How exacatly do you guys paint camo on armour? Do you start sparyingbefore the paint hits the model then draw teh lines? I was wondering becasue if I start right on the model then there is a danger of getting too much piant on tehe first spray. I hope this clear. I do german armour BTW. But any technique will do.

Good question.
All I know to do is be very careful not to pull back to far (if you are using a double-action AB). For my King Tiger (see Folgore's Folder if you are interested) I outlined the camo with thin lines and then coloured inside. If you make a mistake and spray it on too thick in an area, sometimes you can fix it if you immediately wipe the paint away and go over it again. Some tanks did have hard-edge camo, where you could mask off the lines and just spray over top.

Nic

Hey, Nic, I like the looks of the Tiger, nice job. What type paint did you use for the Red Oxide Primer? I've always thought that Tamiya Red-Brown was too dark.

That seems the easier camo. What about the camo that is a series of interwoven thin lines like spaghetti. I have not attempted any camo schemes yet but THAT day is coming... soon! Its one of those things that I tried to avoid for a while but now its calling my name as well!
Im actually looking forward to trying it! But it will probably mean I´ll have to dilute the caustic soda for stripping again.!

You set the AB on fine and go for it, Plasticbattle. Takes some practice just to get the settings (air pressure, paint/thinner ratio, amount of pressure applied to trigger, distance held away from model, etc).

Bribo--For the Red-Oxide Primer I used a base coat of Model Master Italian Red Brown, mixed with a little Testors Rust. Then, I oversprayed that with a lighter colour (Italian Red Brown, Rust, Flat White (makes it look a little pink), and Yellow (makes it look not too pink ).

Nic

I am what you might call a stoneage painter. I do not have an air brush, I paint all my german kits with the old cotton ball and spray can technic. First you lick ( yes lick) the cotton ball and place it where you want it on the kit after it has had a base color of dark tan or dark green or even panzer gray. Once you have nearly covored the kit leavein the design you want exposed, whethet it be a cloud pattern or wide bands, you then start to spray off the kit about 6 inches away or more and in a fairly quick motion move across the model. You will have to spin the model around hitting all sides and top. This may have to be done several times to get the pattern you want . There's some pattern not possible with this method but with alittle patients you can produce a good looking kit.

mkctanker

mkctanker Airbrushes are cheap on ebay like ten bucks why dont you just brek down and buy one probably make your life alot easier
BRanden

Hi guys

You don't need an airbrush to enjoy the hobby. I paint with a brush. I think that will mean there are some cammo patterns I won't be able to do. I bought, then sold an airbrush and compressor because I don't have a workshop, and I have limited time for this hobby. I found that setting up the airbrush, mixing paint, painting, adjusting, painting, mixing more paint....then finally cleaning up took WAY too long. I would rather brush paint, which is fast, and as a coat of paint dries I work on something else. In find airbrushes are noisy, smell, and are not a relaxing part of the hobby. I don't want to have to work under a fume hood, or with a mask on, or spend more time cleaning up than building.

OK. Rant over!

For the same reason I'm not tempted to buy a Dremel. Another noisy tool to use that will spread dust all over the place etc. Sure, I bet it would make my life easier, but I model for relaxation, not to get done fast!

Using pastels and careful painting can lead to some pretty nifty cammo schemes, and I'm just going to plug away at that.

So, if using spray cans is the stone age, I guess I'm back there with homo habilis trying to muddle my way through!!

Cheers
Andy

When painting the thin lines on camo, I set my airbrush needle to an almost closed position. I find that too little paint is better than the dreaded "starburst" of too much paint. With the airbrush at this setting, simply keep going over your line until you get it as thick and dark as you like.

Patrick

For the camo on my Panther (see Rivet Review forum), I was nervous about ruining the job I did on construction so I masked the entire camo scheme. This took ages and had to be done for all three colours but the result was worth it.
Andrew

This is truly an ART.... and to learn the art, you must practice... and before you go spray the heck out of a nice model, I suggest that you grab your spray brush and a few large sheets of white posterboard and learn the characteristics of your brush, and how colors combine. Wish someone would ahve told me that before my first blast of the airbrush ruined the otherise fine finish of the model i was working on!