Any tips/advice for airbrushing the mottle on German WWII planes? I am about to attept this on a Bf-110 and have never tried. It looked easy when I saw all of YOUR postings, but when the model is sitting on my bench, it’s suddenly intimidating!
HELP!
Practice on a test piece first try different air pressures and consistency of paint until you get a result you like. then shoot it on the model.
The single most important thing to do is PRACTICE.
The paint/thinner ratio will need to be thinner than what you use for general painting.
I use a lower air pressure, but not so low as the paint spatters (tiny droplets on the outside edges of the line you’re painting).
It is best accomplished with a double-action airbrush. I use a very low paint volume.
You will need to spray very close to the model’s surface. I generally spray the mottle about 1/4 to 1/2" away from the surface.
Mix some paint on the thin side, and practice spraying until you can paint a thin line without any spatter. You may have to adjust your paint mix, air pressure, and paint volume until you can do this. When you find the adjustments that work for you, try painting small irregular “outline” shapes, then filling them in.
If you look at pics of actual aircraft, you’ll notice that the mottle are not polka-dots, but irregular shapes. I first paint the shape as an outline, then fill it. When I have these painted, I mist a little of the same paint around the area. This reduces the chances of it looking like spots.
This camo was painted with the above technique.
Hope this helps !
Pixilator, that is very helpful. I need to practice quite a bit, but at least I have an idea of WHAT to practice now. thanks!
Agree with all of the above, but the main lesson is to experiment with paint thinning ratios & compressor pressure until you get the flow needed. Then, Practice on a scrap piece until you get the feel for it before painting the actual model. It’s actually not that difficult, but it is intimidating the first try.
Regards, Rick
Never tried this myself, but one of the tips I’ve read about would be to punch some uneven holes in a piece of cardstock (like a file folder) and use that as a template for your airbrush.
I’ve also learned alot about airbrushes lately, as I purchased a new Iwata.
The gravity feed airbrushes take less airpressure, which I think is helpful for Camo work.
My Iwata Eclipse is a side feed (therefore siphon feed), but it takes the large plastic Aztec cup, which acts like a gravity feed. And the Aztek cup is only $5!!!
Good luck.
Thinner paint helps you to achieve a better mottled pattern because the paint flows easier through your brush, also I find it looks alot better when the mottle is ever so slightly transparent this draws the base colour and the mottle colour closer together and looks better.
This is great information, guys. Thank you. What I’ve taken from this is
I also really like the idea of a stencil cut from heavy gauge paper. That sounds like a safe method.
If you have a scanner for your computer, take the the picture of the camo pattern on the instruction sheet and put it in the scanner. Measure the size of the completed model and the size of the picture on the instruction sheet. For an example the model is 9 inches and the picture on the instruction sheet is 6 inches long. 9 divided by 6 = 1.5 in decimal equivelent. If you blow up the picture in the scanner 150% you should get an image pretty close to the size of the model. Take a sharp knife and follow the color outlines for the different colors that you want to put on the model. You will have to make several images so that you have one for each color. Attach it to the kit with a low tack double sided tape. I get my tape at Wal-Mart. Use your airbrush and apply the color. Repeat for each color. I know that it sounds complicated and it is a little bit but, I have used this several times and it works great. Not only for #$@! German Camo but for any pattern that I have tried. That includes the pattern on my 1/32 A-10. You will use some paper and ink for the printer but I feel that it is worth it. Hope that this gives you an alternative until you master your airbrush. Something that I am still working on.