Wurger,
Yes, that's true, however the spray pattern is round and not elongated. Plus, much is metallic.
I used a small automotive jam gun for all the areas you see except the clear. Full size spray gun for that.
The toned down British flag graphics were actually brushed by hand, although masked for a clean edge, using fast dry "Don's brushing laquers," which became NLA in the mid 90's. Don's laquers were really great paint. The black is actually One Shot enamel. The gold leaf is 23K leaf.
Done correctly, you could have a great, light finish. Weight is an issue. I never flew that model, I sold in for money. LOL
I only use the airbrush tool for art illustrations and custom graphics on vehicles, etc.
So, the airbrush tool was not used on this model or any other model I've built, except for the Mig-3. That's why I'm here steeling ideas and detail techniques. I did surface and appologize for that. LOL
Besides other stuff, I did and still do nose art on jackets. Mostly by hand because that's the way they were done in that period. However, some guys want a more contemporary look, so I start up the airbrush for some areas and hand brush others. Sometimes I use "masks," like for "Tom's Aviation." A mask was used for the gold lettering logo and everything else was brushed.
I did this jacket in the early 90's when Nose Art was popular. As I said, I don't take many photos and these will be poor photos to say the least.
Blacklist.