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Camouflaging

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  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: Philomath, OR, USA
Posted by knight667 on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 12:51 PM
Sign - Ditto [#ditto] Big Smile [:D]

When you're spraying, for your outline, you also might try shooting at a 45" angle for your outline; this gives a tighter line for the outline and then you can fill in like Crocket says.

I mask for all my camouflage. I make photocopies to scale of the kit and then cut out the pieces. I spray my base coat, let that sit, then mask those areas and shoot. I mask by using rolled-up bits of masking tape to keep the mask off the surface of the model, so there's a slight blur to the demarcation line. Works quite well; found that hint in an FSM article a while back, can't remember the issue.
John "The only easy day was yesterday." - US Navy SEALs "Improvise. Adapt. Overcome." - US Marine Corp. "I live each day/Like it's my last/...I never look back" - from "I'm A Rocker" by Judas Priest
  • Member since
    April 2004
  • From: The cornfields of Ohio
Posted by crockett on Tuesday, May 10, 2005 2:56 PM
Mort,

I assume you are doing a NATO scheme? Now, what I'm going to tell you depends quite a bit on the quality of your airbrush and set up. In other words, I'll just assume you have a compressor and a regulator. The tri-color NATO scheme will require a defined edge between colors, but not quite a hard edge. Spray your base color over the entire model first (NATO Green) and let it cure. Then begin with the secondary color (NATO Brown?) and spray the outline of the pattern first, then fill in. Thin your paint to about the consistency of 2% milk, and draw the outline of the secondary pattern. If you are using a single action brush, I would go down to about 10psi, get relatively close to the work (3 to 4 inches) and remember to keep the brush moving. Later, when you are ready to fill in the pattern, you can dial up the preesure some, and you will be well away from the borderline and avoid the overspray,
If you have a double action brush, go with high pressure (20psi) and use the same outlining technique, controlling paint and airflow with your trigger.

Use the same technique when you apply the NATO Black.

My suggestion is that you use acrylic flat (Tamiya or Gunze) paint. The techniques above will work well with enamels. With parctice you can get results like this:





Good Luck, -e-mail me if you need more help;

Steve
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Southern California, USA
Posted by ABARNE on Tuesday, May 10, 2005 2:50 PM
Not knowing exactly how you are currently painting or what kind of an airbrush you are using, I'd take a wild guess that if you could back off the airpressure and paint flow, and move the airbrush closer to the surface, it might well help. I think that if if you angle the nozzle off vertical in relation to the surface, the near edge of the spray pattern will sharpen up as well, but that technique might be difficult an a vehicle such as a Bradley.
  • Member since
    September 2003
Camouflaging
Posted by morto on Tuesday, May 10, 2005 1:12 PM
Am working on a Bradley M2 vehicle and have started the camouflage process with my airbrush. I am not able to get a moderate distinction of the colors. It seems as if the borders are very fuzzy. On the other hand, I would prefer not to mask off the areas because then the borders would look too sharp. How can I accomplish what I want to do with my airbrush? In other words, I need help with my airbrush technique. Thanks for any suggestions.
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