Model Forum / General / Models / April 2004

It takes some tuning to get a fine spot of the size you're after. Experiment
on some scrap paper. To get the random size/shape effect, overlap randomly
2's, 3's and 5's in different groupings to get patches rather than spots.

Yes, it does go dark over light. There are two German schemes that use
this - green on sand (africa), green on white (russia). I've done a Me 109e
Africa and a Ju87 Russia. In smaller scale (1/72) you can get away with
dabbing green randomly with a small scrap of sponge dipped in paint. Works
also with the side blotches on 109's and 190's in 'domestic' german schemes.

For larger scales, it's got to be airbrush.
Practise, practise, practise.......

I tried it all, and I just couldn't get the mottles I was after. Then I
tried pastel powders, and they turned out great. Check out my 1/72 scale
Me 163B:

http://www.sml.lr.tudelft.nl/~home/rob/models/me163.htm

Good luck!

Rob

My models:    www.sml.lr.tudelft.nl/~home/rob/models.htm
Me 163B site: www.sml.lr.tudelft.nl/~home/rob/me163.htm

Mask is one way - cut irregular holes in a piece of card, hold it a
centimetre or so above the surface and spray through it - adjust
mask-skin distance to soften or sharpen the boundaries.

I use a Badger 150. With the fine needle/tip I can *just* hand-spray
soft camouflage lines in 1/72 (very time-consuming and they are very
soft: close masking is needed for "semi-hard" lines).  I must admit that
I haven't tried to mottle yet :)

Spots are hard because they have to be right first time - no lead-in.
For a really good mottle I suspect that you need to be able to spray a
much finer spot to start with, then expand it to the size you need.

The 360 is not a brush I am familiar with: looking at the Badger site,
it appears to be one from a company they took over - Thayer & Chandler?
  Am I right in my guess that it is a double action brush with only one
size of needle/tip available?  If so, the brush may simply not be
capable of lines or spots as fine as the Badger 150 or 100 can manage
with the Fine needle and tip.  But you should be able to get results
using a mask held off the surface.

After a year of working with my airbrush, I'm able to do this sort of thing
by hand. I've a Paasche VL, and I just finished a 1/32 Hasegawa Dora with a
mottled finish. I used a #1 tip/needle, and applied the mottling in light,
quick "bursts". It took an almost simultaneous application of air and paint;
I started in close and quickly pulled pack from the model. I'm quite
satisfied with the effect.

Cheers,

I'm not familiar with the 360; if it's anything like the 350 you'll need to use
a mask. you can make one out of index card and hold it just off the surface. I
can get nice spots and mottles with my Badger 150. The paint has to be thin,
air at 12 psi (your compressor should have a tank on it) and you have to be
real close.
hth

The Keeper (of too much crap)