Missile Launch No.2

Specifications

1. Model: 1-48 Scale Academy MIG 21 PF
2. Finish: automotive acrylic spray paints, utilizing sludge wash weathering technique and utilized the Chinese Air Force Decals. In this case I have removed the starboard side air to air missle from it's rack
3. Shoot: just after rain in Bangkok out the back window of my apartment in Ekamai, in this case I have increased the resolution to the maximum my digital camera can take 5 megapixels.
4. Retouch: Very similar approach to previous post however with a new missile launch source pic (see below)

Missile launch source pic

Missile Launch No.1

Specifications

1. Model: 1-48 Scale Academy MIG 21 PF
2. Finish: automotive acrylic spray paints, utilizing sludge wash weathering technique and utilized the Chinese Air Force Decals. In this case I have removed the starboard side air to air missle from it's rack
3. Shoot: just after rain in Bangkok out the back window of my apartment in Ekamai, in this case I have increased the resolution to the maximum my digital camera can take 5 megapixels.
4. Retouch: 1st I montaged in a missle launch from a pic I found on the web (see following). I had to resize and rotate it. I then cloned it make one version darken only and rubbbed out the contrail and the other lighten only where I rubbed out the missle and left over content.
   After this I added another layer in which I created a white cone to complete the rest of the smoke trail. To this layer I added blur a wave filter (to make the smoke less regular) , reduced its transperancy and then added noise to make it sink into the pic.
   
   Then I touched out the fishing line.
   
   The tailpipe looked a bit dark so I added a lit tail pipe from an F16 I found on the web (see following). I cut this out, flipped, made larger, rotated, reduced transperancy, blurred and added noise to make it sink in.
   
   I have added the original pic below also so you can see the start position.

Start Position Pic

Lit tail pipe source pic

Missile launch source pic

Afterburner & vapour trails

Specifications

1. Model: 1-48 Scale Academy MIG 21 PF
2. Finish: automotive acrylic spray paints, utilizing sludge wash weathering technique and utilized the Chinese Air Force Decals.
3. Shoot: a relatively sunny day in Bangkok out the back window of my apartment in Ekamai, in this case I have increased the resolution to the maximum my digital camera can take 5 megapixels.
4. Retouch: I have added contrails at the wing tips using a blurred and semitransperant layer, also I've montaged in an afterburner flame I found on the net using the lighten only composite function, masked plane and sharpened and lightened it, added noise, touched out fishing line

Republic Thunderjet

Specifications

1. Model: 1-48 Scale Tamiya Republic Thunderjet
2. Finish: sandpapered aluminium foil with sludge wash and clear coat
3. Shoot: Rainy afternoon outside back window (suspended on stick out of tail pipe) and on balcony
4. Retouch: touched out stick, added differing motion blurs, added vapour trails (to flying pic), desaturated and added a bit of noise.

Comment: These pics are amongst my very first attempts - not so good but interesting enough to set me on this path of photography.

One night in Bangkok!

Specifications

1. Model: 1-48 Scale Academy MIG 21 PF
2. Finish: Same as previous post
3. Shoot: On a clear night out my back and side balaconies, strung up on a pole with fishing line
4. Retouch: added noise, added afterburners and montaged three pics using "darken" composite effect to create wingman, reduced size of jets on sky background to try and make more realistic

1st set of pics

Specifications

1. Model: 1-48 scale Academy MIG 21 PF.
2. Finish: automotive acrylic spray paints, utilizing sludge wash weathering technique and utilized the Chinese Air Force Decals.
3. Shoot: a relatively sunny day in Bangkok out the back window of my apartment in Ekamai
4. Retouch: slighly desaturated, added about 2-3% noise, masked jet from background with feathered edge and applied different motion blurs between model and background.

Welcome to Fine Scale Realistic

Recently I have gone back to my old hobby of making models. I am subscriber of Fine Scale Modeler Magazine and have been learning the techniques of making realistic looking models.

My interest currently is in cold war jets. As such I've built a MIG 15, MIG 17, MIG 21 and Republic Thunderjet to date. After building these models I naturally wanted to take photos of them to show to my friends.

I currently live in Thailand in quite a tall apartment building. When taking my photos my girl friend Sunisa suggested I take a photo with the skyline as the backdrop. One thing led to another and I started looking for ways to make my models look like they are actually flying.

This site is dedicated to shots of models made to look real. If you have a shot like this and would like to share it with other please email me and I'll set you up so you can post your work too.

PS I have never seen any shots like this in Fine Scale Modeler Magazine - but it does seem an obvious thing to do. If you know a site that already exists with shots like this including techniques to make things look more realist please drop me a message.