a great project……….at some stage.
Keep up the great work Chris, bye for now,
Cheers,
Peter.
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Love the T-Rex, have a built couple myself. I have never seen the Horizon kit in resin! Would love to see it though.
Send me some pics.
All the best,
Chris.
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Hi Chris, you applied filters give more realism, I usually work some pictures in Picasa to examine the shadows and depth of detail, the composition gives clearly offer a contribution to any researcher in the history of the Luftwaffe for the photos appear to have been taken at that time …
Regards
Ben
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Hi Ben, I have never used Picasa and I’m really not sure what I’m doing with Photoshop, I just keep selecting different brushes and filters until I get a result that I’m reasonably happy with. Each photo is a different combination as I can never remember exactly what I did with the previous subjects, but I think I’m getting better at it the more I do. The He219 is next and so far it’s looking pretty good so keep watching this space.
Cheers
Chris.
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I commented that Picasa 3 is a bit more practical as there are a variety of filters that may be interested, I could apply it in some pictures, not if you saw the picture of the J-10A it is under a filter that gives the appearance from an art to coal, the technology in these times help and simplifies things unimagined, I like photography especially the black and white that highlights the character of things and people.
Embrace the distance
Benjamin
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Great work again Chris! Both in terms of your modelling and editing b/w pictures. Have you thought of publishing an album showing your work? I would be the first to order a copy 🙂
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You’re to kind Tomasz. I have actually thought about a book but it does seem like a lot of work and basically I’m too lazy.
Nice to know I would sell at least one copy though.
Cheers
Chris.
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It’s not quite related with the topic, but it came up to my mind this morning and doesn’t want to go away :)…You built Roden 1/32 Albatros D.III some time ago, didn’t you Chris? I think it still can be found in Hyperscale galleries…Do you have any other WWI subjects in your collection?
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I do have several WW1 kits waiting to be built. These include the Roden Fokker Dr.1 and two Wingnut Wings Albatros D.Vs. One of the D.Vs will be first off the production line as they are a real favourite of mine and I am eager to try Uschi’s wood grain decal system.
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Just let me know when you start your D.V. I’ll try to keep up and build my D.Va. So far I was resisting the temptation of buying WnW kit, but I gave up as soon as they released Fokker D.VII (this in turn is favourite of mine). In fact WnW won by KO as they offer D.VII in 3 variants (including markings for Gotthard Sachsenberg plane I always wanted to build; btw I spent couple of days last spring searching for decals with these markings to finally find and buy one in 1/48 scale on ebay; and NOW WnW includes these in their kit!; does it always have to be like this!?). In result I ordered the D.VII kit and, in addition, one D.Va kit (so the Fokker has a decent companion on the long journey from New Zealand!). Both are on their way and should arrive just for Christmas.
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Tomasz, you won’t be disappointed with the Wingnut Wings kits, they are superb!
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