Mottling

[Maglar]

If there is a thread already about this just throw me a link..

Since I plan on buying the Heinkel and doing the MTO scheme which has mottling involved, I thought I would ask some tips for doing the effect. I plan on using my airbrush..... Anything will help.!

(my airbrush is an Aztek, if theres anything involving tip size and color)


Thanks, Corey

 

[Crunch]

A scheme like that looks reasonably straight forward - and that's from a very amature airbrusher/modeller...

Sand base coat, then fill in over with the green. do it free-hand, but planned, and it should blend in quite well.

I'm looking at a similar scheme, should I find time to dedicate to this GB.

 

[Wildcat]

I was also going to ask this Corey! What's the best method for brush painting (which I do). I've heard of using a sponge to do the mottling, anyone care to comment on this technique!

 

[A4K]

Personally I don't like the technique Andy, but that's just me. (I brush paint too)

I've yet to find the 'ideal' method, but so far still prefer the old (and very tedious...) method of carefully hand painting the splotches and blending the edges with a soft pastel wash. Be a hell of alot easier with an airbrush I reckon !

 

[Wayne Little]

If there is a thread already about this just throw me a link..

Since I plan on buying the Heinkel and doing the MTO scheme which has mottling involved, I thought I would ask some tips for doing the effect. I plan on using my airbrush..... Anything will help.!

(my airbrush is an Aztek, if theres anything involving tip size and color)


Thanks, Corey

I use an Aztek 430 Corey, getting the mix of paint and pressure right and knowing your airbrush is the key....takes plenty of practice and patience!

I use the Grey nozzle for most of my airbrushing...youv'e seen my results.....

 

[Maglar]

I have the grey, it shoots nice but a smaller radius. This oculd be ideal for the mottle while I use the white tip to lay down the base coat.

 

[muller]

I've seen a method of doing these schemes online a while back. Paint the whole thing olive green, then use blobs of blu tak to mask where you want the mottling, then spray over the whole thing with the sand colour. Never tried it myself, maybe you could try it out on a scrap piece of plastic to see how it looks?

 

[Wurger]

The way is OK.But I suggest painting with the sand colour firstly.Then Blue Tack for masking these areas of sand colour and then spray with the Olive Geen.

 

[Airframes]

Andy, in 1/72nd and 1/48th scales, I used to use a cotton bud (Q Tip?) for mottling, and it works quite well.
Here's how to go about it.
First, paint the base colour of the large area, eg., RLM 65 Hellblau, as normal.
Next, take some cotton buds, and pull-off any loose fibres, then smooth out with your fingers.
Dip the tip only into a vey thin layer of paint in a pallete, and wipe off the excess by 'dabbing' onto a piedce of plain paper (not tissue).
Gently and carefully apply each mottle spot, in a sort of dry brush method, and give the cotton bud a gentle, light twist at the end of each application.
When all of the mottling has dried, go over the entire area, using a dry-brush, with the base colour (RLM65 in this example), to diffuse the edges of the mottle. Do this very lightly, so as not to detract from the colour(s) of the mottle itself.
This should 'soften' the edges of the mottle, and slightly tone-down what will at first appear to be too heavy a colour for each mottle spot.
When the clear coat is applied, the mottle will appear to jump out, and may look a little too stark, but once matt/semi-matt coated, the diffusion takes place again, and the job should look quite convincing.
I used this method for over thirty years, until I got an airbrush that could cope with smaller mottles, and some of the models done using this method I had to look at twice, in order to convince myself they hadn't been sprayed. It also works very well on armoured vehicles, for some of the German colour schemes, where a brush might be too 'heavy'.

 

[Wildcat]

Awsome Terry! Thanks bud, I shall give your method a crack when I get to the painting stage.

 

[Airframes]

You're welcome mate.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Excellent!, Thanks Terry!

 

[Airframes]

You're welcome VB.

 

[stona]

I actually do a variation on Airframes' method using an airbrush. I spray the base coat and them spray the mottle over it. I then return to the base colour and tidy up any mottles that just look wrong. I then do a very light overspray of the base colour over the mottling. This would be equivalent to Airframes' dry brushing of the base colour and as he says this tones down the mottling and makes the effect less stark. It is very subjective and you are always anticipating the effects of further coats of Klear/varnish etc. It needs a bit of practice.
Steve

 

[Airframes]

Yep, that's more or less the way I do it with an airbrush, depending on the scale and the size/colour of the mottle itself.

 

[Maglar]

Put it into perspective for the mottle design on the picture I posted.. very keen on getting it right!

 

[Airframes]

If that's a question, I'm afraid it's something that can't be explained. Even a 'live' demonstration would be extremely difficult. It's something that has to be sensed, or 'felt', and can only be achieved by practice and experience. It'll be betteer to try a mottle of a similar design and colour on a 'hack' model, and see what the results are like. Let it settle and 'mature' for a few days at least, then apply the normal clear coats to a small area, and again leave it. From there, then you can decide if it needs toning-down or softening, and experiment, on different areas of the 'hack', with various degrees of very fine, thin veils of ghosting, not even heavy enough to be called misting. As with any painting exercise, it is always better to start light and thin, as colour and/or effect can be built up. The opposite, once on, is there to stay!