Tamiya P-47 Razorback 1/48 "Magic Carpet"
Howdy! Adding some in progress pics of my newest work. I wanted to do my first riveting job on a model and chose the Tamiya P-47 as Magic Carpet. The aircraft had a very interesting history with many replacements done to it, including the wings which were left in their original BMF.
I'm not 100% happy with the riveting job, but hey it's a first for me and looks good enough. Using an original Rosie the Riveter 0.75mm wheel.
I also wanted to try something new with the BMF to give it a more "natural look". I painted the wings with GX2. Then masked the outlines of individual panels and gently sanded them with 3k grit sandpaper to give a faint aluminum "brushed" look seen in real life. I then painted the wings with super metallics, used a template to airbrush flat aluminum in a very random and erratic pattern, then airbrushed another layer of super metallics to tone down and vary the reflectivity, and did a bit more sanding on top of the paint before sealing it and adding a wash (not pictured here, yet).
I think it's a convincing look, but tedious when it comes to masking every panel but it looks miles better than just scratching without any direction as the point was making every panel get its own brushed pattern.
Of course, it doesn't show up as well in photos as it does to the naked eye.
Feedback appreciated!