Not too bad, not too bad at all! I think I can see the numbers on the backs of the pilot and co-pilot's seats, just a few swipes with a sanding stick will take stuff like that off. No big deal, I doubt you'll be able to see the seat backs when the fusilage is assembled. 

The Paasche H is a good brush, you might want to buy another later on for detail work but it's fine for now. I dropped mine multiple times on a concrete basement floor and it still works fine, I swear you could run over the thing with a truck without any real damage. 

You can just airbrush stuff like the interior zinc chromate and then use your paint brush for detail painting. Not that different from painting it all with a brush. 

Hi, Dan, welcome to the forum, and congratulations on this build, it's a great choice, for a great reason!

Yeah, my great uncles were the same way about talking about their service in WWII.  Well, they did like to tell the funny stories, like, "Remember that time we got busted and were stuck on KP for the weekend..."  Of course, they were all mostly young men, boys, really, and they wanted to get on with their lives, when they got back.  But yeah, it's important today to collect the stories as best we can, as they all pass on.

Regarding painting, your cockpit looks pretty good to my eye.  I'll second the other post, that it takes practice to work with an airbrush.  But I'll add, there's no reason to do just one or the other, unless you have a preference.  I do tend to use the airbrush to do areas, like the outer wing or fuselage surface, and a paintbrush for small areas and details.

If I'm going to use a paintbrush to do an area, however, I think of two things:  Use a relatively broad brush, and thin the paint well and apply multiple coats.  That allows you to apply the color and get a consistent finish, like spraying the paint would do.  I've had the most success doing this, using acrylic paints, like Tamiya's, thinned with Tamiya's proprietary acrylic thinner, or with water or isopropyl with other brands' acrylics (Andrea, Vallejo, craft store acrylics).  Keeping it thin helps avoid leaving brush marks.

Anyway, I think your interior looks good, I like the chipping and wear, too.  I look forward to your next installment!

Best regards,

Brad

welcome aboard. you are in the right place .so far so good and more pics please

Bish

Useing an airbrush can be a bit scary at first, but once you get the hang of it, you won't look back. Always a good idea to practice of some scrap pieces. And its all a learning process how ever long we have been modelling. You have made a good start, and nice job on the dry brushing.

 

Thanks! I have since started using the AB and it does get easier every time.  The Paasche H is easy to use and clean once I learned the process.  I have more progress pictures to post later, some of which show airbrushing.

Useing an airbrush can be a bit scary at first, but once you get the hang of it, you won't look back. Always a good idea to practice of some scrap pieces. And its all a learning process how ever long we have been modelling. You have made a good start, and nice job on the dry brushing.

Ok...so here is progress so far on the B-24.  I started about a month ago on all of this.  Lots and lots of reading on this forum and other sites plus YouTube videos have helped me learn many techniques.  Now it's just a matter of practicing these techniques.  I am currently using Testors enamels and some Model Master enamels, mineral spirits for thinning, and a Paasche H airbrush. 

The cockpit was handpainted with brushes because I thought that it would be too small for my AB.  I have learned after a month that this is not the case and I can see how brushing flat areas such as the cockpit flooring can be more difficult to look even.  Also, I had never used an AB before and I was afraid to start using it so I decided to hand paint first. Looking back, I wish I would have used the AB.  I also used drybrushing for the first time on the instrument panels and on the seats. 

When I first started building, I had not thought about seams at all, which you can clearly see on the bombardier seat.  I should have smoothed that out and other places too, but now I know to look for this on the next model!

That's awesome that you're doing this for your family members. Please keep us posted. 

Welcome aboard!  I look forward to your WIP (Work in progress).

Toshi

Thats a good a reason as any for building a subject, look forward to seeing your pics.

Glad to have you with us Dan and looking forward to seeing your pics of the B-24. TY for posting the interesting background as well.