Duncan B Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 So it was time to move on to the first of the camouflage colours, for some reason I wasn't looking forward to this. I guess I was out of my comfort zone and was unsure if my usual airbrushing techniques I use when spraying Gunze acrylics would work. Also I would normally have pre shaded on top of a primer coat before this stage but on this occasion I was going straight onto the plastic with the paint. I decanted some of the Colourcoats RLM71 into a clean Tamiya style glass jar as I always seem to make much more mess working straight from the tinlets. I then thinned the paint with Rustin's cellulose thinners. I also find it is easier to judge how much thinners to use when I can see the amount of paint in the jar. I was concerned that the Colourcoats RLM71 might be too dark as I'd had a test brushing it onto some paper last night but once I started spraying it looked more like the colour I was expecting. Be aware that Colourcoats call both their RLM71 and RLM70 Dunkelgrun, whereas the RLM70 should be Schwartzgrun IIRC. Once I got started I realised that I could control the paint just as well as I could with my normal brand and that I could vary the density with no problems. So to make up for the lack of preshading I laid on the paint a bit thicker along the panel lines and applied it more sparingly over the centre of the panels to avoid a solid block of colour. I would normally go back over the panels with a lightened version of the paint to create the same effect. Some patches are too thin but that is where the RLM70 will be going so will be covered over later. So now I have to wait or that coat to dry and then I'll get it masked for the Black-green. This is the part that I am taking badly to, the wait for the enamels to dry even though I usually wait 24 hours between coats with my usual paints too. Duncan B 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 If you hadn't mentioned you didn't do any pre-shading, I'd have never guessed. Great job Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 It'll tone down a bit when the second top colour is applied, looks a bit too obvious just now. Goes to show that the paint is capable of quite subtle effects though. Duncan B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 It'll tone down a bit when the second top colour is applied, looks a bit too obvious just now. Goes to show that the paint is capable of quite subtle effects though. Indeed - although, as we use to say in Italy, it's the handle that counts (handle being referred to you manual ability) Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 I've spent most of the day masking off for the RLM70 Schwartzgrun, glad to see that finished. Photobucket has been playing up, took ages to upload 4 photos yesterday and ended up making multiple copies of each one! Same again today and it lost 3 photos while editing them! Duncan B 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 Wow, neat masking. Well worth the effort! Don't know if it's the pic, but it looks like the masking has lifted off from underneath port wing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 The RLM70 Schwartzgrun was been sprayed last night and left to dry. I haven't removed the masking tape yet as I am still deciding whether I will do some modulation with a lightened mix of the RLM70 or just leave it. The temptation to rip the masking tape off is very strong, anyone else remember having skinned knees and pulling the scabs off? Duncan B 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Heath Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Very neat spraying there Duncan. I like the use of the foam as a protective support, I might steal that idea. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I'll second Nigel's comment, very neat spraying I vote for color modulation, FWIW Ciao 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I agree - give it a tart-up Duncan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 I've been quite rough with the Colourcoats paints in the way that I've abused them in the name of product testing. Intentionally missing out the surface prep/primer stage, not being overly careful with the paint to thinner ratios, slapping masking tape on when the paints still seemed slightly tacky and ripping the tape off afterwards without due care and attention. This is all a million miles away from the way I would normally treat paint but Jamie said they would take anything I could throw at them so I have thrown caution to the wind. So with that in mind I couldn't wait any longer to rip (quite literally) the masking tape off to see what was underneath. Would the paint end up stuck on the masking tape in the bin was the big question? The answer is...... .....no, all paint is stuck exactly where it was supposed to be. I'm well pleased with the way that has turned out (there is a little touching up to do where my masking hasn't been perfect but other than that it's perfect). It's a really hard colour scheme to photograph though with a mobile phone. Hopefully once I set up my big camera with the proper lighting it'll be somewhat easier. I've left the paint to fully cure then I'll go back over it with some lightened shades to add a bit of modulation and then onward to gloss coat for decals. Any suggestions for which gloss coat I should use? Normally I'd use Mr Color UV Cut Super Gloss which is an acrylic. Can I use acrylic over enamels, in the name of road testing maybe I should try? Duncan B 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) The only stuff I've found that lifts Colourcoats easily is the Humbrol aerosol clearcoats. Whatever solvent is in that really doesn't agree with Colourcoats which I found out the hard way. I won't claim to have been through all of the clear coats out there, but anything I've tried with an airbrush as opposed to an aerosol can has been fine Duncan. I'm very pleased that the paints have kept all the promises I made you last month at the club and it's very helpful that you're describing the "abuse" in the name of product testing. Even still, no point in screwing up your model re-establishing an incompatability I already knew about! Edited December 17, 2015 by SovereignHobbies 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Heath Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 That looks like a really neat result. My go to gloss coat is Alclad Aqua Gloss, its forgiving in application (more so than Klear), dries quickly and being water based is guaranteed not to affect the underlying enamel paint. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I've been quite rough with the Colourcoats paints in the way that I've abused them in the name of product testing. Intentionally missing out the surface prep/primer stage, not being overly careful with the paint to thinner ratios, slapping masking tape on when the paints still seemed slightly tacky and ripping the tape off afterwards without due care and attention... Oi! That's my standard operating procedure... ...Can I use acrylic over enamels, in the name of road testing maybe I should try? ... I usually use W&N Galeria over enamels and I don't recall having any problems, as long as you have left it a day or so for the solvents to evaporate properly... Cheers, Stew 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 Ok, thanks for the feedback on the various options for my gloss coat. An acrylic gloss as a barrier would be good as I'd be able to use enamel washes without risking any damage to the enamel paint below. Duncan B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted December 18, 2015 Author Share Posted December 18, 2015 As you can see in the previous photos the RLM70 Schwartzgrun looked too 'solid', for want of a better word, so I decided to break it up a bit with some lighter paint. First step was to mix a lighter version using a few drops of white and some lighter green with the original base RLM 70. As well as being a lighter colour it was also substantially thinned before being randomly sprayed into the various Schwartzgrun panels. It turned out a bit too light and monotone for my liking so I decided to go back over the RLM70 areas again with another thinned coat of the base colour, sprayed more around the edges of the panels but still with random elements. (Hopefully the photos show the change.) With the changes made to the RLM70 I felt that I needed to go back and adjust the RLM71 Dunkelgrun as the original coat was quite translucent. I thinned the base colour and filled in some areas on the Dunkelgrun whilst trying to keep some of the lighter patches. I'll leave it for a day to dry off again and then I'll have to give it a bit of a polish with some Micromesh as the paint has some rough patches along the wing roots and in the other corners where it has built up too much. Gloss coat will then follow which will tone down the patchwork look somewhat. In the mean time I'll get the wheels painted and will have to make another radio mast as the kit one broke when I tried to get it off the sprue. Duncan B 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Looking very good, Duncan! To support (not that you actually need that) what you said, I found during my recent Bf109 G6 build that postshading on dark colors works much better (for me, at least) by spraying a darker mix along panel lines, as opposed to the lighter mix inside the panels (which is what I would normally do with lighter colors). I don't know if that is going to be a general rule; I guess I'll find out when I have to paint the SEA camo on my F-4C Usually, the contrast tones down a lot after the gloss coat, and even more so when you have large/colorful decals or markings, so to me it looks like you're all set for a great result here Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Heath Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Its nice to have a how to explanation on how you go about achieving your amazing finishes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted December 18, 2015 Author Share Posted December 18, 2015 I'll not give you all my secrets Nigel or else with your amazing scratch building combined with my painting techniques you'd be unstoppable . The thing to remember, as stated above, is that the gloss coat will tone it all down so the fading has to be actually slightly overdone initially (I've maybe not gone far enough but will have another look when it is all dry). When I first started fading my models I wouldn't go far enough and it would all disappear. If it is too obvious, a quick pass with the original colour sorts it out which is simple so no reason for not trying it yourselves. Duncan B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 I had a slight hiccup while gluing the slats onto the wings. I somehow managed to drip Liquid Poly onto one of the wings, it didn't cause any damage to the plastic or even lift the paint but did leave a watermark which needed to be resprayed to cover. Luckily I always keep the mixed paints until the end of the build so it was only a five minute job to fix. I left the new paint to dry for 24 hours, maybe a bit excessive but worth the wait. Once I was happy it had hardened off I had to give the paint a polish with some 8000 micro mesh to take off some of the roughness caused by over spray and excess buildup in the wing roots. This has added to the distressed look of the paint which is a bonus. So it was time to decant some acrylic gloss from the rattle can..... .....this stuff is by far the best gloss goat I have ever used, sprayed on with Mr Color Self Levelling thinners although it is ready to go from out of the rattle can but I prefer to spray it on in really thin coats. I was a little concerned that there might be a reaction so did a quick test on my Dornier test mule (but if liquid poly doesn't lift the Colourcoats paint I doubt the acrylic gloss will) I'll leave this to harden off now and then give it a polish later as some dust has settled on it. Once I've polished it I'll give it another few coats of the gloss coat then I've some more painting with acrylics to do before the decal/weathering stage. That is me finished with the Colourcoat paints now and I have to say they have performed really well despite me intentionally being very slapdash with them. If Enamels are your paints of choice then give them a try. Duncan B 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 This has added to the distressed look of the paint which is a bonus. Agreed, it looks brilliant! You can still perceive the worn effect even after the gloss coat - this is going to turn out great after washing/weathering! Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Heath Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Looks great, I can't wait to see the decals go on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 That's looking good Duncan Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I am following along here, but, sadly, really have had nothing of any importance to add. The complexity of your masking, and the working between such subtle nuances in colours is all very impressive, and so far removed from my airliner world of gloss white up top and a decision between gull grey or silver below. Mind you, I shouldn't sell myself short - I do always have to decide between working in the kitchen or outside, my playlist or streaming radio from Hamburg, a light beer or a full bodied lager? The mind boggles with modelling options these days. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 Time to start painting on the markings. I have a few sets of Montex masks so will use the crosses from one of these as I don't have the correct size decals in my decal stock (mostly all 1/72). First step is to apply the outer masks, it's trickier than you might imagine as they appear to come off the backing paper with with a bit of a static charge and want to leap onto the plastic as they get close, true! The swastika is going to be interesting as the mask is positioned right across the rudder hinge line so doesn't completely conform to the surface, lots of room for overspray and softening of the edges if I'm not careful. Final step before painting is to make sure that the overspray won't get where it shouldn't, white will go everywhere it's not supposed to. So on with the white, in this case Mr Color flat white lacquer thinned with Mr Color self levelling thinners, sprayed on thinly and perpendicular to the mask to try to avoid pushing the paint into or under the edges of the mask. With the white paint on I now have a wait for that to harden off enough to get the inner masks on before applying the black paint. It's all nerve jangling stuff as I'll have no idea if it's mucked up until everything is finished and the masks are removed and there are lots of opportunities for it to go wrong too! Duncan B 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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