First shot at mottling..how did I do?

As long as you're laying them down over a gloss you shouldn't have as much of a problem moving them. Add some Micro Set to the area where you're adding the decal and it should move just fine lol.

Those decals may be thick, but you can blend them in with some effort. I do it with the Revell Decals every time. Set and Sol can work small miracles when it comes to decals. Sometime you have to add Micro Sol to the decals four or five times to get them to lay down right, but with time and practice you figure it out  fairly easily.

Have fun with thse oils, D. they can be tricky, depending on your finish. They will blend smooth over a gloss, but they will be more rough over a flat finish and not feather out as much. Depends on the effect you want.  :)

It's looking great so far, D. The wheel bay card stock was a good idea. It looks much better than open holes.

If you don't finish this I will be sad.

Some more progress on my FW 190.  Added decals, wheels, and bombs.  Going to try some oil washes, so if you don't see a finished kit, you will know I screwed it up.  Also need to add smoke to the exhaust area.

I posted ages ago about being able to see through the bottom of the kit, so I added a piece of sheet styrene so that at least the landing gear bay is boxed in a bit.

Thanks for looking,

D

Mike;

 When I was younger I tried the drybrush Mottling and really liked the results . Of course it was on Bandai's 1/48 scale armor . I still do it that way as I like the consistant results I get . Now his work on this bird is nice . T.B.

Drifter

Best way to do mottling if you dont have an airbrush?

 

Before I had an air brush I would dry brush mottling. It takes some practice but the results are pretty close if done well. If you start out light, you can build up the "spots" to your liking.

ManCityFan

 

 

Drifter

Best way to do mottling if you dont have an airbrush?

 

 

 

 

Hopefully someone else will chime in.  While I was on youtube looking for videos of doing mottling, I saw there was a video for doing mottling without an airbrush.  I searched "mottling model aircraft", and it was one of the top three that showed up.  Check it out.

D

 

I saw that  vid, where they painted over with laquer thinners. I just think there must be an easier way.

Drifter

Best way to do mottling if you dont have an airbrush?

 

Hopefully someone else will chime in.  While I was on youtube looking for videos of doing mottling, I saw there was a video for doing mottling without an airbrush.  I searched "mottling model aircraft", and it was one of the top three that showed up.  Check it out.

D

Thanks lawdog.

Thanks blackdog.

Thanks DasBeav.

Lots of positive feedback.  Wonder if this was "beginners luck".  LOL  I guess we will find out when I do the next one.

Working on decals now.  Still some more to put on, and will post pics after solvent, gloss coat, and cleat flat coat.  Nearing the end.

D

Looks good to me Dwayne! I'm not yet brave enough to try it free hand.

It looks fine after some weathering you may be surprised. 

One thing about aircraft from germany its all a little different.

Rigidrider

Dman, Morning... I like digging through the painting threads , ever on the lookout for tips and new things to try... If I may add just a bit more... I may have missed it, but what type of AB are you using? My technique to mottle... I almost always use Acrylics, and mostly Tamiya or Model Master. Depending on what you are wanting to do, I use straight Lacquer thinner for most reducing needs. For very fine mottling or "squiggles" I thin just a bit more then usual, remove the air cap from the tip of the nozzle (Becareful not to hit needle, it is now exposed) add about 5psi, get up close, about a quarter inch or so, and move with a purpose. lol, in other words know what you want to do before begining!lol... The advise on remisting the base coat is (if needed) is what softens and blends in the mottle, and you did a good job on it. It look very "soft" now and thats the end goal. This was jus a bit more info and another technique. Keep up the good work!

Take care... Doug

 

Hi Doug,

I used a Badger Patriot with the fine needle for the mottling, so the needle is already exposed.  I did spray (much) closer to the model than my usual.  You do need to "move with purpose", as I found out when pausing for just a little bit, and "blotch".  LOL  That ended up being the "patch" I covered up and did over.

Still learning with the Patriot, as I have not had it long, but I am really liking this AB.  It just feels "right" in terms of trigger control. 

Thanks for the input and taking a look,

D

Dman, Morning... I like digging through the painting threads , ever on the lookout for tips and new things to try... If I may add just a bit more... I may have missed it, but what type of AB are you using? My technique to mottle... I almost always use Acrylics, and mostly Tamiya or Model Master. Depending on what you are wanting to do, I use straight Lacquer thinner for most reducing needs. For very fine mottling or "squiggles" I thin just a bit more then usual, remove the air cap from the tip of the nozzle (Becareful not to hit needle, it is now exposed) add about 5psi, get up close, about a quarter inch or so, and move with a purpose. lol, in other words know what you want to do before begining!lol... The advise on remisting the base coat is (if needed) is what softens and blends in the mottle, and you did a good job on it. It look very "soft" now and thats the end goal. This was jus a bit more info and another technique. Keep up the good work!

Take care... Doug

Tanker - Builder

Dwayne;

 Do you shake that badly ? You got speckles all over the bird . Oh ! That's right , it's called Mottling . It looks fine to me . Now get the decals on the plane and let's see it again .P.S. Don't forget to stop shaking so much ! Lmao T.B.     p.s. By the way , I looked further and I personally have to say .You WILL be YOUR OWN WORST CRITIC ! ! ALWAYS ! So don't worry , youse is doin jes fyne . LOL.LOL.

 

Hey TB.  When I was watching a youtube video on how to do mottling, the gentleman doing the video said, "Keep the airbrush moving quickly.  It helps to have some caffiene in your system."  LOL  So shaky hands is good.  

D

Dwayne;

 Do you shake that badly ? You got speckles all over the bird . Oh ! That's right , it's called Mottling . It looks fine to me . Now get the decals on the plane and let's see it again .P.S. Don't forget to stop shaking so much ! Lmao T.B.     p.s. By the way , I looked further and I personally have to say .You WILL be YOUR OWN WORST CRITIC ! ! ALWAYS ! So don't worry , youse is doin jes fyne . LOL.LOL.

ManCityFan

I really can't express how helpful this forum has been in helping me achieve this wonderful feeling.

I owe all of my modeling improvement to this forum and its members. Well done D.

ManCityFan

 

 

M. Brindos

Glad to hear that you feel better about it, Dwayne. That's what matters because it's your model. You're the one that gets to look at it every day and say "I built that". :)

I'm looking forward to your next pictures! :D

 

 

 

 

Your post is timely.  After I finished painting last night, I thought to myself "I did that".  Not an easy feeling to put into words, but it is a very good one! 

I have been wanting to build quality models for years, but didn't really believe I would be able to.  Despite the errors I have made on this build, it is better than I thought I was capable of.  And....I can only get better as I keep at it.  I really can't express how helpful this forum has been in helping me achieve this wonderful feeling.

Thanks again.  You guys are the best,

D

 

You are in exactly the same place I was in was when I joined up here. These guys are full of so much knowledge and creativity to help get around problems and I have become a better modeler because of it. It is a real pleasure to be in a position to give back to the community.  :)

That "I did that" feeling is hard to describe, indeed lol. But what a feeling, eh? Helping others get that feeling is just as good.  ;)

Here's hoping for more great "feels" lol!

D, i have found that the idea i have trying somthing new is more daunting than actually doing it. There are a number of thing i put off for a long time, makeing trees, scratchbuilding, mottling, spinner spirals. And when i did try them, i found it was not as hard as i had expected and the results were usually somthing to be pelased with.

I think most of us are our own worst enemies, convincing ourselves somthing is beyond our abilities. But now you have done it, you will be looking for the chance to try it again.

M. Brindos

Glad to hear that you feel better about it, Dwayne. That's what matters because it's your model. You're the one that gets to look at it every day and say "I built that". :)

I'm looking forward to your next pictures! :D

 

Your post is timely.  After I finished painting last night, I thought to myself "I did that".  Not an easy feeling to put into words, but it is a very good one! 

I have been wanting to build quality models for years, but didn't really believe I would be able to.  Despite the errors I have made on this build, it is better than I thought I was capable of.  And....I can only get better as I keep at it.  I really can't express how helpful this forum has been in helping me achieve this wonderful feeling.

Thanks again.  You guys are the best,

D

Greg

Big improvement, IMO. You get a gold star for giving a re-spray a go. I had a heck of a time convincing myself to do so on my second mottling attempt, and I too was happy in the end.

A couple more comments....

Re Brandon's suggestion and details on mottling with Tamiya, the only reason I've never tried it is I never had the right Tamiya colors, otherwise, I'd say if you want to mottle with acrylics, Tamiya would probably be easier to work with than Vallejo (remember, I'm a Vallejo fan and it's my primary acrylic despite everything.

And also, I'll bet you'll be surprised once you decal and weather. At this point, the mottle is all you see, at the end when it all comes together, even a crappy mottling job (which yours most certainly is NOT!) can look acceptable. (Have proven that myself, thank you very much )

Good job.

 

Hey Greg.  Tamiya would have been my first choice.  I have never had an issue with their acrylic that wasn't my own fault.  The limitation on colors is frustrating.  If they had a full line, I would not use anything else.  That being said, I am trying multiple paints to see how they work, and was pretty pleased with the overall coat of the Vallejo, and the mottling worked out.  Their line of colors is impressive.  On this plane so far, I have used Tamiya (yellow and black), Italeri (Grauviolet), Model Master (Lichtblau and interior grey) and Vallejo (Graugrun).  Tamiya will always be my first choice, but I think I have a handle on MM. 

Thanks for the look!

D

Big improvement, IMO. You get a gold star for giving a re-spray a go. I had a heck of a time convincing myself to do so on my second mottling attempt, and I too was happy in the end.

A couple more comments....

Re Brandon's suggestion and details on mottling with Tamiya, the only reason I've never tried it is I never had the right Tamiya colors, otherwise, I'd say if you want to mottle with acrylics, Tamiya would probably be easier to work evewith than Vallejo (remember, I'm a Vallejo fan and it's my primary acrylic despite it's quirky behaviour sometimes).

And also, I'll bet you'll be surprised once you decal and weather. At this point, the mottle is all you see, at the end when it all comes together, even a crappy mottling job (which yours most certainly is NOT!) can look acceptable. (Have proven that myself, thank you very much )

Good job.

Glad to hear that you feel better about it, Dwayne. That's what matters because it's your model. You're the one that gets to look at it every day and say "I built that". :)

I'm looking forward to your next pictures! :D

M. Brindos

Well I think that looks better.  :)

The rabbit hole isn't so bad, is it? Lol!

 

I agree, it does look better, and I am not having the "maybe not so good" feeling anymore.  That one patch looked like I spilled paint on the model, and really was bothering me.  Thanks for all the advice and the gentle push.  Only took an hour to make the improvement, and was time well spent.  Nearing the finish line. 

Well I think that looks better.  :)

The rabbit hole isn't so bad, is it? Lol!

So here is the mottling...final answer.

I toned down the mottle color with the base color, and re-did a patch in the lower photo 2 "patches" in front of the yellow band.  That one was bothering me.  So I guess I took the red pill Mike.  I am overall pretty pleased with the result.  Now on to decals, finishing details, and weathering.

Thanks again to all who commented, and thanks for looking.

Dwayne

I think it's pretty good. I had a tough time with mottling at first, then grew to love it.

For me, I mottle with a 0.2mm nozzle airbrush at 10-15 psi with Tamiya paint thinned to a 3:1 ratio. Basically just thick enough so it doesn't spiderweb.

The good thing is, when I mess up (not if, always when), it's easy to go back and use the lighter color to take away some of the darker and blend it a bit more.

I think yours is looking good, and it really is something you get happier with over time.

-BD-