Hi Nigel. A quick run down on the method for the finish on this one.
1. First step is a gentle coat of Halfords grey plastic primer to check for any flaws in the assembly. Correct/fill sand as necessary and recoat. Take care with these aerosols as they chuck out alot of paint and can flood the details if you are too heavy handed.
2. I then rub the primer with a lint free cloth after a couple of hours to get rid of any bits of dust or graininess in the finish
3. On this one I then painted the rear end Tamiya aerosol bare metal silver - again take care not to overload the surface with paint. I left this for a week to make sure it cured properly
4. Mask off the bare metal areas
5. Pre shade the panels, any vents and exhausts on the airframe, and other staining (like away from the wheelwells where oil, grease etc escapes and drifts back on the airflow). I used matt black on this one applied with an airbrush (Badger 150 dual action).
6. Then a coat of the main colour - in this case gunship grey again applied by airbrush. I use acrylics from either Tamiya or Polyscale (this one was Polyscale). The main colour coat is applied in thin coats (thinned 50:50 with windscreen washer fluid), until the balance is right with the pre shading underneath showing sufficiently. This is a matter of personal taste and you just need to practice until you are happy with the effect.
7. I then run back over some areas with very thinned black or very dark grey - mainly the hot air vents and gun staining. Follow the airflow pattern and take it easy - it's easy to overdo this effect.
8. When happy with the colour balance, gloss coat the model. I use Johnson's Kleer acrylic floor polish. I find two or three coats gets a good enough gloss for the decals. The Kleer can sometimes appear a bit patchy but this disappears under the final finish.
9. Apply the decals - another subject altogether!
10. I drop some thinned black enamel into the panel lines AFTER the clear coat AND DECALS. Personally I only do this on the opening panels and servicing hatches - some like to wash the whole model to highlight the airframe panels but I think this overdoes it.
11. I dust on another fine coat of Kleer to seal in the decals.
12. Finally the top coat. I like Humbrol satincote or mattcote thined at least 50:50 with white spirit. I gradually build up the coats until I get the finish I want. I like to end with a slight sheen to the model which I think replicates the sort of finish seen on real aircraft - which are rarely completely matt.
13. That's it! After all that work I don't handle the model after painting without some cotton gloves (Boots or other chemists sell these). I hate 1:1 scale fingerprints on models - even clean hands leave some deposits of skin oil and grease.
Happy to field any other questions.
Cheers
Steve
http://www.eaglemodels.co.uk/
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