TheMongoose, this was the first time I've ever tried black-basing or a modern USN scheme. First of all, thanks for the pat on the back. I was hoping that my "experiment" would capture the look of a deployed USN jet.
As far as what I did, it was pretty basic. First, I primed everything in black. (Duh.) Then, I sprayed the lower color, the lighter LGG, first. I thinned the MM enamels to about 50/50 with some laquer thinner. I sprayed it at a low pressure, about 15 psi, with my airbrush pretty close to the surface. The paint was sprayed in a random pattern and the goal was inconsistent coverage. I shot one panel at a time, in a completely random, almost "squiggly" pattern. If I wanted a darker, more mottled look, then the base color was sprayed more haphazardly and the coverage was more inconsistent. If I wanted a "greyer" look, then I made sure the coverage was more consistent and complete. The upper DGG surfaces were approached in the same fashion. Once I was happy with the overall coverage, then I sprayed some DGG "splotches" on the lower lower surfaces, and conversely, some LGG splotches on the upper surafaces. I didn't do any "lightening" of the base colors. It was all about coverage. Besides those two greys, I picked some random greys and shot them in random places and with random coverage to give that beat-up "touched-up" look to my airframe.
I avoided pre-shading the panel lines because, to my eye, I didn't see that "pattern" in reference pictures. If I had to do it again (and I will), I think I'll use thinner paint and a more random spraying to give the modern airframes a more "operational" look. The great thing that I noticed about this techinique is that, if you have to go back and fix any boo-boos, and/or do any spot touch-ups, all of that will add to the overall effect of the paint.
I know my explanation may not be totally clear or explanatory, but if you want to contact me, or have other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'll do my best to explain or describe my technique.
Cheers,
-O