this is an airfix P 40 kit i tinker with when i am waiting on stuff to dry or set ect. i decided to pre shade it, to experiment with getting a two colour camo scheme showing panel lines by doing each colour separatly. the paint i used was revells matt black, or should i say revells treacle! it was so thick it behaved like a fast drying acrylic, choking my 470 nozzle so when i cleared it, it spat out a big dollop. it was thinned to easily 70% but as the pics show i had a bit of a mare! (and afterwards i had to clean my 470 with cellulose thinners)

WOW Phil I see your pain, but I don't think your going to have any trouble with covering it with the base coats. I myself pre-shade pretty and have no problems with my over all look.



I like to use MM aircraft black and thin it around 30%

Hi Phil

I agree with Joe - I think that's going to work out fine in the end. I use Revell paints quite a lot and they do seem to vary - some have a really nice thin consistency while others can be quite "gloopy" as you describe.

The way it spat out big dollops makes me wonder if the paint was mixed properly when you thinned it - did it have a lot of sediment? Sometimes paint does set alarm bells ringing and you know there'll be trouble ahead and something I've never tried (but have always meant to) at times like that, is straining the thinned paint prior to spraying. Has anyone tried this?

All the best

Rowan

Ah........Revell paints. My mate who owns a small model shop swares by them (only 'cuase he gets 'em cheaper than owt else :-) ) He hand paints but says that before closing the tin add a few drops of white spirit to keep the correct consistancy. Not normally the recomended thing to do but he does actually end up using all the paint in all the tins he uses. I hate 'em
but will use them if I have to. I think the problem with them is, once open the lids don't actually fit that well (let in air?). I say this because I used to heat up my paint for spraying(sit the tin in boiled water while I got the airbrush ready) The only paint I couldn't do this with was Revell's, the lids always popped off.
Yes Rowan I have strained paint, for the reason you say. I have managed to recover even well "gloopy paint" but I wouldn't recommend doing it unless you are desperate. I did find that Aeromaster acrylics needed straining, no matter how much I stired them they always had bits in. That's why I never really liked them. I have since found that shaking and stiring seams to work better.
Use Colourcoates
Mal

Hi Mal

I don't think that's the reason - I've opened brand-new Revell paints and found the consistency really variable. I never stick to one manufacturer - I mix and match all the time :-) and Revell have some handy colours I haven't been able to get from other ranges.

All the best

Rowan

it was only the second time i used this tin, i bought it when i needed some matt black, and couldnt get humbrol, i used a brush in it the first time and i couldnt believe how thick it was, and it dried in the brush too. when i did this spraying i used it, although i now have my fave humbrol.as a painter myself, this seems like a bad tin, it was stirred and thinned into next week! however i just finished the underside,which was worse than the top and its come out quite nicely

Looks good, should work out pretty good. I actually read somewhere that you can use a permanant marker for shading, and thats what I do. Preshade with the marker and then paint. Works out good, and saves time.

~Chip

chip, thats a really interesting idea! i have a permanent marker i was going to try to use for panel lining, but found a small dia propelling pencil easier. to use a marker would be better and more accurate than airbrushing

Would you guys recommend pre-shading with a paint brush or do you only swear by an airbrush?

Airbrush!

definatly airbrush over ordinary brush. the effect i was going for on the P40 was light, fine lines, however it almost ended up painted black! (was there ever a P40 nightfighter btw?) this means, to "fade" out the black takes more work. ive started on the upperside and will post a pic later, so you can see what im trying to acheive

About the Revell black,

they have two matt colours, number 6 and 8 if I am correct. I believe number 6 is "tarnschwarz" ( I love those German names). I used it with an ordinary brush and it dries really really really fast, I had to clean my brush every 5 minutes. The number 8 dries normally. I could be that I switched 6 an 8, I haven't used them for a while.

Ever tried mixing Revell metallic paints with Tamiya thinner? That gives a really interesting effect on your airbrush. Like spraying spider webs :-) :-) :-)

Chip do you know kind of marker was used, see I used a Sharpie once to out line the panel lines. Well there was a bit of trouble, the marker keeped bleeding through the paint. I can't recall how many times it had to paint and paint over before the marker finaly disappered. I did end up losing some of my detail. Has anyone tried this before and what marker did you use.

my tin is number 8, definatly quick drying!