Help wanted - Best way to get an 'overspray' result without spraying.

[Bungle]

Ok I own an airbrush but I have never used it. I am more than happy brush painting my kits with acrylics (Revell/Humbrol/Tamiya).

However in my latest 'Real World' exercise with the bf 109s I'm looking at a scheme that is standard RLM patterned upper surfaces 'oversprayed in white'. This isn't a solid white but more of an opaque white to dull down the grey/green colours for winter operations.

If I used an airbrush then a simple 'overspray in white' would be achieved by errr... spraying a light over spray of white  but I don't spray. So question is has anyone achieved anything similar using brush techniques ?

My initial thoughts are to paint the camouflage in the normal way then create a well thinned wash with matt white and apply several coats.  Would this work ?

Also one other question I notice some later 109's had a 'swirl' affect on the fuselage sides. Camouflage upper surfaces, lower surfaces in RLM65 (light blue) but swirling pattern breaking up the demarcation between the two. Can this be achieve with a brush ?  Any ideas ?

[NARSES2]

I've no idea re the white overspray but the swirl can be achieved with a brush. For mottles and swirls I paint them, let them dry a bit and then use a sponge to dab the mottle/swirl. If careful you can get quite a nice effect. Practice first and it does work best with enamels because of the drying time. If using acrylic I do a couple at a time and use the softest sponge I can find.

I just wish Mike Grant would do transfer sheets of German mottle to go with his Italian ring camouflage ones

[PR19_Kit]

I did a Viet Nam era AC-119G from the Italeri kit (it's MUCH larger than you think...) and did its multi tone camo with a brush.

As all the edges needed to be faded I then took a short brush and bashed it on the work bench until it splayed out and then dobbed it along the colour borders, placing more dobs of the colour I was using nearer to its source colour. If it looked as if it was too heavy on one colour I loaded the dobbing brush with the other colour and over-dobbed it. Simples. 

It's not perfect at close range but when you're 6-9" away it works just fine.

[Dizzyfugu]

That's tricky. IMHO, airbrushed solutions look just like that - especially when you want a worn finish. The white paint was water-soluble and aplied over the normal paint scheme, often with whatever was at hand, even rags or brooms. I have achieved good results (from personal point of view) through doing just the same: first paint the vehicle in proper colors, and then apply the whitewash with a brush, in small strokes as if someone in the appopriate scale had done the job. Irregularities to be ignored or appreciated, as well as uneven application.

Here's an example on a kitbashed walking tank - simple dark green base, and the whitewash is simple matt white enamel, applied with a flat, soft brush with synthetic fibers. Later, some dirt and snow was added, too.

1:35 (Inspired by) Maschinen Krieger - PzKl. HX-39 "Krampus" (Kit bashing/scratch-built) - making of (4/8) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:35 (Inspired by) Maschinen Krieger - PzKl. HX-39 "Krampus" (Kit bashing/scratch-built) - making of (5/8) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:35 (Inspired by) Maschinen Krieger - PzKl. HX-39 "Krampus" (Kit bashing/scratch-built) - making of (6/8) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:35 (Inspired by) Maschinen Krieger - PzKl. HX-39 "Krampus" (Kit bashing/scratch-built) - making of (8/8) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Rather simple, but highly effective - and IMHO such a livery looks best with imperfections.


Concerning the blended Luftwaffe flanks: basically, this can also be achieved through brush and paint. The magic elixir that helps a lot is to add stains/blotches of RLM 02 between or under the upper side color blotches. I experimented a lot, and this was the best trick to achieve a typical German look. 

1:72 Messerschmitt Me 510 A-2/U5 "Bremse"; 8./JG26, Flensburg; summer 1946 (Luft '46/whif/kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[/url]1:72 Blohm &Voss Bv 316 A-1, aircraft "2+~ Yellow" of Deutsche Luftwaffe's VI/JG 52; Brumowski airfield (Austria), May 1946 (Whif/Matchbox F-86 conversion) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr[/img]


But it depends on what you want to achieve - there had been "pure" and clearly defined blotches, too, and even some artistic creations with net patterns or rings, painted free hand, AFAIK. Again, this could also be achieved if you mimic a painter in the appropriate scale. Might be tedious, but feasible.