opus999 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) This is the most recent Airfix Hawker Typhoon release in 1/72 scale. I think this is the first time since returning to the hobby about 5 years ago that I was able to achieve a worn paint look to my liking. The model was a joy to put together with terrific detail and very little seam filling required. The only seam work that was necessary were the wing roots. I elected not to fill these in because I was in a time crunch because I was trying a new paint technique for my dad, who was coming to my house to work on his monogram 1/48 typhoon the following weekend. The paint was Mr. Color, which I tried for the first time and fell in love with. I "black based" the aircraft (an technique I learned at doogsmodels) by primering the aircraft with Mr. Finishing surfacer black 1500, then marbling on Mr. color 309 (the equivalent to RAF dark green) with areas of 303 (FS3402) and 319 (light green) for the green part of the camouflage and marbling on 331 (Dark sea gray) lightened with a little 306 (FS36270) with areas of darker and lighter 331 (by adding white and black) for the gray parts of the camo. The bottom was marbled with 335 (Medium sea gray). I then went over most of the panel lines with 339 engine gray. I also marbled light gray on areas I expected to be sun weathered. When it came time to mist on the final colors, I used salt weathering: I wet the surface down with water and sprinkled on crushed up sea salt, dried it with a hair dryer on cool and misted the color on. I would then wash the salt off and repeat the process two more times. I masked the camouflage with bluetak and tamiya tape. I gloss coated the model with Alclad 2 Aqua Gloss 2 clear by hand brushing it on, then applied the decals using Mr. Mark Softener as a solvent. I did a pin-wash in selected panel lines. The engraved lines are deep enough that they really didn't need a pin wash, so I just did the ailerons, elevators and the lines running through the decals. I airbrushed decanted Dullcote on the model and used tamiya weathering pastels for exhaust and gun smoke stains. Final weathering consisted of painting paint chips on the wings and fuselage using testors chrome paint and the smallest paint brush I have. I collected a couple dozen photos of ground crew servicing the typhoon to use as reference for where to put the paint chips and how worn the aircraft got. I drybrushed the outer leading edges of the propeller blades with testors chrome paint and dotted on a few paint chips sparingly. This kit was very impressive for the cost and was a lot of fun to put together. My dad was impressed that it had more detail than his Monogram 1/48 typhoon! I highly recommend it. Edited March 4, 2018 by opus999 Added a photo 45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairtrigger Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Splendid work... Good to share techniques, I must try the salt method. I like to see a warbird that's seen some action and general wear.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 Thanks! The salt method was pretty easy, but I had to test it on some scrap a few times to figure out how to get the look I wanted. The first time I tried it I put on too much water and the salt ended up covering the whole surface! I wanted to share how I did it because I've learned so much from folks who detailed how they did things. I hope to return the favor for someone else! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Looks great, I reckon. I have built an Academy Typhoon in this scale, but this Airfix version somehow looks more authentic. Nice work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Top stuff! I have this kit in the stash and will use your build as inspiration Cheers 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovely Pig Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Very nice work. Paint job looks excellent and wethering is most convincing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithy Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I am probably Stapme Stapleton's biggest fan here at BM so any Tiffie in his markings gets a very big thumbs up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinChipmunkfan Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Never heard of this technique before but it looks very effective, good job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 What a splendid Typhoon. I love the model and especially the finish and like others, do appreciate the detailed account of the techniques and paints used. You have inspired! Well done and thanks. Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc72 Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Very nice model. The weathering looks just right. The salt technique really looks promising, but it doesn't seem to work with my favorite Tamiya paints (water content dissolves salt causing fogging). Mr. Color are "solvent"-based (=solvent other than water, IPA, Ethanol), aren't they? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Very nice paintwork there. The effect is subtle yet effective. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Wow, what a finish! Thanks for sharing your techniques. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 16 hours ago, ColinChipmunkfan said: Never heard of this technique before but it looks very effective, good job! I have seen it most commonly used with Navy jets to get the really dirty, grungy look. But a post here at britmodeller inspired me to think about using it for WWII aircraft. In the post, the member (Wolwe82) used salt weathering to create a finish on Don Gentille's P-51, Shangri-La, that was the most realistic I'd ever seen -- So I just had to try it. Here's the post: I especially appreciated that he detailed his technique. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 16 hours ago, Terry1954 said: What a splendid Typhoon. I love the model and especially the finish and like others, do appreciate the detailed account of the techniques and paints used. You have inspired! Well done and thanks. Terry Thanks for the praise! I'm new here, so I haven't been able to do any WIP, but I hope to. I've learned so much from others who've done so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 14 hours ago, Doc72 said: Very nice model. The weathering looks just right. The salt technique really looks promising, but it doesn't seem to work with my favorite Tamiya paints (water content dissolves salt causing fogging). Mr. Color are "solvent"-based (=solvent other than water, IPA, Ethanol), aren't they? Thank you! It's funny you said "just right" because that's really what I strive for! It's so easy for me to over do it. Yes, Mr. Color is a solvent based lacquer, so it worked very well with this technique, but you really need a respirator to airbrush with it. I have some Tamiya and it has always seemed to be high quality (lots of folks swear by it), but I haven't used it in an airbrush because I had such a terrible experience with Testors Acryl (masking peeled up so much of the paint!). I realize all paint brands are different, so have you found Tamiya resistant to peel up? Are you able to get a fine line with it through an airbrush? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmouredSprue Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Very inspirational building mate. Congratulations! Your weathering is spot on! Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Very nice indeed! J-W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedders Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 That looks lovely. Great paint job and weathering. Reminds me I must finish mine...! Justin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Excellent and very convincing finish, well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 That was just about perfect! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 A terrific looking Typhoon with some beautiful weathering. I really like the tonal variation you've achieved. I have seen the marbling method being done on You Tube and was impressed with the results. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanC Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Nice Typhoon. Personally I'm not a fan of the 'marbling' method because often it's overdone and looks ridiculous. But in your case it's resulted in a subtle worn and faded look. I also rate Mr Color paints and use them a lot now. And you're right - Gas mask essential! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Excellent work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc72 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 11 hours ago, opus999 said: Thank you! It's funny you said "just right" because that's really what I strive for! It's so easy for me to over do it. Yes, Mr. Color is a solvent based lacquer, so it worked very well with this technique, but you really need a respirator to airbrush with it. I have some Tamiya and it has always seemed to be high quality (lots of folks swear by it), but I haven't used it in an airbrush because I had such a terrible experience with Testors Acryl (masking peeled up so much of the paint!). I realize all paint brands are different, so have you found Tamiya resistant to peel up? Are you able to get a fine line with it through an airbrush? Tamiya paints work very well for me (probably because I have most experience with them). They smell better (ventilation is still a good idea from a health point of view), and I have no problems with paint peeling up. It is true that they don't "bite" into the plastic as solvent-based paints do, but at least since I use a rattle-can primer first, the Tamiya paint sticks well enough to the surface. I recently finished a D-Day Spitfire (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235034766-spitfire-ix-june-1944-172/) with lots of masking (invasion stripes, sky fuselage band, yellow leading edges), but the masking tape (also Tamiya) never lifted up the paint. Fine lines also are no problems if you use a volatile thinner (high ethanol or IPA content). I used to built German planes and tanks with a lot of mottling etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Really nice Typhoon there, great job on the paint and weathering 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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