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How would YOU do this camo?


Out2gtcha

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Im currently working on my Do-335 in the multi-engined GB, and I wanted to pose a question to all of the excellent modelers we have on this site.

My Do-335 will be finished in a Bf-109E Trop "Leopard spot" schemes of 1941, and I want to reproduce the very fine, subtle and ever so slightly feathered edge of the spots. 

 

Now I have been modeling for a long while now and have my own ideeers about how I would probably approach this camo, but I came to the conclusion that there are SO many good modelers on this site, that I might be doing myself a disservice by not seeing how others may approach it.

 

So how would you reproduce this one?

 

White-3-Hans-Joachim-Marseille-Libya-194

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2 minutes ago, Out2gtcha said:

So how would you reproduce this one?

 

Probably poorly. :D

 

Seriously, though - probably very, very thin paint, very low pressure, very low volume, and build up the spots in successive layers. I'm not saying I've done that, but that's probably what I would try first.

Edited by BiggTim
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My first thought would be to paint the green first, and then form the blobby shapes with Blu-tac masks, before painting the sand colour around them. Of course, this would work well enough on the wings, but not so much on the fuselage sides. My second thought would be to simply airbrush them freehand, but we all know the dangers and difficulties there! I think the best option would be to cut paper masks (even easier if you have a cutter) that conform to the shapes in the illustration, and lay them down using Blu-tac (or similar) to raise them from the surface slightly. This will give you the soft edge once you've laid down the green, but would likely require some touch-ups.

 

Kev

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Just free-hand it using the diagram as a guide. At least the patches are fairly large. Start with spraying smaller patches roughly at each 

center point to set the initial layout. Then go back over each spot enlarging it. Or at least that's the way I did my Cyber-Hobby E4-Trop a while

back.

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Thanks guys. That's why I posted this......

 

Stuff I probably wouldn't have thought of.

Freehand,

Yes, that was really my initial thought, but my painting ham hand has had paint jobs like this get away from me.

 

K1,

My first thought was the reverse process of laying the green down first but like you, I started thinking about the fuselage spots and I thought differently.

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28 minutes ago, LSP_Kevin said:

My first thought would be to paint the green first, and then form the blobby shapes with Blu-tac masks, before painting the sand colour around them. Of course, this would work well enough on the wings, but not so much on the fuselage sides. My second thought would be to simply airbrush them freehand, but we all know the dangers and difficulties there! I think the best option would be to cut paper masks (even easier if you have a cutter) that conform to the shapes in the illustration, and lay them down using Blu-tac (or similar) to raise them from the surface slightly. This will give you the soft edge once you've laid down the green, but would likely require some touch-ups.

 

Kev

+1, or freehand if you have a good airbrush, properly thin paint, low pressure, tip close to surface for tight edges. Jennings is right, this is how the 1:1 was done, and I am sure there was the occasional ragged edge.

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I would vote for freehand with the airbrush as well.  Green over sand would be easier than the sand over green.  Blu-tack masks might get you edges that are TOO hard, in my experience.

 

Is this for 1/32 scale, Brian?  I did a Japanese mottle scheme in 1/48.  I drew the mottle pattern lightly with a colored pencil and then filled in the outlines using airbrush.  The pencil marks were not completely eradicated by the thin spray so it was not entirely successful.  By the time I did the wings, I had the hang of the mottles and just did them freehand.  HP-C Plus with a 3mm tip.

 

IMG-0131-zpskoqsayd4.jpg

 

JTK-9232-zpsfgmywpwj.jpg

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I think I might be trying a mix of things.

 

I've got a cutter, and as Jeff said and HP-CS as well as an H & S Infinity and a couple other ABs, and some MRP paint.

 

I'll probably do some experiments on my A6M2 paint mule.

 

I'm just afraid if I dont use some sort of alignment jig or mask that the spots will get out of hand.

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3 minutes ago, Thunnus said:

I would vote for freehand with the airbrush as well.  Green over sand would be easier than the sand over green.  Blu-tack masks might get you edges that are TOO hard, in my experience.

 

Is this for 1/32 scale, Brian?  I did a Japanese mottle scheme in 1/48.  I drew the mottle pattern lightly with a colored pencil and then filled in the outlines using airbrush.  The pencil marks were not completely eradicated by the thin spray so it was not entirely successful.  By the time I did the wings, I had the hang of the mottles and just did them freehand.  HP-C Plus with a 3mm tip.

 

IMG-0131-zpskoqsayd4.jpg

 

JTK-9232-zpsfgmywpwj.jpg

 

 

Wow John, that looks fantastic. I might have to give freehand some test time on the mule.

 

Maybe if I went with a green pencil, but made the marks super light, as to almost be imperceptable............

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If you go freehand, Brian, I'd definitely recommend John's suggestion of marking out the shapes with a pencil first. Put a small 'x' or dot inside each shape, so that you don't get confused about where the paint goes! See if you can find a coloured pencil that closely matches the green shade of the blobs, so that they're more likely to blend in with the final paint finish. But, I know my airbrush chops aren't up to doing a job like this, so I personally would be exploring the alternatives first.

 

Kev

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