INTERMEDIATE BUILD
B-25 MITCHELL Mk.II68 Airfi x Model World“Much fun was
had adding the
extensive oil
streaking”
After first masking the invasion
stripes and roundels, H-81 Khaki
was diluted heavily with isopropyl
alcohol. This was applied in very
light passes to the areas where
fading was desired, with many light
and patchy coats built to create
the effect. Darker areas around
the engines and wing roots, where
groundcrew foot traffic constantly
wore the oxidation away, were
replicated by using a damp
cotton bud to scrub the Khaki
paint away after each successive
coat. This created a very random
appearance, which had a great
deal of depth to it, leading to a
very authentic appearance. For
the final passes, the Khaki was
lightened slightly with white
and added in selected areas to
brighten the faded colour a little.
Fading of the upper wing roundels
was achieved in the same manner,
but employing a
highly diluted mix of
XF-19 Sky Grey, with the
Olive Drab masked, so the
Sky tone was applied to just
the roundel.
As well as the faded paint,
the real Grumpy sported
some rather spectacular oil
stains in the photo I was using
as the main reference. On
the right-hand wing, these
had covered the full chord and
even been blown back onto the
horizontal stabiliser. There was
also evidence of exhaust staining
on the tail fins.I find enamel wash
products ideal for
this sort of effect
and in this case MIG
Productions P220
Dark Wash (www.migproductions.
com) was first used to enhancethe panel lines around the engines
and on top of the nacelles. For
the oil itself, AK Interactive’s
AK012 Streaking Grime (www.
ak-interactive.com) was applied,
again carefully building the
effects layer by layer with fineINTERMEDIATE BUILD
B-25 MITCHELL Mk.II“Much fun was
had adding the
extensive oil
streaking”
After first masking the invasion
stripes and roundels, H-81 Khaki
was diluted heavily with isopropyl
alcohol. This was applied in very
light passes to the areas where
fading was desired, with many light
and patchy coats built to create
the effect. Darker areas around
the engines and wing roots, where
groundcrew foot traffic constantly
wore the oxidation away, were
replicated by using a damp
cotton bud to scrub the Khaki
paint away after each successive
coat. This created a very random
appearance, which had a great
deal of depth to it, leading to a
very authentic appearance. For
the final passes, the Khaki was
lightened slightly with white
and added in selected areas to
brighten the faded colour a little.
Fading of the upper wing roundels
was achieved in the same manner,
but employing a
highly diluted mix of
XF-19 Sky Grey, with the
Olive Drab masked, so the
Sky tone was applied to just
the roundel.
As well as the faded paint,
the real GrumpyGrumpyGrumpy sported sported
some rather spectacular oil
stains in the photo I was using
as the main reference. On
the right-hand wing, these
had covered the full chord and
even been blown back onto the
horizontal stabiliser. There was
also evidence of exhaust staining
on the tail fins.I find enamel wash
products ideal for
this sort of effect
and in this case MIG
Productions P220
Dark Wash (www.migproductions.
com) was first used to enhancethe panel lines around the engines
and on top of the nacelles. For
the oil itself, AK Interactive’s
AK012 Streaking Grime (www.
ak-interactive.com) was applied,
again carefully building the
effects layer by layer with fine After adding the stripes with
XF-2 Flat White and XF-85 Rubber
Black, the whole model was
given two coats of X-22 Clear to
provide a smooth and decal-ready
surface. Note the circles for the
fuselage roundels. This was probably one of the speediest decal sessions ever, since just national markings,
serials/codes and nose art were required.
To achieve a faded appearance on the upper surfaces, highly diluted H81 Khaki was
applied by airbrush in multiple passes, with close reference to photos of the actual aircraft.