Just had my first go with an airbrush, I have decided to try pre shading the panel lines and adding a bit of weathering to my 1/48 scale spitfire.
As the topic says this is the first time I have used my new airbrush and found it a little tricky getting the paint to flow smoothly and to keep the lines straight, any tips?
I am going to paint the underside of the spit first as this will be the lightest coulour, is this the right approach?
All help much appreciated as usual.
it looks great!,when i watched the dvd of master modeler Floyd Werner doing this he says that it’s actually better to not have “bone” straight lines when preshading that the crookedness actually helps the finished product look more realistic,it’ll be fine and the more you practice the better you’ll be
as far as advice… get you a plastic milk jug or such and primer it up and have a go at it with the airbrush!!! practice going around curves, broad coverage, thin lines… and when it gets all painted??? if you still feel like you need to figure out something primer it again and go for it!! you;ll figure out the rest as you go along…
and I must say that is a good job of preshading for a first time! you’re off to a good start!!!
Ok I have done the underside of the spit’ and am fairly happy, would appriciate some feedback. I had a little trouble getting the line fine enough without the paint running but I guess this will come with practice.
honestly you’ve done a great job… a straight line as stated a few posts above does not give the “feel” of the slight variations you’ve achieved. And as far as thinness of the lines I would not worry about those as you can always use the main color to subdue them somewhat… that Spitfire is looking good in my eyes! If you want thin lines then go for post shading or washes… but I think you did just right with what you did!
Thanks for the comments Tom, I am going to start the main fusilage tonight so will update in a couple of days. Just noticed I have lost a gun barrel from a wing so will have to search the spares box.
I personally disagree with shaded panel lines as being the most realistic representaion of weathering (shading vs non-shading in the aircraft forum is about like Aztek vs. non-Aztek here[:D]). That disclaimer aside, your shaded panel lines look to be as effectively done as any that I can recall. Oddly enough, your concerns about not being neat enough is precisely what makes your shading effective. For future improvements, try to be even more random and less neat. The last time there was a debate on shading vs. non-shading in the A/C forum, there was one photo produced which had some shading that sort of followed a number of the panel lines. However it was certainly blotchy and uneven. The shading on some panel lines were fairly dark, others lighter. On some, the width was narrow and others wide. Some panel lines might show no color variation and sometimes the shading woul be in the middle of a panel.
I would suggest on the upper surfaces, go for an even more subtle effect. What I’ve observed from photos and real life, is that panel lines and any sort of shading, real or perceived, is lot more pronounced on light gray than darker colors. All in all, you should be more thar fairly with Spit thus far[tup].
Andy
OK… all I can say is I hope my first A/B attempt is that good. Wow!
Have just finished the top surface and have taken the advise and have decided to pick out the panel lines with an oil wash, so I have a couple of questions, should I use a black or burnt umber wash? (these are the only oils I have). What should I thin the oils with? and finally, how long after doing the main camo can I apply a coat of Future?
Your comments and encouragement has spurred me on to get this (my first kit in 20 years) finished so thanks.
I will post some pics when I have removed the masks.
Let the paint cure, about 48 hours should be good for most paints… acrylics a little shorter but better safe than sorry… Future the body after that and give it a good 6 hours or so before touching it… after that mix your oils with turpentine or one of the turpentine (non-smelly) subsitutes like “Turpenoid Odorless Turpentine Substitute.” Get it a nice flowable but dark mixture and go to town!
As far as black or burnt umber that usually depends on what color the exterior is for me… for a (just a guess at which you are doing) Dk Green over Dk Earth I would mix a bit of the Black and the Umber together and use both. If you are doing the Dk Green over Ocean Grey then black. If the Dk Earth over Middlestone just the umber, or a bit of black mixed in with mainly umber.
Thanks for the tips, one other thing, the decals I have include the invasion stripes and I am a little worried about the cammo showing through the white, is this a problem and if so do you think I should paint the area under the decals white first?
N.B
I realise the colours are not historically accurate but this is more of a warm-up kit for me to hone some skills on, I mixed the grey myself and the green is out of the bottle, I think the grey is a little dark but you live and learn.
Tecs - paiting the area under the stripes white might be a good idea… typically white doesn’t cover well with decals…
-=edit=-
on the colors… they don’t look too far off… and with war weary A/C each plane has its own unique shade due to wear and weather…
Looks Great. I’m still working on my first model with an airbrush. I have to say your a lot braver thatn me going with preshading and camo on the first pass. I’m working on a A6M2 Zero painted solid gray with the black engine cowling, pretty hard to screw up painting wise. Anyway, looks great…looking forward to finished Spit!
Almost ready for the Future I just need to brush paint a few details, should I attach the spinner and wheel assembly now or wait till the decals are on?
I have painted the area under the invasion stripe decals the same colour as the underside so the colours will match all over, also I didn’t have any white paint [;)]. Fingers crossed I should be decalling in the next couple of days.
I usually wait and attach them after decals, before weathering. The shorter they are on the body the less time for them to get broken off by clumsy fingers… [;)] Looks good and good approach to the invasion stripes… you’re right… at leas they’ll appear uniform! You’re going at this so good the next time you could try masking and painting the stripes on yourself… it looks a lot better that way… of course by some white paint first! [;)]
Just done two coats of future and all looks well, swanny’s guide to future says 24 hours before decalling so looks like that will be the next step tomorrow night, stay tuned folks this could make or break me as all is going too well so far. “Its quiet, too quiet”
Oh well minor disaster this afternoon, I attempted to apply the decals and managed to ruin the invasion stripes for the wings and for the fusilage[:(!], out came the masking tape once again and I have now painted the white stripes in myself. The only real concern is that the decal for the fusilage stripes had the roundel and squadron markings on as well.[}:)]
Oh well this “warm up kit” is honing almost all of the skills I am going to need on future builds heck I might even break out the pastels and give that a go as well.[:P]
Phew![#toast] that was hard work but I am quite happy with the results, going to fine sand the stripes to minimise the ridges from the tape and have done as best as I could to salvage the fusilage markings from the decals, two more nights and I should be done.
Tecs - I know it would take a week or two but I would be more than happy to send some roundels to you via post… If your markings don’t work out on the kit decals, feel free to email me and I’ll get them in the post the same day to you. I also have a comrade here online who lives somewhat near London I could query to see if he has some extra roundels. You have done an absolutely marvelous job on this build, made more incredible by being your first with an airbrush. I would hope we could help make it pristine for you by providing you with the appropriate markings if possible. Let me know if you need them and they are yours!!!
Thanks for the offer Tom, I may call you on it, but I want to have a go and get this done so I can get on with the F4U I have calling me and the TSR.2 and the BF109 and the… well you know the score! I may try to get and after market decal set from the LHS.
I will update soon.
Rob