Nice start.

Ok, So I think that I defiantly need an airbrush! Brush painting is not for me. Is it a common problem that the paint goes on to thick with a brush, or is it just my technique? Im using a Model Master Flat White over a primer coat, then a couple of layers of white. But I am getting alot of streaking and the detail on the model (foor plating) is getting filled in.

Here is the primer coat

And here is the flat whit after 2 coats. still need more :(

I am going to march on, and continue and see how it turns out.

Regards

Eli

Eli

Looking good so far. I highly recommend that you look into owning an airbrush. Although not the best quality, Harbor Freight sells one for under $20. For a little more, you can get a better quality one.  There are a few that are single action and very affordable making the process more enjoyable. It is extremely difficult to produce an even coat of brushed white paint.  As a note to give you some added info, on American open topped vehicles like the M10, M18 and M8 HMC, the turret interior and floor under the turret was od. Anything not visible from above in the interior was painted a satin white. Hope this helps out.

Blairy very nice start. looking forward to your next update.

Clay

Yeah that is a good kit to build. Lots of stuff to see on a very busy little AFV. Brush painting white is a beyatch under the best of circumstances. It is a time consuming process that needs at least a day or two of drying time between coats, if you want halfway decent results. An airbrush will definitely improve the process. Or you can resort to rattle can spraypaint and clean up the overspray afterwards. just think of this one as a learning project and you will be fine. Try out some various techniques and ask lots of questions for advice here.

I second the tipp on rattle cans.

They are a lot better for painting large areas than a brush! I can recommend you the Tamiya spray paints (TS-series for armor). They are not that hard to use and produce a thin coat if yuo have a little bit of practice. I'd suggest practicing thin spraying on a piece of paper first. I'd paint the tank's outside with those paints at least. It's just OD on the hellcat as far as I know.

Your model is looking really good for your first try!

I hope I could help you out...

Cheers, Clemens

I should mention that you need to mask literally everything that shouldn't get color on it before spraying the model with a rattle-can!

Nice work, lotsa detail there in the turret and you've done a good job on it.

Like SP I'd toss in that you might find a spray can easier for the interior like that. A few light coats should take care of things and then you can brush paint the details. You'll want to look into an airbrush eventually - though in a lot of cares the compressor will run you as much or more than the brush.

I'm not sure how the interior of the Hellcat was painted, I believe the turret interior was all olive drab. The floor under the turret I'd think would be OD but I've seen models painted white there too, I'm not sure at all.

As far as Airbrushs go, I can only tell you what I use:

I have a Harder & Steenbeck "Evolution Silverline". The Silverline part basically means that it looks different and has a small screw to limit how far you can pull the trigger back (not needed, but nice, if you want to spray a thin and even line on your model)

The Evolution is a really nice AB. It is very easy to use, there are many different needle sets available for it and it is really easy to disassemble for cleaning as well.

For the compressor I use Revell' "Masterclass Compressor".

I agree with Gamera on the cost of it. The AB itself was 165€ (155 for the normal Evolution) and the compressor was around 225€.

But all this stuff is really worth the money if you like the hobby and want to get a nice finish without much trouble.

Cheers, Clemens

Thank you everyone for your reply's and advice.

Plastickjunkie: I will end up getting an airbrush, though my thoughts are to go out and get a decent one first up. Just so I don't have to spend again down the track when I want a better one.

Vonryam: Thanks for looking :)

Stikpusher: Its good to hear that the white is difficult and its not just me. I probably got to impatient with the painting and painted the whit coats too soon. I have the rattle can for OD and will use that for the exterior.

SchattenSpartan: I have a Model Master OD and a primer. I will defiantly practice on a piece of paper first. when I used the primer it came out way to quick. There is a lot of those over spray with those rattlecans. With the masking tape, will the cheaper hardware store stuff be fine? or do you suggest the specialist hobby store type stuff?

Gamera: Thanks for the compliment, much appreciated. What do you mean by the compressor will run as much or even more than the brush?

More updates and more questions will come shortly. Keep tuned :)

Regards

Eli

Eli: Just saying that a good air compressor is expensive, in most cases more than the airbrush. But both will last for years- I've been using the same compressor for about twenty-five years here.

Cliff

You don't have to get the primer to cover every spot on the model. Just aplly is in very thin coats (just a slight mist) while making fast and fluent movements over your model untill most parts of the model are covered. The primer really doesn't need to get into all small recesses.

As far as masking goes, I don't need to mask any large areas. That is one of the benefits of a good airbrush. However, when using a rattle can I'd say that you should mask all the areas but their very edges with normal hardware tape and use the good masking tape (I would recommend Tamiya's 1cm tape at this point) for masking the edges (the good tape should overlap the cheap one at those spots).

For the price ratio of airbrush and compressor I can only repeat what I stated above. My airbrush costs 160€ and the compressor costs 225€. This is a really good ratio however as there are compressors that cost over 300€, making them more than twice as expensive as the airbrush. Nonetheless it's absolutely worth it.

160€ is the most money a really good Airbrush should cost. The Evolution sells at this price and it's the best airbrush I ever got my hands on. I had a chep revell AB before and got to try out an AB from Badger. The Revell airbrush was not that good. The Badger was a nice AB (can't remember the model), but the Evolution is at least as good as the Badger and swapping out the needles is really easy on that one.

What AB are you using, Cliff?

Cheers, Clemens

Blairy

Thank you everyone for your reply's and advice.

Plastickjunkie: I will end up getting an airbrush, though my thoughts are to go out and get a decent one first up. Just so I don't have to spend again down the track when I want a better one.

This is the logical thing to do. I just threw in the less expessive route as some people like doing that just to try. I highly recommend the Badger brand. They are excellent both in value and quality. Mine is well over 30 years old and still going strong. It outlived my small compressor and now I use a 10 gallon  Cambell Housefeld that I use for my woodworking air tools.

Compressor that is quiet is well worth the $250-300 such will set you back--and it will drive airbrushes from $30 to $300 (and there are many uses for that semi-indestructible "entry level" a/b--like applying primer <G>

Now, for those is places like apartments or other high-density housing situations, where even a quiet compressor is not quiet enough, then getting a small CO2 tank wit ha regulator runs about $150, with refills available in a number of places.  Several of the FSM editors swear by bottle gas for a/b.

And, for armor, a certain amount of "streaky" white-on-white not necessarily a bad thing.  Good start on that 'Cat.

Well I trucked on with the painting. Then attempted weathering the interior. I used pastels to make a wash, and a model master burnt sienna for the attempted rust. I tried to thin the paint out a bit, but was not to successful.

My criticism is that I used to much wash on the deck and back wall, and applied to much rust.

Thanks for looking.

I added some more detail. I am going for an old dirty, muddy look. It looks like a complete mess now but I think its getting there.

I used Vallejo Pigments for the mud in the floor wells around the drivers feet and in the corners of the inside hull. as well as some foot scuff marks from getting in and out of the turret. I also used a lead pencil to scuff up the corners of the plating and added some chips to the paint.

Here are the pics, please criticize If you think its over board.

Looking good, Eli! I would just remove a bit of the pigments. The dirt is a bit overdone IMO.

Clemens

Something i used to do was to put a dab of the rust color and the pure base color on the glazed side of a tile I kept for this use.  Then take up a stumpy brush (or wrap a disposable in tape) and mix an even amount of the two colors in the middle of the tile.  

The stumpy brush was used to stipple--a very vertical motion--dry brushing in the "between" color.  

This would then get the pure color over it.  

As with all dry-brushing, less is more--if you can "see' the effect, you're probably being heavy handed (or at least that's how I knew I was being heavy-handed).