A rarity for me....a Bf109 and this time it's a Revell G-10 Erla - Pretty Much Done.

[D.B. Andrus]

The mottles are a good start point...now try going over them and pull the airbrush away to make them a bit larger - this will diffuse the edges some and make them a bit irregular in shape. I'd do this on your test sheet before applying to the model.

 

Ernest has some excellent advice above.

 

HTH 

Damian 

[quang]

I thought you’d be interested to take a look at my first attempt at a Luftwaffe mottling on my current ZM Gustav build.
It’s meant to represent the typical Erla camouflage style: large polka dots in RLM 74 and 75 with additional touches of RLM 02.

 

Painting is done with a Mr. Hobby PS270 airbrush with a 0,2mm nozzle. Paints used: Gunze Mr Color lacquer diluted 3/1 thinner to paint. Pressure: 15 psi

 

Technicalities aside, most people don’t realize the importance of the trigger finger. Never mind the sophisticated tunings your airbrush can allow, it’s finally your finger which controls the force (pressure) and the intensity (volume) of the flow.
And the only way to control your finger is to go back to the basics of airbrushing: practising the obligatory lines and dots.

No need for model paints and scrap plastic. You can do it simply with ink on plain paper.
Try to fill 10 -15 A4 sheets with lines and dots, you will do the Luftwaffe mottling like nightclubers do the shimmy! 
 

HTH

Quang

[Juggernut]

 

This is very nice and I do recognize the polka dot camouflage and you've done it very well.  This mottling business is the toughest part of Luftwaffe aircraft modeling that I've run up against so far.  I'll get it but it may take some more practice.  I watched a You Tube video on how one person does it and reflect Ernest's method of really thin paint (he thins MRP paint down even thinner as he says it's not thin enough) and sprays between 5-10 psi.  My regulator doesn't go that low but I think if I set it half-way between 20 and 0, it'll be ok...we can go from there after practicing on some plastic sheets.

 

I'm itching to get this G10 finished (but I want it nice) so I can start my next project - something Japanese; a familiar subject but with a slight  twist.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Juggernut

[Greif8]

Quang is exactly tight about finger control and his advice to practice dots and lines on paper is excellent.  I do this for about 5-10 minutes prior to a mottling job to get my hand - or better said, my finger - limbered up.  

 

I think the mottling on your build looks fine; there are a lot of late war German fighters that look just like your build.  Given the paint shortages the Germans suffered from, especially from the fall of 44 onwards, it was common for aircraft to have fairly light mottling.  Quang's build is also an excellent representation of a late war 109; so there are no hard fast or definitive rules when it comes to mottling a German aircraft - good for us modellers!

 

Damian also has some good advice about starting close while spraying and pulling back to get a smooth transition from small to large mottles that are also irregular.  Takes a little practice, but the end result is very satisfying.  

 

The fellow that thins MRP to mottle must like his paint REALLY thin!  But if it works for him so much the better.  

 

You are a very highly skilled modeller who produces master quality work Tim.  I am positive with your skill sets you will very soon be spraying mottling that is jaw droppingly good.

 

Ernest

[Isar 30/07]

Hi Tim, 

 

I'm using a Harder/Steenbeck Evolution airbrush (gravity feed) using a 0.15 mm needle, Gunze Mr. Color paints and their levelling thinners at a ratio 1:3-4 (paint:thinners) at a very low pressure (around 0.7 - 0.9 bar). 

The distance from airbrush to the model is around 1.5 - 3 cm. 

 

Apart from sharp polka dot camo, I'm trying to build up mottling by doing a first layer of color which is hardly recognizable after the first layer. By doing more layers of this heavy thinned paint, I can build up the mottling the way the model should look like, i.e. concentrating on certain spots where I want a more intense area/spots/lines and so on. 

 

I never had success, trying to blend heavy dots into a dense mottling - they always are recognizable as heavy dots with a mottling around them. 

If the original is painted that way, then it's ok. 

If not, I always covered the dots using the base coat (RLM 76 i. e.) and gave it another try to build up the intensity of the mottling. 

 

As written earlier, the keys are trigger control and first of all 'getting warm' with mottling by trying several minutes to find the right handling, paint/thinners ratio, pressure and the distance to the model. 

I'm using some Kleenex tissues to see how intense the color/thinners ratio is and some paper cards where I'm training my hand/trigger to get the best result. 

 

A lot of explanations at the moment - let me post some photos tomorrow that can explain the way I'm doing mottling better, hopefully. 

 

Cheers 

Reimund 

 

[Juggernut]

Ok, take a look at my latest efforts guided by your recommendations, tips, and how-to's!  I think I've got it; what do you all think?  This is the look I'm after.  For a hot second, I thought about adding some hellgrun mottle to the mix but remembered my montra above...Stop when you think a little more will be enough.  i also shot the red for the JG301 RVG band but nothing comes out 100% the first time (at least this has been the case in a lot of my modeling endeavors).  A little repair is in order when the X-7 cures.  Not a huge issue but one of those moments.  LOLOLOL. 

 

Thanks for all your comments, tips, advice, and how-to's!  I couldn't have done it without your input.  As always, comments and constructive criticism is always welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

[D.B. Andrus]

Well done, Tim!

 

Cheers,

Damian

[Juggernut]

7 minutes ago, D.B. Andrus said:

Well done, Tim!

 

Cheers,

Damian

 

Thanks Damian, much appreciated; as I said above, I couldn't have done it without your input.  Now it's on to the balkenkreuz (if I spelled that correctly and after I correct the tear in the RVG band).  I noticed that in the extant photograph of white 44, the numerals are bright white whereas the fuselage balkenkreuz is somewhat darker.  I figured I'd use a mask for the this and mix up some "dirty white" and shoot it there.  The others will get the standard colors.

 

I wanted to use masks for all the markings but I don't have the correct font to render the serial number or the numerals (don't know if it's Din or what but I don't have it) so I'll have to use decals for that and the hakkenkreuz (if I spelled that one correctly as well).

Edited December 24, 2022 by Juggernut

[Greif8]

I echo Damian Tim, the mottling looks great.  Well done man!

 

Ernest 

[Jim Barry]

looking great! 
 

This thread is pushing me to do a g-10  (in 1/24 though). I had a huge 109 thing 20 years ago. So addictive . I think I built every 109 from the prototype to the K. (In 1/72 and a C and F  in 1/48) No other planes mattered. 

Edited December 24, 2022 by Jim Barry

[Isar 30/07]

Merry Christmas!

 

19 hours ago, D.B. Andrus said:

Well done, Tim!

 

Cheers,

Damian

I second that! Looking good!

 

 

As promised, here are the pics to demonstrate the results of "building up the mottling" the way I´m doing it.

Have you seen the mishap in the upper corner of the fuselage? For a moment I shot too much paint on the fuselage which resulted in a tear drop like dot.

Could have softened this by misting with RLM 76 but since this is the place the Balkenkreuz will rest, I´m ok with that.

BTW: Correcting i.e. RLM 74/75 after they had shot to the model is a common practice I´m doing giving me even more options to vary the camo. 

 

 

After decalling/weathering I shot some very diluted RLM 76 over the decals to blend them into the camo.

There is a slight difference comparing the Balkenkreuz and the Doppelwinkel (tactical sign) and the badge.

The idea behind that is: The Balkenkreuz had slightly more wear and tear than the (later painted on) Doppelwinkel and the badge.

Maybe an idea, you could create some difference between the Balkenkreuz and the tactical #44.

 

Cheers

Reimund 

 

 

 

[denders]

Hey, after another 6 of them, you'll be an expert airbrushing mottling. 

[Juggernut]

Here's how the day started out after attempting to "fix" the RVG band.  I ended up having to sand it all off because when I fixed the yellow tear, the red peeled off when I lifted the masking tape....that was last night so Christmas eve had some choice words added.  Anyway, here's what it looked like:

 

 

I ended up sanding it all the way up to the fuselage seam (5?) and reshot the primer and color coats in prep for a brand new RVG band. 

 

This is how the day ended.  Not too bad I think.  I put down the RVG band and the balkenkreuz (paint masks) with the fuselage ones having a slightly dirty grey appearance.  Overall, things worked like they should've today.  I'll accept that as my Christmas present.

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2022 by Juggernut

[Juggernut]

Incidentally, what shade of red should the primer be? I've gotta do the tape at the wingtips.  I'm thinking a dark red but unsure of exactly how dark.  I know it's darker than the red-brown primer for panzer's but again, not sure how much darker.

[Greif8]

Merry Christmas Tim!  The primer is a reddish-brown or brownish-red.  I have attached a scan of a page of one of the German documents I have.  Of the red-browns on the page the Nr.14(G) or the plate on its right look very close to what is generally accepted to be the color of primer used on Luftwaffe aircraft, though Plate 13(G) and the one to its right are also close enough.  Given all the variables impacting hue, shade and tone, a color close to the two above would be just fine IMHO.

 

The wingtips should be painted RLM23 Red.  I have attached another scan of a color plate with RLM23 on it.  I have found the Tamiya XF7 mixed with 15-20% white is a good match.  MRP 52 also looks pretty close.

 

I have alot of reference material at home, much of it primary source documents; however, I am in the school of thought that close is good enough when it comes to colors.  Again, given the huge amount of variables that apply, Its my opinion that it is both impossible and pointless to point at a particulair color, even on an original color plate like the above, and say that is absolutely definitive.

 

HTH,

Ernest

Edited December 26, 2022 by Greif8
Grammer