German Mottled Camo?

I would imagine that with enough practice you can get some decent lines out of even a basic single action AB. basically it comes down to practice and getting comfortable with your AB. with enough practice you'll soon be able to get good results. I would say the skill levels are more important than the quality of the AB. That being said, it doesn't hurt to have a nice double action AB and a compressor that allows you to adjust the psi, especially for the type of camo scheme you are attempting...

You didn't really describe what type of AB you have, but if you have a gravity feed double action AB that helps produce finer detail than the siphon ones do.

What kind of airbrush are you using? The quality of mottled camo certainly can depend on what you're squirting paint through. Not that I know first hand, but I've been reading and reading and reading...waiting for that day I try doing the Bf109 that is sitting on my shelf naked as the day it was cast!

At first it seems intimidating but mottled paint jobs are actually quite simple to achieve, you probably do need to practice a bit to see how good you can do free hand , after that if you still can't get a good paint job try using a mask!?
Do this by cutting out the shape of the mottled effect than hold it a few mm from the surface , this way you can get a soft feathered effect which is controlled using the mask!
Before you do this , you should probably have a few practice runs first!?

Thanks for your advice guys, I have a very old double action airbrush and compressor. My airbrush is gravity fed but when I try mottle pattern, my airbrush(or I) splatters the paint and instead of small "dots" I end up with spashes:(

Until I get better at painting or until I get my new airbrush/compressor I think I'll have to try the masking idea, it sounds like the best idea for someone of my ability.

Thanks for your help,

Darren.

QUOTE: Originally posted by TANGO 1 Thanks for your advice guys, I have a very old double action airbrush and compressor. My airbrush is gravity fed but when I try mottle pattern, my airbrush(or I) splatters the paint and instead of small "dots" I end up with spashes:( Until I get better at painting or until I get my new airbrush/compressor I think I'll have to try the masking idea, it sounds like the best idea for someone of my ability. Thanks for your help, Darren.

How much are you thinning your paint? 'Splatters' suggests to me your paint isn't thinned enough to get out the airbrush. Try a little more thinner!

Glenn

I'll throw in my 2 cents here. I build practically all bf109s. For the past year, I'm been using a single action, gravity fed, external feed Paasche H. I can do passable 1/32 and maybe some easier (not all) 1/48 but I wouldn't try 1/72 mottles. I did a 109e desert camo (splotches) with masks in 1/72 but spent several hours cutting out the mask on paper.

I just bought a Badger 100 (internal mix, gravity fed, double action) and from the first minute, I can tell, I won't fear 1/72 mottles. I can even do those wavy net-like lines camo. I still have a lot of practice to hone in my skills with this Badger but as for the argument that skills is more important than tool...I'm sure a mediocre driver in a Corvette can out drag the best driver in a Corolla (sorry Toyota) any day.

Glenn,
I've tried thinning my paint till its as runny as water, no matter what I do it still splatters. I also tried holding the airbrush away from the model at different distances and angles and I still get it wrong.
I can get a nice feathered edge for camo patterns, but when I just want a "dot" or mottle, thats when things go wrong.......
I figured that if I sprayed a nice wide camo line over a mottle mask, I could get this stuff to work.

Regards,

Darren.

I bought once an Aztek 470 from a guy who wanted to build Italian fighters in 1/72 so he planned to buy a Harder & Steenbek Evolution for this very reason ( as to mount it with a 0.15 assembly to paint "macaroni" ) No news from him but it seems that, in a similar way, mottle needs ( whatever airbrush you like ) :
_thin nozzle/needle assembly
_low pressure
_very thinned paint

Maybe a Paasche AB would be the answer ? ( hmm, sorry...)

Have you tried getingthe tip close, using the double action feature to get a good fast airflow, than slowly and gentaly adding a small amount of paint? Thats what I started to do not too long ago, and its been working reatehr well for me, after a bit of practice that is!