Excellent, glad they arrived and even better that they are a good enough match to be used.
Your welcome John, anytime my friend
I do like the effect your pre shading achieves, certainly adds depth to the paint job, well done.
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Back to the Toryu... I made an executive decision to mask the closed canopy pieces and put them in place. I really like the lines of the Toryu and may end up keeping it buttoned up.
I glued on the engine cowlings without the exhaust stacks in place. I'll pop them off and re-attach after the camo goes on.
The landing gear wells have been stuffed with tissue. To compress the tissue into shape, I wet it with water. Once dry, it's nice and stiff and stays in place much better than dry. I'm ready for painting!
The model is wiped off carefully using a dampened cotton rag (old piece of t-shirt in this case) to remove the dust and finger prints/oils. The panel lines are then highlighted with a highly thinned black. The canopy frames are also given a spray of black to help prevent light from shining through the frames. And yes, I first gave the frames a coat of the interior color before the black.
To give some depth to the camo, I scribble fine black lines all over the model. Based on past experiences, this is a good way to add some visual interest to a big area of single color but it will all but disappear under a mottled finish. So the entire bottom gets the scribble but not the whole topside. I scribble the area where I will be putting the white bands though.
The white bands are added using a highly thinned mixture of Tamiya White acrylic. Depending on the specific color, I am thinning this paint to about a 4:1 thinner-to-paint ratio. This helps modulate the coverage so that I don't obliterate the pre-shading and also helps to ensure the smoothest finish possible. Patience is needed when using highly thinned paint because multiple coats are necessary.
Here's a closeup of the white area on the wings to show the effect that I am trying to achieve. I'll set aside the white to dry before having a go at the red hinomarus.
I received a card from Karl (Rochie) this week with some very key decals! The "18" for the tail looks to be the perfect size... thank you very much Karl!
Great stuff guys. On your way t another beauty John.
I might add to your response to Geo that the gradual build up of paint is easier (I think) with acrylics as they dry almost instantly. Enamels might behave differently.