Luftwaffe camo

[Tom Rigg]

Does anybody have a technique for applying the mottling so beloved by German camo painters during ww2?


I'm using Tamiya mixes for the colours but unfortunately I don't have an airbrush/compressor combo capable of spraying the required finish (single action brush and one pressure compressor )


I'm going to experiment with a small dot of paint and then try to 'brush it out like blending oil paints.


TIA


Tom

[Guest]

Why not take some thin plastic (from an empty margarine tub) & piece a small hole or series of holes through it.


Then place it against the model & give it a quick burst of paint.


You'd probably need to test it out first, but I could see that working.

[coachman]

One way is to use a small piece of sponge to dab them on could be held with tweezers.


Try out on some spare plastic or card to get it right. Good luck John

[Richi72]

applying the mottling so beloved by German camo painters during ww2

Hi Tom,


i would like to help but what is mottling camo?


Cheers Richi

[rickoshea52]

Cotton buds. Experiment first.

[stona]

Hi Tom,
i would like to help but what is mottling camo?


Cheers Richi

It's the application of blotches or other areas of one or more camouflage colours over a base colour. It was a technique used extensively by the Luftwaffe in WW2. There are nearly as many versions of mottling as there are aircraft built ! On the full scale versions it was invariably sprayed on and though I've seen some good approximations achieved on models using other techniques it is done most easily by the same technique...spraying.


The mottle on the fuselage of this Bf 109 is typical of that applied by the Erla factory near Leipzig.


[ATTACH]110662.IPB[/ATTACH]



Cheers


Steve

[zuludog]

I have used a size 2 brush cut straight across the the bristles so the end is flat, then applying the minimum amount of paint in a stippling manner.

[Richi72]

Thanks Steve

[Gern]

Patrick's idea is good. These things are a version of it:


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Airwaves-1-32-Luftwaffe-WWII-Fighter-Mottle-Mask-/121655123430?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c5335 dde6


They're a stiff sheet with holes ready cut for you to spray through and they come in different scales and patterns (I just typed mottle mask into my ebay search and found 1/32, 1/48 and 1/72). I guess you'll need to experiment a little with holding them the correct distance from the kit while you spray.

[Robert1968]

K

Patrick's idea is good. These things are a version of it:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Airwaves-1-32-Luftwaffe-WWII-Fighter-Mottle-Mask-/121655123430?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c5335 dde6


They're a stiff sheet with holes ready cut for you to spray through and they come in different scales and patterns (I just typed mottle mask into my ebay search and found 1/32, 1/48 and 1/72). I guess you'll need to experiment a little with holding them the correct distance from the kit while you spray.

Hi Gern


I tried this mottle mask on my He 219 in 1/48 scale. I found it long and tedious but I ended up getting a tight sponge and cutting patterns out then using tweezers and varying the patten and I found this better and to scale


Regards


Robert

[Tom Rigg]

Thank you All for your imput.


I'm on no schedule so I'll just keep experimenting on old plastic containers until I feel an acceptable (to me) finish is possible.


I might try getting some drying retarder(?) and try 'blending' a small drop into a 'mottle' It'll probably involve some thinning as well (Years ago I painted a T-Rex dino for my son and blended top and bottom colours along it's flanks. However that was with enamels and I don't use or have any enamels now. I'll just have to figure out how to do the process with acrylics).


I'll post the results...eventually...hopefully


Tom

[Guest]

Seems like a lot of work Tom, when you consider that spending £30 on a pressure regulator & double action airbrush would simplify things enormously!

[Guest]

Before I got to grips with a dual-action airbrush, I used to do it with a 'sawn-off' brush like zuludog mentions.


Basically, chop the end of the bristles off flat - about 3 or 4 mm past the end of the metal grip - then dab the paint on as you would with a sponge. Muliple dabs for each mottle, with an almost 'dry' brush, gives best results.


Fairly effective in 1/72, though more difficult to make it look 'right' in 1/48 - and in 1/32 I just avoided mottle camo.


Same method works for Italian 'desert' mottle

[Guest]

it really depends what camo you are doing. Luftwaffe camo can vary. Here are some of thebuilds I have done on luftwaffe 1:48 subjects. One is an me 262 with squiggle camo. For squiggle camo, I use Gunze Sangyo acqueous with my Iwata High performance plus airbrush. For others, I use my iwata eclipse HP-CS. For late war schemes, the demarcation was very soft, but for aircraft 1939-1942, ther splinter camo was sharp. I find that for luftwaffe subjects, the best results are obtained using an airbrush


john

http://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/hobbyboss-1-48-me-262a-1a-u3.30922/

http://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/yellow-14-hans-joachim-marseille-1-48-hasegawa-bf-109f-4-tropical.30966/

[Guest]

K
Hi Gern


I tried this mottle mask on my He 219 in 1/48 scale. I found it long and tedious but I ended up getting a tight sponge and cutting patterns out then using tweezers and varying the patten and I found this better and to scale


Regards


Robert

Don't use masks! The fun is doing all that hard Work! lol


John