1/700 WATERLINE SERIES HMS REPULSE

 I have an old airfix model of the "Repulse" that came in a light gray color.After I put together the large sub-assemblies,I used light sea gray in a spray can to cover the whole model and then hand brushed the dark gray and green camoflage scheme.I also used hull red and flatblack in a spray can to do the lower hull and boot.Then after doing the small detail work with a brush,I sprayed the the whole thing with dulcote.If your patient and take your time and do a decent job of masking where needed,you can get pretty good results without an airbrush.I made a diorama with this ship and a old Aurora model of the "King George V' that I modified to look like the "Prince of Wales".It was my first attempt at this and it came out pretty decent.                                  

 

 

It is not necessary that you use the suggested camouflage scheme in the Tamiya kit. During her career Repulse wore monochromatic color schemes other than the suggested one in the directions. I believe that you could use one of these given the fit of the model by Tamiya. There may be some minor changes necessary for historical accuracy but 99.9% of people viewing the model wouldn't know the difference anyway. You might prefer the light gray color of the Spanish Civil War period with the stripes painted on the turrets or the dark gray monochrome of the home fleet nothern waters scheme. Check out the models of other British battleships and battlecruisers of the era found in SteelNavy.com or Modelwarships.com. Whichever one you choose be sure to check out the colors of the decks in the superstructure and the wooden areas. Whatever you do DON'T leave the ship in the color of the plastic. WS

The original post used the word "acceptable" - a loaded word if ever there was one.  I don't think Subfixer intended to imply that leaving the plastic unpainted would result in the perpetrator being placed under arrest, or anything of that nature.  When modelers start getting serious about their hobby, though, they usually conclude pretty quickly that unpainted plastic looks like unpainted plastic.  It has a shiny, waxy, ever-so-slightly transluscent quality that just doesn't match what painted steel, or unpainted wood, looks like.

The lack of an airbrush shouldn't discourage anybody.  Modern hobby paints are excellent; in this sort of work they're perfectly capable of giving fine results when applied with a brush.  As a matter of fact, lots of people who've been at it for a while (including me - after about 52 years of model building) prefer brush painting, especially for certain subjects.  I've known lots of ship modelers who, even if they use airbrushes for larger-scale subjects, prefer to brush paint 1/700 models.  There are, by definition, almost no big, wide, smooth surfaces on a 1/700 warship model; airbrushing a 1/700 battlecruiser would turn into a lengthy exercise in applying tiny pieces of masking tape. 

If you haven't already done so, you might look into the various lines of acrylic hobby paints.  My favorite is PolyScale, but Testor's Acryl is also a good brand.  An important key to getting a good brushed-on finish is to use good brushes.  If you've got an art supply store within driving distance, check out what it has to offer in the way of modern synthetic-hair brushes - either white or gold.  Lots of modelers swear by the legendary red sable brushes, and they are indeed wonderful things.  But I personally find that, in at least 90 percent of modeling applications, the synthetic brushes work just as well - and cost far less.  They're often sold in sets, with sizes ranging from sharp-pointed 5/0 detailers to 1/4" wide flats.  The latter, with a little practice and good, well-stirred paint of the proper consistency, will give results that are perfectly acceptable (there's that word again) on a 1/700 warship.

Good luck.

Uh..no. Even if you have to use your bare fingers to apply the paint, do not leave a model in its unpainted plastic form. That doesn't mean that you have to do that fancy camo job, just cover the plastic. Yikes!