I got a bit more done last night, getting this little lady all dressed up as if for a date......
First I masked up with Clever Putty. This is a brilliant masking material ideal for wavy camo schemes. Some tips for using it.
1/ Mask difficult to reach areas first, in this case around the stabs and rear. I didnt and found it surprisingly difficult to hold the model while masking the rear withoug my fingers straying onto the masked areas requiring me to then adjust it.
2/ Try to mask, spray and remove mask all in one session. I didnt manage to finsish the masking and left it 24 hours before going back to finish it. The qualities that make it so good meant that it spread slightly on the horizontal surfaces (not a problem, in fact it helped improved the flow of the camo) but on the sides it drooped, it was going to use the word 'run' but it runs only in the sense that you can say a snail runs!! Again it was not a massive problem, I just needed to adjust it back again.
3/ It produced a harder edged camo than you get from white tac snakes. I believe this is because of how the edges settled in from being left 24 hours. I think that if you spray wsoon after masking that a softer edge will occur. On my next build I will find out.
Anyway - here it is with the RAF Dark Green sprayed... first the solid colour.
Then I mix the colour with white, thin it and spray the middle of panels and in places that will catch the light when looking at it...
Woops, oh dear - too much white so it looks much too patchy... never mind, after all I did do it deliberately to demonstrate just how fool-proof my method is and how no-one need worry about ruining the finish.
I do a colour change clean of the a/b and load it with the base colour, RAF Dark Green in this case and dilute it heavily with thinner. I then apply a couple of mist coats, fairly high pressure, all over the model... Do it gradually, monitor progress until you are happy with the effect and you get this..
A much more subtle effect. There is some more localised areas to mist coat in order to finish off and the picture above is while wet. When cured the contrast will have reduced a little more. Below the aircraft after removing the Clever Putty. I will have some touch ups to do, not a lot though, with the
airbrush and the Clever Putty (which is reusable) is an ideal material for the localised masking that will need.
The great thing is how the Clever Putty just lifts away from the model with no stickiness. When I remove the masking tape tonight it will not come away quite so easily.
I also have applied some washes to the undercarraige, prop and other dangly bits to bring out detail. I still have some work to do in these areas but I will be applying a matt coat first.
Its amazing what these magnified photos show. It looks better in real life!
I referred to 'getting this little lady all dressed up for a date' - well next in the process after some adjustments to her wardrobe will be her make-up and other finery -
decals so to speak. After which I need to get her looking as she would after her date, a good one in which she pulled, as if she was on her way home in the morning, a big smile on her face, feeling a bit grubby and maybe a bit used but still her beautiful self....