Typically I freehand my camo schemes, but on occasion I will use this Paper Towel Masking method to create a pattern. First I tear paper towel in to irregular shapes, mostly strips that I can use as the masks needed for the various colors. I use the same (cheap) paper towels I use for cleaning up and working in the shop. Nothing special at all.
Start with a base color…here I used a desert tan or sand color, masked and applied areas of a green. With the green dry I masked off for the third color, this time since I didn’t have a brown handy I mix some colors together to get one…TLAR (That Looks About Right).
Here you can see that I am randomly placing the paper towel masks to apply the third color (brown). I had no plan as far as how it was going to go, what ever looked right to me at the time.
If your aircraft has swing wings, you might want to do some planning as to the placement of any of the colors align with the wings in both the forward and aft swept position…I didn’t because my wings are glued in the full forward position.
For this project I used enamels, but it will work for acrylics as well. In fact I prefer acrylics more because they are so much easier to blend and weather.
With the brown applied it is time to remove the masks. The nice thing about this method is you can go back and paint areas and parts you didn’t get the first time around. Just keep track of the paint you used. If you blended/mixed paints, make sure you have enough extra to hit these areas you missed.
A couple of tips…apply from a 90 degree angle to the surface. This keeps the air from the airbrush from lifting the masking away from the surface. Since the paper towel isn’t laying flush against the surface you will get a soft edge. The irregular shape of the torn paper towel edge will give a nice pattern as well.
I use clothes pins and masking tape to pull the paper towel taunt and keep it in place. You can also wrap a rubber band around it as well as I did on the nose section.
If there is a specific pattern you want, draw it out on the paper towel first, then carefully tear it along those lines to make your masks. Nice thing with this is it is cheap and disposable!
Now that all this paint is one and cured, its time to start to scuff it up a bit to begin the weathering process. Then I’ll decide which Middle Eastern Axis of Evil markings to apply and add them as well. I have a story in the works about the Merlin which takes place over the Liberian Desert. It might just be one of the Merlin’s prey.
This isn’t the first time I used paper towels as a masking material…remember my Tiger Striped DC-8?
December 16, 2010
Hawkeye: This looks very good. I assume you did the green free handed, then masked for the brown only? This looks simple. What I normally do is get the plans enlarged to the same size as the model, then cut apart for masks. This works good on plan views, but enlarging for the curvature of the fuselage is a guess. Some aircraft like the USAF F-4 all have the same basic cammo pattern. Would you tear the paper towel TLAR, or cut the enlarged plan and make a tracing on the paper towel? Or am I putting in something not needed?
Thanks,
Horton
No I masked for the green as well. Once it was dry I remasked for the brown. You could transfer the pattern to the paper towel and carefully tear along the lines…keeping both pieces for masking to cover areas already painted. I don’t think many “experten” would know whether someone used a little TLAR in their paint scheme unless there was a photograph of the real aircraft sitting next to the model sitting on the table. I’ll do a quick photo tutorial to show how to use paper towel as a masking for such applications.
Just a couple points to clarify, if you could, Gerald!
1. As any self-respecting cheap modeler of the fold, are you properly cleaning the shop BEFORE using the towels for masking? The various globs of cat hair, putty, sanding dust, cyano, and p/e escapees might make for a proper, scale appearance of rough maintenance if you did, right?
2. “Cleaning the shop?” That’s just plane heresy…
3. Don’t forget to use your home printer to copy the camouflage pattern onto paper towels. Sure; just select “paper towels” in your s/w options. It helps to separate at the perforations. Just ignore the computer when it whines about “Wrong size media, dipwad…” After a few false starts, my printer has become receptive to various Celtic enchantments and my size 9.5 (USA) boots. Using this method has made for a great deal more modeling time, as the rest of the family has forcefully suggested I leave, and go to the plane cave, as much as I want! What a loving bunch!!
4. On a properly serious note, I would like to thank you repeatedly, (and this constitutes ONE thank you) for your site and updates. It’s always easy to see if your subject attracts me to the site, and I’m always happy I spent the time there.
5. Finally, your method reminds me of the “wet newspaper” school of masking. I suspect it might work well with paper towels, helping to reduce any prospect of lint from frayed edges. Awesome looking scheme on the jet!
this is something i never though of but i am going to try it .Ron
Hello,
My name is Charles Dearth and I have just recently begun to build plastic model planes. I found your web-site by doing a google search, and I hope this is an active forum. I have been beating my head against the wall trying to figure out how you modelers paint those awesome looking camo patterns, and when I read this article, I was jumping for joy. Excuse me if this is over kill, but I am just a novice, very early in the learning stages. This article was very helpful to me. I have a question for anyone: I am currently working on a 1/48 scale F-117. The directions call for a 50 gram weight to be placed in the nose section of the plane. Can anyone tell me where I can get weights for plastic models? How would I go about doing this? Any help you can give me would be great.
Best Regards,
Charles
Weight for scale modeling can be in the form of lead weights used for fishing…sinkers. BB’s, ball bearings, shotgun shot and even nuts and bolts work. You just need to find what provides the necessary amount of weight necessary to keep you model from being a tailsitter. Be sure to cement it into place otherwise it will rattle around.
As far as placement…anywhere you can find said space, space not visible to viewer once assembled. Any space forward of the mains, of course the further forward the less weight necessary to balance the model. You can even fill the bombs carried inside the weapons bay as long as the weight is forward of the mains which is the balancing point.
As far as an active forum, I publish how-tos, techniques, products and progressive builds to help my fellow modelers regardless of skillset. Visit my About Us page to see some of the modeling forums I frequent.
I will be sure to check those out, thank you. And, thanks for the tips.