Hi, I'm new here! I'm building the Me262a-2a 1/48 Tamiya kit. I'm a newbie with my airbrush (Badger 100LG) and I haven't any ideas about painting the camo mottles on the fuselage. Please, can anyone help me?

Papuli, first welcome.

Now your questions easy as I just did some mottled camo patterns a few weeks ago. I'm assuming you are using a single action AB. So, here's a quick run through. Mix your paint /thinner mixture and set your Air pressure to about 10-15 PSI. Then open the neddle valve til you get a nice FINE spray coming out about an inch or two from te nozzle. Now you want to keep the AB moving but you also want to go slow enough to build up paint in areas and then again you want it moving fast enough not to pool the paint under the nozzle. At this point pull out an old model and practice for a bit til your comfortable building up the effect you want. Then move to the model your building and spray away. One thing to note is most fo the blobs of colour are connected by a faint line. The last pics are of my BF109 G4 and it very visible to see what I'm trying to say. Alos when tha last camo colour is done go ahead mist your lower fuselage colour on the mottled area to blend the mottled tones in a little better. This will also allow you to cover any mistakes you feel you made when appling the camoflage. First of all here is a pic of the 262 I did a few weeks ago you can see the pattern was easy to do.


Her is the BF109G-4 as you can see the thin fine lines as they move from area to area. Also note these were blended together with a misting of RLM 76 (light blue). Again the more you practice your results will improve.



One thing I'd recommend is changing to a Double action AB as soon as posible. One thing I did was use a single action till I thought I was ready and skilled enough to use a double action air brush. When I got my first Double Action I found it was totaly new learning curve for using one. I am currently using 2 Double Action brushes from Iwata the HP-BC (siphon feed from a bottle) and the HP-C (gravity feed from a paint cup on the top). I also use just about any manufacturers paint so I've learned what thinners work best with what paints.

SO to recap. Mix and thin your paints. Use 10-15 PSI air pressure. Adjust your paint flow so you get a small dot of paint about 1-2 inches from the model surface. Move the AB fast enough to slow ly build up the mottled areas but not pool the paint in one spot. Finally as always PRACTICE !!!! Hope this made the whole process clear as mud. STUG

I have always struggled with AB a mottle finish..I get frustrated and break out the paintbrush, but it doesnot quite give the same effect

Well, I had always hated doing Mottled camo in the past. But, now I enjoy applyng it very much. I think the there are 2 things that made it work for me . One was a precision Double Action AB (the Iwata HP-C) and the last thing was something I had to do myself. PRACTICE!!! You can't even get good with a technique if you don't practice! I have an old Revell Do 217 that's in progess, but it works for a Practice kit till its ready for paint. Then I'll go ahead and slap together another kit for practice. STUG

Thanks for your answers!
And yes: I have a double action AB (Badger 100LG) with a FINE needle. I've tried to paint some mottles on a piece of plastic, but even if I use the AB close to the piece, and even if I use low pressure, I still can see some little paint drops near the mottle. I know I have to paint them freehand, but I don't know how to make NICE mottles! Please, can you explain me where's the mistake?

Please, any tips/ideas?

A lot depends on the the paint mixture and air pressure. The paint should be as thin as milk. You can test the consistancy by watching a drop run down the inside of the paint bottle or color cup. Your airpressure should be around 15-25 psi (1-1.6 kg/cm2).

Depending on the scale you can use a mask or template for the mottle pattern. You can make a simple one by taking a hole punch to thick paper. Different patterns can be made by punching groups if holes and combining a different number of overlapping holes in each group.

Now, your 'little paint drops near the mottle' may be caused by paint accumulating in the airbrush tip. Try wiping it out with a cotton swab (Q-Tip) periodicaly during an airbrush session and see if it helps.




The real key is practice, practice, practice.

Good luck and have fun!

The Qtip is a neccesary tool to care of build up. You can try a different thinning ratio. If the tiny drops are over spray just go ovr them with the colour you used for the lower section. Now if you seem to have a constant build up of paint in your nozzle you opening your needle valve too much for the spray pattern you need. You could try removing your crown from the airbrush, just be careful of the needle and nozzle as you could damage both itf acidently hit the model. HTH STUG




PS. The reason I stopped using Badger products is their lack of precision. Iwata actually made in Japan has a reputation though out the world and every Industry that uses Airbrushes as being the best manufacturer available. If they say it's rated .3mm it'll make a line .3mm wide and they include that AB's test sheet from to factory. This why I recommend them to everyone who uses an airbrush.