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How do you do mottling?


Harrier/ViperFan

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One technique, which I learned back in the Dark Age of Modeling, when there were no aftermarket products of any kind and an airbrush was some arcane tool of the devil used only by commercial artists and photo retouchers, was to use a piece of sponge, Tear some random holes in it, then use it much like a rubber stamp to stamp a pattern on the model, using paint as the "ink". It took a bit of experimentation to determine how much paint to use. I seem to recall brushing a thin coat of paint on a ceramic tile, then using the sponge to pick up just a bit of the paint. By turning the piece of sponge (or using several different pieces), I was able to make the pattern look more random and authentic after some practice.

Of course, by the time I had practiced this technique to the point where I was satisfied with its appearance, airbrushes had come into common use by modelers at prices I could afford, so I threw out all my sponge "stamps." And I've since lost any interest in building WW 2 Luftwaffe aircraft models, which is why I tried the sponge technique in the first place.

Edited by Space Ranger
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My technique is

1: put small splodges of the main mottle colour onto the base, eg RLM 70 & 02 onto 65

d17e6dad1501a7f19de133defef77657.jpg

2: using an old paintbrush which has the bristles cut down to about 3mm stab paint the two colours over these splodges

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3: using the same brush and whilst the two main colours are still drying stab paint the base colour [RLM 65] to even out no.3

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4: touch in around the area to cover up where the stab painting has gone were it shouldn't

gets me this result;

0cf9e92d4cae2c3a5a2ac923aef7e49b.jpg

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I use a similar technique to Black Knight, I believe it's called "dry brushing". With a bit of practice you can get a variation with the mottling. I'll admit it's not perfect or as good as an air brush however it looks ok when the model is on the display shelf. Here's my 109 and please ignore the rubbish Academy decals.

Bf%20109G%20001_zpskojxtrg3.jpg

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I wouldn't describe the technique as 'dry brushing'. That usually involves a full bristle brush with minimum paint on it used in a stroking fashion over raised areas to 'high-light' them or their edges.

The short bristle brush has more wet paint and is stabbed at the surface.

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I saw someone once who had blocked in the mottle with blobs of colour, then used variations on the tones to blend them seamlessly into the background paint. It was very effective, but must have been time consuming, when airbrushes are relatively* cheap these days. You can pick up a cheap brush and compressor off eBay for less than a ton, and if you shop around and read reviews, I believe they're pretty good. If any of you remember Skii from back in the early days, he used to do all his models with a cheapo Chinese clone airbrush that cost him around £10-15.

When I was a kid I used to cut a large brush so the bristles were square, then dabble the mottle on. Worked at the time! :lol:

* Compared to back in the day.

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Agreed that the short bristle brush is dabbed on the surface, but it should still have only a bare minimum of paint leaving a faint appearance which is built up by repeating the exercise. Any "wet paint" is surely overdoing it. I've always known it as "dry brushing".

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