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[RipSlider]

Hello all.


Apologies for the poor title.

I am getting to a point where I need to paint various sections of my boat before I can move on to the next phase of build.

The model is of a PCF - a river patrol boat used in the vietnam war for patrolling rivers - strangely.

I am modelling an early version used in the first couple of years. At this time, the boats didn't have a good logistics system behind them - so no workshops etc as there were later on in the war. Having discussed colour schemes with some of the old crews, it would seem that for the first few years, the crews found (stole....) whatever grey paint they could and applied it with whatever brush came to hand, including sweeping brushes more commonly used to brush your paths at home.

They also didn't really bother to paint the whole boat, just the bit that needed painting, which over a couple of years lead to the hull having various shades of grey tones in blocks and sploshes dotted around.

I'd like to replicate this, but some practise runs with the air brush aren't turning out to well. If I mask off the area's, then it looks a bit fake. If I free hand it, it looks more realistic, but viewed from a distance, it just ends up looking like a badly painted model!


Has anyone played with a similar issue, and did you come up with a cunning plan?

Also, from some of the old photos I have, the re-pianted area's are very obviously applied with such artistic devices as a sweeping broom, and you can see streaks and runs.

Previously, I would have done this with oil paints and a knackered old brush, but not on a boat, which needs to be water proof. It doesn't look good with arcylics.

Anyone had a go, and come up with a good method for this before?

Thanks

Steve

[barryfoote]

Steve,

I have not got a clue but what a cracking question.....I will follow the answers with real interest...

Barry

[Bunkerbarge]

I can only offer my own suggestion which I have not yet seen through to a complete hull but this is what I am intending doing with a North Sea Steam Coaster.  This ship comes from a time when paint was not sprayed, it was always applied by a brush and, as I always believe in trying to emulate reality as much as possible I will be painting the hull with a small flat brush.  As with your model repairs and maintenance was very basic so I am going to start off with a base coat of a satin enamel black made up by mixing matt and gloss black at about 66% matt to 33% gloss.  When this base is applied I am then going to paint seperate plates in very slightly varying mixes of the base, i.e. add a bit more matt then paint a few selected steel plates, than add a bit more and paint some more etc..etc..  I might also add a bit more gloss to some of the base to give me a range of finishes but probably tending towards the matt side.

All this will be done with small flat brushes to simulate the finish that you would find on a hull of this type.  After that is is going to be an extensive weathering regieme but that should give me the basic effect I am after. 

With your model I would suggest that you do the base coat with your airbrush as the original finish would be sprayed but then the repairs and patches I would do by hand with small flat brushes to give you the different surfaces that you want for these areas.

[White Ensign]

Steve, my suggestion is:

Start to paint it green over all, but with a matt colour. For the next step you`ll need airbrush. Spray a light layer. from a very distance first with a thin white/yellow mixture. Just that a kind of "fog" is falling all over it. That`ll give it a "bleeched" colour. Then turn the boat upside down and use a very light grey. When finished, then start with weathering. Because a boat which has the bleeched design will be definately weathered too. Lay very fine layers of rust just in gaps and corners.
Then as a final step mark some square or rectangle areas and tape them. Spray that areas with a new, correct layer of the original green colour. For very fresh paint you may use some satin varnish. Take off the tape and that`s it!

Hope that was out of any help or gives you a clue.

Jörg

P.S.: If you are not sure, just take a piece of scrap and have a try on that before, so you may recon the various effects....