I washed and dullcoted the three aircraft in my "Fly by Night" project this weekend. There's still a lot to do, but at least all the painting and clear coating is done. The RLM 02 wheel wells and landing gear (or undercarriage ) still need to be drybrushed, and the hydraulics added. The Me 262s have had their slats removed and lowered, and all three will have open canopies. The radar antennas will be made from wire and brass tube. At least there's light at the end of the tunnel now !

Dragon 1/48 Me 262B-1a/U1


Trimaster 1/48 Me 262A-1a Nachtjager


ProModeler Ta 154


Thanks for letting me share the progress with you !

Great job on the camo pattern on the Ta, tell us how you did it.

Thanks Chuck !

The three camos were all painted freehand with a Badger 150 airbrush. For the Ta 154, I printed this photo

I outlined each shape with the thinnest line I can paint (about the width of a panel line), then I pulled the airbrush a little further away from the model to fill it in, while I also increased the paint flow slightly. I had a tiny bit of overspray in places (compound curves), so I reloaded the RLM 76 for touchup.
The other two were painted in much the same way.

Thanks again !

Outstanding, I've tried that method myself. Nice to see someone can actually make it work.

Really neat, love it
Mal

I spy with my little eye... the winners of the May, June, and July MOM contest...lol
:-) :-) :-) :-)

Seriously Pix- well done! That is a great idea for a Trifecta of night-fighters...

I'm wondering if you've done an ally version... Maybe a Mossie, a Blackwidow and a Typhoon (I know the typhy only never really went into production as a night fighter but I love that bird and it would look sweeeeeet with a black underbelly-)

Thanks for sharing Bill!

-scott

Thanks Chuck, Mal, and BigTon !

Chuck - it just takes a lot of experimenting to figure out what your airbrush needs to paint fine lines. After you've got that down, it's just trigger control. And it's FUN !

BigTon - I haven't done an Allied nightfighter. I'm waiting for the AMTech P-61 (maybe it will be released in my lifetime !). The all-black camo is a little boring for me. I like colors and patterns ! I've built a couple Hasegawa Typhoons (cardoor & bubbletop), and here's a link to the last one I built:
http://s96920072.onlinehome.us/Gal4/3101-3200/Gal3175_Typhoon_Lachance/gal3175.htm

Thanks again !

Bill,
LOVE THEM. !!!!! I really like the 262 & 154. I'm attracted to nightjagers and you have done a supperb job. Good painting job on all, especially the mottle on the 154 and 262. Keep us posted.

Thanks Todd !

Painting Luftwaffe camo is one of my favorite parts of building. I love the challenge, and find little reward in the sure thing. I'll take a build where things can go wrong any day.

Thanks again !

hi again bill, i was at a model show at the weekend, and a ta 154 kit caught my eye, but because i wasnt all the way around i thought i might come back to it later, needless to say i saw a nice display of british navy aircraft with about 4 sea furys in it, and guess what kit i came home with? if id have seen this thread last week i would have got the 154 kit (and the sea fury as well probably!) i also got a new fine line nozzle for my a/b and have already camo'd my bf 108 in the way you describe with it. anyways, nice work as ever

Thanks Phil !

When I first started painting Luftwaffe camo, I figured that the way to paint would be from the inside out. It seemed to make sense. Pretty soon, I ended up with shapes that were larger than I wanted, and not irregular enough. There is SO much more control if you paint them from the outside in. Getting the airbrush "tuned" to paint the finest line possible can sometimes take a lot of experimentation. The experimentation is good, since you can readily see what changes happen when you add a little more thinner, or adjust the pressure, and move the brush nearer and farther from the model's surface. If you got it right on your first try, how much would you learn about what your airbrush needs? How much of that experience can be applied to your next paint job? Experimenting can be almost as much fun as painting !

Thanks again !