Luftwaffe Camouflage on the Messerschmitt Bf110C-5

[David Hadland]

I am at the painting stage of a Airfix Dogfight Double 1/72 Bf110C-5 and for the life of me I can't work out how to do the disruptive patterning on the sides of the Aircraft. (The paints used are Humbrol 27, 65 & 145.  I'm using acrylics so I could see the difference between them and Enamels and using a brush.
 

In case this helps, the Aircraft i'm building is a Messerschmidt  Bf110C-5 of 4(F) / Aufklarungsgruppe (Aufkl.Gr.)1, Luftwaffe, Cherbourg France July 1940.

 

Any help on how to get the cammo right would be appreciated.

[Graham Boak]

The old technique would be to get an old brush and trim the hairs down to s stub.  Then put some paint in a shallow bowl (milk bottle top will do), touch the tip of the brush onto the paint, rub most off onto a rag, then dab the remainder onto the fuselage sides.    Build it up slowly.  This is call dry-brushing, because there must be very little paint on the brush, certainly no wet.  You can do much the same with small pieces of sponge, and nowadays you can get small sticks with fuzz on the tip, which will do the same job.  However, as a hardened traditional brush painter, I have to say that this is something better done with a dual-action airbrush.

 

PR Scale Aircraft Modelling did sell metal templates/masks, so you could get a similar effect with a simple one-over spray rather than having to produce individual spots.  It helps to have a clean brush and some thinners to remove spots that have become unsightly blotches.

[David Hadland]

Thanks for the reply, very helpful.

[Greg B]

Moved out of the work in progress area…