Sukhoj Su-24M Belorussian VVS (1:72 Trumpeter)
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Cristian AWonderful, well done! What paint have you used for the dark gray? Looks spot on. 👍
Found my answer in your project description, cheers!
" three different colors - Dark Ghost Gray, Medium Gray (from US Navy/Marines schemes) and MiG Gray in 1:1:1 ratio"
Maksim Kurmaz АвторHi @Cristian, please DM me if you need more details. This color is not for regular Su-24M, it is darker and more bluish than usual. For regular Su-24M, would be better to take one of the Soviet/MIG Grays (I have one from Vallejo that is too warm and light and one from AK that is quite correct) and add a bit of Dark Ghost Gray.
Cristian AGreat tips, thank you, much appreciated. Do you know the code from AK? I prefer those over Vallejo.
Maksim Kurmaz Автор@Cristian As I understand, you're using RealColor paints, and I can clearly understand why. In my situation, I cannot use lacquer paints, so in the water-based domain, Vallejo are very good choice. RC336 is the analog of the color I've used from AK line.
Cristian AThanks, Maksim! I definitely prefer lacquer paints since they spray much more easily. With acrylics, I feel like I have less control—it's easy to get clogging or tip dry, which can ruin a model. Plus, even with a topcoat, acrylics aren't as resistant to decal setting solutions in my experience. Maybe 2–3 coats would help. For Vallejo, my best results came from mixing 50% paint, 40% flow improver, and 10% Vallejo thinner. May I ask what is the thinning ratio you use for Vallejio?
Maksim Kurmaz Автор@Christian Vallejo's Model Air (not Model Color) are quite thinned already, so I'm adding just 10-20% of improver and equal amount of thinner, but no more than 33% of both, otherwise the paint will make wet surface with visible overflow, much as recommended by Vallejo. Pressure of 20 PSI seems to be OK for painting from short distance. But you need to watch for "sharkskin" (don't know how it is called). No less than 3 layers of primer and than 3 layers of paint are required.
I tried lacquers just couple of times, and they stick to the surface very well. You would want to stay with them if you can, because as far as I can understand, they give you very smooth even surface which is almost impossible with water-based.
Łukasz GlińskiVery true Maksim, had similar experience with acrylics and lacquers (that I currently use). Thx for sharing the details 👍
PS You might mean the orange peel effect I guess 🙂 Very poetic name you've got for it 👍
Maksim Kurmaz АвторHi Lukasz, sometimes they call it "sandpaper effect", which I believe happens due to fast drying of small drops. Adding flow improver is the best way to avoid it, but the paint does not fix when being too diluted. So we need patience and many layers one by one.
For me the best discovery was that I need to moisture and clean the needle tip every other minute. Somehow I overlooked this trick when watching video tutorials. It really helps against clogging.
Rui SHello Maksim, you are right thats a great word to describe that. I've had this problem twice (One when I painted the maxim machine gun in the diorama "The unexpected Finland resistance - T26" photo 207, and the second time, in the trailer of the "Esci sdkfz 10/4").
The problem arises when I dilute Tamiya paints with alcohol isopropanol . The paint, when atomized by the airbrush, dries almost immediately, so it doesn't look good like orange peel (more like small wavy) because it's already so dry when it hits the surface that it doesn't mix/blend. Trying to correct the paint I added paint retarder. I don't have flow improver.
However, it is an effect that can be interesting for some harder finishes, but has nothing to do with soft finishes that will be completed ruined by that sandpaper effect.
Album info
The model is based on Trumpeter 1:72 kit with addition of Reskit wheels, Master's Pito tube/antennas, and Kh-23M missiles from a ClearProp kit. To demonstrate one of the major roles of this aircraft - SEAD, I decided (together with ChatGPT) to equip it with the ordnance typical for this type:
- a pair of anti-radiation missiles Kh-58U (Х-58У) (from the kit) for suppressing air defence, with something that looks like a "Khrizantema A" pod (I've taken a part from the kit that has similar shape but different size, unfortunately);
- a pair of Kh-23M (Х-23М) radio-controlled missiles for shooting occasional targets along the way; they sometimes are seen together with Kh-58U and seem to be quite a good match;
- a pair of laser-guided 1000 lb bombs, in case the missiles missed.
The kit is very delicate, thin, and detailed, but not 100% accurate, as with most of Trumpeter kits, especially weapons and pylons. But the fit is next to perfect, just needs a bit of sanding and dry fitting for intakes and fuselage halves. What I dislike most is that you cannot change the angle of wings - once connected, they cannot be disconnected (at least I didn't find a way to make them reconfigurable without breaking the wing gloves).
You may notice that the model has a bit different painting, and you're right, because this is a freshly painted Belarusian aircraft, as seen on the photos. It is a bit darker than Russian ones, and has another demarcation line on its fin. To get the match, I mixed three different colors - Dark Ghost Gray, Medium Gray (from US Navy/Marines schemes) and MiG Gray in 1:1:1 ratio. The bottom is a mix of pure white and insignia white (3:1 ratio).
I discarded the kit decals and used two decal kits from Begemot. The stencils are a bit brighter than needed, but I don't know how to make them dull and not destroy in the process. I took three days to put almost two hundreds of stencils (1 mm long and even less), but the quality is top-notch.
It was the longest and the most challenging project in my life. Lots of parts needed separate painting, lots of different paints and mixes involved, and not enough reference to understand how to paint here and there. It was a pleasure to deal with delicate finely detailed parts, but the result is not quite satisfying...
