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
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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
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