discussion Help needed!

[peterairfix]

I have got the revell 1\32 262 night fighter and it has a lot of mottled camouflage any tips on getting a good finish without the use of the airbrush as I don't have one all help will be welcome

 

[monica]

once your done the,top / bottom,colors,you could try the sponge method,works quite well,/
just don,t overload it,and dab it a few times,before,using,
maybe of some help,I hope,

 

[rickoshea52]

Cotton buds. Dip them in paint and dab on a bit of tissue to get rid of the excess and then apply. Try on a scrap model first to practice. My daughter did this on a Messerschmitt.

 

[Gwyn]

Cotton buds. Dip them in paint and dab on a bit of tissue to get rid of the excess and then apply. Try on a scrap model first to practice. My daughter did this on a Messerschmitt.

This sounds like a great technique that I will keep in mind for the future.

 

[monica]

I forgot about that way as well,

 

[Guest]

you could try aerosols with a single round stencil cut out of paper, held a millimeter away from the surface then sprayed carefully. I know I might get absolutely shot down for saying this, but I have only seen nightfighter/luftwaffe camo done convincingly with an air propelled source of paint. Therefore, if tending towards doing luftwaffe in the future, an airbrush would be a worthy investment along with a compressor
Cheers, John

 

[Guest]

you could try aerosols with a single round stencil cut out of paper, held a millimeter away from the surface then sprayed carefully. I know I might get absolutely shot down for saying this, but I have only seen nightfighter camo done convincingly with an air propelled source of paint. Therefore, if tending towards doing luftwaffe in the future, an airbrush would be a worthy investment along with a compressor
Cheers, John

I totally agree John. Although I've admired the versatility of people who've used cotton buds etc to replicate mottling, I always think it looks... amateurish I'm afraid.

On a 1/32 scale model, it's going to look awful, unless done with extreme care.
If I was you Peter, I'd adopt John's method. You could ensure the stencil is kept at a consistent distance from the model by using something like white tak.

 

[BarryW]

I too have to agree with John and Patrick. What looks OK on a small scale model can be awful in large scale. It is worth investing in an airbrush set-up, even a farily cheap one, it needs a lot of practice but it will open up new possibilities. Of course not everyone can accomodate a set-up let alone afford one.

 

[peterairfix]

I too have to agree with John and Patrick. What looks OK on a small scale model can be awful in large scale. It is worth investing in an airbrush set-up, even a farily cheap one, it needs a lot of practice but it will open up new possibilities. Of course not everyone can accomodate a set-up let alone afford one.

I have tried airbrush's in the past and I can't get on with them plus no room for set up so I will have a play with the stencil idea

 

[Guest]

oil paints! they can be blende out to almost nothing, particularly on a larger scale. It won't be easy, and will take practise, less is more, many thin layers - just think of clouds in oil paintings!!

 

[stona]

I agree that spraying on a marking that was...errrr... sprayed on is much more convincing particularly on a large scale model.

However, I think that the idea of oils might just work. I've never tried it for mottle, but oil paints have the ability to be dragged out and thinned to the point of disappearing. To do a mottle you would have to start with a VERY small amount of paint and work it into a representative mottle. John knows a lot more about oils than I do, and if he thinks it can be done then it probably can be

Cheers

Steve

 

[peterairfix]

I have just had a go at the stencil idea drawing around one of the body halves and sketching random pattern's in the camouflage style and an hour of cutting later I have done two test pieces one from about 1mm away and one from directly on top comments welcome on my first attemptView attachment 274197 View attachment 274198 View attachment 274199 View attachment 274200

 

[Guest]

I have just had a go at the stencil idea drawing around one of the body halves and sketching random pattern's in the camouflage style and an hour of cutting later I have done two test pieces one from about 1mm away and one from directly on top comments welcome on my first attemptView attachment 274197 View attachment 274198 View attachment 274199 View attachment 274200

While a lot better results can be achieved from an airbrush, this is perfectly acceptable and is far from being the amateurish type of cotton bud/sponge technique. As a matter of fact, this looks to be a very good alternative. The one millimeter one looks better. The one done directly has way too sharp a demarcation for a luftwaffe aircraft. Keep it up!
John