War Weary
With the basic paint laid down, I could then get to work chipping in various areas and adding a little weathering affects. For the chipping, I used two basic methods. The first, I used Tamiya tape in certain areas to lift off random patches of the topcoat. Where the paint was a little stubborn, I switched over to regular masking tape. I did reduce the adhesiveness of the masking tape just to be on the safe side. To do that, I just stuck it to my pants and then lifted it. This made it a lot less tacky than regular masking tape but still a bit more so than the Tamiya tape. After the “broad” area chipping was complete, I used a toothpick to simply scratch away at areas where more fine or “precise” chipping was desired. In some areas, I took 3200 grit sandpaper and gently sanded away a small section to provide a slightly different weathering effect than straight chipping.
This created areas that had a more faded and blended effect with the aluminum showing through. With the basic paint and chipping done, I could move on to adding the very few markings that were carried by these FAS planes and then get the panel lines washed and various fuel and oil stains applied. I admit that I got a little impatient to see how the panel line and fuel/oil stains would look on this crazy camo bird so I actually applied those prior to the markings. Before I applied the panel line wash and staining, I coated the entire model with Future. This was followed by a wash using AK-Interactives Panel Liner. After this was applied and then wiped down, I created a very thin mixture of Vallejo Black (about 10% paint to 90% water) to paint the stains on the fuselage tank access panel. I also added a little around the wing tank filler caps. This was followed by a thin application of Mig’s Ammo Fuel Stain from their Engine and Fuel & Oil Weathering Set.
Now it was time to get some markings on and start bringing it all together. That’s where I ran into my first and only real problem with the Aztec sheet. For some reason, the right size roundels were not supplied on the sheet I bought. There were plenty of large roundels for the wings (used on Dark Sea Blue Corsairs) and a single set of small roundels. I tried the small ones on the fuse sides but they were way too small for my liking when I compared them to reference photos.
I removed the roundels and started over. I thought about purchasing another sheet but the thought of paying 20 bucks for a couple simple roundels didn’t sit well. So I whipped out my Olfa circle cutter and made my own masks using Tamiya tape. These were used to spray the fuselage roundels using Flat White and a custom Blue mix created with Flat Blue and Flat White with about 3 parts blue to 1 part white. This one wasn’t an exact mix as I just kept adjusting it until I got a color that matched the decal sheet. With the roundels corrected, I applied a clear coat to them and then added the panel liner
I followed this up by adding the few tail markings for FAS 215.