Stage 3 – Painting/Finishing…
After cleaning the airframe, I primed the model with Mr.Surfacer 1500 Black diluted 50:50 with Levelling Thinner.
I added a tint to the inside of the clear windshield and canopy glazing with highly-diluted Tamiya Clear Blue.
The next stages were make or break and the most challenging aspect of this whole project for me – and a personal first. How create a varied look and finish on an overall single-colour subject.
My confidence to attempt this came wholly from what I’ve learned on ‘SMN’ and I must express my thanks and appreciation to Geoff and fellow ‘disciples’ accordingly. (Thanks Paul – GC)
I used a varied colour palette of Mr.Hobby Aqueous Acrylics:
- NATO Black
- Rubber Black
- Deep Blue
- Mid-Brown and Light Grey
… and all heavily-diluted with Levelling Thinner.
I lightly airbrushed the two black colours overall in a random manner and then masked the trailing-edges of varied panels and highlighted them with the Light Grey.
The Mid-Brown was then added randomly to varied panel centres.
I used a mix of the two Black shades and the Deep Blue (1:1:1) for the ‘blending’ coats.
When completely dry, I sealed the paint with Mr.Superclear Gloss Varnish straight from the rattle can. This gave a perfect base for the decaling stage.
I chose to use an aftermarket ‘Caracal’ decal sheet purely for my choice of scheme, the kit decals are perfectly good in terms of register, clarity and quality and I used them on the instrument panels. They conformed perfectly with Micro Sol.
A second application of Mr.Superclear Gloss Varnish sealed the decals in readiness for the final weathering stages. For these, I used Tamiya Weathering Sets to add some further detailing and variations. I also used dark washes inside the grilled areas.
I then applied a coat of Mr.Superclear Satin Varnish overall from the rattle can.
This was then followed by a very light and random coat of Mr.Superclear Matt Varnish in the same way.
The final touch was to simulate the ‘chalk marks’ around the tail art and on top of the engine nacelles. This was achieved with a White Pastel Pencil.
Tim Haynes says
Fabulous work Paul. Its great to see your SR-71 and how you went about it. I have taken note of the key point you have identified for when I eventually unbox mine. The use of the brown shading in particular give the finished model the same look as the one I have seen at Duxford (especially from the side). Bravo…
Paul Ainsworth says
Hello and thank you so much,Tim.I’m pleased you like it.
This was my first ‘serious’ attempt at creating such a finish and thought the shading looked somewhat ‘snake-like’ before the blending layers were added.
I hope you enjoy building this kit as much as I did.
I know you’ll do a superb job.
I must also say a very big ‘Thank You’ to Geoff and Francis for their invaluable help in preparing this build feature.Again,this is a first for me and I now look forward to using this format for some future projects.😉👍
All The Best,
Paul.