Time for another small update.
I finished all the weathering except for the landing gear, gear doors, and loads, as I haven't painted any of them as yet. I'm trying to weather the F4B as an operational aircraft that's been exposed to the harsh conditions aboard a carrier out at sea.
I wanted to darken the panel lines on top, so I used a 50/50 mixture of Flory dark and light washes applied over all the panel lines, then when dry I carefully rubbed all of it off. The result was besides the panel lines was a slight darkening of the surfaces on either side of the panel lines.
I wanted to fade the top Light Gull Gray using a mix of white added to the basic Tamiya Lt. Gull Gray mix that was thinned with their Lacquer thinner. I usually thin Tamiya acrylics 1:1, but for this application I thinned it 1:2 paint to LC. I also decreased the flow air pressure to 10 psi. I then used a same mix, but added some Dark Nato Black to add a little more blotchy contrast to the top side surfaces.
For the bottom of the fuselage I wanted to have more of a black, oily, greasy, dirt effect. So I started off with a heavy coat of Flory's dark wash. Then did a 2nd application of it, but not rubbing all of it off.
The next step was an overall light airbrushed wash of very light gray to help blend the topside together, and to reduce the start effect I had on the bottom.
I noticed in many pictures of operational F4s, & F14s, that there was major discoloration of the black anti glare panel, and anything stark black, so I gave those areas a blotchy coat of the wash, then a blending coat.
There should be a more subdued looked to the overall paint once I Dullcoat it. Right now there is just paint and washes.
Joel
