Currently painting the BF109 flown by Helmut Wick. Camo on the fuselage sides are stippled on.
Am using Mr Color lacquers to paint this plane. I will use the sponge technique for the stippled look. I am wondering if lacquers, even when heavily thinned, might dry too quickly on the sponge to successfully create the look?
When using the sponge technique to create chipping, I find that enamels work well. I guess I could look for a matching dark green enamel, or mix it up.
How might Mr Hobby aqueous work with sponges? Anyone tried this? Mr Hobby would have the exact color match for Mr Color.
Edwin-I did Wick’s 109E many years ago-Hasegawa 1/48 kit-I was using Testor’s Model Master acrylics and used a piece of a sea sponge (torn off to represent a 1/48 sea sponge) and a set of tweezers to apply the camo-put a little paint in lid, dipped the sponge and then blotted it several times on a paper tow before dabbing onto the fuselage-I was pleased with the results. Today, I would use Vallejo, maybe a drop of thinner and a trial run on a test mule. I would post a pic but it was ‘lost’ to Photobucket.
Cheers
Bob
Edit-tested the new FSM archives and WOW! Very impressed with what is accessible-found the pic from 2006 build of Wick’s 109E w/sea sponge camo:
@bobbaily Bob, your camo job with the sea sponge turned out great! Just the look I am after. I’ll experiment with acrylic and sponge, and hope I can get it to look as good as yours.
@keavdog Keavdog, those stencils sure look interesting. I see one with a pattern that just might work. I’ll give the sponge technique a try, and if that doesn’t work out, I’ll order the stencil.
Thank you Edwin-just a few thoughts-please forgive me if I am touching on subjects that you are knowledgeable of but I only mention acrylics since that was and still is my go-to. I know that many folks like enamels & lacquers and you should use what you are comfortable with. I’m sure that there are retardants for the lacquer that would slow down the dry time to allow application with a brush or other device. Also, if the mottle/stippling is too dark, you can also overspray a very diluted version of the fuselage color to tone it down.
I’m not sure if acrylic over/under lacquer ‘plays well’ (I think if the base is dry all is well but I’d have to research) and having said that, there is a vast wealth of knowledge in the Painting and airbrushing forum.
I like Keavdog’s stencil suggestion-I have some in the drawer waiting to be put to use.
Nothing to forgive, Bob. You’re just sharing your knowledge and experience, which I am most grateful for. Many other members here are very helpful too, making this forum an invaluable resource.
My experience with sponges only goes as far as chipping. For this, my paint of choice is enamel, due to its slower drying time. I could try mixing up enamels to get a color match, but frankly, I prefer the convenience of not having to mix.
I could also experiment with lacquer or acrylic (exact color match is available), to see how it turns out. My concern with lacquer is that it dries quickly, and the sponging might just end up a gummy mess.
But with this forum, I can shorten the learning curve. Learn from others who have tried and succeeded with certain techniques.
On the matter of paint types, acrylics can go over lacquers and enamels. Enamels can go over lacquers too, but here I would be concerned that the oil based wash I will use may affect the sponged enamel, unless the acrylic clear overcoat is heavy enough to prevent problems. That’s another vote for acrylics for the stippled camo.
I’ll post pics of the finished job. Hopefully soon, as I am mostly done with the main painting - the RLM65 light blue and RLM02/71 camo.
A few tips that I hope are useful:
After dipping the pad into the tray or saucer of paint, drain most of the paint from the pad. Dab it a couple of times on a paper towel. This prevents large blotches being stamped on your model.
After dabbing against the paper towel, test stamp the pad on a piece of card to make sure you get light enough flecks of paint. If it looks good, proceed to stamp the model.
After the paint dries, lightly sand the stamped areas with 3000-4000 grit to knock down any high spots due to the paint flecks.
The scouring pad seemed right for 1/32 scale. Might work for 1/48 too. For 1/72, sponge might work better.
