Hi Joel,
I'm glad that you understand photography. It's something that never drew my attention enough to study. My wife has a couple nice cameras wheras I just use my phone.
I have noticed, over the years, how many OD aircraft have that brownish look, but I haven't put an OD scheme on an aircraft since 1979. So I'm gonna pay a lot of attention to what you do here.

Heck, your painting techniques have helped me immensely over the past year. So I always get a lot from your blogs.

Gary

Joel:

I also will have many questions to ask when I get to painting the B-17.

The B25 is looking great Joel. I use much the same ratio as you do when I spray LifeColor paints, going with 3:1 thinner to paint; and I always use their thinner. I spray it at between 10-15 psi to both ensure it goes down wet and to reduce drying on the tip, though I still get that and keep a Q-tip handy for clean ups. I don't use silly type stuff much for the reason you stated, but I did not know clean up was as easy as washing it off with water and will have to give that technique another look.

Do you use foam board as a background for your photos? They look so much better than my "in progress" shots. Of course you also use a much better camera than mine; I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-H7 and can get good pictures when I carefully setup my lighting and use a light tent. As you can see by the photos in my Zero build though, shots taken at the bench or airbrush cabin are not nearly as good.

Paint job looks great Joel. I am yet to try LifeColour paints but I picked up the RAAF set a while back to use on my 1/32 Special Hobby P-39. On your feedback I will get some branded thinner to go with it as well before I cut loose on it.

I like the tone of the OD here, as you stated it looks to be a bit further into the brown than the green of the Tamiya version.

Cheers, D

Hi Joel, I have found that I can airbrush LifeColor paints better thinned more than I normally thin; for example I go 50/50 with Tamiya paints. I think the pigments in LifeColor paints are a bit bigger then Tamiya's, and I need to thin it more to get good effect. I spray either Tamiya of LifeColor nearly exclusively, with the exception of metal colors which I use Alclad II for.

Reference taking photos, it would take a lot of work to clear the bench for photos, so I guess I will keep using white or blue paper for backgrounds. I do think though that I will try out using my light setup to make the lighting look better on the "in progress" though. By the way, I have finished staining and weathering the carrier deck.

Ernest

Hi Joel,

Congratulations in getting some colour on. I really like the faded 'sun-bleached' look.

Regards,
Kobus

Impressive. Gotta love those vertical stabs!

It's hard to believe, but I've actually got another update. 1st it was weeks between updates as I struggled with putty, sanding, priming, and doing it over again. Now the work stages seem to be flowing somewhat smoother, and certainly faster....

Joel

Hi Joel,
She is really starting to look great! I really like the result of your painting technique.

It interested me to note that your Mitchell had de-icing boots wheras I found many pictures of B-29's that didn't. After some searching I found that they were removed by the crews once they got In-theater.

Gary

I'm with Gazza, this is coming together beautifully. The weathering steps are giving a really nice depth to the overall paint job. The twin stabilisers look great as well, such a distinctive feature.

Cheers, D

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It's hard to believe, but I've actually got another update. 1st it was weeks between updates as I struggled with putty, sanding, priming, and doing it over again. Now the work stages seem to be flowing somewhat smoother, and certainly faster....

Joel

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It's the same with me, Joel. Sometimes it seems to need ages to get the cockpit done (of which you usually don't see much in the end), but after the fuselage is sanded and assembled with the wings and the first paint is thrown on it, it's done within a week or so. Happens to my new Spit right now. Last weekend everything seemed to last forever and now it's nearly done ....
Your Mitchell comes out really well. That de-icers are eye catching, they give the build a certain touch. I have never build a B-25 until now.

Torsten

You're doing a great painting / weathering job, Joel. I have the same thing in mind with my B17G build. Actually, I have distilled two OD tones, and I intend to use "bleaching" as well.

Cheers
Gabriel

What's with the national insignia on the wings? Is it me or is the position of the stars not strictly fore and aft?