Hey all, first time poster here! I’m trying to get the hang of airbrushing after many years of being a dedicated brush painter and I’m having a problem getting a nice demarcation line where the wings join the fuselage. I’m building Tamiya’s Fw190-D9 and tried masking with tape and rolls of Blu Tac. The tape is hard to form the curve of the wing joint and the Blu Tac seems too “bulky” and makes it hard to spray underneath the mask (the mask lays slightly up on the fuselage, not the wing) I’m thinking I’ll have to do it by brush, though I’d rather not as I usually get a wavy line. This part of painting has always been my downfall and I’d like to get some tips if I could. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Oh one other thing (sorry!), since my airbrushing skills are beginner, what is the easiest way to do the “dots” on the tail? I’ve been practicing for hours on an old model but can’t seem to get the dots without “splattering” around the edges. I also tried a flattened Cu-tip but am not happy with the results. Any suggestions?
Thanks all and cheers!
Deek.
Hi Deek and Welcome to the Forum. If you want a sharp demarcation line at wing to fuselage on a 190, best way is to mask it with tape, even though it is difficult to match the panel. Best advise is to use a fairly flexible tape, like Tamiya, but slice a thin strip off the main tape. Use a very sharp , new X-acto blade and a steel straight edge. Cut on a hard surface, plate glass is ideal, and make the strip about 1/8" wide and about an inch or more longer than you need. Then carefully apply the tape at the juncture line you want. You can trim the excess length, and add more strips above the masked edge until you have enough area covered to prevent overspray where you don’t want it. The mottle (dots) on luftwaffe AC takes practice, but if your getting splatter you are probably spraying at too high a pressure, or your paint is too thick, or both. Try thinning your paint to at least 2 paint/1 thinner. Set your pressure no higher than 15 psi and
lower if you can get paint flow. Hold the brush close to the model ( 1/4’’ or so ) and spray in short, even bursts. With a little practice you should be doing mottle like a pro.