After I made the landing and formation lights out of clear plexi (and forgot to take pics of the process), I decided to splash some paint on the model after some thinking on how to proceed and paint a black Blenheim...
After looking at some treads here and there, I came up with the following;
A dark earth base to bring out the detail of the pannel lines and the rivett detail I added. Took some practice to get right, but soon I got the hang of it.
Then a thin coat of dark grey/black (simelar to cockpit black) was sprayed over the entire airframe, making sure the dark earth detailing previously applied, bled through the black layer.
Since these Belnheims wore a Night fighter schema that was based on the paint that is used inside camara's and very matt, I decided it must of been prone to all kinds of wear. After having a chat with Miguel Jimenez of MiG at the Belgian Scale Modellers Convention last year where he showed his "Hairspray technique" I thought the Blenheim would be a good subject to try it on.
I first used his "light scratches" bottle, but switched over to the "heavy chipping" variant. It's very subtle and I'm quiet pleased with the outcome, especially since it's the first time i used this technique. It's plain simple.
-Spray an undercoat (in this case the cockpit black)
-Let dry (you can use your airbrush unloaded, with just air from your compresser to speed things up)
-Spray the hairspray (I used MiG's heavy chipping)
-Let dry (use the airbrush with just air again)
-Spray a next coat over the model or selected surfaces and let dry for a bit. (make sure this coat is not too thick, I still could see where the hairspray particles were after I sprayed the next coat)
-Wash the model with water and a flat brush, stroking of the model in the direction of the airflow (I used lukewarm water, wich worked like a charm)
-Let Dry (I used the airbrush again with just air to blow the surfaces dry)
(There are several clips on youtube that demonstrate the process)
In short, the results I got are a bit simelar to the "salt technique" but much finer and more controlable and imho more scale apropriate.
I used MiG's products because I saw how they were demonstrated and feared that actual hairspray would be too sticky and leave an unwanted residue on the models surface. Also the idea of decanting the hairspray in the airbrush was something I did not look forward to. I think the MiG "ready to use" bottle is just much easier and knowing the product will actually work, eases the mind and the process.
I'm also very pleased that the added rivett detail is still visible and looks good. I think it makes the overall black model look better. An other bonus is that the black coat is very forgiving towards my mistaked made during the building proces.
Next I will do the aircrafts markings. I'm gonna use an old Montex mask set I have for a Blenheim Mk. I (to use the masks for the national insignia as they are th esame for the Mk. IV) and will make my own masks for the fuselage codes.
Thanks for looking in!