Grumman F4F-4

[DogfighterZen]

We never stop learning.

I have found that additional things that affect my paintjobs can include the phase of the moon, state of the tide and colour of my underpants.

Laughing till 2222...

Greg, don't know if this can help but anyway... i normally test the paint on some non absorbing material before spraying on the model to see if it spiders out.  Not the best thing but most of the times, i get lazy and instead of grabbing an old model, i just spray on the cutting mat before i spray it on the model. Although i think you'd better use an old model or some other plastic object, it's been working for me so far, and the paint is easy to clean off with some alcohol on a paper tissue so i don't care, it's just easier, i don't have to move...
And i also thin them pretty good, but i've got no real values of the ratios i use. I can say i'm quite used to Tamiya acrylics so it's pretty easy for me. I pour a bit of thinner into the cup first, then the paint and, if needed, i'll just put in a few more drops of thinner till it sprays well.. I live in the warmest region of Portugal and maybe because of that, sometimes the paint starts to get thicker inside the cup after 5 minutes of spraying so, i just add a few drops of thinner and it's all good again.
Can also depend on the air pressure you're running on the compressor and the lower the air pressure is, the thinner the paint has to be to spray well.
Re distance of the brush, the further it is from the model, the more the paint will dry before it's touching the model's surface, especially with very thinned paint.
Re line thickness, again, my cutting mat was very helpful, but i practiced it on kitchen paper tissues, spraying lines back and forth till i got the feel for the trigger and paint flow. don't forget that when you pull back the trigger, you're gradually opening a gap between the needle and nozzle so, if it's railed all the way back, it'll spray out the total amount possible for the size of the nozzle you have on your airbrush.
I'm not a pro painter but i hope this helps you in some way...

[Captain Canada]

Looking good.

Over here I used to use  Or had previously used, Tremclad aluminium rust paint in the spray can.

[NARSES2]

Acrylic wise I've had some fair results with Games Workshop's range. Need to be thinned well but are ok

What do you thin them with please Chris?

I just use tap water Kit. Only proviso of course is that tap water varies so much around the country. Here in the South East it's very hard.

[PR19_Kit]

Acrylic wise I've had some fair results with Games Workshop's range. Need to be thinned well but are ok

What do you thin them with please Chris?

I just use tap water Kit. Only proviso of course is that tap water varies so much around the country. Here in the South East it's very hard.

Hm, OK.

I tried that and the water just lay on the top of the paint and refused to mix, even when given a good 2-3 minutes mixing with my 'Power Stirrer'.

Perhaps the paint has gone beyond the point of no return?

[Steel Penguin]

Kit, that's a possibility im afraid, some of the GW paints are very touchy, I will add that all I normally use on mine is tap water, occasionally if they have gone well over ill add some Tamiya thinners ( acrylic)  but not often,   as daft as It seems though id suggest giving the reluctant gw stuff a darn good shake, before trying anything like a spin mix, as they are normally used in the " shake, take some out, thin on palate" style.   hope it helps

[PR19_Kit]

OK, thanks. I'll try a bit of shaking then. 

I've only got three of their pots, all metallic, but they look so good when they're on the model I'm reluctant to switch brands.

[NARSES2]

I'd agree that their metallic paints do seem to have a short pot life and I only use them for small parts. When they go "globby" I put a small amount on my mixing tray (old pickle jar tops etc) and then use water at about 3/4 parts water to 1 paint. Gets them to a nice consistency.

Not used them for large area's, gone back to using Humbrol metalcotes for that

[strobez]

One nice thing about posting a "work in progress" thread is, after being on the road for work for a month, it's a little easier to review what's been done and try to remember where I was going with this build...

[TheChronicOne]

One nice thing about posting a "work in progress" thread is, after being on the road for work for a month, it's a little easier to review what's been done and try to remember where I was going with this build...

Right!  Sure is handy and welcome back!

[strobez]

Oh, so this is where I left that thread...

[nighthunter]

Oh, so this is where I left that thread...

Lol!

[strobez]

Well, I knew I left it around here someplace...

I realized from reviewing the thread that I hadn't really shown that this is actually a double build. I'm just finishing up the Ghibli project for the Sci-Fi GB, so I finally had some time to get back on this one.  I decided to do the Tintin "Voir et Savoir" one first because it's got the straight wing, so it's easier. It's based on this entry: http://www.tintinpassion.net/VOIRSAVOIR/Avion2/pages_avion2/016_Avion2.html





Since I tried the hairspray technique again, next up is trying to uncover a bit of the bare metal finish.  If it works, then I'll proceed with the paint job on the folded wing version.

[strobez]

Ahh... there's the folded wing one... now in green!

[PR19_Kit]

And it's very green too! 

[strobez]

Not for long..