A Model for Ants: Weathering the Zero and Final Assembly

I've been struggling to write a good introduction for this post just like most posts. There it was, the introductory sentence.

This post will cover the final weathering and assembly of the Zero as the title previously indicated. The Zero was already heavily weathered for its paint job, so there wasn't a ton to do in the way of post decal weathering. I'm sure there could have been, but I'm not that savvy in those dark arts as of yet. Oils always take forever to dry, not that they have been holding up posts, but it seems the final stages really drag on because of it. Here are the last few major bits of work on the Zero.

I used Mig's Dark Brown wash for the panel lines...maybe, I don't remember now. I didn't want to coat the model as the surface wasn't all that smooth after my primer debacle, so removing it would have been a challenge even after the gloss coats.

I spent quite a bit of effort pushing the decals into the panel lines. I'll be focusing on that again in the future.

The panel lines were cleaned up and I added Winsor Newton Yellow Ochre to simulate fading on certain panels. I saw this method in the FAQ Aircraft book, but it didn't really work out for me. You can't see any of it now, but maybe I'll try this technique again in the future.

More of the Yellow Ochre that didn't pan out. I have the pictures, I might as well use them!

In some reference photos I saw there was some considerable filth in these areas. I thought I would try a dot filter with different oil paints; Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre, and Burnt Sienna. It didn't quite work the way I expected, but it turned out okay in the end.

This is when I realized, "Hmm, maybe too thick?" I just continued to wipe it until it reached an acceptable level.

Brownish-yellowy stuff.

The dry-fitted engine.

The cowl and prop dry fitted. The fit is so tight, I didn't end up gluing these parts. Plus it gives me an opportunity in the future to showcase the engine.