--- In 1-600thMiniatureAircraftWargaming@yahoogroups.com, "domskelton" wrote:> I'll have to try a tutorial, as truth be told they're not that > tricky....

Well, here it is.... As I'm in a whimsical mood today, our subject will be an A-4 Skyhawk of the Kuwaiti air force, circa 1990. (Well, 4 of them; painting 1/600 aircraft one at a time is not the way forward.) First we need some pictures, obviously; good old Google will see us right:

http://www.aviation-art.net/Gallery%20Updates%2011%2003/Free%20Kuwait%20Skyhawk.jpg

http://www.rafregt.com/skyhawk2.JPG

http://www.rafregt.com/skyhawk.JPG

http://www.skyhawk.org/2C/kuwait1.htm(Lots of pictures here, mainly of pre-delivery aircraft, in the Kuwaiti camo scheme, but with US stars on the fuselage.)

http://www.skyhawk.org/5E/G160180/html/160180c.htm(Probably the best of the above shots.)

It's also well worth taking a look at the decal manufacturers, as they're often excellent for information and colour drawings; the Hannants website can be a good place to look:

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/a4mdecals/A-4M_CE-Decals-CED48193.jpg

http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?FULL=CED48193

Okie-doke.... So far so good, we've got some pictures. The obvious lack is shots from above and/or below; they're all pretty much profile views. Fortunately, a little research reveals that the Kuwaiti air force didn't use roundels or other national markings on the wings, which'd be the main concern, so we can muddle on by. The only national insignia are a small flag on the tail, and the word Kuwait on the fuselage. If you look carefully at the Desert Storm era pictures, you can see that Kuwait is stencilled on, while Free has been hand-painted before it by the forces operating out of Saudi Arabia.

Now it's decision time, chiefly "How accurate do we want to be?" Today's answer is "impressionistic" - ie. I want the colours and markings right, but will be happy with a camo pattern that looks the part, rather than going blind trying to get it spot on.... So, a base coat in a nice sand colour, with about 40% coverage in brown, mainly in irregular bands rather than blotches or whatever. The brown colour seems to vary a lot, but is rather lighter in photos than drawings. After some deliberation, I've gone for Vallejo Cork Brown. The sand is actually quite "warm" looking in some photos, and rather washed out in others. After some deliberation I've split the difference, and decided to use a mix that I did with a view to using it on Iranian aircraft; 40% Vallejo Iraqi Sand, and 60% Vallejo Yellow Ochre. The belly is white, which is easy enough.

Right then, time to paint. Step one is to pop our A-4 onto a magnet, and bung that onto a temporary stand. Any flash etc. needs cleaning off now as well; here we go:

Next we undercoat them. Avoid black, as theyll come out too dark with a black wash as well; use white or the base colour. Ive used the sand colour needed for the camo:

Next its time for the camo pattern. Irregular bands of brown; rather less of them than on the real thing, but getting the general look without spending too much time on it.

At this point Im worrying that I shouldve picked a darker brown, but well see. Paint the cockpits light blue (Humbrol 5044) next, and exhausts and air intakes black.

Next its time to flip them over; paint all under-surfaces in white, and the exhausts in silver. (GW Mithril Silver for me; its better than gunmetal, as itll be black-washed.)

If youve been handling the model, check for any bare metal (tail and wing edges mainly) and patch it up. Also paint the tip of the nose black.

Let them dry completely, then paint the models all over in Johnsons Klear. (I should have done this after undercoating too, as it prevents wear from handling.)

Note how glossy they are now. Again, leave to dry completely before painting them with the black wash. (25 parts Johnsons Klear to 1 part Citadel Chaos Black paint.)

Time to go in for a close-up of one plane, methinks. Lets try this one. Yep, thats better. May use Vallejo Flat Earth instead of Cork Brown next time, though.

Final shot, with a little red trim around the air intakes, as thats quite distinctive. I may well add the KUWAIT and the flag at some point, but probably as decals. Done.

A few footnotes.

1. Johnsons Klear is incredibly hardwearing; I shouldve done a coat over the undercoat colour to prevent paint rubbing off when I handled the models.

2. The downside is that the paint must be bone dry before you apply the Klear; ie. several hours drying time as a minimum. If theres even a hint of moisture still there, the Klear will lift the paint, so youve been warned.

3. When applying the Klear, be careful to mop up any pools that form, as it dries into a protective coat, so pools of liquid will become lumps of solid.

4. Again, you should leave a good long time between applying the protective clear coat and the black wash; I rushed this to get on with the tutorial, and the end result is slightly muddy looking as a result of it. Ideally you should be looking at spreading painting out over several days:

Day 1 undercoat. Day 2 Klear coat. Day 3 paint it up. Day 4 Klear coat. Day 5 black wash. Day 6 detail. Day 7 varnish.

This isnt as much hassle as it sounds, as stage 3 is the only one with a major time investment, so the others can be done in an odd few minutes; it just needs a little planning.

Cheers, Dom.