“circle masks were
made with a compass cutter”
Effortless coverings
It’s very rare for me to completely mask a model like this, but in the case of
invasion stripes I do find that white paint tends to get everywhere. In the past
I have flirted with using kitchen roll sheets and tin foil to help
block larger areas. For this model I used a new product, acquired
recently at a model show. This was Tamiya’s 87164
Masking Tape with Plastic Sheeting (www.hobbyco.
net). This is a folded sheet with tape already applied
to one edge. So, the sheet is simply unrolled and cut,
then unfolded and attached with the tape before filling any gaps or securing the
other edges. The task of completely masking the large and complex shapes of the
Mitchell was made infinitely simpler and faster using this sheeting and also saved
using a lot of expensive tape!“circle masks were
made with a compass cutter”
Effortless coverings
It’s very rare for me to completely mask a model like this, but in the case of
invasion stripes I do find that white paint tends to get everywhere. In the past
I have flirted with using kitchen roll sheets and tin foil to help
block larger areas. For this model I used a new product, acquired
recently at a model show. This was Tamiya’s 87164
Masking Tape with Plastic Sheeting (www.hobbyco.
net). This is a folded sheet with tape already applied
to one edge. So, the sheet is simply unrolled and cut,
then unfolded and attached with the tape before filling any gaps or securing the
other edges. The task of completely masking the large and complex shapes of the
Mitchell was made infinitely simpler and faster using this sheeting and also saved
using a lot of expensive tape!http://www.airfi xmodelworld.com 67later. After
adding XF-2
Flat White,
the black
stripes were masked with the
aid of a ruler and dividers, as
these were not the messy field-
applied bands as seen on
wartime aircraft! Tamiya’s
XF-85 Rubber Black provided
the dark stripes, and once
de-masked the model
was again coated with
X-22 Clear.
Turning to
the decal
sheet at this point,
the required markings
were gathered. DK
Decals’ aftermarket sheet
was tremendous in its scope (see
panel), with three separate sheets
containing roundels, codes and
specific markings for 15 different
aircraft. For this model, just the
national markings, Grumpy nose
art and one code letter were
required. Mr Mark Setter was
used to aid the adhesion and
settling of the decals, which were
trouble-free in use.
Adding patina
With the decals applied and dry,
the make-or-break point had
Before painting the invasion stripes, circle masks were made with a compass cutter to
cover the areas where the roundels would be placed later.Quickboost’s resin propeller assemblies were used, and these
were a subtle improvement over the kit items, with slightly
more definition to the hubs and thinner blades.arrived – how to replicate the
faded Olive Drab finish of the
real aircraft. As can already be
surmised, the usual pre-shade and
post-fade approach was not used;
instead it was decided to try and
replicate the real appearance more
directly. Although paint pigmentscan (and do) fade in real life, what
we mostly see when looking at
faded paint is oxidation of the
outermost layer. For the older folk
among us – who remembers using
T-Cut to restore the red paintwork
on their car? That process was
nothing more than polishing awaythe layer of oxidation to reveal the
bright finish underneath.
Every colour oxidises differently- those red cars from the 1980s
and 90s went pink – and the Olive
Drab in this case exhibited quite a
distinct pinkish-brown hue, which I
decided to replicate using Khaki.