modelfan Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Hi all what is the best way to mottle german planes with a paintbrush? i have no airbrush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Rogers Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Not easy to do effectively, but can be done. Cut down an old but clean paintbrush so that the bristles are something like 2 or 3mm short. Start longer if you like and shorten to taste. Dip in your paint of choice, wipe your brush on a bit of tissue so that the bulk of the paint is off then just dab the brush, end on to the surface, until you get the desired effect. Start with less and build it up. If you put too much on, it's not easy to remove without making a mess. Something else you could try if you're feeling brave, is when it's just dry, go over with a very light coat of white spirit, this will soften the edhe of the mottle and make it 'softer'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 A friend of mine used to be a bit of an artist and when he painted German aircraft he used a small piece of sponge to paint the mottles, I have not tried it myself but it worked for him. Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelfan Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share Posted February 10, 2013 Thanks for the info i will give it a go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Make sure you dab the sponge on to a tissue first to remove most of the paint though, or you just get a blob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svartr Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I'm going to paint my first German WW2 plane pretty soon, I don't have an airbrush, and I won't for a while. I will probably try both of these methods on some spare plastic or even paper before I go for it on the model though. I guess the key to it is just patience, putting small amounts on and building it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightningboy2000 Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 I'm going to paint my first German WW2 plane pretty soon, I don't have an airbrush, and I won't for a while. I will probably try both of these methods on some spare plastic or even paper before I go for it on the model though. I guess the key to it is just patience, putting small amounts on and building it up. I'd like to see your results as I never use an airbrush. For that kind of thing I normally use cotton buds and thin but not too thin paint. Much like with blending oil paints, I try and apply whilst surrounding paint is semi dry. This will give you more of a merged painted effect. All the best and welcome to the these forums! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svartr Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 I'd like to see your results as I never use an airbrush. For that kind of thing I normally use cotton buds and thin but not too thin paint. Much like with blending oil paints, I try and apply whilst surrounding paint is semi dry. This will give you more of a merged painted effect. All the best and welcome to the these forums! Martin Interesting point about the semi-dry paint and cotton wool buds. I'll have to try that, sounds like it may be the easiest way to put it on and I'd imagine it turns out very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyverns4 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Used to do this in PA (Pre-Airbrush) times using all three methods mentioned above. So I would just like to add that you will need to thin the paint and build up the mottle in thin layers slowly. Just remembering the Frog instruction sheets withe the 'cut down the paintbrush diagram. Ah memories! Nice Mjølner by the way. Christian the Married and exiled to Africa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 On the 1/72 Scale Aircraft Forum, http://z15.invisionfree.com/72nd_Aircraft/index.php, there is a tip about using pastels for mottling: http://z15.invisionfree.com/72nd_Aircraft/index.php?showtopic=3115 Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svartr Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Used to do this in PA (Pre-Airbrush) times using all three methods mentioned above. So I would just like to add that you will need to thin the paint and build up the mottle in thin layers slowly. Just remembering the Frog instruction sheets withe the 'cut down the paintbrush diagram. Ah memories! Nice Mjølner by the way. Christian the Married and exiled to Africa Yeah I'm just going to make sure I thin the paint well, and be very patient with it. Mjolnir is one of my favourite symbols, I'm really interested in Norse Mythology, I'm actually wearing a Mjolnir pendant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svartr Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 On the 1/72 Scale Aircraft Forum, http://z15.invisionfree.com/72nd_Aircraft/index.php, there is a tip about using pastels for mottling: http://z15.invisionfree.com/72nd_Aircraft/index.php?showtopic=3115 Chris That's a very interesting idea actually. The pastels do well in giving the mottled effect accurately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveinns Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 More by luck than judgement, I found the wet on wet approach worked pretty well. Keep the top coat well thinned down & even go over the mottles with a thinned down mix of the basecoat. Be prepared to go over it all several times. The secret is keeping the coats THIN so they blend in. Or you can easily end up with masses of paint, so just take your time & as mentioned PATIENCE is strongly recommended ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Knight Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 May I add; an extra which I sometimes do is; after a 'mottle' is applied with thinned paint, I dab the almost dry paint with a finger. Not a hard impression, just a dab. If it lifts off a lot of paint it gets wiped on a cloth, if there is a little, that gets dabbed on a bare-ish patch. Works, ok for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oberleutnant Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 On 3/13/2013 at 3:27 PM, dogsbody said: On the 1/72 Scale Aircraft Forum, http://z15.invisionfree.com/72nd_Aircraft/index.php, there is a tip about using pastels for mottling: http://z15.invisionfree.com/72nd_Aircraft/index.php?showtopic=3115 Chris Thanks for sharing this. I'm in the process of mottling with a brush and it is damned tricky. I'm doing my best and am relatively pleased with the results so far but ultimately it still isn't great and is a mile off the air sprayed finish. This is an interesting option and I don't see why it cannot be used for bigger mottling shapes found on the eastern front BF109s. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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