First attempt at this airbrush lark.

as far as advice... get you a plastic milk jug or such and primer it up and have a go at it with the airbrush!!!  practice going around curves, broad coverage, thin lines... and when it gets all painted???  if you still feel like you need to figure out something primer it again and go for it!!  you;ll figure out the rest as you go along...

and I must say that is a good job of preshading for a first time!  you're off to a good start!!!

Tecs wrote:

Ok I have done the underside of the spit' and am fairly happy, would appriciate some feedback.

I personally disagree with shaded panel lines as being the most realistic representaion of weathering (shading vs non-shading in the aircraft forum is about like Aztek vs. non-Aztek here).  That disclaimer aside, your shaded panel lines look to be as effectively done as any that I can recall.  Oddly enough, your concerns about not being neat enough is precisely what makes your shading effective.  For future improvements, try to be even more random and less neat.  The last time there was a debate on shading vs. non-shading in the A/C forum, there was one photo produced which had some shading that sort of followed a number of the panel lines.  However it was certainly blotchy and uneven.  The shading on some panel lines were fairly dark, others lighter.  On some, the width was narrow and others wide.  Some panel lines might show no color variation and sometimes the shading woul be in the middle of a panel.

I would suggest on the upper surfaces, go for an even more subtle effect.  What I've observed from photos and real life, is that panel lines and any sort of shading, real or perceived, is lot more pronounced on light gray than darker colors.  All in all, you should be more thar fairly with Spit thus far.

Andy

Let the paint cure, about 48 hours should be good for most paints.. acrylics a little shorter but better safe than sorry... Future the body after that and give it a good 6 hours or so before touching it... after that mix your oils with turpentine or one of the turpentine (non-smelly) subsitutes like "Turpenoid Odorless Turpentine Substitute."  Get it a nice flowable but dark mixture and go to town! 

As far as black or burnt umber that usually depends on what color the exterior is for me... for a (just a guess at which you are doing) Dk Green over Dk Earth I would mix a bit of the Black and the Umber together and use both.  If you are doing the Dk Green over Ocean Grey then black.  If the Dk Earth over Middlestone just the umber, or a bit of black mixed in with mainly umber.

Tecs - paiting the area under the stripes white might be a good idea... typically white doesn't cover well with decals..

-=edit=-

on the colors... they don't look too far off.. and with war weary A/C each plane has its own unique shade due to wear and weather...

Looks Great.  I'm still working on my first model with an airbrush.  I have to say your a lot braver thatn me going with preshading and camo on the first pass.  I'm working on a A6M2 Zero painted solid gray with the black engine cowling, pretty hard to screw up painting wise.  Anyway, looks great...looking forward to finished Spit!

Tecs - I know it would take a week or two but I would be more than happy to send some roundels to you via post..  If your markings don't work out on the kit decals, feel free to email me and I'll get them in the post the same day to you.  I also have a comrade here online who lives somewhat near London I could query to see if he has some extra roundels.  You have done an absolutely marvelous job on this build, made more incredible by being your first with an airbrush.  I would hope we could help make it pristine for you by providing you with the appropriate markings if possible.  Let me know if you need them and they are yours!!! 

Tecs - looks fabulous!  You should be able to future within about 12 hours, some wait longer but unless it is rather humid where you live you should be fine.  Your build looks fabulous and you should be very proud of it!

As far as the Micro-Sol a day or two tops should be sufficient... believe me I know!  At least yours spilled on the carpet and not on the decal sheet! 

Rob - ok... I am feeling inferior and insecure here... your first airbrush job looks better than my 10th did!    seriously, a really well done build!!!  I was very impressed with your willingness to throw caution to the wind and go for some more advanced techniques (masking the invasion stripes etc...)  I'm a bit more timid I guess, maybe I *should* start scratchbuilding interiors more (that's what I am "playing with" at present.. haven't got much past the adding some wires behind the IP and maybe on the sidewalls yet...)

I can't wait to see your next build!  And if ya feel like coming into any of the Group Builds posted in that section you'll have the one on one attention of many experienced modelers willing to spend the extra time to help figure out something... and they always learn from the person they are helping in the process... and learn a lot of history about what you are modeling at the same time!