I decided to take a little side step and work on a couple of vehicles all at once. I feel my airbrushing skills have improved and felt like doing a mass base coat session on a couple of vehicles. I learned a few lessons from my work on the Bradley in my last post. I felt that the paint and primer were rubbing off a little to much when handled. Now I know that I need to put a clear coat to seal all the paint but it seemed like the paint was rubbing off too easy. So I increased my mixture to 75% paint to 25% thinner. That might be a little too much but I will work with this for a while. The other lesson was just because a paint says armor sand, does not mean its the right armor sand. I know doh.... So I decided to change colors and went with Model Masters US Army/Marine Gulf Armor Sand. I am not totally in love with it, but it works for now. In the right light, like the pictures below, it looks good enough.
This is my first M109 Paladin. If you look close, and believe me I do, you can see a few spots where I need to add a little more paint. Scary because I don't want it to build up in other areas that appear to be just right.
I can't wait to get the final little bit of the base coat done so i can start the detail work. As I type this and look at the pictures, i can already see areas that need addressed. All and All I think my first attempt at airbrushing miniatures is working out ok. More to come once i get off of second shift in two weeks.