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Preparing to paint Japanese ww2 aircraft and was wondering...

Barney

Barney

Well-known member
What is the easiest or best method for "weathering"? I know that Japanese primer was bad and the paint not much better... should I use a metallic, then the blue stuff (Aitoki?) then actual paint? Should I salt or hair spray on the last 2 coats? This will be my first real effort at weathering. I don't mind messing up (my usual standard) but Id like a chance at some semblance. of success.
 
I wish I could offer advice on this specifically, but have never painted a Japanese anything. The hairspray over metallic paint or underpaint primer color is what I use on tanks and rusty trucks (with rust color underneath that will show through). For airplanes I use the marbling method of painting the base black then use a light color or metallic color to paint the marbling (which is basically random squiggly lines on the panel centers and avoiding the panel lines AMAP) with my finest airbrush. Then light coats of the outer body paint color. Then use a Molotow Chrome paint marker to make the scratches and dings. Not sure any of that helped with this particular issue, but I would use one of those methods myself not knowing any better LOL
 
I don't think the Aotaki color was used except on bare metal, not as a primer. My impression is late war there was no primer, thus poor adhesion, but early war primer was used but I don't know of any specific color, and the chipping/wear was less pronounced. I also think that what we think Japanese aircraft looked like in service is heavily colored by seeing pictures of post war derelicts.

https://j-aircraft.com/ You can go nuts on Japanese aircraft on this site:
 
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If you are doing early war aircraft, say at Pearl Harbor or the Battle of Midway, the aircraft were pretty much pristine. After Midway, they were still usually in good shape as they didn't last long enough to get battle worn. Only those that were used off land based and home islands late in the war were weathered so heavily.
 
I would always use thinned masking fluids applied with a sponge. It is much more work to get it "random" but this way you have complete control even through 4 and more layers of paint. You can have chipping showing two or more layers underneath.

This Vallejo video does show it quite well:

the Ease of painting yellow - I would say - depends a lot on the used pigments in the paint. There are some yellow pigments which are quite easy to use and others only really work over a very light color like white or silver. I've used only two yellow in the last couple of months and both are Vallejo, the RLM 04 yellow Model Air 71078 and the "Flat Yellow" Model Color 70953. Both do cover very well.
 
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I use future over a silver base coat instead of hair spray along with a home made masking mixture of white glue, liquid soap with a little food coloring. then apply salt. Gary S.
 
I've always been happy with Tamiya Titanium silver base, a couple of coats of Treseme hair spray (applied with an airbrush) and then the camo. Chipped with dampening small areas, and chipped with a sharpened toothpick, on the point of a #11 blade. Overcoated with Future, flat spray.
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