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Is it possible to hand paint this pattern ?


stoutdave

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Hi,

I don't have any fancy airbrushes and paint by hand at the moment so wondered if anyone has any experience in painting models by hand and producing decent finishes with a pattern like this one below ? I'm stumped on how to begin but want to have a crack at it as I have the two models below in my stash waiting to be completed.

Thanks in advance :)

fw189condorreviewbg_1.jpg

revell-1-72-german-arado-240c-02-nightfi

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I have painted the squiggle/wave mirror/arabesque scheme twice in my life, using a traditional brush. You have to take it slowly and be painstaking, and then it ends up as solid lines unlike most real examples of this scheme which are fuzzy-edged from being airbrushed. However that would match the boxart of the FW 189, which if right wouldn't be typical. To get the correct appearance with an airbrush requires a very fine needle, and the problem there is getting a solid centre but a fuzzy edge, whilst remaining a thin line. You need a very good airbrush, a flexible wrist and a lot of practice - something for better modellers than I. I have considered painting the lines with a too-thin brush, then following the lines with an airbrush, but have yet to pluck up the courage - or have such a subject reach the top of the stash!. The two requirements are probably connected.

The lower aircraft is a what-if and inaccurate - but that's another story! Contact me off line if you are interested, but it's a major chopping job. Better regard it as a good tool for playing with even a fairly basic airbrush. I gather that the surviving He 219 in the States has a dark base with the light colour tightly wound around, giving the impression of dark spots on a light background, and I think that is what is intended by the boxart above. Trying to match that effect with a brush would be difficult indeed. Fortunately German night-fighters usually had a simpler mottle, even retaining splinter camouflage on the wings and tailplane, and as a what-if you are free to improvise.

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All I would say about attempting this scheme with a brush:

Paint the lighter colour first and then use the darker colour to make the first colour the right shape (but I guess you will always have the potential for the first layer of paint to show up as a fairly obvious "thickness" underneath the edges of the dark colour). Would a very light sanding of the edges of the lighter colour (before adding the darker colour) sort this potential problem out?

I wish you all the best in your efforts.

Chris.

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That light over dark squiggle on the Fw189 will be difficult.

I've done dark over light on this Bf110 with a felt tip pen.

Italeri_Messerschmitt_Bf110G4_zpsek6gvad

Build is here:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/48914-italeri-messerschmitt-bf110g4/

and I described the technique here

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/51508-squiggle-camo/

Edited by theplasticsurgeon
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I remember Theplasticsurgeon's build shown above and liked the technique using artist's felt tipped pens over a coat of Kleer IIRC. I bought the pens but have got no further yet but have the same Fw189 kit and a few others requiring the same pattern.

Duncan B

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Chalk pencil (used by tailors) over a matt surface for the light on dark one, with a sprayed overall coat of matt varnish to seal it? That'd give you a softish line, and you could soften the edges more with something like a Citadel fine dry-brush...

I've not tried it, I hastily add, but I have used artist's chalk pastels to weather with, and they do "take" on a matt surface...

bestest,

M.

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Chalk pencil (used by tailors) over a matt surface for the light on dark one, with a sprayed overall coat of matt varnish to seal it?

Worth a try, but expect the binder to affect the colour of the chalk heavily.

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The He219 in The Steven Udvar-Hazy is very interesting (even mesmerising) to look at and ponder if you have the skill to copy it in 1:72! They've gone to a lot of trouble to follow the original pattern closely, the man with the spray gun did a fine job!

http://blog.nasm.si.edu/restoration/heinkel-wing-paint/

I know I shalln't be building one!

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I've been looking at pro-markers available in hobbycraft. They're blendable and assuming they are not too hard to blend I think I can make them work over the top of the base darker colour.

Just need some plastic to try it out on :)

As for the model ..... it's not my next build but i'm looking to do it soon :)

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  • 1 month later...

I have just come across this post and it is very do able even with light squiggles on dark. This is my rendition of the He 219 http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234998754-dragon-he-219/and the squiggles were done with well thinned Italeri Acrylics and a (cheap) long bristled brush. Long bristles are important as they hold a reservoir of paint that means you can do a long stroke without having to recharge the brush lots. I did spend a lot of time practising before committing paint to plastic.

Hope that this helps.

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