Repainting...

[norwaystar06]

Right, sorry for posting so many topics in a given week but i always kept my planes standard which is fine cause they look good that way, but i was introduced to Model Ship building through a friend of mine and painting was part of the learning curve (might i add that i didnt do a very good job of it too ) anyway i was wondering what the process is in repainting one of these large scale aircraft?

I want to start with something basic, my P-38, even though not historically accurate because it served in the Pacific, I want to add Invasion Stripes to it, i don't know there's something about Invasion Stripes on P-38's and P-47's to me that's just so right... i love the way they look. I may, when i get better i may just paint over the "Putt Putt Maru" and put another scheme of a plane that served in the European Theatre there.

Anyway hopefully some of you professional painters out there on the forum can give a noobie some good advice Thanks In Advance

Edit: Also I HATE these rainbow colors on the airplane. the 3 color i rather have a serious looking plane paint those rainbow tips a silver that matces the plane or paint it black something to make it look a bit more aggressive

[exether_mega]

Well, invasion stripes are always well designed on models (perfectly traced lines) but in reality there were of a crude design. Those stripes were supposed to stay 5 months, no more. So if you want a realistic plane, you can do them with a brush instead of an airbrush.

Here is a nice pic :



And from Wikipedia :

Marking description
The stripes were five alternating black and white stripes. On single-engined aircraft each stripe was to be 18 inches (46 cm) wide, placed 6 inches (15 cm) inboard of the roundels on the wings and 18 inches (46 cm) forward of the leading edge of the tailplane on the fuselage. National markings and serial number were not to be obliterated. On twin-engined aircraft the stripes were 24 inches (61 cm) wide, placed 24 inches (61 cm) outboard of the engine nacelles on the wings, and 18 inches (46 cm) forward of the leading edge of the tailplane around the fuselage.

In most cases the stripes were painted on by the ground crews; with only a few hours notice, few of the stripes were "masked".[1] As a result, depending on the abilities of the "erks" (RAF nickname for ground crew), the stripes were often far from neat and tidy

Hope this help.

phil

[norwaystar06]

Hey Thanks alot for that info... now i have an accurate mesurment of where to put the strips... and to think i was just gonna paint 5 black and white lines at random anyway if anyone else can help me find a P-38 Lightning that served in Europe... with a Silver Body (not the European Green) with an easy personal marking? I dont want to paint something overly elaborate... mainly cause im not a good painter or if anyone knows of any decals of these Art works on the sides of the planes? I got the German Kill Count covered cause of an earlier thread post.

[tmanthegreat]

anyway if anyone else can help me find a P-38 Lightning that served in Europe... with a Silver Body (not the European Green) with an easy personal marking? I dont want to paint something overly elaborate... mainly cause im not a good painter or if anyone knows of any decals of these Art works on the sides of the planes? I got the German Kill Count covered cause of an earlier thread post.

You need to track down the S1 XD P-38. It is silver and has invasion stripes. 21c did a decent job at basic weathering on it, so it looks quite nice.



The only thing they forgot was the nose art. This features kill markings, a naked woman sitting in a wine glass with the French words "Les Femme, Les Vin, et les Chansons" (Wine, Women, and Songs) overarching the picture. Given that the S1 P-38 was initially a Toys R Us exclusive back in 2001-2002, its understandable why the risque noseart was left off. You can find decals to add the proper nose art to the S1 P-38.

This also tends to be one of the easier and least expensive P-38s to find on ebay.

[norwaystar06]

Ehhh as much as i would love to own that beautiful plane its still far too much for me, i much rather have gotten the current JSI aircraft for cheap than spend about 70 more dollars on essentially the same plane. Also i think im gonna make my own Nose Art... i mean this plane is now historically out of wack, so i might as well throw in my own touch of art than copy someone else's ill post pictures as soon as this project is done Wish Me Luck

[exether_mega]

Good luck...

... and this can push your luck :

http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index ... opic=27951

phil

[norwaystar06]

Ok another alteration... I am keeping the Putt Putt Maru... lets say this has become a creative project into "What My Putt Putt Maru would have looked like if i was Col. Charles MacDonald... painting all the 3 stripe rainbow on the prop and tips into a solid Red... And i want to do the Full Wrap Around
Like that rather than the example shown above

[flyboy_fx]

Just throwing this out there, buy an airbrush for sure! Airbrused strips always look WAY better. You would want to airbrush the stripes and then go back over them with a brush. That way your brushing on less paint. If it's applied too thick, it will look terrible.

Also, have fun! That's what it's all about!!!

[norwaystar06]

I am Done Painting the Stripes on... and i see what you mean buy get an airbrush... admittedly the surface is a little rough from the brush strokes... but you know what my first airplane its not bad i actually love the way it looks... it gives it that human element to it like the British Spitfire above, except mine are perfect lines with imperfect brush strokes . All i have to do now is go to badcat and buy some German Kill Count decals, and this is what i would have painted my Aircraft back in World War 2 if i owned this bird.

Edit: Right... does anyone know how to etch REALLY tiny letters onto a plane? Because i sorta erased the original Pilot of Putt Putt Maru, and i want to etch his name back on or put my name on that plane, Really personalizing it.

Sitting next to now what is known as my SECOND favorite airplane of my fleet


Front Propeller. Love how the Red Prop Hub matches the Tips of the Missles


The whole shabang... very pleased that i can turn something i disliked into something i adore.

[pickelhaube]

Etching ?

You could go to an art supply place and get some tiny stick on letters.

Or use the outline of the stencils to use as painting stencils.

As far as the invasion stripes go you could have used rattle can paint to paint the stripes.

Almost all hardware stores sell them ( flat)

It is not to late you could sand what you have now, smooth tape and spray. Go with the white first. Let it set for 2-3 days tape and shoot the black.

This could look tons better for ya.

[norwaystar06]

Hmm, when i saw the letters on the plane it seemed to be just over a Milimeter Font size... do you think an art supply store would sell letters that small? i know what your talking about too, i dont think ive ever seen them that small though. I also gotta find some Silver paint that matches this P-38... I wanna rename it completely from the Putt Putt Maru, to Red Devil (after my favorite football team "Manchester United", maybe even put an extremely tiny Manchester United logo on the side of the cockpit window XD... im now taking this thing way overboard but i love it)

Edit: Never mind... I got the original Pilot's name back. I didnt know you can erase the Black Acrylic Paint like scratching a lotto ticket...

[exether_mega]

Invasion stripes looks good. But I feel I have to defend my "use a brush" advice

By using a brush, I didn't mean use a paint brush like if you were painting your house. When it's done carefully with a well diluted paint to avoid a thick effect, painting with a brush add something you can't have with an airbrush or a can (and believe me I love airbrush !). In such scale (1:18) it gives a perfect rendition of handpainted job.
This effect you can also have on armor or semi-armored vehicle add a touch of realism. Just look on german vehicles how camo was sometime made. It was supposed to be effective instead of artistic. it's a common belief to think german used airbrush for painting camouflage but I know from a well authorised source that it wasn't so common on the field for many reasons.

Well enough said about handpainting vs airbrush or spray can. You have made a good looking plane !

phil

[flyboy_fx]

Wow, it looks pretty darn nice!!!

I really love those large strips on the P38, instantly makes it a winner!!!

[norwaystar06]

As much fun as this was, it was kinda stressful getting the masking all to line up on top and bottom of the wing and even. More difficult to get it around the engine/intake, just glad I bought a p 47 with invasion stripes on it already.
I have a question reguarding the nose art and I may get ransacked for it, is it fine to take a sharpie to a plane? I decided to rename it Red Devil, and worked out a paint scheme on paper but I feel it could be done well with a red sharpie mainly cause I feel alot more secure holding a pen then paint brush... also I have to figure out a way to get the right type of silver so I can paint over the airplanes main body and tail pieces...

[norwaystar06]

It turns out that this old Testors Enammal paint in silver that i had for a few months now actually matches the silver perfectly... Got rid of all the 100's and the name time to put my own stuff onto this aircraft to really make it mine. >.> and watch the resale value drop just above 20 dollars XD.... but i dont care im not in it for resale