Build it Yourself...
Using an airbrush
Almost all beginners decide to brush-paint their first models with a carefully prepared surface, a good set of brushes, properly thinned paint,
some decent craftsmanship and a ton of patience, truly amazing results can be achieved. But for the best results, you should really use an
airbrush.
Airbrushing is very similar to painting with a spray can, but is much more exact and precise. The basic airbrush setup consists of the airbrush
itself, a paint container and an air supply. The air supply is connected to the airbrush with a hose.
The body of the airbrush is a hollow tube. When you press down the trigger on the brush, air will start to flow through the body of the
airbrush. When you release the trigger, the airflow will stop. The harder you press the trigger, the more air will flow through the airbrush.
A paint cup is attached to sides or the bottom of the airbrush body. As the airflow starts, paint is sucked from the paint cup and through the
airbrush. The paint is mixed (atomized) with the air into microscopic paint particles, and is emitted through the nozzle of the airbrush as a
very fine spray.
On more advanced airbrushes, the trigger can not only be moved down and up, but also backwards and forwards. This action of the trigger
controls the amount of paint in the air/paint mixture. Such airbrushes are called double-action airbrushes and generally allow a far better
control of painting than single-action airbrushes.
With practice and a good airbrush, you can not only paint broad and even surfaces, but also fine, almost pencil-thin lines. You can obtain all
sorts of paint patterns and effects, that cannot be duplicated by either spray painting or brush painting.
Air supply
Airbrushes always need some kind of air supply. There are mainly two different kinds of air supply you can use: compressed air cans, or a
compressor. However some use even CO2 tanks to do the job.
I might as well say it right away: air cans are by far the worst source of air you can use for your airbrush. First of all, they are quite expensive,
and will in the long run add up to more money than a cheap compressor. But this is only the smallest of the troubles awaiting you if you go
for this solution.
The worst thing is that air cans are only capable of delivering enough pressure to pull the paint through the brush for a very short time. You
will only be able to paint for around half a minute before the air can cools off and stops delivering power to the brush. You will now have to
wait for like five to ten minutes before you can use the airbrush again. If you put the can in lukewarm water some improvement will be
noticed as the can does not get frozen that quickly.
And also as the pressure drops, the mixture of air and paint inside the brush changes so that the airbrush will start spitting large gobs of paint
onto your model. Trust me, after a few attempts you will definitely hate painting and modeling.
A far better air supply is a compressor. Just about any kind of compressor will work with air brushes as long as they have a pressure regulator.
The cheapest compressors are diaphragm (or membrane) compressors. Generally they don't have a holding tank, which means that they
tend to pulsate slightly. To eliminate these fluctuations, some membrane compressors have a built-in micro-tank. I recommend getting one of
these if you plan on building more than one or two models a year or if you are a perfectionist.
Airbrushes are rather expensive. A decent airbrush set with an air tank and a compressor as air supply adds up to a pretty hefty investment,
but if you plan to continue building models for at least a few more years, it's very well spent money. Investing in an airbrush kit will
revolutionize your modeling more than anything!
As a rule of thumb, the compressor should be able to deliver at least 30 PSI, and the paint should be thinned to the consistency of milk. If
your compressor cannot deliver 30 PSI, the paint must be much thinner, and you will have to paint twice as many layers - for light colors such
as white, you may have to paint 20 or even 30 layers! By getting a decent compressor in the first place you can prevent a lot of headaches
later on! The pressure depends also on the type of airbrush you use.
Once you decide to make the move to airbrushing, do yourself another favor and stay away from the cheap beginner airbrushes. Go for at
least a semi-pro airbrush with internal atomizing where the paint is mixed with the air inside the airbrush body. External atomizing airbrushes
create a much more coarse and rough paint spray, Quite effective for painting large areas, but not very suitable for fine scale model building.
I am a happy user of a Badger 175 Crescendo airbrush together with a Revell compressor - it is a fairly cheap and very usable setup and I
would recommend it. If you live in Europe consider buying a Harder & Steenbeck absolutely incredible airbrushes (very good price/quality
balance).
Practice!
Before you reach for your superbly detailed 80 dollar model as your first airbrush experiment, I recommend that you do some basic exercises
first. If you haven't used an airbrush before, you will definitely need It!
Create a mixture of water-based Ink and water. Make sure It Is dark enough to be visible in thin layers. Load the paint cup with some of this
mixture and start practicing on a sheet of discarded carton.
Spend some time drawing pictures freehand, to get used to the airbrush's action. Write your name with it. Pencil in some guidelines and
practice spraying a straight line of uniform width. Then make two straight lines of the same uniform width. Another classic exercise is to draw
a grid of lines, a few inches apart, and spray a dot on each intersection, each dot the same size.
When you're done, don't forget to practice washing the ink out of the airbrush.
When you start to feel confident about the airbrush, load some paint (preferably acrylics) and start painting on scrap parts.
Airbrush troubleshooting
It takes some time to learn how to achieve a good result with an airbrush. The only way to learn is by practicing, and not being too
frightened of messing up from time to time. Don't be overly hard on yourself: modeling is supposed to be fun!
One thing is very important to remember though - paints must be thinned much more when used with an airbrush than with a regular
paintbrush. If the paint is too thick, it will clog up the airbrush and you will get a bad result.
Besides the problems and their solutions that we already covered in the chapter about basic painting techniques, airbrushing has some
additional problem areas:
Sputtering airbrush
Usually caused by having too low air pressure from the compressor. When using air-cans to drive an airbrush, sputtering is almost impossible to
avoid, since the cans lose their pressure very quickly. Before you know It, the airbrush will start to spit large gobs of paint on your model.
Don't say that I didn't warn you about air-cans!
Finding the correct pressure for the kind of paint you're using is not easy, but after a while you will learn the sound and the feel of the
airbrush when it's working fine. By the way, spitting can also be caused by too thick paint or a clogged up airbrush nozzle.
Orange peel effect
This happens to everyone while using an airbrush - suddenly the paint finish looks coarse and bumpy, just like the peel of an orange. This is
usually caused by airbrushing with too low air pressure, or brushing too far away from the surface. The reason for this effect is that the
microscopic paint particles dry up a little bit and gather in tiny droplets while flying through the air onto the model surface.
The best way to avoid this Is to find the right balance between paint/thinner ratio, air pressure and paint distance. It's really not that
difficult, but takes some time to work out.
Once you have an orange peel affect, the only solution is to gently sand the surfaces with a fine grade wet-and-dry sandpaper to remove
the lumps and bumps. Keep the sandpaper wet all the time 50 you don't scratch through the paint. When the paint finish is smooth again,
wash off all the sanding residue, and let the model fully dry before repeating the painting.
If sanding off the orange peel effect seems like too much trouble, you can just leave it as it is, and remember to improve your painting skills
to the next model.
Running paint
Very simple to avoid - keep painting only feather light layers for each application and let the paint dry between each layer. When painting
very light colors, such as white or (light) yellow, be prepared to paint at least six, seven or even more layers.
Don't rush! If you think it is too much waiting, you can build several models at once. Then you have always something to work on while one
model is "idling".
Masking
When painting a model with more than one color, it may be difficult to obtain a good and clean line between the colors. Sometimes you
want a sharp demarcation line between the two colors, and sometimes you want them to "blend" or fade into each other. Military
camouflage paint schemes have seldom sharp paint edges, but more often display "feathered" edges or some kind of "mottling"
TA-4J Skyhawk
T his kind of paint scheme is very hard to achieve with brush painting, and you should really use an airbrush. But what do you do when you
want to paint an area without spraying paint all over other, already painted areas? The answer of course is by using masking techniques to
protect the areas you don't want painted.
When using an airbrush, think of the paint as sunlight falling onto your model. Masked off areas are shadows, and exposed areas are exposed
to the light. Masking can be done by using self-adhesive tape, frisket paper or just ordinary paper cut and held In front of the area to be
masked off. There are also different masking fluids (like Maskol) that can be brushed on and after the painting simply removed. I have had
some rather bad previous experiences with Maskol discoloring the paintwork underneath, and I cannot therefore recommend it.
For sharp edges, you must make sure that the masking material is tightly attached to the surface, because paint has a tendency to "bleed"
or leak under the mask. Also try to paint "away" from the mask. When the paint has dried, carefully remove the mask without chipping the
paint edges. The best masking tape I have used is Tamiya Masking Tape, which I can strongly recommend.
To obtain a "soft" edge, another approach must be taken. If you are skillful and work with larger scales (such as 1/48 or 1/32), you can in
fact paint the camouflage by freehand, using the finest available needle of the airbrush. Another method is to make small beads of blue-tac,
and gently attach these just inside the area to be masked. Now cut a mask from paper with the correct shape, and attach this paper to the
beads of blue-tac. This way, you will have a mask that "hovers" slightly above the surface to be painted. If you now airbrush gently and
carefully, you will be rewarded with a clean and slightly feathered paint edge.
The main rule is, the larger the beads, the higher the mask will hover above the surface - the more "fuzzy" the paint edge will be Smaller
beads, closer mask - sharper paint edge. Of course you will have to airbrush from straight angles to the mask, or you will spray paint under
the mask.
Another simple trick is to use regular children's Play-Doh to mask off the areas. I would not really recommend this method, as Play-Doh can
be leave an oily film on the paint, which may make it difficult to seal the paint with clear varnish later.
When you are painting the major parts of the model, such as the fuselage and the wings, remember to paint every detail that is going to be
attached to these surfaces. Paint all the airbrakes, flaps, slots and landing gear bay doors at the same time or you may find it very difficult if
not impossible to obtain the same color nuance and paint glossiness later. Glue these parts in place at least temporarily with blue-tac or a
droplet of white glue before masking and painting. I cannot tell you how annoying it is to discover having forgot painting airbrakes or wing
flaps, and ending up with slightly different colored parts.
I also recommend painting the canopy at the same time to make sure that the frames has the same color as the camouflage, or It will just
stick out like a sore thumb on the finished model. I have done this mistake more than once on my models!
Finding the right colors
Sometimes finding the correct color to use for a part or for the whole model can be quite a tricky business. Most model kit manufacturers
provide a painting guide, but more often than not, this guide is not quite correct. Sometimes the manufacturer refers to a certain brand of
paint (such as Humbrol), while the real colors fall "in between" two given colors.
Other manufacturers refer to the exact color nuance using a standardized color description (such as the FS-designation). But even if you're
using the exact color, you model may still appear "wrong". Quite often the colors seem too dark or having too much contrast. The reason for
this is the scale effect on colors.
Think of the following: if you are looking at a model in scale 1/72 from a distance of one foot, then it should be like looking at the real aircraft
from 72 feet Now, 72 feet of air is not quite transparent - it has a certain amount of "haziness" or "blueness". To simulate this effect, your
colors should be "toned down" somewhat (a small amount of white mixed in) to give the correct appearance. Some brands of paint (such as
the AeroMaster WarBird-series) already used to have this "toning down" effect built in - they are actually a shade lighter than what's printed
on the paint jar.
The best way to find the right colors to use is really to use your own references. Look in aviation and modeling magazines. Search for photos
on the Internet and compare several different models of the same aircraft. Finally go for your instincts - quite of ten what seems right is
correct!
Bare metal
Unfortunately, normal painting will not always get you all the way to the finishing line. The problem is that not all aircraft are painted; many of
them are flying around in their natural metal birth suit. Representing this metal surface may very well be one of the most difficult jobs you will
ever face during your modeling career, and many modelers tend to shy away from natural metal finishes.
But unless you're extremely hard on yourself, things are not 50 bad, though. There are many metallic acrylics and enamels, which can
be painted on using normal methods and will create a fairly believable representation of a metal finish. Keep in mind that a good priming with
white or light gray is more essential than ever, because metallic colors are transparent. An unprimed surface will show though no matter how
many layers of metallic paint you paint on.
If you feel like a challenge and wish to try to achieve a truly authentic and amazing result, you can try 50 called metalizers.
There are several different brands of metalizers available in the shops (such as Model Master, Liqu-A-Plate, Sn] or Alclad II, to name a few).
The way you use them is basically the same: first prime your model with a smooth primer (such as Halfords gray). Next spray your model with
the metalizer using you airbrush. Then, just before the paint Is totally dry, take a soft fluffy rag or cloth and "buff', or rub the metalizer. By
doing this, the metal particles in the metalizer wilt form an opaque metal finish. Basically, the longer you buff, the more luster you will get out
of the metalizer. You can even achieve a near mirror-like finish!
Metalizers can be a bit tricky to work with since they require an extremely well-polished surface to do their best - even the slightest
imperfection or scratch below the metal finish will be very visible. The earliest types of metalizers are also highly sensitive for handling and the
surface cannot be touched.
But more modern metalizers can be sprayed on just like any paint as long as the surface is extremely smooth and has been primed with a
good primer (Tamiya gloss black).
One of the best metalizers that exist today is the Alclad Il. No buffing is necessary and the surface is tough enough to handle masking and
normal handling. There are several different metal hues to choose from, like duraluminum, aluminum, titanium, burnt metal, copper and
chrome. The result is absolutely fabulous and unrivaled by any other painting methods.
Bare metal F-100
A different technique to recreate the look of an unpainted metal surface is the use of bare metal-foil. With this approach, the metal look of
the model is achieved by "wrapping" the parts with a self-adhesive metallic foil. While some model builders swear by the bare-metal foil
technique, I have so far never succeeded with this method and I don't think that I will ever try again.
Painting canopies
There are always some parts of the model that will grab people's attention, as I have already mentioned. For aircraft models, one such area is
definitely the cockpit area and the canopy. Every minute of work done in this area will improve the model in much higher degree than the
same amount of work done for example to the underside of the wings.
The cockpit on most modern aircraft is partially hidden under the windshield and canopy. Other aircraft can even have much more complex
glazed areas, such as the nose areas of WWII bombers with their intricate glass panel birdcages. Even the simplest one piece canopy is quite
a challenge for model builders, as you normally want to paint the canopy frames, without painting the glazed areas.
There are many different techniques to create good looking frames, such as free-hand painting, masking, using tapes and decals for the
frames or even using etched brass canopy frames.
Most model builders start by painting the frames by hand. I still like to do it on models where the edges of the frames are represented by
thin raised lines. By using these lines as guides, it is possible to paint very fine and accurate panels using a fine brush, thin paint and some
patience.
A different and easy technique is to use empty decal sheets (decal sheets without anything pre-printed). These decal sheets can be
airbrushed with the desired color, cut In thin strips and attached to the canopies just like regular decals. The result is most often very neat!
Almost all beginners decide to brush-paint their first models with a carefully prepared surface, a good set of brushes, properly thinned paint,
some decent craftsmanship and a ton of patience, truly amazing results can be achieved. But for the best results, you should really use an
airbrush.
Airbrushing is very similar to painting with a spray can, but is much more exact and precise. The basic airbrush setup consists of the airbrush
itself, a paint container and an air supply. The air supply is connected to the airbrush with a hose.
The body of the airbrush is a hollow tube. When you press down the trigger on the brush, air will start to flow through the body of the
airbrush. When you release the trigger, the airflow will stop. The harder you press the trigger, the more air will flow through the airbrush.
A paint cup is attached to sides or the bottom of the airbrush body. As the airflow starts, paint is sucked from the paint cup and through the
airbrush. The paint is mixed (atomized) with the air into microscopic paint particles, and is emitted through the nozzle of the airbrush as a
very fine spray.
On more advanced airbrushes, the trigger can not only be moved down and up, but also backwards and forwards. This action of the trigger
controls the amount of paint in the air/paint mixture. Such airbrushes are called double-action airbrushes and generally allow a far better
control of painting than single-action airbrushes.
With practice and a good airbrush, you can not only paint broad and even surfaces, but also fine, almost pencil-thin lines. You can obtain all
sorts of paint patterns and effects, that cannot be duplicated by either spray painting or brush painting.
Air supply
Airbrushes always need some kind of air supply. There are mainly two different kinds of air supply you can use: compressed air cans, or a
compressor. However some use even CO2 tanks to do the job.
I might as well say it right away: air cans are by far the worst source of air you can use for your airbrush. First of all, they are quite expensive,
and will in the long run add up to more money than a cheap compressor. But this is only the smallest of the troubles awaiting you if you go
for this solution.
The worst thing is that air cans are only capable of delivering enough pressure to pull the paint through the brush for a very short time. You
will only be able to paint for around half a minute before the air can cools off and stops delivering power to the brush. You will now have to
wait for like five to ten minutes before you can use the airbrush again. If you put the can in lukewarm water some improvement will be
noticed as the can does not get frozen that quickly.
And also as the pressure drops, the mixture of air and paint inside the brush changes so that the airbrush will start spitting large gobs of paint
onto your model. Trust me, after a few attempts you will definitely hate painting and modeling.
A far better air supply is a compressor. Just about any kind of compressor will work with air brushes as long as they have a pressure regulator.
The cheapest compressors are diaphragm (or membrane) compressors. Generally they don't have a holding tank, which means that they
tend to pulsate slightly. To eliminate these fluctuations, some membrane compressors have a built-in micro-tank. I recommend getting one of
these if you plan on building more than one or two models a year or if you are a perfectionist.
Airbrushes are rather expensive. A decent airbrush set with an air tank and a compressor as air supply adds up to a pretty hefty investment,
but if you plan to continue building models for at least a few more years, it's very well spent money. Investing in an airbrush kit will
revolutionize your modeling more than anything!
As a rule of thumb, the compressor should be able to deliver at least 30 PSI, and the paint should be thinned to the consistency of milk. If
your compressor cannot deliver 30 PSI, the paint must be much thinner, and you will have to paint twice as many layers - for light colors such
as white, you may have to paint 20 or even 30 layers! By getting a decent compressor in the first place you can prevent a lot of headaches
later on! The pressure depends also on the type of airbrush you use.
Once you decide to make the move to airbrushing, do yourself another favor and stay away from the cheap beginner airbrushes. Go for at
least a semi-pro airbrush with internal atomizing where the paint is mixed with the air inside the airbrush body. External atomizing airbrushes
create a much more coarse and rough paint spray, Quite effective for painting large areas, but not very suitable for fine scale model building.
I am a happy user of a Badger 175 Crescendo airbrush together with a Revell compressor - it is a fairly cheap and very usable setup and I
would recommend it. If you live in Europe consider buying a Harder & Steenbeck absolutely incredible airbrushes (very good price/quality
balance).
Practice!
Before you reach for your superbly detailed 80 dollar model as your first airbrush experiment, I recommend that you do some basic exercises
first. If you haven't used an airbrush before, you will definitely need It!
Create a mixture of water-based Ink and water. Make sure It Is dark enough to be visible in thin layers. Load the paint cup with some of this
mixture and start practicing on a sheet of discarded carton.
Spend some time drawing pictures freehand, to get used to the airbrush's action. Write your name with it. Pencil in some guidelines and
practice spraying a straight line of uniform width. Then make two straight lines of the same uniform width. Another classic exercise is to draw
a grid of lines, a few inches apart, and spray a dot on each intersection, each dot the same size.
When you're done, don't forget to practice washing the ink out of the airbrush.
When you start to feel confident about the airbrush, load some paint (preferably acrylics) and start painting on scrap parts.
Airbrush troubleshooting
It takes some time to learn how to achieve a good result with an airbrush. The only way to learn is by practicing, and not being too
frightened of messing up from time to time. Don't be overly hard on yourself: modeling is supposed to be fun!
One thing is very important to remember though - paints must be thinned much more when used with an airbrush than with a regular
paintbrush. If the paint is too thick, it will clog up the airbrush and you will get a bad result.
Besides the problems and their solutions that we already covered in the chapter about basic painting techniques, airbrushing has some
additional problem areas:
Sputtering airbrush
Usually caused by having too low air pressure from the compressor. When using air-cans to drive an airbrush, sputtering is almost impossible to
avoid, since the cans lose their pressure very quickly. Before you know It, the airbrush will start to spit large gobs of paint on your model.
Don't say that I didn't warn you about air-cans!
Finding the correct pressure for the kind of paint you're using is not easy, but after a while you will learn the sound and the feel of the
airbrush when it's working fine. By the way, spitting can also be caused by too thick paint or a clogged up airbrush nozzle.
Orange peel effect
This happens to everyone while using an airbrush - suddenly the paint finish looks coarse and bumpy, just like the peel of an orange. This is
usually caused by airbrushing with too low air pressure, or brushing too far away from the surface. The reason for this effect is that the
microscopic paint particles dry up a little bit and gather in tiny droplets while flying through the air onto the model surface.
The best way to avoid this Is to find the right balance between paint/thinner ratio, air pressure and paint distance. It's really not that
difficult, but takes some time to work out.
Once you have an orange peel affect, the only solution is to gently sand the surfaces with a fine grade wet-and-dry sandpaper to remove
the lumps and bumps. Keep the sandpaper wet all the time 50 you don't scratch through the paint. When the paint finish is smooth again,
wash off all the sanding residue, and let the model fully dry before repeating the painting.
If sanding off the orange peel effect seems like too much trouble, you can just leave it as it is, and remember to improve your painting skills
to the next model.
Running paint
Very simple to avoid - keep painting only feather light layers for each application and let the paint dry between each layer. When painting
very light colors, such as white or (light) yellow, be prepared to paint at least six, seven or even more layers.
Don't rush! If you think it is too much waiting, you can build several models at once. Then you have always something to work on while one
model is "idling".
Masking
When painting a model with more than one color, it may be difficult to obtain a good and clean line between the colors. Sometimes you
want a sharp demarcation line between the two colors, and sometimes you want them to "blend" or fade into each other. Military
camouflage paint schemes have seldom sharp paint edges, but more often display "feathered" edges or some kind of "mottling"
TA-4J Skyhawk
T his kind of paint scheme is very hard to achieve with brush painting, and you should really use an airbrush. But what do you do when you
want to paint an area without spraying paint all over other, already painted areas? The answer of course is by using masking techniques to
protect the areas you don't want painted.
When using an airbrush, think of the paint as sunlight falling onto your model. Masked off areas are shadows, and exposed areas are exposed
to the light. Masking can be done by using self-adhesive tape, frisket paper or just ordinary paper cut and held In front of the area to be
masked off. There are also different masking fluids (like Maskol) that can be brushed on and after the painting simply removed. I have had
some rather bad previous experiences with Maskol discoloring the paintwork underneath, and I cannot therefore recommend it.
For sharp edges, you must make sure that the masking material is tightly attached to the surface, because paint has a tendency to "bleed"
or leak under the mask. Also try to paint "away" from the mask. When the paint has dried, carefully remove the mask without chipping the
paint edges. The best masking tape I have used is Tamiya Masking Tape, which I can strongly recommend.
To obtain a "soft" edge, another approach must be taken. If you are skillful and work with larger scales (such as 1/48 or 1/32), you can in
fact paint the camouflage by freehand, using the finest available needle of the airbrush. Another method is to make small beads of blue-tac,
and gently attach these just inside the area to be masked. Now cut a mask from paper with the correct shape, and attach this paper to the
beads of blue-tac. This way, you will have a mask that "hovers" slightly above the surface to be painted. If you now airbrush gently and
carefully, you will be rewarded with a clean and slightly feathered paint edge.
The main rule is, the larger the beads, the higher the mask will hover above the surface - the more "fuzzy" the paint edge will be Smaller
beads, closer mask - sharper paint edge. Of course you will have to airbrush from straight angles to the mask, or you will spray paint under
the mask.
Another simple trick is to use regular children's Play-Doh to mask off the areas. I would not really recommend this method, as Play-Doh can
be leave an oily film on the paint, which may make it difficult to seal the paint with clear varnish later.
When you are painting the major parts of the model, such as the fuselage and the wings, remember to paint every detail that is going to be
attached to these surfaces. Paint all the airbrakes, flaps, slots and landing gear bay doors at the same time or you may find it very difficult if
not impossible to obtain the same color nuance and paint glossiness later. Glue these parts in place at least temporarily with blue-tac or a
droplet of white glue before masking and painting. I cannot tell you how annoying it is to discover having forgot painting airbrakes or wing
flaps, and ending up with slightly different colored parts.
I also recommend painting the canopy at the same time to make sure that the frames has the same color as the camouflage, or It will just
stick out like a sore thumb on the finished model. I have done this mistake more than once on my models!
Finding the right colors
Sometimes finding the correct color to use for a part or for the whole model can be quite a tricky business. Most model kit manufacturers
provide a painting guide, but more often than not, this guide is not quite correct. Sometimes the manufacturer refers to a certain brand of
paint (such as Humbrol), while the real colors fall "in between" two given colors.
Other manufacturers refer to the exact color nuance using a standardized color description (such as the FS-designation). But even if you're
using the exact color, you model may still appear "wrong". Quite often the colors seem too dark or having too much contrast. The reason for
this is the scale effect on colors.
Think of the following: if you are looking at a model in scale 1/72 from a distance of one foot, then it should be like looking at the real aircraft
from 72 feet Now, 72 feet of air is not quite transparent - it has a certain amount of "haziness" or "blueness". To simulate this effect, your
colors should be "toned down" somewhat (a small amount of white mixed in) to give the correct appearance. Some brands of paint (such as
the AeroMaster WarBird-series) already used to have this "toning down" effect built in - they are actually a shade lighter than what's printed
on the paint jar.
The best way to find the right colors to use is really to use your own references. Look in aviation and modeling magazines. Search for photos
on the Internet and compare several different models of the same aircraft. Finally go for your instincts - quite of ten what seems right is
correct!
Bare metal
Unfortunately, normal painting will not always get you all the way to the finishing line. The problem is that not all aircraft are painted; many of
them are flying around in their natural metal birth suit. Representing this metal surface may very well be one of the most difficult jobs you will
ever face during your modeling career, and many modelers tend to shy away from natural metal finishes.
But unless you're extremely hard on yourself, things are not 50 bad, though. There are many metallic acrylics and enamels, which can
be painted on using normal methods and will create a fairly believable representation of a metal finish. Keep in mind that a good priming with
white or light gray is more essential than ever, because metallic colors are transparent. An unprimed surface will show though no matter how
many layers of metallic paint you paint on.
If you feel like a challenge and wish to try to achieve a truly authentic and amazing result, you can try 50 called metalizers.
There are several different brands of metalizers available in the shops (such as Model Master, Liqu-A-Plate, Sn] or Alclad II, to name a few).
The way you use them is basically the same: first prime your model with a smooth primer (such as Halfords gray). Next spray your model with
the metalizer using you airbrush. Then, just before the paint Is totally dry, take a soft fluffy rag or cloth and "buff', or rub the metalizer. By
doing this, the metal particles in the metalizer wilt form an opaque metal finish. Basically, the longer you buff, the more luster you will get out
of the metalizer. You can even achieve a near mirror-like finish!
Metalizers can be a bit tricky to work with since they require an extremely well-polished surface to do their best - even the slightest
imperfection or scratch below the metal finish will be very visible. The earliest types of metalizers are also highly sensitive for handling and the
surface cannot be touched.
But more modern metalizers can be sprayed on just like any paint as long as the surface is extremely smooth and has been primed with a
good primer (Tamiya gloss black).
One of the best metalizers that exist today is the Alclad Il. No buffing is necessary and the surface is tough enough to handle masking and
normal handling. There are several different metal hues to choose from, like duraluminum, aluminum, titanium, burnt metal, copper and
chrome. The result is absolutely fabulous and unrivaled by any other painting methods.
Bare metal F-100
A different technique to recreate the look of an unpainted metal surface is the use of bare metal-foil. With this approach, the metal look of
the model is achieved by "wrapping" the parts with a self-adhesive metallic foil. While some model builders swear by the bare-metal foil
technique, I have so far never succeeded with this method and I don't think that I will ever try again.
Painting canopies
There are always some parts of the model that will grab people's attention, as I have already mentioned. For aircraft models, one such area is
definitely the cockpit area and the canopy. Every minute of work done in this area will improve the model in much higher degree than the
same amount of work done for example to the underside of the wings.
The cockpit on most modern aircraft is partially hidden under the windshield and canopy. Other aircraft can even have much more complex
glazed areas, such as the nose areas of WWII bombers with their intricate glass panel birdcages. Even the simplest one piece canopy is quite
a challenge for model builders, as you normally want to paint the canopy frames, without painting the glazed areas.
There are many different techniques to create good looking frames, such as free-hand painting, masking, using tapes and decals for the
frames or even using etched brass canopy frames.
Most model builders start by painting the frames by hand. I still like to do it on models where the edges of the frames are represented by
thin raised lines. By using these lines as guides, it is possible to paint very fine and accurate panels using a fine brush, thin paint and some
patience.
A different and easy technique is to use empty decal sheets (decal sheets without anything pre-printed). These decal sheets can be
airbrushed with the desired color, cut In thin strips and attached to the canopies just like regular decals. The result is most often very neat!
Airbrushing
