SPA Modeler

Top level work!

Thanks John!

Hair spray, specifically Garnier Fructis Style Full Control Hairspray with the the 24 hour hold anti-humidity formula, is sprayed onto the silver areas for chipping effects.


I typically employ a 2-stage pre-shading technique. First, is the panel lines traced in black.



Next will be a random mottle pattern to give the camo finish a little bit of depth and tonal variation.

After the panel lines have been pre-shaded, I like to add a random mottle pattern to the model. I used to do this freehand but I found that spraying through a thin piece of scouring pad is a little faster and yields a more random result.





It's good to mix the mottle pattern with both soft and hard edges. The scouring pad yields mostly soft edges so when I want to add some hard edge spots, I use a different mask.



With the pre-shading done, it's time to start painting! In general, I like to go light to dark so that means usually starting off on the aircraft bottom. For the bottom color, I am using Mr Color Medium Sea Grey C363 lightened with white at about 1:1. This aircraft seemed to be heavily weathered so I am lightening my colors accordingly. I am thinning my paint with Mr Leveling Thinner at about 1:1 or 1.5:1 thinner to paint ratio. I want a thin mix that I can layer to build up the color slowly and modulating the pre-shade effects as I spray.




It takes about 2-3 sessions to establish the bottom color. I've found that a "hot" thinner like MLT settles into the pre-shade and draws the black up into the top layer of paint as it dries. You have to account for that slow alteration in appearance before moving on to the next color.

Great information, very well explained!

That is very clever using stretched scouring pad. I knew there are templates for mottling and have thought of buying a couple types of templates.

So tell me, John.... do you hold how-to seminars of your methods? I’d definitely would attend.

Thanks guys! Sorry no seminars! This is about as far as I go when it comes to teaching modeling techniques!

Since the bottom color has been painted, I thought I would mask off the flap area and re-establish the interior green color at this point. Very simple to mask off... I used Post-Its to mask most of it.


A very elementary black pre-shade layer was applied first.


And then the interior green, which has been the Mr Color Aircraft Grey Green C-364.


Done!

Ok... it's time to paint the topside camo. First the bottom has to be masked off. I'm too lazy to mask everything but try to strategically place the masks to avoid direct overspray by considering the position of the airbrush when I'm painting the top.


Using the Special Hobby instructions as a guide, I paint the grey areas with Mr Color 362 RAF Ocean Grey. I tried lightening the Grey with white but found that the two would separate as I sprayed, leading to some visibly inconsistent results. So I stuck with the straight grey after that.



Based on available photos of Tempests, it looked like the demarcation between the top colors was either hard or a very tight spray. I didn't think I could full off that kind of tight spray so I decided to use masks. After the grey, I used enlarged copies of the Special Hobby painting guide and cut paper masks, which were elevated a few millimeters using servo tape. Servo tape is a double-side foam tape. The adhesive is very strong and is likely to pull up paint so it is stuck onto Tamiya yellow tape on the model contact side. This gives a nice consistent height to the mask and helps conform the mask to the curves of the model. Thanks to Woody at Archer Fine Transfers for the tip!




Mr Color 361 RAF Dark Green is sprayed next.


The results were a bit messy. There was a bit of ghosting around some of the mask edges and there were also areas where I didn't spray enough grey. So some touch-up with the Badger Sotar airbrush was necessary.



Here's what the paint job looks like after some preliminary touch-ups.





The hairspray was applied a few days ago and I'm not sure if chipping will work. I'll give it a shot but I may have to resort to other chipping techniques.

Looking good!

Thanks Tom!

Late last night, I went at the wing roots with a stiff stipple brush and water and got some hairspray chipping to come out. Not exactly what I wanted but I think it is workable. I never seem to get consistent, usable results with hairspray anymore and almost always needs to be augmented with other chipping methods.



That chore out of the way, I went to work on some of the painted markings that are found on this aircraft. First was the Sky (Mr Hobby Aqueous Sky H-74) tail band.


Black and white invasion stripes were found under the fuselage only and not on the wings. The overall area was masked and sprayed with Tamiya White.


The black stripes were masked off and painted with Tamiya Black. It's hard to see but I had a mishap on the port side near the wing root caused by painted lifted by the masking tape and then compounded with fingerprints on the repaired area... not pretty.



It's important to let paint dry in between masking steps but sometimes I rush and pay the price. After I let the affected area dry, I sanded the area down and buffed it out with some Micromesh.


Some colors like white need a neutral base to help blend the repair with the surrounding area. I used Ocean Grey here.


The white is repaired but I am going to be patient and let it dry completely before repairing the black next to it.


There are other things I can work on in the meantime. The underwing roundels, which are three colors (red, white and blue), will be painted using custom cut masks produced by my Silhouette Portrait cutter. I've started off the painting by spraying the white first in the middle and carefully avoiding the edges of the circle where it is not needed.

Continuing on with the underwing roundels... after the white has dried, the whole interior mask (3-pieces) are carefully placed within the outline mask on the model. To help keep the pieces together, I use a piece of tape.


The largest outer ring is removed, leaving the two center pieces in place. Save this removed mask because you'll need it. The blue color, which was a mix of Tamiya Royal Blue and Black, is sprayed next.


After the blue is dry, the previously removed outer ring is put back into place and now the center circle is removed. It can be difficult to align the masks so that the all of the edges are flush with one another. To guard against paint seepage, I glop on some Micro Mask around the outlines.


The red is the last color to be sprayed. This is a mix of Tamiya Red and a touch of Royal Blue.


The completed underwing roundel.


The painted markings on the bottom, including the yellow wing edges, have been completed.


The prop blades have been glued into the spinner using tube glue since I can't access the joint directly with Tamiya Extra Thin cement.


The previously shown black stripe area has been repaired. There is some texture here but I think it will be taken care of by the subsequent clear coats.