malfuriouspete

Hey guys,

Just wondering, I don't use airbrushes as I don't have the space or real privacy to use one and I'm trying to do Camo schemes on tanks.. at the moment, spraying them outside on my apartment's balcony (which is my only workspace at the time)

I tried using sillyputty as a masking medium, but I found that the spray seems to seep under the edges of the putty and the edges of my camo look blotchy. I also tried using masking tape and I've been encountering the same problems and of course using a spray can to cover a small area is difficult to say the least. I basically have to cover the parts of the model I don't want coloured but even then I find spray residue over some areas.. The best method so far I've found is cutting out shapes on a piece of paper then spraying over the tank... but its not 100% perfect

So I'm looking for a new technique to painting camo without the use of airbrushes.. any advice out there or I should just be patient and careful with my current procedures..

When Dark Green is not Dark Green:
In order to kind of go over mistakes with the spray, I got myself some tamiya acrylic dark green, dark brown and dark yellow paints. I'm also using the tamiya sprays of the same colours. I find that the bottle colours are different from the spray, for example, dark green spray is much much darker than dark green in the bottle. The spray actually looks more like black green. Pretty noobish question but why???? When I go over the mistakes with the bottle colours, there is definately a difference in the colour, so much so that I've ended up re-spraying the area again. Basically the shade of the colours are different so I'm looking at two kinds of greens. Again another noobish question... since the Tamiya TS sprays are synthetic lacquer... how do I paint over top and get the same colour result??? Or perhaps I purchased a bad bottle of dark green

GEEDUBBYA

Howdy Pete,

I own five (5) different airbrushes myself but more often than not i use "rattle cans" for painting. Dont get me wrong, there are times i do use the airbrushes, but, I have found that with a little practice and some creativity, I was able to achieve reasonably good results with just the spray cans.
Airbrushes are a great tool, but, they do require set up, then there is the changing of colors in the cups, the extensive cleaning afterwards etc. You can however purchase airbrushes that use "jars" for your paint, then all you have to do is buy several jars and put your various colors in them and seal them up when not in use.
If you will visit my gallery using the link to the left of this post, you will see my various models, for the most part, they are all aircraft and, most are not camo-ed, however the ones which are have been done with spray cans. Most of the time they have been painted "free-hand" although some were masked using various methods such as masking tape and another method I have found which works really well.... I tear out irregular shaped strips of paper and dip them in water and apply them to the model, the thinner the paper, the better the strips conform to shapes of the model. Then i spray the model with the color of paint i want, allow to dry, then using more wet paper, mask off other areas and repeat the process as needed.
One example of the "wet paper method" is the P-40 warhawk (flying tiger) model seen in my gallery. The Fiat Gr 91 "Gina" was also done with spray cans but was done "free hand". There are several other camo-ed models in my gallery and if you will look, you can tell the ones which have been "masked" and those which havent (sharper edges vs. "blended" edges between the colors.
I would suggest that you just practice on a piece of cardboard first, try painting the camo pattern you want on the cardboard until you are satisfied with the results then paint the model.
If you want to try the "wet paper" method, just remember to tear (not cut) the paper into irregular shapes, wet them and then apply to the model, blotting them somewhat dry before you begin painting. And dont be afraid to experiment, i have had success in the "wet paper method" using toilet paper too, although you have to be careful with how much paint you apply using that.
Have a good day and let us see what you come up with,

Greg aka GEEDUBBYA (GW)