1/48 Me 262A-1a/3U

by Rafi Ben-Shahar

--------------------

 

This is not an "Oh, no, another Messerschmitt." I chose this Me 262A-1a/U3 reconnaissance model to demonstrate a technique that I developed and call, "Reverse Washing." Principally, I wash away paint layers and highlight the underlying base layers. In this example, photographs of the real aircraft reveal a heavy spay of RLM 81 and 83 over light RLM 76. However, if you try to mimic the pattern on a 1/48 scale model, you will quickly find out that the spray lines overlap and leave paint trails that soon cover the entire RLM 76 base, which is not realistic. Fine style air brushing  would not help because the spray lines overlap considerably. If you try to paint with light gray on top, the light streaks will dominate the edges of the Greens and everyone will see the flaw.

Click on images below to see larger images

In my method, I paint the base layer with a gloss enamel paint and leave it to dry thoroughly. Then, I apply the normal spray pattern like indicated on the other U3 model that I show here albeit heavier streaks like the real thing. Before the paint is dry, I used light thinners that washed away the Greens and expose the light Gray below. It may sound easy, but it is not. You have to master your airbush and know the paint dynamics intimately. Otherwise, you will experience paint overflow, congestion, splashing, sun spots, creasing and other curses. The good news is that the final result is better than the real aircraft :) and that other than the 262, I could not find another aircraft that had similar paint schemes.

Bottom line, Reverse Washing is a handy technique for AFV models. The more creasing and paint congestion you get, the better the result.

Rafi 

Photos and text © by  Rafi Ben-Shahar