Give your model “life” with
these simple techniques
April 2008 41
Dave’s Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot Slope Soarer in the judging area at
the Southern California PSS Festival in May 2007.
Airbrushing Your
Model’s Finish
SOMETIMES ONLY a painted finish can
produce the results we want for a model
airplane. The main reason to finish a Scale
model with paint rather than iron-on
covering is that with a larger number of
paint colors available, more accurate color
matching greatly enhances the scale
appearance. Additional reasons are to
achieve the matte finish that is desirable on
military models and to produce a “feather
edge” for camouflage colors—not too sharp
and not too fuzzy.
I am definitely not a high-level craftsman
or a super detailer. I make plenty of building
and finishing mistakes, and I believe that “if
you can’t see it in the air, you don’t need it.”
One trick when using a spray can is to
heat it in warm water just before spraying.
This reduces the paint’s viscosity and
increases the propellant’s pressure, allowing
the container’s nozzle to perform at its best.
Make several passes with slow, even
strokes, fully depressing the nozzle, staying
approximately 12-14 inches from the
surface. Take your time and build up the
color coats slowly and carefully, thus
avoiding paint runs. Give plenty of time for
the new paint to dry before handling, and
especially before applying masking tape.
My first color application on the Su-25
Frogfoot was the light gray, applied with a
Testors Model Master 3-ounce spray can.
So no rivet detail for
me, but I have learned
how to use an airbrush and
other detailing techniques to make a military
model look sharp in the air.
This article shows how I finished and
detailed a Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot and placed
in a Scale contest with it. If I can do it, you
can do it too.
Let’s begin with the completed airframe after
primer paint has been applied to the model.
One paint-finishing secret is to use spray cans
when possible. There’s no sense in dragging
out the compressor and the airbrush to paint
large areas when a “rattle can” works so well.
by Dave Garwood
Brian Laird pilots the author’s Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot for the camera at the 2007 PSS
Festival. Carl P. Maas molded the fuselage; the
author built, painted, and flew the model.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:47 PM Page 41
42 MODEL AVIATION
Photos by the author except as noted
Dave carefully sanded his completed model and
applied Krylon spray-can primer.
Most of the airframe was painted with Model Master light gray
from spray cans, to match photos of the airplane.
Dave prefers to mask the canopy areas with vinyl tape. It seals
tightly, cuts cleanly with a blade, and peels off cleanly, leaving a
defined edge.
The second spray-can application was the yellow areas. The color
was unavailable in military flat—only glossy. Dave dulled the shine
with steel wool.
Above: Light-gray paint has been
airbrushed onto the top aft components.
Right: The Frogfoot on Dave’s paint
bench, waiting for the next step in the
finishing procedure. The normally noisy
compressor is blissfully quiet in use
because the compressed air is stored in
the pressure tank and the motor is shut
down.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:43 PM Page 42
When that dried I
sprayed yellow,
from the 3-ounce
can, on the front of
the fuselage and on
the LEs of the
upper side of the
wings.
Oops! I forgot to
mask the clear
canopy, which the
observant reader
will notice is
missing from the
yellow spray
session. Most of the
clear canopy as
modeled gets
painted, with only
small areas left
clear.
I masked the
clear areas with
plastic tape, gave
the area to be
painted a light
sanding with 400-
grit sandpaper,
sprayed primer,
and then sprayed
the yellow. I was
glad I had
purchased a spare can of yellow paint.
Now back to the paint bench to take
care of yellow overspray with more light
gray—this time applied with the airbrush,
which gives me much finer control of the
paint. The yellow paint came in a glossy
version only, and I rubbed it lightly with
steel wool to knock off the shine.
In the photos you can see prints of the
full-scale Su-25K “White 9013” tacked to
the board behind the bench. I used these
pictures, as well as three-view drawings, as
a guide to the canopy markings, the
yellow, and the camouflage green and
brown paint.
It’s time for airbrush fun: painting the
freehand camouflage areas. Slowly and
prototype aircraft. Make sure to note the
colors’ “layer” order so you overlap them
correctly. Try to always spray the light
colors first and the darker colors later.
Additional details in this finishing job are
the “9013” numerals, which were cut from
sticky-back vinyl at the local truck
lettering shop, and national insignia
decals. I am indebted to Andreas Mergner
at Plane Insane Models for making the
custom Czech Republic markings. They
are easy to draw but require attention to
detail to lay out correctly on the airframe.
The markings have left and right mirrorimage
layouts, which I discovered by
studying the photographs.
I added panel lines using a Sanford
April 2008 43
Airbrushing is complete, and it closely matches the aircraft depicted in the photos on the wall. The
camouflaged areas have fairly soft edges—not too sharp but not too fuzzy. Getting the right effect takes time!
The completed Frogfoot with national-marking
decals, cut-vinyl number below the canopy, and panel
lines applied.
The simulated panel lines were applied with an Ultra
Fine Point Sharpie. The frog artwork on the fin was
handmade with acrylic paint.
carefully I started with the outline of each
area in one camo color, working to get the
prototypical size and shape of the brown
and green sections and paying attention to
the distinctive military-camo soft edges—
not too sharp and not too fuzzy. Then I
gradually filled in the centers with airbrush
strokes.
It’s hard to put too little paint on with
the airbrush since it’s so easy to add more
color. My main technique is to add a bit
more at a time and build up the paint
application until I get the look I want.
There are three camo colors—brown
and two greens—so after two more
sessions of building up the camo blobs
with the airbrush, I’m starting to feel like I
might have captured the look of the
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:40 PM Page 43
Models on this page competed in the 2007 Scale Masters (Hemet CA). Airbrushed
finishes work well on Scale power models. Photos by Carl P. Maas.
This Albatros sports an airbrushed finish. A
protective clear coat is required over
airbrushed paint on gas- or glow-powered
models.
A de Havilland Mosquito makes good use of camouflage
airbrushing. No two bombers were painted exactly alike, so
you can choose a scheme that appeals to you!
This Albatros’s paint scheme shows the personalization for which German World War
I pilots were famous. Airbrushing makes this type of trim detailing easy to apply.
Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker, an
assortment of flexible plastic rulers, and
three-view drawings from the Internet
and the Squadron Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action book. Panel lines add substantial
detail with minimal time and effort, and
adding detail is the game in Scale
modeling.
You can clean up Sharpie panel-line
goofs by carefully applying isopropyl
alcohol, which dissolves the ink but not
the paint. And yes, I had to clean up a
few mistakes.
Since the model was to be judged, I
added under-wing weapon racks and
display landing gear. I was hoping to
distinguish my model from the others in
the paddock when the judges reviewed
them.
Judging at the Southern California
Power Scale Soaring (PSS) Festival
begins with scoring the scale outline,
colors, markings, and detailing. Points
can be added for craftsmanship, and
models that are built from scratch rather
than from a kit get extra points. In
addition, there is a point bonus for flying
the model at the event.
At the May 2007 PSS Festival I
entered the Frogfoot in the “Jets”
category. Other categories are
“Propeller,” “Civilian,” and “Foam.”
“Dave, you picked a tough year to
enter best jets category since the F-86
Sabre is this year’s club project plane and
there are seven of them here,” remarked
one Inland Slope Rebels club member
when I was taking my model to the
judging area.
I was not one of the five finalists after
the static judging, but after a flight
demonstration I gained enough points to
finish in fourth place. I was happy with
the results of my effort on this project—
especially since I’m not an advanced
craftsman or a super detailer.
The reason for this article is to
encourage you to try the airbrush to
expand your model-finishing skills. I’m
happy I listened to other modelers’
encouragement and learned to use this
tool. MA
Dave Garwood
[email protected]
Sources:
Andreas Mergner (creative genius):
Plane Insane Models
(518) 542-9527
www.planeinsanemodels.com
Southern California PSS Festival:
Inland Slope Rebels Slope Soaring club
www.inlandsloperebels.com
www.inlandsloperebels.com/slopeflyer/Sl
opeflyer06-5.pdf
44 MODEL AVIATION
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:41 PM Page 44
markings—seemingly a good-humored
acceptance of the NATO reporting name
“Frogfoot.” Since many of the ground-attackaircraft
camouflage paint schemes tend to look
muddy brown (ugly) or sandy tan (boring), this
was one of the few that struck me as attractive
enough to model.
An Internet search for “Su-25 Frogfoot”
turned up plenty of material including more
photographs, more three-view drawings, more
paintings of paint schemes, and more history. I
used the Google search engine to find these,
and especially the Google “Images” search
feature.
One particularly rich source for highresolution
aircraft photos is Airliners.net. It
features hundreds of thousands of photos,
including an abundance of military aircraft in
addition to their namesake airliner photos.
Airliners.net has a powerful search engine.
Start with the manufacturer name and the
aircraft-type name. For more shots of “White
9013,” use the “Quick photo search” feature to
view photos 0487300, 0482454, 0307026,
0656603, 0502601, 0439023, and 1190788.
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation is a
wonderful source for carefully produced sets of
documentation photos and three-view
drawings. I have purchased several Foto Paaks
and sets of drawings from Bob Banka and have
received high-quality materials every time.
I used the collected scale documentation to
model not only the Su-25’s paint scheme and
panel-line layout, but also such details as the
pilot figure (purchased at a hobby shop), the
sawtooth notch in the wing LEs, the structures
at the base of the vertical stabilizer, the layout
and arrangement of the Czech national
markings, and the display landing gear (bent
wire and wheels from the hobby shop).
Adding details enhances a Scale model’s
appearance and “wow factor,” and how far you
go with it is limited only by your patience and
persistence. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
400,000 photos and 39,000 drawings:
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation (formerly Scale
Model Research)
(714) 979-8058
www.bobsairdoc.com
Google
www.google.com
More than 150 photos of the Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot:
Airliners.net
www.airliners.net
Pilot figure:
Michigan Toy Soldier Company
(248) 586-1022
www.michtoy.com
Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey Skrynnikov
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books are
reprinted. Try eBay [www.ebay.com].):
Concord Publications Company
www.concord-publications.com
Scale Documentation
The Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot is the Soviet
counterpart to the American Fairchild-
Republic A-10 Warthog. Both are groundattack,
or “strike,” aircraft, sometimes called
“tank busters.” Both are designed to fly at low
altitude and deliver ordnance onto enemy
targets; they carry rapid-firing, high-caliber
guns.
The A-10’s official nickname was
“Thunderbolt II,” but it has more often been
called the “Warthog,” perhaps reflecting its
ungainly appearance. The Sukhoi Design
Bureau nicknamed the Su-25 “Grach” (Raven),
but its assigned NATO reporting name was
“Frogfoot.” That name has become associated
with the Su-25 in many English-speaking
countries.
I had long been interested in this aircraft,
and I am heavily indebted to my flying and
photography buddy, Carl Maas, for molding
the fiberglass fuselage. This mold was not a
trivial project; the complicated shape of the
fuselage, especially the engine nacelles,
required a four-part mold. Carl was
magnificently generous with his talent and
expertise, and his work on this project inspires
me to learn fuselage molding for one of my
next endeavors.
The materials, photographs, drawings, and
paintings of the prototype aircraft came from
books and Internet searches. The Squadron
company’s Squadron/Signal book series is
often a good place to start. Squadron’s book
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action by Yefim Gordon
(stock number SBM254), part of the Aerofax
series, has plenty of photos, three-view
drawings, paintings of paint schemes, and
aircraft history.
I also found Concord Publications
Company’s Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey
Skrynnikov (item 4012), which is essentially a
color-photo collection with little text. There are
hundreds of photos with descriptive captions.
The book’s cover shot and the photos of the
Frogfoot with special air-show colors led me to
settle on the paint scheme for my model.
With the advent of perestroika toward the
end of the Cold War, more and more Soviet
Bloc aircraft began appearing at Western air
shows. In June 1992 the Czech Republic sent
“White 9013” to the Boscombe Down air show
in England.
That Su-25 had a distinctive camouflage
scheme that was reminiscent of frog
This three-view
drawing is available on
the Internet. Use the
Google search engine
to find airplane photos
and drawings.
Photo from Sergey Skrynnikov’s Suhkoi Su-
25 Frogfoot. The caption reads: “Just prior to
its visit to Boscombe Down in England in the
summer of 1992, Su-25K number ‘9013’
received a distinctive frog-like camouflage
paint scheme that seems appropriate
considering its NATO name ... ” (Marcus
Fulber).
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action is an excellent Scale
modeler’s reference. It has three-views,
black-and-white photos, color paintings, and
the aircraft’s history. Photo courtesy
Airliners.net.
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (Aerofax) review:
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/books
/sp/aerofax/su25.htm
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (book 0011296);
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close Air Support
Aircraft (book 0015220):
Historic Aviation
(800) 225-5575
www.historicaviation.com
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster by Yefim Gordon
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books
are reprinted. Try eBay.)
Squadron
(877) 414-0434
www.squadron.com
Sukhoi Su-25: Russian Aircraft in Action
by Yefim Gordon; Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action: Aircraft No. 129
(Squadron/Signal Publications) by Hans-
Heiri Stapfer, Don Greer, Tom Tullis, and
Joe Sewell; Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close
Air Support Aircraft by Yefim Gordon:
Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
The Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot book by
Sergey Skrynnikov
has little text but
features a collection
of roughly 200
color photos with
captions.
April 2008 45
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 45
46 MODEL AVIATION
tip to the work surface between 2 and 5
inches, to produce a sharper or fuzzier
edge.
4) Move the tool at a moderate or
medium speed over the work—estimated
at 6-8 inches per second.
5) I press the air-release button fully
down every time I push it. It’s all or
nothing for me.
6) On my Paasche H-Set singleaction
airbrush, the amount of paint that
is mixed into the airstream is determined
by turning a collar at the front of the
tool. I turn it three “swings,” or three
one-third rotations.
On a double-action airbrush, the
amount of paint that is mixed into the
airstream is determined by how far back
the air-release button is pulled. I’m not
coordinated enough to run a doubleaction
airbrush, and so far I haven’t
found it necessary for the painting work
I do. There’s always more to learn; I’ve
purchased a double-action airbrush and
will soon try it on a project.
These adjustments and timings may
be different in your situation, but
practice spraying on card stock before
you shoot paint on your model. You can
see one of my test cards on the bench in
the background of the close-up shots of
work with the airbrush. I use the card to
test the spray pattern at initial setup,
after every paint-cup refill, and when I
start on a new area.
It may be helpful to get a
demonstration of airbrush setup and
technique if you have a buddy who is
willing to show you. If no tutor is
available, there are plenty of airbrushtechnique
books available at libraries, at
bookstores, and from airbrush
manufacturers.
I’m going to cover the steps involved
with airbrush painting; in this case I’m
working with masked areas of the Su-25.
Freehand painting involves the same
steps, just with more practice at handling
the airbrush.
Preparing to paint the dark-green
marking on the fin, I masked the lower
limit of the green area of the fin with thin
quality plastic tape (not cellophane or
paper tape). This material applies evenly,
can be curved when needed, allows for a
sharp line between two areas, and peels
off cleanly and easily when the painting
is done.
Extend the masked area with lowercost
paper masking tape, and tape paper
or card stock over the remainder of the
fin’s unpainted parts to avoid unwanted
overspray.
It’s time to airbrush the fin. I mix the
paint and then set up and test my
airbrush. Variables that affect the paint’s
application include:
• The ratio of thinner to paint
• How much air pressure is delivered to
the airbrush
• The distance the airbrush is held from
the work surface
• The speed the airbrush is moved over
the work surface
• How far the air-release button is
depressed
• How much paint is mixed into the
airstream
This process may look more
complicated than it is in practice.
Always clean your airbrush after use.
A dirty airbrush, or bent needle, will keep
your airbrush from operating properly.
Following is the setup I used for all
my Frogfoot’s airbrushed areas.
1) Mix Testors Model Master paint
with Model Master thinner at a 1:1 ratio.
2) Set the compressor regulator to 28 psi.
3) Keep the distance from the airbrush
Oops! After removing the tape, Dave saw
that the tip marking’s lower edge wasn’t
parallel to the fin bottom. He remasked and
resprayed the area, working more carefully
when laying the tape.
The vertical stabilizer has been built, primed
with Krylon spray, and base-coated with
Model Master spray. Plastic masking tape
produces a sharp line for the fin-tip marking.
Start and end each airbrush stroke with full
depression of the air trigger, moving from
off the part, across the part, and off the part
to lay even layers of paint.
When painting a solid area, such as
the fin tip, I start with the brush off to
the side, depress the air button fully, pass
the airbrush over the work, run it past
the far edge, and then release the button.
This is to release a steady and even
application of paint across the paint
target area.
Even when painting the camo blobs, I
depress the button fully at all times to
apply the paint. If I want to spray less
paint, I turn back the collar at the front
to reduce the amount of paint that is
mixed into the airstream.
Pay close attention to the
manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning
the airbrush, and follow them carefully.
There are some extremely close
tolerances within an airbrush, and a
small amount of dried paint will cause
problems.
Consider what you’ll use for a
compressed air source. The airbrush
manufacturers sell “canned air,” but that
gets expensive quickly and the pressure
varies as the can cools in use and as it
becomes depleted. I’ve heard of using
spare tires and cylinders of compressed
nitrogen to run the airbrush, but that’s
more trouble than it needs to be and
risks running out of compressed air at
the wrong time.
Most airbrush artists use a
compressor, and two main types are
available: small bench-top compressors
made especially for airbrushing and
larger, general-purpose compressors
made for tools powered by compressed
air. And one of the tools they can power
is an airbrush (as well as larger paint
spray guns).
The small and large compressors cost
approximately the same, but they don’t
make the same amount of noise. The bench-
Airbrush Technique
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 46
April 2008 47
The single-action Paasche “H” is a “starter” airbrush that
comes with a kit of accessories for less than $60.
top compressors either run all the time or
start on demand when the air-release
button on the airbrush is depressed.
These smaller units were designed to run
quietly but are not silent.
My general-purpose compressor has a
12-gallon storage tank. Although it
makes a fearsome racket while it’s filling
the tank, it’s blissfully silent when I’m
painting. I close the door and leave the
shop when the tank is filling, and
between fills I have 45-60 minutes of
working time with no motor running. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
Airbrush, paint and compressor supplier:
Dixie Art and Airbrush
(800) 783-2612
www.dixieart.com
Aztek airbrushes, Model Master airbrush
paint in bottles, Model Master spray
paint in cans:
Testors Corporation
(800) 962-6654
www.testors.com
Badger Air-Brush Company
(800) 247-2787
www.badgerairbrush.com
www.badgerairbrush.com/air101.htm
(tutorial)
Dave’s Paasche H beginner airbrush:
www.dixieart.com/HSet.html
Free basic airbrush lessons, how-to
Above: Dave’s talented wife, Paula, hand-paints the frog markings.
She’s working from photos from the Internet that show the Su-25’s
original markings.
Below: Andreas Mergner, Dave’s flying
buddy, custom-made the Czech Republic
national-marking decals for this project.
articles, tutorials, tech tips (Airbrush
makers also have online learning articles.):
How to Airbrush.Com
www.howtoairbrush.com
Paasche Airbrush Co.
(773) 867-9191
www.paascheairbrush.com
Products, a collection of how-to articles:
Iwata Medea Inc.
(503) 253-7308
www.iwata-medea.com
A Sears Craftsman 2-horsepower, 12-gallon compressor with
regulator costs nearly the same as a bench-top-dedicated airbrush
compressor.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:38 PM Page 47
48 MODEL AVIATION
Painting Hints and Tips
1) Practice with the airbrush and spray cans before shooting paint on a model.
You may learn that you need less paint than expected. A light touch on the nozzle
and patience lead to good application of scale paint. Keep the can or airbrush
moving while spraying.
2) Vinyl tape works better than paper masking tape; it gives a consistently
clean edge line and peels off cleanly and easily.
3) Be wary of aggressive adhesive on masking materials; they can pull up
paint even after it has dried thoroughly. Test your masking materials. You can cut
down the adhesive aggressiveness by carefully applying talcum powder. Be
conservative; it’s easy to use too much powder and remove all the stickiness.
4) Consider making one or more practice panels to check the spray pattern
from the cans, paint coverage, decal coverage, and the masking materials’
performance.
5) Newsprint is not the best choice for masking off large areas that don’t
receive paint. The ink can rub off on our hands and on the model. Brown
wrapping paper works well.
6) Take your time and work carefully. Most mistakes can be fixed with a brush
or toothpick application of more paint, but that generally takes more time than
doing it right the first time.
7) Don’t forget panel lines; they dress up the airplane and require little extra
work. I use a Sanford Ultra Fine Point Sharpie marker, a flexible plastic ruler, and
plastic templates. You can clean up mistakes with isopropyl alcohol.
8) Don’t be too hard on yourself for lack of perfection. Plenty of full-scale
warplanes were painted and repainted in the field under adverse conditions. Little
mistakes often seem huge on the bench but are unnoticeable in the air. If you
make a mistake, respray the base coat and start again in that area.
Working carefully, modelers with moderate skills can improve their models’
appearance using these techniques. It’s worth the effort. Few will notice if a Zero
panel-line layout is applied to a Spitfire, but everyone can tell the difference
between an airplane with panel lines and one without. MA
—Dave Garwood
Single-Action Vs. Double-Action Airbrushes
Select an airbrush considering the following design parameters.
• External mix: Paint and air are mixed outside the airbrush body. These units are
easier to clean and more suitable for painting larger areas, such as camo markings.
• Internal mix: Paint and air are mixed inside the airbrush body. These units are
more involved to clean but control paint output more precisely.
• Single action: The airbrush trigger controls airflow. An external collar controls
paint flow; less muscle coordination is required.
• Double action: The airbrush trigger controls both airflow and paint flow, for finer
control; more muscle coordination is required.
With single action, you typically push fully down on the airbrush spray button,
causing the air and paint to mix and spray in a fixed ratio. The paint proportion is
usually controlled by a single control nozzle at the front of the airbrush, which
limits the amount of paint being sprayed out at the airbrush tip. You can rotate the
nozzle during the painting process to control the size or spray pattern. This is a
fairly easy technique to master and use to get good results.
Using a double-action airbrush, as you push down on the painting lever, air is
supplied to the airbrush. The more you push down, the more the air comes out. At
the same time, you pull back the lever to regulate how much paint is supplied to the
nozzle and how large the spray pattern is.
This method gives finer control over the spray painting process. The big
difference is that it takes more practice to become proficient.
The single-action airbrushes are usually great for basic model spraying and for
creating a constant large pattern. However, they are not designed to do detailed
work. Highly detailed markings are where the added control of the double-action
airbrush excels.
Maintenance is similar on both types of airbrushes; cleaning and taking care of
the needle are top priorities. Whether you are doing basic model painting or intricate
detail work, keeping your airbrush in perfect working order is a must. MA
—Carl P. Maas
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04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 48
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/04
Page Numbers: 41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/04
Page Numbers: 41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48
Give your model “life” with
these simple techniques
April 2008 41
Dave’s Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot Slope Soarer in the judging area at
the Southern California PSS Festival in May 2007.
Airbrushing Your
Model’s Finish
SOMETIMES ONLY a painted finish can
produce the results we want for a model
airplane. The main reason to finish a Scale
model with paint rather than iron-on
covering is that with a larger number of
paint colors available, more accurate color
matching greatly enhances the scale
appearance. Additional reasons are to
achieve the matte finish that is desirable on
military models and to produce a “feather
edge” for camouflage colors—not too sharp
and not too fuzzy.
I am definitely not a high-level craftsman
or a super detailer. I make plenty of building
and finishing mistakes, and I believe that “if
you can’t see it in the air, you don’t need it.”
One trick when using a spray can is to
heat it in warm water just before spraying.
This reduces the paint’s viscosity and
increases the propellant’s pressure, allowing
the container’s nozzle to perform at its best.
Make several passes with slow, even
strokes, fully depressing the nozzle, staying
approximately 12-14 inches from the
surface. Take your time and build up the
color coats slowly and carefully, thus
avoiding paint runs. Give plenty of time for
the new paint to dry before handling, and
especially before applying masking tape.
My first color application on the Su-25
Frogfoot was the light gray, applied with a
Testors Model Master 3-ounce spray can.
So no rivet detail for
me, but I have learned
how to use an airbrush and
other detailing techniques to make a military
model look sharp in the air.
This article shows how I finished and
detailed a Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot and placed
in a Scale contest with it. If I can do it, you
can do it too.
Let’s begin with the completed airframe after
primer paint has been applied to the model.
One paint-finishing secret is to use spray cans
when possible. There’s no sense in dragging
out the compressor and the airbrush to paint
large areas when a “rattle can” works so well.
by Dave Garwood
Brian Laird pilots the author’s Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot for the camera at the 2007 PSS
Festival. Carl P. Maas molded the fuselage; the
author built, painted, and flew the model.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:47 PM Page 41
42 MODEL AVIATION
Photos by the author except as noted
Dave carefully sanded his completed model and
applied Krylon spray-can primer.
Most of the airframe was painted with Model Master light gray
from spray cans, to match photos of the airplane.
Dave prefers to mask the canopy areas with vinyl tape. It seals
tightly, cuts cleanly with a blade, and peels off cleanly, leaving a
defined edge.
The second spray-can application was the yellow areas. The color
was unavailable in military flat—only glossy. Dave dulled the shine
with steel wool.
Above: Light-gray paint has been
airbrushed onto the top aft components.
Right: The Frogfoot on Dave’s paint
bench, waiting for the next step in the
finishing procedure. The normally noisy
compressor is blissfully quiet in use
because the compressed air is stored in
the pressure tank and the motor is shut
down.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:43 PM Page 42
When that dried I
sprayed yellow,
from the 3-ounce
can, on the front of
the fuselage and on
the LEs of the
upper side of the
wings.
Oops! I forgot to
mask the clear
canopy, which the
observant reader
will notice is
missing from the
yellow spray
session. Most of the
clear canopy as
modeled gets
painted, with only
small areas left
clear.
I masked the
clear areas with
plastic tape, gave
the area to be
painted a light
sanding with 400-
grit sandpaper,
sprayed primer,
and then sprayed
the yellow. I was
glad I had
purchased a spare can of yellow paint.
Now back to the paint bench to take
care of yellow overspray with more light
gray—this time applied with the airbrush,
which gives me much finer control of the
paint. The yellow paint came in a glossy
version only, and I rubbed it lightly with
steel wool to knock off the shine.
In the photos you can see prints of the
full-scale Su-25K “White 9013” tacked to
the board behind the bench. I used these
pictures, as well as three-view drawings, as
a guide to the canopy markings, the
yellow, and the camouflage green and
brown paint.
It’s time for airbrush fun: painting the
freehand camouflage areas. Slowly and
prototype aircraft. Make sure to note the
colors’ “layer” order so you overlap them
correctly. Try to always spray the light
colors first and the darker colors later.
Additional details in this finishing job are
the “9013” numerals, which were cut from
sticky-back vinyl at the local truck
lettering shop, and national insignia
decals. I am indebted to Andreas Mergner
at Plane Insane Models for making the
custom Czech Republic markings. They
are easy to draw but require attention to
detail to lay out correctly on the airframe.
The markings have left and right mirrorimage
layouts, which I discovered by
studying the photographs.
I added panel lines using a Sanford
April 2008 43
Airbrushing is complete, and it closely matches the aircraft depicted in the photos on the wall. The
camouflaged areas have fairly soft edges—not too sharp but not too fuzzy. Getting the right effect takes time!
The completed Frogfoot with national-marking
decals, cut-vinyl number below the canopy, and panel
lines applied.
The simulated panel lines were applied with an Ultra
Fine Point Sharpie. The frog artwork on the fin was
handmade with acrylic paint.
carefully I started with the outline of each
area in one camo color, working to get the
prototypical size and shape of the brown
and green sections and paying attention to
the distinctive military-camo soft edges—
not too sharp and not too fuzzy. Then I
gradually filled in the centers with airbrush
strokes.
It’s hard to put too little paint on with
the airbrush since it’s so easy to add more
color. My main technique is to add a bit
more at a time and build up the paint
application until I get the look I want.
There are three camo colors—brown
and two greens—so after two more
sessions of building up the camo blobs
with the airbrush, I’m starting to feel like I
might have captured the look of the
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:40 PM Page 43
Models on this page competed in the 2007 Scale Masters (Hemet CA). Airbrushed
finishes work well on Scale power models. Photos by Carl P. Maas.
This Albatros sports an airbrushed finish. A
protective clear coat is required over
airbrushed paint on gas- or glow-powered
models.
A de Havilland Mosquito makes good use of camouflage
airbrushing. No two bombers were painted exactly alike, so
you can choose a scheme that appeals to you!
This Albatros’s paint scheme shows the personalization for which German World War
I pilots were famous. Airbrushing makes this type of trim detailing easy to apply.
Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker, an
assortment of flexible plastic rulers, and
three-view drawings from the Internet
and the Squadron Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action book. Panel lines add substantial
detail with minimal time and effort, and
adding detail is the game in Scale
modeling.
You can clean up Sharpie panel-line
goofs by carefully applying isopropyl
alcohol, which dissolves the ink but not
the paint. And yes, I had to clean up a
few mistakes.
Since the model was to be judged, I
added under-wing weapon racks and
display landing gear. I was hoping to
distinguish my model from the others in
the paddock when the judges reviewed
them.
Judging at the Southern California
Power Scale Soaring (PSS) Festival
begins with scoring the scale outline,
colors, markings, and detailing. Points
can be added for craftsmanship, and
models that are built from scratch rather
than from a kit get extra points. In
addition, there is a point bonus for flying
the model at the event.
At the May 2007 PSS Festival I
entered the Frogfoot in the “Jets”
category. Other categories are
“Propeller,” “Civilian,” and “Foam.”
“Dave, you picked a tough year to
enter best jets category since the F-86
Sabre is this year’s club project plane and
there are seven of them here,” remarked
one Inland Slope Rebels club member
when I was taking my model to the
judging area.
I was not one of the five finalists after
the static judging, but after a flight
demonstration I gained enough points to
finish in fourth place. I was happy with
the results of my effort on this project—
especially since I’m not an advanced
craftsman or a super detailer.
The reason for this article is to
encourage you to try the airbrush to
expand your model-finishing skills. I’m
happy I listened to other modelers’
encouragement and learned to use this
tool. MA
Dave Garwood
[email protected]
Sources:
Andreas Mergner (creative genius):
Plane Insane Models
(518) 542-9527
www.planeinsanemodels.com
Southern California PSS Festival:
Inland Slope Rebels Slope Soaring club
www.inlandsloperebels.com
www.inlandsloperebels.com/slopeflyer/Sl
opeflyer06-5.pdf
44 MODEL AVIATION
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:41 PM Page 44
markings—seemingly a good-humored
acceptance of the NATO reporting name
“Frogfoot.” Since many of the ground-attackaircraft
camouflage paint schemes tend to look
muddy brown (ugly) or sandy tan (boring), this
was one of the few that struck me as attractive
enough to model.
An Internet search for “Su-25 Frogfoot”
turned up plenty of material including more
photographs, more three-view drawings, more
paintings of paint schemes, and more history. I
used the Google search engine to find these,
and especially the Google “Images” search
feature.
One particularly rich source for highresolution
aircraft photos is Airliners.net. It
features hundreds of thousands of photos,
including an abundance of military aircraft in
addition to their namesake airliner photos.
Airliners.net has a powerful search engine.
Start with the manufacturer name and the
aircraft-type name. For more shots of “White
9013,” use the “Quick photo search” feature to
view photos 0487300, 0482454, 0307026,
0656603, 0502601, 0439023, and 1190788.
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation is a
wonderful source for carefully produced sets of
documentation photos and three-view
drawings. I have purchased several Foto Paaks
and sets of drawings from Bob Banka and have
received high-quality materials every time.
I used the collected scale documentation to
model not only the Su-25’s paint scheme and
panel-line layout, but also such details as the
pilot figure (purchased at a hobby shop), the
sawtooth notch in the wing LEs, the structures
at the base of the vertical stabilizer, the layout
and arrangement of the Czech national
markings, and the display landing gear (bent
wire and wheels from the hobby shop).
Adding details enhances a Scale model’s
appearance and “wow factor,” and how far you
go with it is limited only by your patience and
persistence. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
400,000 photos and 39,000 drawings:
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation (formerly Scale
Model Research)
(714) 979-8058
www.bobsairdoc.com
Google
www.google.com
More than 150 photos of the Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot:
Airliners.net
www.airliners.net
Pilot figure:
Michigan Toy Soldier Company
(248) 586-1022
www.michtoy.com
Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey Skrynnikov
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books are
reprinted. Try eBay [www.ebay.com].):
Concord Publications Company
www.concord-publications.com
Scale Documentation
The Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot is the Soviet
counterpart to the American Fairchild-
Republic A-10 Warthog. Both are groundattack,
or “strike,” aircraft, sometimes called
“tank busters.” Both are designed to fly at low
altitude and deliver ordnance onto enemy
targets; they carry rapid-firing, high-caliber
guns.
The A-10’s official nickname was
“Thunderbolt II,” but it has more often been
called the “Warthog,” perhaps reflecting its
ungainly appearance. The Sukhoi Design
Bureau nicknamed the Su-25 “Grach” (Raven),
but its assigned NATO reporting name was
“Frogfoot.” That name has become associated
with the Su-25 in many English-speaking
countries.
I had long been interested in this aircraft,
and I am heavily indebted to my flying and
photography buddy, Carl Maas, for molding
the fiberglass fuselage. This mold was not a
trivial project; the complicated shape of the
fuselage, especially the engine nacelles,
required a four-part mold. Carl was
magnificently generous with his talent and
expertise, and his work on this project inspires
me to learn fuselage molding for one of my
next endeavors.
The materials, photographs, drawings, and
paintings of the prototype aircraft came from
books and Internet searches. The Squadron
company’s Squadron/Signal book series is
often a good place to start. Squadron’s book
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action by Yefim Gordon
(stock number SBM254), part of the Aerofax
series, has plenty of photos, three-view
drawings, paintings of paint schemes, and
aircraft history.
I also found Concord Publications
Company’s Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey
Skrynnikov (item 4012), which is essentially a
color-photo collection with little text. There are
hundreds of photos with descriptive captions.
The book’s cover shot and the photos of the
Frogfoot with special air-show colors led me to
settle on the paint scheme for my model.
With the advent of perestroika toward the
end of the Cold War, more and more Soviet
Bloc aircraft began appearing at Western air
shows. In June 1992 the Czech Republic sent
“White 9013” to the Boscombe Down air show
in England.
That Su-25 had a distinctive camouflage
scheme that was reminiscent of frog
This three-view
drawing is available on
the Internet. Use the
Google search engine
to find airplane photos
and drawings.
Photo from Sergey Skrynnikov’s Suhkoi Su-
25 Frogfoot. The caption reads: “Just prior to
its visit to Boscombe Down in England in the
summer of 1992, Su-25K number ‘9013’
received a distinctive frog-like camouflage
paint scheme that seems appropriate
considering its NATO name ... ” (Marcus
Fulber).
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action is an excellent Scale
modeler’s reference. It has three-views,
black-and-white photos, color paintings, and
the aircraft’s history. Photo courtesy
Airliners.net.
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (Aerofax) review:
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/books
/sp/aerofax/su25.htm
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (book 0011296);
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close Air Support
Aircraft (book 0015220):
Historic Aviation
(800) 225-5575
www.historicaviation.com
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster by Yefim Gordon
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books
are reprinted. Try eBay.)
Squadron
(877) 414-0434
www.squadron.com
Sukhoi Su-25: Russian Aircraft in Action
by Yefim Gordon; Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action: Aircraft No. 129
(Squadron/Signal Publications) by Hans-
Heiri Stapfer, Don Greer, Tom Tullis, and
Joe Sewell; Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close
Air Support Aircraft by Yefim Gordon:
Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
The Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot book by
Sergey Skrynnikov
has little text but
features a collection
of roughly 200
color photos with
captions.
April 2008 45
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 45
46 MODEL AVIATION
tip to the work surface between 2 and 5
inches, to produce a sharper or fuzzier
edge.
4) Move the tool at a moderate or
medium speed over the work—estimated
at 6-8 inches per second.
5) I press the air-release button fully
down every time I push it. It’s all or
nothing for me.
6) On my Paasche H-Set singleaction
airbrush, the amount of paint that
is mixed into the airstream is determined
by turning a collar at the front of the
tool. I turn it three “swings,” or three
one-third rotations.
On a double-action airbrush, the
amount of paint that is mixed into the
airstream is determined by how far back
the air-release button is pulled. I’m not
coordinated enough to run a doubleaction
airbrush, and so far I haven’t
found it necessary for the painting work
I do. There’s always more to learn; I’ve
purchased a double-action airbrush and
will soon try it on a project.
These adjustments and timings may
be different in your situation, but
practice spraying on card stock before
you shoot paint on your model. You can
see one of my test cards on the bench in
the background of the close-up shots of
work with the airbrush. I use the card to
test the spray pattern at initial setup,
after every paint-cup refill, and when I
start on a new area.
It may be helpful to get a
demonstration of airbrush setup and
technique if you have a buddy who is
willing to show you. If no tutor is
available, there are plenty of airbrushtechnique
books available at libraries, at
bookstores, and from airbrush
manufacturers.
I’m going to cover the steps involved
with airbrush painting; in this case I’m
working with masked areas of the Su-25.
Freehand painting involves the same
steps, just with more practice at handling
the airbrush.
Preparing to paint the dark-green
marking on the fin, I masked the lower
limit of the green area of the fin with thin
quality plastic tape (not cellophane or
paper tape). This material applies evenly,
can be curved when needed, allows for a
sharp line between two areas, and peels
off cleanly and easily when the painting
is done.
Extend the masked area with lowercost
paper masking tape, and tape paper
or card stock over the remainder of the
fin’s unpainted parts to avoid unwanted
overspray.
It’s time to airbrush the fin. I mix the
paint and then set up and test my
airbrush. Variables that affect the paint’s
application include:
• The ratio of thinner to paint
• How much air pressure is delivered to
the airbrush
• The distance the airbrush is held from
the work surface
• The speed the airbrush is moved over
the work surface
• How far the air-release button is
depressed
• How much paint is mixed into the
airstream
This process may look more
complicated than it is in practice.
Always clean your airbrush after use.
A dirty airbrush, or bent needle, will keep
your airbrush from operating properly.
Following is the setup I used for all
my Frogfoot’s airbrushed areas.
1) Mix Testors Model Master paint
with Model Master thinner at a 1:1 ratio.
2) Set the compressor regulator to 28 psi.
3) Keep the distance from the airbrush
Oops! After removing the tape, Dave saw
that the tip marking’s lower edge wasn’t
parallel to the fin bottom. He remasked and
resprayed the area, working more carefully
when laying the tape.
The vertical stabilizer has been built, primed
with Krylon spray, and base-coated with
Model Master spray. Plastic masking tape
produces a sharp line for the fin-tip marking.
Start and end each airbrush stroke with full
depression of the air trigger, moving from
off the part, across the part, and off the part
to lay even layers of paint.
When painting a solid area, such as
the fin tip, I start with the brush off to
the side, depress the air button fully, pass
the airbrush over the work, run it past
the far edge, and then release the button.
This is to release a steady and even
application of paint across the paint
target area.
Even when painting the camo blobs, I
depress the button fully at all times to
apply the paint. If I want to spray less
paint, I turn back the collar at the front
to reduce the amount of paint that is
mixed into the airstream.
Pay close attention to the
manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning
the airbrush, and follow them carefully.
There are some extremely close
tolerances within an airbrush, and a
small amount of dried paint will cause
problems.
Consider what you’ll use for a
compressed air source. The airbrush
manufacturers sell “canned air,” but that
gets expensive quickly and the pressure
varies as the can cools in use and as it
becomes depleted. I’ve heard of using
spare tires and cylinders of compressed
nitrogen to run the airbrush, but that’s
more trouble than it needs to be and
risks running out of compressed air at
the wrong time.
Most airbrush artists use a
compressor, and two main types are
available: small bench-top compressors
made especially for airbrushing and
larger, general-purpose compressors
made for tools powered by compressed
air. And one of the tools they can power
is an airbrush (as well as larger paint
spray guns).
The small and large compressors cost
approximately the same, but they don’t
make the same amount of noise. The bench-
Airbrush Technique
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 46
April 2008 47
The single-action Paasche “H” is a “starter” airbrush that
comes with a kit of accessories for less than $60.
top compressors either run all the time or
start on demand when the air-release
button on the airbrush is depressed.
These smaller units were designed to run
quietly but are not silent.
My general-purpose compressor has a
12-gallon storage tank. Although it
makes a fearsome racket while it’s filling
the tank, it’s blissfully silent when I’m
painting. I close the door and leave the
shop when the tank is filling, and
between fills I have 45-60 minutes of
working time with no motor running. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
Airbrush, paint and compressor supplier:
Dixie Art and Airbrush
(800) 783-2612
www.dixieart.com
Aztek airbrushes, Model Master airbrush
paint in bottles, Model Master spray
paint in cans:
Testors Corporation
(800) 962-6654
www.testors.com
Badger Air-Brush Company
(800) 247-2787
www.badgerairbrush.com
www.badgerairbrush.com/air101.htm
(tutorial)
Dave’s Paasche H beginner airbrush:
www.dixieart.com/HSet.html
Free basic airbrush lessons, how-to
Above: Dave’s talented wife, Paula, hand-paints the frog markings.
She’s working from photos from the Internet that show the Su-25’s
original markings.
Below: Andreas Mergner, Dave’s flying
buddy, custom-made the Czech Republic
national-marking decals for this project.
articles, tutorials, tech tips (Airbrush
makers also have online learning articles.):
How to Airbrush.Com
www.howtoairbrush.com
Paasche Airbrush Co.
(773) 867-9191
www.paascheairbrush.com
Products, a collection of how-to articles:
Iwata Medea Inc.
(503) 253-7308
www.iwata-medea.com
A Sears Craftsman 2-horsepower, 12-gallon compressor with
regulator costs nearly the same as a bench-top-dedicated airbrush
compressor.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:38 PM Page 47
48 MODEL AVIATION
Painting Hints and Tips
1) Practice with the airbrush and spray cans before shooting paint on a model.
You may learn that you need less paint than expected. A light touch on the nozzle
and patience lead to good application of scale paint. Keep the can or airbrush
moving while spraying.
2) Vinyl tape works better than paper masking tape; it gives a consistently
clean edge line and peels off cleanly and easily.
3) Be wary of aggressive adhesive on masking materials; they can pull up
paint even after it has dried thoroughly. Test your masking materials. You can cut
down the adhesive aggressiveness by carefully applying talcum powder. Be
conservative; it’s easy to use too much powder and remove all the stickiness.
4) Consider making one or more practice panels to check the spray pattern
from the cans, paint coverage, decal coverage, and the masking materials’
performance.
5) Newsprint is not the best choice for masking off large areas that don’t
receive paint. The ink can rub off on our hands and on the model. Brown
wrapping paper works well.
6) Take your time and work carefully. Most mistakes can be fixed with a brush
or toothpick application of more paint, but that generally takes more time than
doing it right the first time.
7) Don’t forget panel lines; they dress up the airplane and require little extra
work. I use a Sanford Ultra Fine Point Sharpie marker, a flexible plastic ruler, and
plastic templates. You can clean up mistakes with isopropyl alcohol.
8) Don’t be too hard on yourself for lack of perfection. Plenty of full-scale
warplanes were painted and repainted in the field under adverse conditions. Little
mistakes often seem huge on the bench but are unnoticeable in the air. If you
make a mistake, respray the base coat and start again in that area.
Working carefully, modelers with moderate skills can improve their models’
appearance using these techniques. It’s worth the effort. Few will notice if a Zero
panel-line layout is applied to a Spitfire, but everyone can tell the difference
between an airplane with panel lines and one without. MA
—Dave Garwood
Single-Action Vs. Double-Action Airbrushes
Select an airbrush considering the following design parameters.
• External mix: Paint and air are mixed outside the airbrush body. These units are
easier to clean and more suitable for painting larger areas, such as camo markings.
• Internal mix: Paint and air are mixed inside the airbrush body. These units are
more involved to clean but control paint output more precisely.
• Single action: The airbrush trigger controls airflow. An external collar controls
paint flow; less muscle coordination is required.
• Double action: The airbrush trigger controls both airflow and paint flow, for finer
control; more muscle coordination is required.
With single action, you typically push fully down on the airbrush spray button,
causing the air and paint to mix and spray in a fixed ratio. The paint proportion is
usually controlled by a single control nozzle at the front of the airbrush, which
limits the amount of paint being sprayed out at the airbrush tip. You can rotate the
nozzle during the painting process to control the size or spray pattern. This is a
fairly easy technique to master and use to get good results.
Using a double-action airbrush, as you push down on the painting lever, air is
supplied to the airbrush. The more you push down, the more the air comes out. At
the same time, you pull back the lever to regulate how much paint is supplied to the
nozzle and how large the spray pattern is.
This method gives finer control over the spray painting process. The big
difference is that it takes more practice to become proficient.
The single-action airbrushes are usually great for basic model spraying and for
creating a constant large pattern. However, they are not designed to do detailed
work. Highly detailed markings are where the added control of the double-action
airbrush excels.
Maintenance is similar on both types of airbrushes; cleaning and taking care of
the needle are top priorities. Whether you are doing basic model painting or intricate
detail work, keeping your airbrush in perfect working order is a must. MA
—Carl P. Maas
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04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 48
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/04
Page Numbers: 41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48
Give your model “life” with
these simple techniques
April 2008 41
Dave’s Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot Slope Soarer in the judging area at
the Southern California PSS Festival in May 2007.
Airbrushing Your
Model’s Finish
SOMETIMES ONLY a painted finish can
produce the results we want for a model
airplane. The main reason to finish a Scale
model with paint rather than iron-on
covering is that with a larger number of
paint colors available, more accurate color
matching greatly enhances the scale
appearance. Additional reasons are to
achieve the matte finish that is desirable on
military models and to produce a “feather
edge” for camouflage colors—not too sharp
and not too fuzzy.
I am definitely not a high-level craftsman
or a super detailer. I make plenty of building
and finishing mistakes, and I believe that “if
you can’t see it in the air, you don’t need it.”
One trick when using a spray can is to
heat it in warm water just before spraying.
This reduces the paint’s viscosity and
increases the propellant’s pressure, allowing
the container’s nozzle to perform at its best.
Make several passes with slow, even
strokes, fully depressing the nozzle, staying
approximately 12-14 inches from the
surface. Take your time and build up the
color coats slowly and carefully, thus
avoiding paint runs. Give plenty of time for
the new paint to dry before handling, and
especially before applying masking tape.
My first color application on the Su-25
Frogfoot was the light gray, applied with a
Testors Model Master 3-ounce spray can.
So no rivet detail for
me, but I have learned
how to use an airbrush and
other detailing techniques to make a military
model look sharp in the air.
This article shows how I finished and
detailed a Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot and placed
in a Scale contest with it. If I can do it, you
can do it too.
Let’s begin with the completed airframe after
primer paint has been applied to the model.
One paint-finishing secret is to use spray cans
when possible. There’s no sense in dragging
out the compressor and the airbrush to paint
large areas when a “rattle can” works so well.
by Dave Garwood
Brian Laird pilots the author’s Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot for the camera at the 2007 PSS
Festival. Carl P. Maas molded the fuselage; the
author built, painted, and flew the model.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:47 PM Page 41
42 MODEL AVIATION
Photos by the author except as noted
Dave carefully sanded his completed model and
applied Krylon spray-can primer.
Most of the airframe was painted with Model Master light gray
from spray cans, to match photos of the airplane.
Dave prefers to mask the canopy areas with vinyl tape. It seals
tightly, cuts cleanly with a blade, and peels off cleanly, leaving a
defined edge.
The second spray-can application was the yellow areas. The color
was unavailable in military flat—only glossy. Dave dulled the shine
with steel wool.
Above: Light-gray paint has been
airbrushed onto the top aft components.
Right: The Frogfoot on Dave’s paint
bench, waiting for the next step in the
finishing procedure. The normally noisy
compressor is blissfully quiet in use
because the compressed air is stored in
the pressure tank and the motor is shut
down.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:43 PM Page 42
When that dried I
sprayed yellow,
from the 3-ounce
can, on the front of
the fuselage and on
the LEs of the
upper side of the
wings.
Oops! I forgot to
mask the clear
canopy, which the
observant reader
will notice is
missing from the
yellow spray
session. Most of the
clear canopy as
modeled gets
painted, with only
small areas left
clear.
I masked the
clear areas with
plastic tape, gave
the area to be
painted a light
sanding with 400-
grit sandpaper,
sprayed primer,
and then sprayed
the yellow. I was
glad I had
purchased a spare can of yellow paint.
Now back to the paint bench to take
care of yellow overspray with more light
gray—this time applied with the airbrush,
which gives me much finer control of the
paint. The yellow paint came in a glossy
version only, and I rubbed it lightly with
steel wool to knock off the shine.
In the photos you can see prints of the
full-scale Su-25K “White 9013” tacked to
the board behind the bench. I used these
pictures, as well as three-view drawings, as
a guide to the canopy markings, the
yellow, and the camouflage green and
brown paint.
It’s time for airbrush fun: painting the
freehand camouflage areas. Slowly and
prototype aircraft. Make sure to note the
colors’ “layer” order so you overlap them
correctly. Try to always spray the light
colors first and the darker colors later.
Additional details in this finishing job are
the “9013” numerals, which were cut from
sticky-back vinyl at the local truck
lettering shop, and national insignia
decals. I am indebted to Andreas Mergner
at Plane Insane Models for making the
custom Czech Republic markings. They
are easy to draw but require attention to
detail to lay out correctly on the airframe.
The markings have left and right mirrorimage
layouts, which I discovered by
studying the photographs.
I added panel lines using a Sanford
April 2008 43
Airbrushing is complete, and it closely matches the aircraft depicted in the photos on the wall. The
camouflaged areas have fairly soft edges—not too sharp but not too fuzzy. Getting the right effect takes time!
The completed Frogfoot with national-marking
decals, cut-vinyl number below the canopy, and panel
lines applied.
The simulated panel lines were applied with an Ultra
Fine Point Sharpie. The frog artwork on the fin was
handmade with acrylic paint.
carefully I started with the outline of each
area in one camo color, working to get the
prototypical size and shape of the brown
and green sections and paying attention to
the distinctive military-camo soft edges—
not too sharp and not too fuzzy. Then I
gradually filled in the centers with airbrush
strokes.
It’s hard to put too little paint on with
the airbrush since it’s so easy to add more
color. My main technique is to add a bit
more at a time and build up the paint
application until I get the look I want.
There are three camo colors—brown
and two greens—so after two more
sessions of building up the camo blobs
with the airbrush, I’m starting to feel like I
might have captured the look of the
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:40 PM Page 43
Models on this page competed in the 2007 Scale Masters (Hemet CA). Airbrushed
finishes work well on Scale power models. Photos by Carl P. Maas.
This Albatros sports an airbrushed finish. A
protective clear coat is required over
airbrushed paint on gas- or glow-powered
models.
A de Havilland Mosquito makes good use of camouflage
airbrushing. No two bombers were painted exactly alike, so
you can choose a scheme that appeals to you!
This Albatros’s paint scheme shows the personalization for which German World War
I pilots were famous. Airbrushing makes this type of trim detailing easy to apply.
Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker, an
assortment of flexible plastic rulers, and
three-view drawings from the Internet
and the Squadron Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action book. Panel lines add substantial
detail with minimal time and effort, and
adding detail is the game in Scale
modeling.
You can clean up Sharpie panel-line
goofs by carefully applying isopropyl
alcohol, which dissolves the ink but not
the paint. And yes, I had to clean up a
few mistakes.
Since the model was to be judged, I
added under-wing weapon racks and
display landing gear. I was hoping to
distinguish my model from the others in
the paddock when the judges reviewed
them.
Judging at the Southern California
Power Scale Soaring (PSS) Festival
begins with scoring the scale outline,
colors, markings, and detailing. Points
can be added for craftsmanship, and
models that are built from scratch rather
than from a kit get extra points. In
addition, there is a point bonus for flying
the model at the event.
At the May 2007 PSS Festival I
entered the Frogfoot in the “Jets”
category. Other categories are
“Propeller,” “Civilian,” and “Foam.”
“Dave, you picked a tough year to
enter best jets category since the F-86
Sabre is this year’s club project plane and
there are seven of them here,” remarked
one Inland Slope Rebels club member
when I was taking my model to the
judging area.
I was not one of the five finalists after
the static judging, but after a flight
demonstration I gained enough points to
finish in fourth place. I was happy with
the results of my effort on this project—
especially since I’m not an advanced
craftsman or a super detailer.
The reason for this article is to
encourage you to try the airbrush to
expand your model-finishing skills. I’m
happy I listened to other modelers’
encouragement and learned to use this
tool. MA
Dave Garwood
[email protected]
Sources:
Andreas Mergner (creative genius):
Plane Insane Models
(518) 542-9527
www.planeinsanemodels.com
Southern California PSS Festival:
Inland Slope Rebels Slope Soaring club
www.inlandsloperebels.com
www.inlandsloperebels.com/slopeflyer/Sl
opeflyer06-5.pdf
44 MODEL AVIATION
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:41 PM Page 44
markings—seemingly a good-humored
acceptance of the NATO reporting name
“Frogfoot.” Since many of the ground-attackaircraft
camouflage paint schemes tend to look
muddy brown (ugly) or sandy tan (boring), this
was one of the few that struck me as attractive
enough to model.
An Internet search for “Su-25 Frogfoot”
turned up plenty of material including more
photographs, more three-view drawings, more
paintings of paint schemes, and more history. I
used the Google search engine to find these,
and especially the Google “Images” search
feature.
One particularly rich source for highresolution
aircraft photos is Airliners.net. It
features hundreds of thousands of photos,
including an abundance of military aircraft in
addition to their namesake airliner photos.
Airliners.net has a powerful search engine.
Start with the manufacturer name and the
aircraft-type name. For more shots of “White
9013,” use the “Quick photo search” feature to
view photos 0487300, 0482454, 0307026,
0656603, 0502601, 0439023, and 1190788.
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation is a
wonderful source for carefully produced sets of
documentation photos and three-view
drawings. I have purchased several Foto Paaks
and sets of drawings from Bob Banka and have
received high-quality materials every time.
I used the collected scale documentation to
model not only the Su-25’s paint scheme and
panel-line layout, but also such details as the
pilot figure (purchased at a hobby shop), the
sawtooth notch in the wing LEs, the structures
at the base of the vertical stabilizer, the layout
and arrangement of the Czech national
markings, and the display landing gear (bent
wire and wheels from the hobby shop).
Adding details enhances a Scale model’s
appearance and “wow factor,” and how far you
go with it is limited only by your patience and
persistence. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
400,000 photos and 39,000 drawings:
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation (formerly Scale
Model Research)
(714) 979-8058
www.bobsairdoc.com
Google
www.google.com
More than 150 photos of the Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot:
Airliners.net
www.airliners.net
Pilot figure:
Michigan Toy Soldier Company
(248) 586-1022
www.michtoy.com
Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey Skrynnikov
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books are
reprinted. Try eBay [www.ebay.com].):
Concord Publications Company
www.concord-publications.com
Scale Documentation
The Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot is the Soviet
counterpart to the American Fairchild-
Republic A-10 Warthog. Both are groundattack,
or “strike,” aircraft, sometimes called
“tank busters.” Both are designed to fly at low
altitude and deliver ordnance onto enemy
targets; they carry rapid-firing, high-caliber
guns.
The A-10’s official nickname was
“Thunderbolt II,” but it has more often been
called the “Warthog,” perhaps reflecting its
ungainly appearance. The Sukhoi Design
Bureau nicknamed the Su-25 “Grach” (Raven),
but its assigned NATO reporting name was
“Frogfoot.” That name has become associated
with the Su-25 in many English-speaking
countries.
I had long been interested in this aircraft,
and I am heavily indebted to my flying and
photography buddy, Carl Maas, for molding
the fiberglass fuselage. This mold was not a
trivial project; the complicated shape of the
fuselage, especially the engine nacelles,
required a four-part mold. Carl was
magnificently generous with his talent and
expertise, and his work on this project inspires
me to learn fuselage molding for one of my
next endeavors.
The materials, photographs, drawings, and
paintings of the prototype aircraft came from
books and Internet searches. The Squadron
company’s Squadron/Signal book series is
often a good place to start. Squadron’s book
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action by Yefim Gordon
(stock number SBM254), part of the Aerofax
series, has plenty of photos, three-view
drawings, paintings of paint schemes, and
aircraft history.
I also found Concord Publications
Company’s Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey
Skrynnikov (item 4012), which is essentially a
color-photo collection with little text. There are
hundreds of photos with descriptive captions.
The book’s cover shot and the photos of the
Frogfoot with special air-show colors led me to
settle on the paint scheme for my model.
With the advent of perestroika toward the
end of the Cold War, more and more Soviet
Bloc aircraft began appearing at Western air
shows. In June 1992 the Czech Republic sent
“White 9013” to the Boscombe Down air show
in England.
That Su-25 had a distinctive camouflage
scheme that was reminiscent of frog
This three-view
drawing is available on
the Internet. Use the
Google search engine
to find airplane photos
and drawings.
Photo from Sergey Skrynnikov’s Suhkoi Su-
25 Frogfoot. The caption reads: “Just prior to
its visit to Boscombe Down in England in the
summer of 1992, Su-25K number ‘9013’
received a distinctive frog-like camouflage
paint scheme that seems appropriate
considering its NATO name ... ” (Marcus
Fulber).
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action is an excellent Scale
modeler’s reference. It has three-views,
black-and-white photos, color paintings, and
the aircraft’s history. Photo courtesy
Airliners.net.
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (Aerofax) review:
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/books
/sp/aerofax/su25.htm
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (book 0011296);
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close Air Support
Aircraft (book 0015220):
Historic Aviation
(800) 225-5575
www.historicaviation.com
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster by Yefim Gordon
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books
are reprinted. Try eBay.)
Squadron
(877) 414-0434
www.squadron.com
Sukhoi Su-25: Russian Aircraft in Action
by Yefim Gordon; Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action: Aircraft No. 129
(Squadron/Signal Publications) by Hans-
Heiri Stapfer, Don Greer, Tom Tullis, and
Joe Sewell; Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close
Air Support Aircraft by Yefim Gordon:
Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
The Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot book by
Sergey Skrynnikov
has little text but
features a collection
of roughly 200
color photos with
captions.
April 2008 45
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 45
46 MODEL AVIATION
tip to the work surface between 2 and 5
inches, to produce a sharper or fuzzier
edge.
4) Move the tool at a moderate or
medium speed over the work—estimated
at 6-8 inches per second.
5) I press the air-release button fully
down every time I push it. It’s all or
nothing for me.
6) On my Paasche H-Set singleaction
airbrush, the amount of paint that
is mixed into the airstream is determined
by turning a collar at the front of the
tool. I turn it three “swings,” or three
one-third rotations.
On a double-action airbrush, the
amount of paint that is mixed into the
airstream is determined by how far back
the air-release button is pulled. I’m not
coordinated enough to run a doubleaction
airbrush, and so far I haven’t
found it necessary for the painting work
I do. There’s always more to learn; I’ve
purchased a double-action airbrush and
will soon try it on a project.
These adjustments and timings may
be different in your situation, but
practice spraying on card stock before
you shoot paint on your model. You can
see one of my test cards on the bench in
the background of the close-up shots of
work with the airbrush. I use the card to
test the spray pattern at initial setup,
after every paint-cup refill, and when I
start on a new area.
It may be helpful to get a
demonstration of airbrush setup and
technique if you have a buddy who is
willing to show you. If no tutor is
available, there are plenty of airbrushtechnique
books available at libraries, at
bookstores, and from airbrush
manufacturers.
I’m going to cover the steps involved
with airbrush painting; in this case I’m
working with masked areas of the Su-25.
Freehand painting involves the same
steps, just with more practice at handling
the airbrush.
Preparing to paint the dark-green
marking on the fin, I masked the lower
limit of the green area of the fin with thin
quality plastic tape (not cellophane or
paper tape). This material applies evenly,
can be curved when needed, allows for a
sharp line between two areas, and peels
off cleanly and easily when the painting
is done.
Extend the masked area with lowercost
paper masking tape, and tape paper
or card stock over the remainder of the
fin’s unpainted parts to avoid unwanted
overspray.
It’s time to airbrush the fin. I mix the
paint and then set up and test my
airbrush. Variables that affect the paint’s
application include:
• The ratio of thinner to paint
• How much air pressure is delivered to
the airbrush
• The distance the airbrush is held from
the work surface
• The speed the airbrush is moved over
the work surface
• How far the air-release button is
depressed
• How much paint is mixed into the
airstream
This process may look more
complicated than it is in practice.
Always clean your airbrush after use.
A dirty airbrush, or bent needle, will keep
your airbrush from operating properly.
Following is the setup I used for all
my Frogfoot’s airbrushed areas.
1) Mix Testors Model Master paint
with Model Master thinner at a 1:1 ratio.
2) Set the compressor regulator to 28 psi.
3) Keep the distance from the airbrush
Oops! After removing the tape, Dave saw
that the tip marking’s lower edge wasn’t
parallel to the fin bottom. He remasked and
resprayed the area, working more carefully
when laying the tape.
The vertical stabilizer has been built, primed
with Krylon spray, and base-coated with
Model Master spray. Plastic masking tape
produces a sharp line for the fin-tip marking.
Start and end each airbrush stroke with full
depression of the air trigger, moving from
off the part, across the part, and off the part
to lay even layers of paint.
When painting a solid area, such as
the fin tip, I start with the brush off to
the side, depress the air button fully, pass
the airbrush over the work, run it past
the far edge, and then release the button.
This is to release a steady and even
application of paint across the paint
target area.
Even when painting the camo blobs, I
depress the button fully at all times to
apply the paint. If I want to spray less
paint, I turn back the collar at the front
to reduce the amount of paint that is
mixed into the airstream.
Pay close attention to the
manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning
the airbrush, and follow them carefully.
There are some extremely close
tolerances within an airbrush, and a
small amount of dried paint will cause
problems.
Consider what you’ll use for a
compressed air source. The airbrush
manufacturers sell “canned air,” but that
gets expensive quickly and the pressure
varies as the can cools in use and as it
becomes depleted. I’ve heard of using
spare tires and cylinders of compressed
nitrogen to run the airbrush, but that’s
more trouble than it needs to be and
risks running out of compressed air at
the wrong time.
Most airbrush artists use a
compressor, and two main types are
available: small bench-top compressors
made especially for airbrushing and
larger, general-purpose compressors
made for tools powered by compressed
air. And one of the tools they can power
is an airbrush (as well as larger paint
spray guns).
The small and large compressors cost
approximately the same, but they don’t
make the same amount of noise. The bench-
Airbrush Technique
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 46
April 2008 47
The single-action Paasche “H” is a “starter” airbrush that
comes with a kit of accessories for less than $60.
top compressors either run all the time or
start on demand when the air-release
button on the airbrush is depressed.
These smaller units were designed to run
quietly but are not silent.
My general-purpose compressor has a
12-gallon storage tank. Although it
makes a fearsome racket while it’s filling
the tank, it’s blissfully silent when I’m
painting. I close the door and leave the
shop when the tank is filling, and
between fills I have 45-60 minutes of
working time with no motor running. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
Airbrush, paint and compressor supplier:
Dixie Art and Airbrush
(800) 783-2612
www.dixieart.com
Aztek airbrushes, Model Master airbrush
paint in bottles, Model Master spray
paint in cans:
Testors Corporation
(800) 962-6654
www.testors.com
Badger Air-Brush Company
(800) 247-2787
www.badgerairbrush.com
www.badgerairbrush.com/air101.htm
(tutorial)
Dave’s Paasche H beginner airbrush:
www.dixieart.com/HSet.html
Free basic airbrush lessons, how-to
Above: Dave’s talented wife, Paula, hand-paints the frog markings.
She’s working from photos from the Internet that show the Su-25’s
original markings.
Below: Andreas Mergner, Dave’s flying
buddy, custom-made the Czech Republic
national-marking decals for this project.
articles, tutorials, tech tips (Airbrush
makers also have online learning articles.):
How to Airbrush.Com
www.howtoairbrush.com
Paasche Airbrush Co.
(773) 867-9191
www.paascheairbrush.com
Products, a collection of how-to articles:
Iwata Medea Inc.
(503) 253-7308
www.iwata-medea.com
A Sears Craftsman 2-horsepower, 12-gallon compressor with
regulator costs nearly the same as a bench-top-dedicated airbrush
compressor.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:38 PM Page 47
48 MODEL AVIATION
Painting Hints and Tips
1) Practice with the airbrush and spray cans before shooting paint on a model.
You may learn that you need less paint than expected. A light touch on the nozzle
and patience lead to good application of scale paint. Keep the can or airbrush
moving while spraying.
2) Vinyl tape works better than paper masking tape; it gives a consistently
clean edge line and peels off cleanly and easily.
3) Be wary of aggressive adhesive on masking materials; they can pull up
paint even after it has dried thoroughly. Test your masking materials. You can cut
down the adhesive aggressiveness by carefully applying talcum powder. Be
conservative; it’s easy to use too much powder and remove all the stickiness.
4) Consider making one or more practice panels to check the spray pattern
from the cans, paint coverage, decal coverage, and the masking materials’
performance.
5) Newsprint is not the best choice for masking off large areas that don’t
receive paint. The ink can rub off on our hands and on the model. Brown
wrapping paper works well.
6) Take your time and work carefully. Most mistakes can be fixed with a brush
or toothpick application of more paint, but that generally takes more time than
doing it right the first time.
7) Don’t forget panel lines; they dress up the airplane and require little extra
work. I use a Sanford Ultra Fine Point Sharpie marker, a flexible plastic ruler, and
plastic templates. You can clean up mistakes with isopropyl alcohol.
8) Don’t be too hard on yourself for lack of perfection. Plenty of full-scale
warplanes were painted and repainted in the field under adverse conditions. Little
mistakes often seem huge on the bench but are unnoticeable in the air. If you
make a mistake, respray the base coat and start again in that area.
Working carefully, modelers with moderate skills can improve their models’
appearance using these techniques. It’s worth the effort. Few will notice if a Zero
panel-line layout is applied to a Spitfire, but everyone can tell the difference
between an airplane with panel lines and one without. MA
—Dave Garwood
Single-Action Vs. Double-Action Airbrushes
Select an airbrush considering the following design parameters.
• External mix: Paint and air are mixed outside the airbrush body. These units are
easier to clean and more suitable for painting larger areas, such as camo markings.
• Internal mix: Paint and air are mixed inside the airbrush body. These units are
more involved to clean but control paint output more precisely.
• Single action: The airbrush trigger controls airflow. An external collar controls
paint flow; less muscle coordination is required.
• Double action: The airbrush trigger controls both airflow and paint flow, for finer
control; more muscle coordination is required.
With single action, you typically push fully down on the airbrush spray button,
causing the air and paint to mix and spray in a fixed ratio. The paint proportion is
usually controlled by a single control nozzle at the front of the airbrush, which
limits the amount of paint being sprayed out at the airbrush tip. You can rotate the
nozzle during the painting process to control the size or spray pattern. This is a
fairly easy technique to master and use to get good results.
Using a double-action airbrush, as you push down on the painting lever, air is
supplied to the airbrush. The more you push down, the more the air comes out. At
the same time, you pull back the lever to regulate how much paint is supplied to the
nozzle and how large the spray pattern is.
This method gives finer control over the spray painting process. The big
difference is that it takes more practice to become proficient.
The single-action airbrushes are usually great for basic model spraying and for
creating a constant large pattern. However, they are not designed to do detailed
work. Highly detailed markings are where the added control of the double-action
airbrush excels.
Maintenance is similar on both types of airbrushes; cleaning and taking care of
the needle are top priorities. Whether you are doing basic model painting or intricate
detail work, keeping your airbrush in perfect working order is a must. MA
—Carl P. Maas
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04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 48
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/04
Page Numbers: 41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48
Give your model “life” with
these simple techniques
April 2008 41
Dave’s Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot Slope Soarer in the judging area at
the Southern California PSS Festival in May 2007.
Airbrushing Your
Model’s Finish
SOMETIMES ONLY a painted finish can
produce the results we want for a model
airplane. The main reason to finish a Scale
model with paint rather than iron-on
covering is that with a larger number of
paint colors available, more accurate color
matching greatly enhances the scale
appearance. Additional reasons are to
achieve the matte finish that is desirable on
military models and to produce a “feather
edge” for camouflage colors—not too sharp
and not too fuzzy.
I am definitely not a high-level craftsman
or a super detailer. I make plenty of building
and finishing mistakes, and I believe that “if
you can’t see it in the air, you don’t need it.”
One trick when using a spray can is to
heat it in warm water just before spraying.
This reduces the paint’s viscosity and
increases the propellant’s pressure, allowing
the container’s nozzle to perform at its best.
Make several passes with slow, even
strokes, fully depressing the nozzle, staying
approximately 12-14 inches from the
surface. Take your time and build up the
color coats slowly and carefully, thus
avoiding paint runs. Give plenty of time for
the new paint to dry before handling, and
especially before applying masking tape.
My first color application on the Su-25
Frogfoot was the light gray, applied with a
Testors Model Master 3-ounce spray can.
So no rivet detail for
me, but I have learned
how to use an airbrush and
other detailing techniques to make a military
model look sharp in the air.
This article shows how I finished and
detailed a Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot and placed
in a Scale contest with it. If I can do it, you
can do it too.
Let’s begin with the completed airframe after
primer paint has been applied to the model.
One paint-finishing secret is to use spray cans
when possible. There’s no sense in dragging
out the compressor and the airbrush to paint
large areas when a “rattle can” works so well.
by Dave Garwood
Brian Laird pilots the author’s Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot for the camera at the 2007 PSS
Festival. Carl P. Maas molded the fuselage; the
author built, painted, and flew the model.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:47 PM Page 41
42 MODEL AVIATION
Photos by the author except as noted
Dave carefully sanded his completed model and
applied Krylon spray-can primer.
Most of the airframe was painted with Model Master light gray
from spray cans, to match photos of the airplane.
Dave prefers to mask the canopy areas with vinyl tape. It seals
tightly, cuts cleanly with a blade, and peels off cleanly, leaving a
defined edge.
The second spray-can application was the yellow areas. The color
was unavailable in military flat—only glossy. Dave dulled the shine
with steel wool.
Above: Light-gray paint has been
airbrushed onto the top aft components.
Right: The Frogfoot on Dave’s paint
bench, waiting for the next step in the
finishing procedure. The normally noisy
compressor is blissfully quiet in use
because the compressed air is stored in
the pressure tank and the motor is shut
down.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:43 PM Page 42
When that dried I
sprayed yellow,
from the 3-ounce
can, on the front of
the fuselage and on
the LEs of the
upper side of the
wings.
Oops! I forgot to
mask the clear
canopy, which the
observant reader
will notice is
missing from the
yellow spray
session. Most of the
clear canopy as
modeled gets
painted, with only
small areas left
clear.
I masked the
clear areas with
plastic tape, gave
the area to be
painted a light
sanding with 400-
grit sandpaper,
sprayed primer,
and then sprayed
the yellow. I was
glad I had
purchased a spare can of yellow paint.
Now back to the paint bench to take
care of yellow overspray with more light
gray—this time applied with the airbrush,
which gives me much finer control of the
paint. The yellow paint came in a glossy
version only, and I rubbed it lightly with
steel wool to knock off the shine.
In the photos you can see prints of the
full-scale Su-25K “White 9013” tacked to
the board behind the bench. I used these
pictures, as well as three-view drawings, as
a guide to the canopy markings, the
yellow, and the camouflage green and
brown paint.
It’s time for airbrush fun: painting the
freehand camouflage areas. Slowly and
prototype aircraft. Make sure to note the
colors’ “layer” order so you overlap them
correctly. Try to always spray the light
colors first and the darker colors later.
Additional details in this finishing job are
the “9013” numerals, which were cut from
sticky-back vinyl at the local truck
lettering shop, and national insignia
decals. I am indebted to Andreas Mergner
at Plane Insane Models for making the
custom Czech Republic markings. They
are easy to draw but require attention to
detail to lay out correctly on the airframe.
The markings have left and right mirrorimage
layouts, which I discovered by
studying the photographs.
I added panel lines using a Sanford
April 2008 43
Airbrushing is complete, and it closely matches the aircraft depicted in the photos on the wall. The
camouflaged areas have fairly soft edges—not too sharp but not too fuzzy. Getting the right effect takes time!
The completed Frogfoot with national-marking
decals, cut-vinyl number below the canopy, and panel
lines applied.
The simulated panel lines were applied with an Ultra
Fine Point Sharpie. The frog artwork on the fin was
handmade with acrylic paint.
carefully I started with the outline of each
area in one camo color, working to get the
prototypical size and shape of the brown
and green sections and paying attention to
the distinctive military-camo soft edges—
not too sharp and not too fuzzy. Then I
gradually filled in the centers with airbrush
strokes.
It’s hard to put too little paint on with
the airbrush since it’s so easy to add more
color. My main technique is to add a bit
more at a time and build up the paint
application until I get the look I want.
There are three camo colors—brown
and two greens—so after two more
sessions of building up the camo blobs
with the airbrush, I’m starting to feel like I
might have captured the look of the
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:40 PM Page 43
Models on this page competed in the 2007 Scale Masters (Hemet CA). Airbrushed
finishes work well on Scale power models. Photos by Carl P. Maas.
This Albatros sports an airbrushed finish. A
protective clear coat is required over
airbrushed paint on gas- or glow-powered
models.
A de Havilland Mosquito makes good use of camouflage
airbrushing. No two bombers were painted exactly alike, so
you can choose a scheme that appeals to you!
This Albatros’s paint scheme shows the personalization for which German World War
I pilots were famous. Airbrushing makes this type of trim detailing easy to apply.
Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker, an
assortment of flexible plastic rulers, and
three-view drawings from the Internet
and the Squadron Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action book. Panel lines add substantial
detail with minimal time and effort, and
adding detail is the game in Scale
modeling.
You can clean up Sharpie panel-line
goofs by carefully applying isopropyl
alcohol, which dissolves the ink but not
the paint. And yes, I had to clean up a
few mistakes.
Since the model was to be judged, I
added under-wing weapon racks and
display landing gear. I was hoping to
distinguish my model from the others in
the paddock when the judges reviewed
them.
Judging at the Southern California
Power Scale Soaring (PSS) Festival
begins with scoring the scale outline,
colors, markings, and detailing. Points
can be added for craftsmanship, and
models that are built from scratch rather
than from a kit get extra points. In
addition, there is a point bonus for flying
the model at the event.
At the May 2007 PSS Festival I
entered the Frogfoot in the “Jets”
category. Other categories are
“Propeller,” “Civilian,” and “Foam.”
“Dave, you picked a tough year to
enter best jets category since the F-86
Sabre is this year’s club project plane and
there are seven of them here,” remarked
one Inland Slope Rebels club member
when I was taking my model to the
judging area.
I was not one of the five finalists after
the static judging, but after a flight
demonstration I gained enough points to
finish in fourth place. I was happy with
the results of my effort on this project—
especially since I’m not an advanced
craftsman or a super detailer.
The reason for this article is to
encourage you to try the airbrush to
expand your model-finishing skills. I’m
happy I listened to other modelers’
encouragement and learned to use this
tool. MA
Dave Garwood
[email protected]
Sources:
Andreas Mergner (creative genius):
Plane Insane Models
(518) 542-9527
www.planeinsanemodels.com
Southern California PSS Festival:
Inland Slope Rebels Slope Soaring club
www.inlandsloperebels.com
www.inlandsloperebels.com/slopeflyer/Sl
opeflyer06-5.pdf
44 MODEL AVIATION
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:41 PM Page 44
markings—seemingly a good-humored
acceptance of the NATO reporting name
“Frogfoot.” Since many of the ground-attackaircraft
camouflage paint schemes tend to look
muddy brown (ugly) or sandy tan (boring), this
was one of the few that struck me as attractive
enough to model.
An Internet search for “Su-25 Frogfoot”
turned up plenty of material including more
photographs, more three-view drawings, more
paintings of paint schemes, and more history. I
used the Google search engine to find these,
and especially the Google “Images” search
feature.
One particularly rich source for highresolution
aircraft photos is Airliners.net. It
features hundreds of thousands of photos,
including an abundance of military aircraft in
addition to their namesake airliner photos.
Airliners.net has a powerful search engine.
Start with the manufacturer name and the
aircraft-type name. For more shots of “White
9013,” use the “Quick photo search” feature to
view photos 0487300, 0482454, 0307026,
0656603, 0502601, 0439023, and 1190788.
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation is a
wonderful source for carefully produced sets of
documentation photos and three-view
drawings. I have purchased several Foto Paaks
and sets of drawings from Bob Banka and have
received high-quality materials every time.
I used the collected scale documentation to
model not only the Su-25’s paint scheme and
panel-line layout, but also such details as the
pilot figure (purchased at a hobby shop), the
sawtooth notch in the wing LEs, the structures
at the base of the vertical stabilizer, the layout
and arrangement of the Czech national
markings, and the display landing gear (bent
wire and wheels from the hobby shop).
Adding details enhances a Scale model’s
appearance and “wow factor,” and how far you
go with it is limited only by your patience and
persistence. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
400,000 photos and 39,000 drawings:
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation (formerly Scale
Model Research)
(714) 979-8058
www.bobsairdoc.com
Google
www.google.com
More than 150 photos of the Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot:
Airliners.net
www.airliners.net
Pilot figure:
Michigan Toy Soldier Company
(248) 586-1022
www.michtoy.com
Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey Skrynnikov
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books are
reprinted. Try eBay [www.ebay.com].):
Concord Publications Company
www.concord-publications.com
Scale Documentation
The Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot is the Soviet
counterpart to the American Fairchild-
Republic A-10 Warthog. Both are groundattack,
or “strike,” aircraft, sometimes called
“tank busters.” Both are designed to fly at low
altitude and deliver ordnance onto enemy
targets; they carry rapid-firing, high-caliber
guns.
The A-10’s official nickname was
“Thunderbolt II,” but it has more often been
called the “Warthog,” perhaps reflecting its
ungainly appearance. The Sukhoi Design
Bureau nicknamed the Su-25 “Grach” (Raven),
but its assigned NATO reporting name was
“Frogfoot.” That name has become associated
with the Su-25 in many English-speaking
countries.
I had long been interested in this aircraft,
and I am heavily indebted to my flying and
photography buddy, Carl Maas, for molding
the fiberglass fuselage. This mold was not a
trivial project; the complicated shape of the
fuselage, especially the engine nacelles,
required a four-part mold. Carl was
magnificently generous with his talent and
expertise, and his work on this project inspires
me to learn fuselage molding for one of my
next endeavors.
The materials, photographs, drawings, and
paintings of the prototype aircraft came from
books and Internet searches. The Squadron
company’s Squadron/Signal book series is
often a good place to start. Squadron’s book
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action by Yefim Gordon
(stock number SBM254), part of the Aerofax
series, has plenty of photos, three-view
drawings, paintings of paint schemes, and
aircraft history.
I also found Concord Publications
Company’s Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey
Skrynnikov (item 4012), which is essentially a
color-photo collection with little text. There are
hundreds of photos with descriptive captions.
The book’s cover shot and the photos of the
Frogfoot with special air-show colors led me to
settle on the paint scheme for my model.
With the advent of perestroika toward the
end of the Cold War, more and more Soviet
Bloc aircraft began appearing at Western air
shows. In June 1992 the Czech Republic sent
“White 9013” to the Boscombe Down air show
in England.
That Su-25 had a distinctive camouflage
scheme that was reminiscent of frog
This three-view
drawing is available on
the Internet. Use the
Google search engine
to find airplane photos
and drawings.
Photo from Sergey Skrynnikov’s Suhkoi Su-
25 Frogfoot. The caption reads: “Just prior to
its visit to Boscombe Down in England in the
summer of 1992, Su-25K number ‘9013’
received a distinctive frog-like camouflage
paint scheme that seems appropriate
considering its NATO name ... ” (Marcus
Fulber).
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action is an excellent Scale
modeler’s reference. It has three-views,
black-and-white photos, color paintings, and
the aircraft’s history. Photo courtesy
Airliners.net.
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (Aerofax) review:
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/books
/sp/aerofax/su25.htm
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (book 0011296);
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close Air Support
Aircraft (book 0015220):
Historic Aviation
(800) 225-5575
www.historicaviation.com
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster by Yefim Gordon
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books
are reprinted. Try eBay.)
Squadron
(877) 414-0434
www.squadron.com
Sukhoi Su-25: Russian Aircraft in Action
by Yefim Gordon; Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action: Aircraft No. 129
(Squadron/Signal Publications) by Hans-
Heiri Stapfer, Don Greer, Tom Tullis, and
Joe Sewell; Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close
Air Support Aircraft by Yefim Gordon:
Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
The Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot book by
Sergey Skrynnikov
has little text but
features a collection
of roughly 200
color photos with
captions.
April 2008 45
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 45
46 MODEL AVIATION
tip to the work surface between 2 and 5
inches, to produce a sharper or fuzzier
edge.
4) Move the tool at a moderate or
medium speed over the work—estimated
at 6-8 inches per second.
5) I press the air-release button fully
down every time I push it. It’s all or
nothing for me.
6) On my Paasche H-Set singleaction
airbrush, the amount of paint that
is mixed into the airstream is determined
by turning a collar at the front of the
tool. I turn it three “swings,” or three
one-third rotations.
On a double-action airbrush, the
amount of paint that is mixed into the
airstream is determined by how far back
the air-release button is pulled. I’m not
coordinated enough to run a doubleaction
airbrush, and so far I haven’t
found it necessary for the painting work
I do. There’s always more to learn; I’ve
purchased a double-action airbrush and
will soon try it on a project.
These adjustments and timings may
be different in your situation, but
practice spraying on card stock before
you shoot paint on your model. You can
see one of my test cards on the bench in
the background of the close-up shots of
work with the airbrush. I use the card to
test the spray pattern at initial setup,
after every paint-cup refill, and when I
start on a new area.
It may be helpful to get a
demonstration of airbrush setup and
technique if you have a buddy who is
willing to show you. If no tutor is
available, there are plenty of airbrushtechnique
books available at libraries, at
bookstores, and from airbrush
manufacturers.
I’m going to cover the steps involved
with airbrush painting; in this case I’m
working with masked areas of the Su-25.
Freehand painting involves the same
steps, just with more practice at handling
the airbrush.
Preparing to paint the dark-green
marking on the fin, I masked the lower
limit of the green area of the fin with thin
quality plastic tape (not cellophane or
paper tape). This material applies evenly,
can be curved when needed, allows for a
sharp line between two areas, and peels
off cleanly and easily when the painting
is done.
Extend the masked area with lowercost
paper masking tape, and tape paper
or card stock over the remainder of the
fin’s unpainted parts to avoid unwanted
overspray.
It’s time to airbrush the fin. I mix the
paint and then set up and test my
airbrush. Variables that affect the paint’s
application include:
• The ratio of thinner to paint
• How much air pressure is delivered to
the airbrush
• The distance the airbrush is held from
the work surface
• The speed the airbrush is moved over
the work surface
• How far the air-release button is
depressed
• How much paint is mixed into the
airstream
This process may look more
complicated than it is in practice.
Always clean your airbrush after use.
A dirty airbrush, or bent needle, will keep
your airbrush from operating properly.
Following is the setup I used for all
my Frogfoot’s airbrushed areas.
1) Mix Testors Model Master paint
with Model Master thinner at a 1:1 ratio.
2) Set the compressor regulator to 28 psi.
3) Keep the distance from the airbrush
Oops! After removing the tape, Dave saw
that the tip marking’s lower edge wasn’t
parallel to the fin bottom. He remasked and
resprayed the area, working more carefully
when laying the tape.
The vertical stabilizer has been built, primed
with Krylon spray, and base-coated with
Model Master spray. Plastic masking tape
produces a sharp line for the fin-tip marking.
Start and end each airbrush stroke with full
depression of the air trigger, moving from
off the part, across the part, and off the part
to lay even layers of paint.
When painting a solid area, such as
the fin tip, I start with the brush off to
the side, depress the air button fully, pass
the airbrush over the work, run it past
the far edge, and then release the button.
This is to release a steady and even
application of paint across the paint
target area.
Even when painting the camo blobs, I
depress the button fully at all times to
apply the paint. If I want to spray less
paint, I turn back the collar at the front
to reduce the amount of paint that is
mixed into the airstream.
Pay close attention to the
manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning
the airbrush, and follow them carefully.
There are some extremely close
tolerances within an airbrush, and a
small amount of dried paint will cause
problems.
Consider what you’ll use for a
compressed air source. The airbrush
manufacturers sell “canned air,” but that
gets expensive quickly and the pressure
varies as the can cools in use and as it
becomes depleted. I’ve heard of using
spare tires and cylinders of compressed
nitrogen to run the airbrush, but that’s
more trouble than it needs to be and
risks running out of compressed air at
the wrong time.
Most airbrush artists use a
compressor, and two main types are
available: small bench-top compressors
made especially for airbrushing and
larger, general-purpose compressors
made for tools powered by compressed
air. And one of the tools they can power
is an airbrush (as well as larger paint
spray guns).
The small and large compressors cost
approximately the same, but they don’t
make the same amount of noise. The bench-
Airbrush Technique
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 46
April 2008 47
The single-action Paasche “H” is a “starter” airbrush that
comes with a kit of accessories for less than $60.
top compressors either run all the time or
start on demand when the air-release
button on the airbrush is depressed.
These smaller units were designed to run
quietly but are not silent.
My general-purpose compressor has a
12-gallon storage tank. Although it
makes a fearsome racket while it’s filling
the tank, it’s blissfully silent when I’m
painting. I close the door and leave the
shop when the tank is filling, and
between fills I have 45-60 minutes of
working time with no motor running. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
Airbrush, paint and compressor supplier:
Dixie Art and Airbrush
(800) 783-2612
www.dixieart.com
Aztek airbrushes, Model Master airbrush
paint in bottles, Model Master spray
paint in cans:
Testors Corporation
(800) 962-6654
www.testors.com
Badger Air-Brush Company
(800) 247-2787
www.badgerairbrush.com
www.badgerairbrush.com/air101.htm
(tutorial)
Dave’s Paasche H beginner airbrush:
www.dixieart.com/HSet.html
Free basic airbrush lessons, how-to
Above: Dave’s talented wife, Paula, hand-paints the frog markings.
She’s working from photos from the Internet that show the Su-25’s
original markings.
Below: Andreas Mergner, Dave’s flying
buddy, custom-made the Czech Republic
national-marking decals for this project.
articles, tutorials, tech tips (Airbrush
makers also have online learning articles.):
How to Airbrush.Com
www.howtoairbrush.com
Paasche Airbrush Co.
(773) 867-9191
www.paascheairbrush.com
Products, a collection of how-to articles:
Iwata Medea Inc.
(503) 253-7308
www.iwata-medea.com
A Sears Craftsman 2-horsepower, 12-gallon compressor with
regulator costs nearly the same as a bench-top-dedicated airbrush
compressor.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:38 PM Page 47
48 MODEL AVIATION
Painting Hints and Tips
1) Practice with the airbrush and spray cans before shooting paint on a model.
You may learn that you need less paint than expected. A light touch on the nozzle
and patience lead to good application of scale paint. Keep the can or airbrush
moving while spraying.
2) Vinyl tape works better than paper masking tape; it gives a consistently
clean edge line and peels off cleanly and easily.
3) Be wary of aggressive adhesive on masking materials; they can pull up
paint even after it has dried thoroughly. Test your masking materials. You can cut
down the adhesive aggressiveness by carefully applying talcum powder. Be
conservative; it’s easy to use too much powder and remove all the stickiness.
4) Consider making one or more practice panels to check the spray pattern
from the cans, paint coverage, decal coverage, and the masking materials’
performance.
5) Newsprint is not the best choice for masking off large areas that don’t
receive paint. The ink can rub off on our hands and on the model. Brown
wrapping paper works well.
6) Take your time and work carefully. Most mistakes can be fixed with a brush
or toothpick application of more paint, but that generally takes more time than
doing it right the first time.
7) Don’t forget panel lines; they dress up the airplane and require little extra
work. I use a Sanford Ultra Fine Point Sharpie marker, a flexible plastic ruler, and
plastic templates. You can clean up mistakes with isopropyl alcohol.
8) Don’t be too hard on yourself for lack of perfection. Plenty of full-scale
warplanes were painted and repainted in the field under adverse conditions. Little
mistakes often seem huge on the bench but are unnoticeable in the air. If you
make a mistake, respray the base coat and start again in that area.
Working carefully, modelers with moderate skills can improve their models’
appearance using these techniques. It’s worth the effort. Few will notice if a Zero
panel-line layout is applied to a Spitfire, but everyone can tell the difference
between an airplane with panel lines and one without. MA
—Dave Garwood
Single-Action Vs. Double-Action Airbrushes
Select an airbrush considering the following design parameters.
• External mix: Paint and air are mixed outside the airbrush body. These units are
easier to clean and more suitable for painting larger areas, such as camo markings.
• Internal mix: Paint and air are mixed inside the airbrush body. These units are
more involved to clean but control paint output more precisely.
• Single action: The airbrush trigger controls airflow. An external collar controls
paint flow; less muscle coordination is required.
• Double action: The airbrush trigger controls both airflow and paint flow, for finer
control; more muscle coordination is required.
With single action, you typically push fully down on the airbrush spray button,
causing the air and paint to mix and spray in a fixed ratio. The paint proportion is
usually controlled by a single control nozzle at the front of the airbrush, which
limits the amount of paint being sprayed out at the airbrush tip. You can rotate the
nozzle during the painting process to control the size or spray pattern. This is a
fairly easy technique to master and use to get good results.
Using a double-action airbrush, as you push down on the painting lever, air is
supplied to the airbrush. The more you push down, the more the air comes out. At
the same time, you pull back the lever to regulate how much paint is supplied to the
nozzle and how large the spray pattern is.
This method gives finer control over the spray painting process. The big
difference is that it takes more practice to become proficient.
The single-action airbrushes are usually great for basic model spraying and for
creating a constant large pattern. However, they are not designed to do detailed
work. Highly detailed markings are where the added control of the double-action
airbrush excels.
Maintenance is similar on both types of airbrushes; cleaning and taking care of
the needle are top priorities. Whether you are doing basic model painting or intricate
detail work, keeping your airbrush in perfect working order is a must. MA
—Carl P. Maas
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04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 48
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/04
Page Numbers: 41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48
Give your model “life” with
these simple techniques
April 2008 41
Dave’s Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot Slope Soarer in the judging area at
the Southern California PSS Festival in May 2007.
Airbrushing Your
Model’s Finish
SOMETIMES ONLY a painted finish can
produce the results we want for a model
airplane. The main reason to finish a Scale
model with paint rather than iron-on
covering is that with a larger number of
paint colors available, more accurate color
matching greatly enhances the scale
appearance. Additional reasons are to
achieve the matte finish that is desirable on
military models and to produce a “feather
edge” for camouflage colors—not too sharp
and not too fuzzy.
I am definitely not a high-level craftsman
or a super detailer. I make plenty of building
and finishing mistakes, and I believe that “if
you can’t see it in the air, you don’t need it.”
One trick when using a spray can is to
heat it in warm water just before spraying.
This reduces the paint’s viscosity and
increases the propellant’s pressure, allowing
the container’s nozzle to perform at its best.
Make several passes with slow, even
strokes, fully depressing the nozzle, staying
approximately 12-14 inches from the
surface. Take your time and build up the
color coats slowly and carefully, thus
avoiding paint runs. Give plenty of time for
the new paint to dry before handling, and
especially before applying masking tape.
My first color application on the Su-25
Frogfoot was the light gray, applied with a
Testors Model Master 3-ounce spray can.
So no rivet detail for
me, but I have learned
how to use an airbrush and
other detailing techniques to make a military
model look sharp in the air.
This article shows how I finished and
detailed a Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot and placed
in a Scale contest with it. If I can do it, you
can do it too.
Let’s begin with the completed airframe after
primer paint has been applied to the model.
One paint-finishing secret is to use spray cans
when possible. There’s no sense in dragging
out the compressor and the airbrush to paint
large areas when a “rattle can” works so well.
by Dave Garwood
Brian Laird pilots the author’s Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot for the camera at the 2007 PSS
Festival. Carl P. Maas molded the fuselage; the
author built, painted, and flew the model.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:47 PM Page 41
42 MODEL AVIATION
Photos by the author except as noted
Dave carefully sanded his completed model and
applied Krylon spray-can primer.
Most of the airframe was painted with Model Master light gray
from spray cans, to match photos of the airplane.
Dave prefers to mask the canopy areas with vinyl tape. It seals
tightly, cuts cleanly with a blade, and peels off cleanly, leaving a
defined edge.
The second spray-can application was the yellow areas. The color
was unavailable in military flat—only glossy. Dave dulled the shine
with steel wool.
Above: Light-gray paint has been
airbrushed onto the top aft components.
Right: The Frogfoot on Dave’s paint
bench, waiting for the next step in the
finishing procedure. The normally noisy
compressor is blissfully quiet in use
because the compressed air is stored in
the pressure tank and the motor is shut
down.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:43 PM Page 42
When that dried I
sprayed yellow,
from the 3-ounce
can, on the front of
the fuselage and on
the LEs of the
upper side of the
wings.
Oops! I forgot to
mask the clear
canopy, which the
observant reader
will notice is
missing from the
yellow spray
session. Most of the
clear canopy as
modeled gets
painted, with only
small areas left
clear.
I masked the
clear areas with
plastic tape, gave
the area to be
painted a light
sanding with 400-
grit sandpaper,
sprayed primer,
and then sprayed
the yellow. I was
glad I had
purchased a spare can of yellow paint.
Now back to the paint bench to take
care of yellow overspray with more light
gray—this time applied with the airbrush,
which gives me much finer control of the
paint. The yellow paint came in a glossy
version only, and I rubbed it lightly with
steel wool to knock off the shine.
In the photos you can see prints of the
full-scale Su-25K “White 9013” tacked to
the board behind the bench. I used these
pictures, as well as three-view drawings, as
a guide to the canopy markings, the
yellow, and the camouflage green and
brown paint.
It’s time for airbrush fun: painting the
freehand camouflage areas. Slowly and
prototype aircraft. Make sure to note the
colors’ “layer” order so you overlap them
correctly. Try to always spray the light
colors first and the darker colors later.
Additional details in this finishing job are
the “9013” numerals, which were cut from
sticky-back vinyl at the local truck
lettering shop, and national insignia
decals. I am indebted to Andreas Mergner
at Plane Insane Models for making the
custom Czech Republic markings. They
are easy to draw but require attention to
detail to lay out correctly on the airframe.
The markings have left and right mirrorimage
layouts, which I discovered by
studying the photographs.
I added panel lines using a Sanford
April 2008 43
Airbrushing is complete, and it closely matches the aircraft depicted in the photos on the wall. The
camouflaged areas have fairly soft edges—not too sharp but not too fuzzy. Getting the right effect takes time!
The completed Frogfoot with national-marking
decals, cut-vinyl number below the canopy, and panel
lines applied.
The simulated panel lines were applied with an Ultra
Fine Point Sharpie. The frog artwork on the fin was
handmade with acrylic paint.
carefully I started with the outline of each
area in one camo color, working to get the
prototypical size and shape of the brown
and green sections and paying attention to
the distinctive military-camo soft edges—
not too sharp and not too fuzzy. Then I
gradually filled in the centers with airbrush
strokes.
It’s hard to put too little paint on with
the airbrush since it’s so easy to add more
color. My main technique is to add a bit
more at a time and build up the paint
application until I get the look I want.
There are three camo colors—brown
and two greens—so after two more
sessions of building up the camo blobs
with the airbrush, I’m starting to feel like I
might have captured the look of the
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:40 PM Page 43
Models on this page competed in the 2007 Scale Masters (Hemet CA). Airbrushed
finishes work well on Scale power models. Photos by Carl P. Maas.
This Albatros sports an airbrushed finish. A
protective clear coat is required over
airbrushed paint on gas- or glow-powered
models.
A de Havilland Mosquito makes good use of camouflage
airbrushing. No two bombers were painted exactly alike, so
you can choose a scheme that appeals to you!
This Albatros’s paint scheme shows the personalization for which German World War
I pilots were famous. Airbrushing makes this type of trim detailing easy to apply.
Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker, an
assortment of flexible plastic rulers, and
three-view drawings from the Internet
and the Squadron Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action book. Panel lines add substantial
detail with minimal time and effort, and
adding detail is the game in Scale
modeling.
You can clean up Sharpie panel-line
goofs by carefully applying isopropyl
alcohol, which dissolves the ink but not
the paint. And yes, I had to clean up a
few mistakes.
Since the model was to be judged, I
added under-wing weapon racks and
display landing gear. I was hoping to
distinguish my model from the others in
the paddock when the judges reviewed
them.
Judging at the Southern California
Power Scale Soaring (PSS) Festival
begins with scoring the scale outline,
colors, markings, and detailing. Points
can be added for craftsmanship, and
models that are built from scratch rather
than from a kit get extra points. In
addition, there is a point bonus for flying
the model at the event.
At the May 2007 PSS Festival I
entered the Frogfoot in the “Jets”
category. Other categories are
“Propeller,” “Civilian,” and “Foam.”
“Dave, you picked a tough year to
enter best jets category since the F-86
Sabre is this year’s club project plane and
there are seven of them here,” remarked
one Inland Slope Rebels club member
when I was taking my model to the
judging area.
I was not one of the five finalists after
the static judging, but after a flight
demonstration I gained enough points to
finish in fourth place. I was happy with
the results of my effort on this project—
especially since I’m not an advanced
craftsman or a super detailer.
The reason for this article is to
encourage you to try the airbrush to
expand your model-finishing skills. I’m
happy I listened to other modelers’
encouragement and learned to use this
tool. MA
Dave Garwood
[email protected]
Sources:
Andreas Mergner (creative genius):
Plane Insane Models
(518) 542-9527
www.planeinsanemodels.com
Southern California PSS Festival:
Inland Slope Rebels Slope Soaring club
www.inlandsloperebels.com
www.inlandsloperebels.com/slopeflyer/Sl
opeflyer06-5.pdf
44 MODEL AVIATION
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:41 PM Page 44
markings—seemingly a good-humored
acceptance of the NATO reporting name
“Frogfoot.” Since many of the ground-attackaircraft
camouflage paint schemes tend to look
muddy brown (ugly) or sandy tan (boring), this
was one of the few that struck me as attractive
enough to model.
An Internet search for “Su-25 Frogfoot”
turned up plenty of material including more
photographs, more three-view drawings, more
paintings of paint schemes, and more history. I
used the Google search engine to find these,
and especially the Google “Images” search
feature.
One particularly rich source for highresolution
aircraft photos is Airliners.net. It
features hundreds of thousands of photos,
including an abundance of military aircraft in
addition to their namesake airliner photos.
Airliners.net has a powerful search engine.
Start with the manufacturer name and the
aircraft-type name. For more shots of “White
9013,” use the “Quick photo search” feature to
view photos 0487300, 0482454, 0307026,
0656603, 0502601, 0439023, and 1190788.
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation is a
wonderful source for carefully produced sets of
documentation photos and three-view
drawings. I have purchased several Foto Paaks
and sets of drawings from Bob Banka and have
received high-quality materials every time.
I used the collected scale documentation to
model not only the Su-25’s paint scheme and
panel-line layout, but also such details as the
pilot figure (purchased at a hobby shop), the
sawtooth notch in the wing LEs, the structures
at the base of the vertical stabilizer, the layout
and arrangement of the Czech national
markings, and the display landing gear (bent
wire and wheels from the hobby shop).
Adding details enhances a Scale model’s
appearance and “wow factor,” and how far you
go with it is limited only by your patience and
persistence. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
400,000 photos and 39,000 drawings:
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation (formerly Scale
Model Research)
(714) 979-8058
www.bobsairdoc.com
Google
www.google.com
More than 150 photos of the Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot:
Airliners.net
www.airliners.net
Pilot figure:
Michigan Toy Soldier Company
(248) 586-1022
www.michtoy.com
Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey Skrynnikov
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books are
reprinted. Try eBay [www.ebay.com].):
Concord Publications Company
www.concord-publications.com
Scale Documentation
The Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot is the Soviet
counterpart to the American Fairchild-
Republic A-10 Warthog. Both are groundattack,
or “strike,” aircraft, sometimes called
“tank busters.” Both are designed to fly at low
altitude and deliver ordnance onto enemy
targets; they carry rapid-firing, high-caliber
guns.
The A-10’s official nickname was
“Thunderbolt II,” but it has more often been
called the “Warthog,” perhaps reflecting its
ungainly appearance. The Sukhoi Design
Bureau nicknamed the Su-25 “Grach” (Raven),
but its assigned NATO reporting name was
“Frogfoot.” That name has become associated
with the Su-25 in many English-speaking
countries.
I had long been interested in this aircraft,
and I am heavily indebted to my flying and
photography buddy, Carl Maas, for molding
the fiberglass fuselage. This mold was not a
trivial project; the complicated shape of the
fuselage, especially the engine nacelles,
required a four-part mold. Carl was
magnificently generous with his talent and
expertise, and his work on this project inspires
me to learn fuselage molding for one of my
next endeavors.
The materials, photographs, drawings, and
paintings of the prototype aircraft came from
books and Internet searches. The Squadron
company’s Squadron/Signal book series is
often a good place to start. Squadron’s book
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action by Yefim Gordon
(stock number SBM254), part of the Aerofax
series, has plenty of photos, three-view
drawings, paintings of paint schemes, and
aircraft history.
I also found Concord Publications
Company’s Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey
Skrynnikov (item 4012), which is essentially a
color-photo collection with little text. There are
hundreds of photos with descriptive captions.
The book’s cover shot and the photos of the
Frogfoot with special air-show colors led me to
settle on the paint scheme for my model.
With the advent of perestroika toward the
end of the Cold War, more and more Soviet
Bloc aircraft began appearing at Western air
shows. In June 1992 the Czech Republic sent
“White 9013” to the Boscombe Down air show
in England.
That Su-25 had a distinctive camouflage
scheme that was reminiscent of frog
This three-view
drawing is available on
the Internet. Use the
Google search engine
to find airplane photos
and drawings.
Photo from Sergey Skrynnikov’s Suhkoi Su-
25 Frogfoot. The caption reads: “Just prior to
its visit to Boscombe Down in England in the
summer of 1992, Su-25K number ‘9013’
received a distinctive frog-like camouflage
paint scheme that seems appropriate
considering its NATO name ... ” (Marcus
Fulber).
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action is an excellent Scale
modeler’s reference. It has three-views,
black-and-white photos, color paintings, and
the aircraft’s history. Photo courtesy
Airliners.net.
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (Aerofax) review:
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/books
/sp/aerofax/su25.htm
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (book 0011296);
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close Air Support
Aircraft (book 0015220):
Historic Aviation
(800) 225-5575
www.historicaviation.com
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster by Yefim Gordon
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books
are reprinted. Try eBay.)
Squadron
(877) 414-0434
www.squadron.com
Sukhoi Su-25: Russian Aircraft in Action
by Yefim Gordon; Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action: Aircraft No. 129
(Squadron/Signal Publications) by Hans-
Heiri Stapfer, Don Greer, Tom Tullis, and
Joe Sewell; Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close
Air Support Aircraft by Yefim Gordon:
Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
The Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot book by
Sergey Skrynnikov
has little text but
features a collection
of roughly 200
color photos with
captions.
April 2008 45
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 45
46 MODEL AVIATION
tip to the work surface between 2 and 5
inches, to produce a sharper or fuzzier
edge.
4) Move the tool at a moderate or
medium speed over the work—estimated
at 6-8 inches per second.
5) I press the air-release button fully
down every time I push it. It’s all or
nothing for me.
6) On my Paasche H-Set singleaction
airbrush, the amount of paint that
is mixed into the airstream is determined
by turning a collar at the front of the
tool. I turn it three “swings,” or three
one-third rotations.
On a double-action airbrush, the
amount of paint that is mixed into the
airstream is determined by how far back
the air-release button is pulled. I’m not
coordinated enough to run a doubleaction
airbrush, and so far I haven’t
found it necessary for the painting work
I do. There’s always more to learn; I’ve
purchased a double-action airbrush and
will soon try it on a project.
These adjustments and timings may
be different in your situation, but
practice spraying on card stock before
you shoot paint on your model. You can
see one of my test cards on the bench in
the background of the close-up shots of
work with the airbrush. I use the card to
test the spray pattern at initial setup,
after every paint-cup refill, and when I
start on a new area.
It may be helpful to get a
demonstration of airbrush setup and
technique if you have a buddy who is
willing to show you. If no tutor is
available, there are plenty of airbrushtechnique
books available at libraries, at
bookstores, and from airbrush
manufacturers.
I’m going to cover the steps involved
with airbrush painting; in this case I’m
working with masked areas of the Su-25.
Freehand painting involves the same
steps, just with more practice at handling
the airbrush.
Preparing to paint the dark-green
marking on the fin, I masked the lower
limit of the green area of the fin with thin
quality plastic tape (not cellophane or
paper tape). This material applies evenly,
can be curved when needed, allows for a
sharp line between two areas, and peels
off cleanly and easily when the painting
is done.
Extend the masked area with lowercost
paper masking tape, and tape paper
or card stock over the remainder of the
fin’s unpainted parts to avoid unwanted
overspray.
It’s time to airbrush the fin. I mix the
paint and then set up and test my
airbrush. Variables that affect the paint’s
application include:
• The ratio of thinner to paint
• How much air pressure is delivered to
the airbrush
• The distance the airbrush is held from
the work surface
• The speed the airbrush is moved over
the work surface
• How far the air-release button is
depressed
• How much paint is mixed into the
airstream
This process may look more
complicated than it is in practice.
Always clean your airbrush after use.
A dirty airbrush, or bent needle, will keep
your airbrush from operating properly.
Following is the setup I used for all
my Frogfoot’s airbrushed areas.
1) Mix Testors Model Master paint
with Model Master thinner at a 1:1 ratio.
2) Set the compressor regulator to 28 psi.
3) Keep the distance from the airbrush
Oops! After removing the tape, Dave saw
that the tip marking’s lower edge wasn’t
parallel to the fin bottom. He remasked and
resprayed the area, working more carefully
when laying the tape.
The vertical stabilizer has been built, primed
with Krylon spray, and base-coated with
Model Master spray. Plastic masking tape
produces a sharp line for the fin-tip marking.
Start and end each airbrush stroke with full
depression of the air trigger, moving from
off the part, across the part, and off the part
to lay even layers of paint.
When painting a solid area, such as
the fin tip, I start with the brush off to
the side, depress the air button fully, pass
the airbrush over the work, run it past
the far edge, and then release the button.
This is to release a steady and even
application of paint across the paint
target area.
Even when painting the camo blobs, I
depress the button fully at all times to
apply the paint. If I want to spray less
paint, I turn back the collar at the front
to reduce the amount of paint that is
mixed into the airstream.
Pay close attention to the
manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning
the airbrush, and follow them carefully.
There are some extremely close
tolerances within an airbrush, and a
small amount of dried paint will cause
problems.
Consider what you’ll use for a
compressed air source. The airbrush
manufacturers sell “canned air,” but that
gets expensive quickly and the pressure
varies as the can cools in use and as it
becomes depleted. I’ve heard of using
spare tires and cylinders of compressed
nitrogen to run the airbrush, but that’s
more trouble than it needs to be and
risks running out of compressed air at
the wrong time.
Most airbrush artists use a
compressor, and two main types are
available: small bench-top compressors
made especially for airbrushing and
larger, general-purpose compressors
made for tools powered by compressed
air. And one of the tools they can power
is an airbrush (as well as larger paint
spray guns).
The small and large compressors cost
approximately the same, but they don’t
make the same amount of noise. The bench-
Airbrush Technique
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 46
April 2008 47
The single-action Paasche “H” is a “starter” airbrush that
comes with a kit of accessories for less than $60.
top compressors either run all the time or
start on demand when the air-release
button on the airbrush is depressed.
These smaller units were designed to run
quietly but are not silent.
My general-purpose compressor has a
12-gallon storage tank. Although it
makes a fearsome racket while it’s filling
the tank, it’s blissfully silent when I’m
painting. I close the door and leave the
shop when the tank is filling, and
between fills I have 45-60 minutes of
working time with no motor running. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
Airbrush, paint and compressor supplier:
Dixie Art and Airbrush
(800) 783-2612
www.dixieart.com
Aztek airbrushes, Model Master airbrush
paint in bottles, Model Master spray
paint in cans:
Testors Corporation
(800) 962-6654
www.testors.com
Badger Air-Brush Company
(800) 247-2787
www.badgerairbrush.com
www.badgerairbrush.com/air101.htm
(tutorial)
Dave’s Paasche H beginner airbrush:
www.dixieart.com/HSet.html
Free basic airbrush lessons, how-to
Above: Dave’s talented wife, Paula, hand-paints the frog markings.
She’s working from photos from the Internet that show the Su-25’s
original markings.
Below: Andreas Mergner, Dave’s flying
buddy, custom-made the Czech Republic
national-marking decals for this project.
articles, tutorials, tech tips (Airbrush
makers also have online learning articles.):
How to Airbrush.Com
www.howtoairbrush.com
Paasche Airbrush Co.
(773) 867-9191
www.paascheairbrush.com
Products, a collection of how-to articles:
Iwata Medea Inc.
(503) 253-7308
www.iwata-medea.com
A Sears Craftsman 2-horsepower, 12-gallon compressor with
regulator costs nearly the same as a bench-top-dedicated airbrush
compressor.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:38 PM Page 47
48 MODEL AVIATION
Painting Hints and Tips
1) Practice with the airbrush and spray cans before shooting paint on a model.
You may learn that you need less paint than expected. A light touch on the nozzle
and patience lead to good application of scale paint. Keep the can or airbrush
moving while spraying.
2) Vinyl tape works better than paper masking tape; it gives a consistently
clean edge line and peels off cleanly and easily.
3) Be wary of aggressive adhesive on masking materials; they can pull up
paint even after it has dried thoroughly. Test your masking materials. You can cut
down the adhesive aggressiveness by carefully applying talcum powder. Be
conservative; it’s easy to use too much powder and remove all the stickiness.
4) Consider making one or more practice panels to check the spray pattern
from the cans, paint coverage, decal coverage, and the masking materials’
performance.
5) Newsprint is not the best choice for masking off large areas that don’t
receive paint. The ink can rub off on our hands and on the model. Brown
wrapping paper works well.
6) Take your time and work carefully. Most mistakes can be fixed with a brush
or toothpick application of more paint, but that generally takes more time than
doing it right the first time.
7) Don’t forget panel lines; they dress up the airplane and require little extra
work. I use a Sanford Ultra Fine Point Sharpie marker, a flexible plastic ruler, and
plastic templates. You can clean up mistakes with isopropyl alcohol.
8) Don’t be too hard on yourself for lack of perfection. Plenty of full-scale
warplanes were painted and repainted in the field under adverse conditions. Little
mistakes often seem huge on the bench but are unnoticeable in the air. If you
make a mistake, respray the base coat and start again in that area.
Working carefully, modelers with moderate skills can improve their models’
appearance using these techniques. It’s worth the effort. Few will notice if a Zero
panel-line layout is applied to a Spitfire, but everyone can tell the difference
between an airplane with panel lines and one without. MA
—Dave Garwood
Single-Action Vs. Double-Action Airbrushes
Select an airbrush considering the following design parameters.
• External mix: Paint and air are mixed outside the airbrush body. These units are
easier to clean and more suitable for painting larger areas, such as camo markings.
• Internal mix: Paint and air are mixed inside the airbrush body. These units are
more involved to clean but control paint output more precisely.
• Single action: The airbrush trigger controls airflow. An external collar controls
paint flow; less muscle coordination is required.
• Double action: The airbrush trigger controls both airflow and paint flow, for finer
control; more muscle coordination is required.
With single action, you typically push fully down on the airbrush spray button,
causing the air and paint to mix and spray in a fixed ratio. The paint proportion is
usually controlled by a single control nozzle at the front of the airbrush, which
limits the amount of paint being sprayed out at the airbrush tip. You can rotate the
nozzle during the painting process to control the size or spray pattern. This is a
fairly easy technique to master and use to get good results.
Using a double-action airbrush, as you push down on the painting lever, air is
supplied to the airbrush. The more you push down, the more the air comes out. At
the same time, you pull back the lever to regulate how much paint is supplied to the
nozzle and how large the spray pattern is.
This method gives finer control over the spray painting process. The big
difference is that it takes more practice to become proficient.
The single-action airbrushes are usually great for basic model spraying and for
creating a constant large pattern. However, they are not designed to do detailed
work. Highly detailed markings are where the added control of the double-action
airbrush excels.
Maintenance is similar on both types of airbrushes; cleaning and taking care of
the needle are top priorities. Whether you are doing basic model painting or intricate
detail work, keeping your airbrush in perfect working order is a must. MA
—Carl P. Maas
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04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 48
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/04
Page Numbers: 41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48
Give your model “life” with
these simple techniques
April 2008 41
Dave’s Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot Slope Soarer in the judging area at
the Southern California PSS Festival in May 2007.
Airbrushing Your
Model’s Finish
SOMETIMES ONLY a painted finish can
produce the results we want for a model
airplane. The main reason to finish a Scale
model with paint rather than iron-on
covering is that with a larger number of
paint colors available, more accurate color
matching greatly enhances the scale
appearance. Additional reasons are to
achieve the matte finish that is desirable on
military models and to produce a “feather
edge” for camouflage colors—not too sharp
and not too fuzzy.
I am definitely not a high-level craftsman
or a super detailer. I make plenty of building
and finishing mistakes, and I believe that “if
you can’t see it in the air, you don’t need it.”
One trick when using a spray can is to
heat it in warm water just before spraying.
This reduces the paint’s viscosity and
increases the propellant’s pressure, allowing
the container’s nozzle to perform at its best.
Make several passes with slow, even
strokes, fully depressing the nozzle, staying
approximately 12-14 inches from the
surface. Take your time and build up the
color coats slowly and carefully, thus
avoiding paint runs. Give plenty of time for
the new paint to dry before handling, and
especially before applying masking tape.
My first color application on the Su-25
Frogfoot was the light gray, applied with a
Testors Model Master 3-ounce spray can.
So no rivet detail for
me, but I have learned
how to use an airbrush and
other detailing techniques to make a military
model look sharp in the air.
This article shows how I finished and
detailed a Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot and placed
in a Scale contest with it. If I can do it, you
can do it too.
Let’s begin with the completed airframe after
primer paint has been applied to the model.
One paint-finishing secret is to use spray cans
when possible. There’s no sense in dragging
out the compressor and the airbrush to paint
large areas when a “rattle can” works so well.
by Dave Garwood
Brian Laird pilots the author’s Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot for the camera at the 2007 PSS
Festival. Carl P. Maas molded the fuselage; the
author built, painted, and flew the model.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:47 PM Page 41
42 MODEL AVIATION
Photos by the author except as noted
Dave carefully sanded his completed model and
applied Krylon spray-can primer.
Most of the airframe was painted with Model Master light gray
from spray cans, to match photos of the airplane.
Dave prefers to mask the canopy areas with vinyl tape. It seals
tightly, cuts cleanly with a blade, and peels off cleanly, leaving a
defined edge.
The second spray-can application was the yellow areas. The color
was unavailable in military flat—only glossy. Dave dulled the shine
with steel wool.
Above: Light-gray paint has been
airbrushed onto the top aft components.
Right: The Frogfoot on Dave’s paint
bench, waiting for the next step in the
finishing procedure. The normally noisy
compressor is blissfully quiet in use
because the compressed air is stored in
the pressure tank and the motor is shut
down.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:43 PM Page 42
When that dried I
sprayed yellow,
from the 3-ounce
can, on the front of
the fuselage and on
the LEs of the
upper side of the
wings.
Oops! I forgot to
mask the clear
canopy, which the
observant reader
will notice is
missing from the
yellow spray
session. Most of the
clear canopy as
modeled gets
painted, with only
small areas left
clear.
I masked the
clear areas with
plastic tape, gave
the area to be
painted a light
sanding with 400-
grit sandpaper,
sprayed primer,
and then sprayed
the yellow. I was
glad I had
purchased a spare can of yellow paint.
Now back to the paint bench to take
care of yellow overspray with more light
gray—this time applied with the airbrush,
which gives me much finer control of the
paint. The yellow paint came in a glossy
version only, and I rubbed it lightly with
steel wool to knock off the shine.
In the photos you can see prints of the
full-scale Su-25K “White 9013” tacked to
the board behind the bench. I used these
pictures, as well as three-view drawings, as
a guide to the canopy markings, the
yellow, and the camouflage green and
brown paint.
It’s time for airbrush fun: painting the
freehand camouflage areas. Slowly and
prototype aircraft. Make sure to note the
colors’ “layer” order so you overlap them
correctly. Try to always spray the light
colors first and the darker colors later.
Additional details in this finishing job are
the “9013” numerals, which were cut from
sticky-back vinyl at the local truck
lettering shop, and national insignia
decals. I am indebted to Andreas Mergner
at Plane Insane Models for making the
custom Czech Republic markings. They
are easy to draw but require attention to
detail to lay out correctly on the airframe.
The markings have left and right mirrorimage
layouts, which I discovered by
studying the photographs.
I added panel lines using a Sanford
April 2008 43
Airbrushing is complete, and it closely matches the aircraft depicted in the photos on the wall. The
camouflaged areas have fairly soft edges—not too sharp but not too fuzzy. Getting the right effect takes time!
The completed Frogfoot with national-marking
decals, cut-vinyl number below the canopy, and panel
lines applied.
The simulated panel lines were applied with an Ultra
Fine Point Sharpie. The frog artwork on the fin was
handmade with acrylic paint.
carefully I started with the outline of each
area in one camo color, working to get the
prototypical size and shape of the brown
and green sections and paying attention to
the distinctive military-camo soft edges—
not too sharp and not too fuzzy. Then I
gradually filled in the centers with airbrush
strokes.
It’s hard to put too little paint on with
the airbrush since it’s so easy to add more
color. My main technique is to add a bit
more at a time and build up the paint
application until I get the look I want.
There are three camo colors—brown
and two greens—so after two more
sessions of building up the camo blobs
with the airbrush, I’m starting to feel like I
might have captured the look of the
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:40 PM Page 43
Models on this page competed in the 2007 Scale Masters (Hemet CA). Airbrushed
finishes work well on Scale power models. Photos by Carl P. Maas.
This Albatros sports an airbrushed finish. A
protective clear coat is required over
airbrushed paint on gas- or glow-powered
models.
A de Havilland Mosquito makes good use of camouflage
airbrushing. No two bombers were painted exactly alike, so
you can choose a scheme that appeals to you!
This Albatros’s paint scheme shows the personalization for which German World War
I pilots were famous. Airbrushing makes this type of trim detailing easy to apply.
Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker, an
assortment of flexible plastic rulers, and
three-view drawings from the Internet
and the Squadron Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action book. Panel lines add substantial
detail with minimal time and effort, and
adding detail is the game in Scale
modeling.
You can clean up Sharpie panel-line
goofs by carefully applying isopropyl
alcohol, which dissolves the ink but not
the paint. And yes, I had to clean up a
few mistakes.
Since the model was to be judged, I
added under-wing weapon racks and
display landing gear. I was hoping to
distinguish my model from the others in
the paddock when the judges reviewed
them.
Judging at the Southern California
Power Scale Soaring (PSS) Festival
begins with scoring the scale outline,
colors, markings, and detailing. Points
can be added for craftsmanship, and
models that are built from scratch rather
than from a kit get extra points. In
addition, there is a point bonus for flying
the model at the event.
At the May 2007 PSS Festival I
entered the Frogfoot in the “Jets”
category. Other categories are
“Propeller,” “Civilian,” and “Foam.”
“Dave, you picked a tough year to
enter best jets category since the F-86
Sabre is this year’s club project plane and
there are seven of them here,” remarked
one Inland Slope Rebels club member
when I was taking my model to the
judging area.
I was not one of the five finalists after
the static judging, but after a flight
demonstration I gained enough points to
finish in fourth place. I was happy with
the results of my effort on this project—
especially since I’m not an advanced
craftsman or a super detailer.
The reason for this article is to
encourage you to try the airbrush to
expand your model-finishing skills. I’m
happy I listened to other modelers’
encouragement and learned to use this
tool. MA
Dave Garwood
[email protected]
Sources:
Andreas Mergner (creative genius):
Plane Insane Models
(518) 542-9527
www.planeinsanemodels.com
Southern California PSS Festival:
Inland Slope Rebels Slope Soaring club
www.inlandsloperebels.com
www.inlandsloperebels.com/slopeflyer/Sl
opeflyer06-5.pdf
44 MODEL AVIATION
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:41 PM Page 44
markings—seemingly a good-humored
acceptance of the NATO reporting name
“Frogfoot.” Since many of the ground-attackaircraft
camouflage paint schemes tend to look
muddy brown (ugly) or sandy tan (boring), this
was one of the few that struck me as attractive
enough to model.
An Internet search for “Su-25 Frogfoot”
turned up plenty of material including more
photographs, more three-view drawings, more
paintings of paint schemes, and more history. I
used the Google search engine to find these,
and especially the Google “Images” search
feature.
One particularly rich source for highresolution
aircraft photos is Airliners.net. It
features hundreds of thousands of photos,
including an abundance of military aircraft in
addition to their namesake airliner photos.
Airliners.net has a powerful search engine.
Start with the manufacturer name and the
aircraft-type name. For more shots of “White
9013,” use the “Quick photo search” feature to
view photos 0487300, 0482454, 0307026,
0656603, 0502601, 0439023, and 1190788.
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation is a
wonderful source for carefully produced sets of
documentation photos and three-view
drawings. I have purchased several Foto Paaks
and sets of drawings from Bob Banka and have
received high-quality materials every time.
I used the collected scale documentation to
model not only the Su-25’s paint scheme and
panel-line layout, but also such details as the
pilot figure (purchased at a hobby shop), the
sawtooth notch in the wing LEs, the structures
at the base of the vertical stabilizer, the layout
and arrangement of the Czech national
markings, and the display landing gear (bent
wire and wheels from the hobby shop).
Adding details enhances a Scale model’s
appearance and “wow factor,” and how far you
go with it is limited only by your patience and
persistence. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
400,000 photos and 39,000 drawings:
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation (formerly Scale
Model Research)
(714) 979-8058
www.bobsairdoc.com
Google
www.google.com
More than 150 photos of the Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot:
Airliners.net
www.airliners.net
Pilot figure:
Michigan Toy Soldier Company
(248) 586-1022
www.michtoy.com
Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey Skrynnikov
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books are
reprinted. Try eBay [www.ebay.com].):
Concord Publications Company
www.concord-publications.com
Scale Documentation
The Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot is the Soviet
counterpart to the American Fairchild-
Republic A-10 Warthog. Both are groundattack,
or “strike,” aircraft, sometimes called
“tank busters.” Both are designed to fly at low
altitude and deliver ordnance onto enemy
targets; they carry rapid-firing, high-caliber
guns.
The A-10’s official nickname was
“Thunderbolt II,” but it has more often been
called the “Warthog,” perhaps reflecting its
ungainly appearance. The Sukhoi Design
Bureau nicknamed the Su-25 “Grach” (Raven),
but its assigned NATO reporting name was
“Frogfoot.” That name has become associated
with the Su-25 in many English-speaking
countries.
I had long been interested in this aircraft,
and I am heavily indebted to my flying and
photography buddy, Carl Maas, for molding
the fiberglass fuselage. This mold was not a
trivial project; the complicated shape of the
fuselage, especially the engine nacelles,
required a four-part mold. Carl was
magnificently generous with his talent and
expertise, and his work on this project inspires
me to learn fuselage molding for one of my
next endeavors.
The materials, photographs, drawings, and
paintings of the prototype aircraft came from
books and Internet searches. The Squadron
company’s Squadron/Signal book series is
often a good place to start. Squadron’s book
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action by Yefim Gordon
(stock number SBM254), part of the Aerofax
series, has plenty of photos, three-view
drawings, paintings of paint schemes, and
aircraft history.
I also found Concord Publications
Company’s Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey
Skrynnikov (item 4012), which is essentially a
color-photo collection with little text. There are
hundreds of photos with descriptive captions.
The book’s cover shot and the photos of the
Frogfoot with special air-show colors led me to
settle on the paint scheme for my model.
With the advent of perestroika toward the
end of the Cold War, more and more Soviet
Bloc aircraft began appearing at Western air
shows. In June 1992 the Czech Republic sent
“White 9013” to the Boscombe Down air show
in England.
That Su-25 had a distinctive camouflage
scheme that was reminiscent of frog
This three-view
drawing is available on
the Internet. Use the
Google search engine
to find airplane photos
and drawings.
Photo from Sergey Skrynnikov’s Suhkoi Su-
25 Frogfoot. The caption reads: “Just prior to
its visit to Boscombe Down in England in the
summer of 1992, Su-25K number ‘9013’
received a distinctive frog-like camouflage
paint scheme that seems appropriate
considering its NATO name ... ” (Marcus
Fulber).
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action is an excellent Scale
modeler’s reference. It has three-views,
black-and-white photos, color paintings, and
the aircraft’s history. Photo courtesy
Airliners.net.
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (Aerofax) review:
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/books
/sp/aerofax/su25.htm
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (book 0011296);
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close Air Support
Aircraft (book 0015220):
Historic Aviation
(800) 225-5575
www.historicaviation.com
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster by Yefim Gordon
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books
are reprinted. Try eBay.)
Squadron
(877) 414-0434
www.squadron.com
Sukhoi Su-25: Russian Aircraft in Action
by Yefim Gordon; Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action: Aircraft No. 129
(Squadron/Signal Publications) by Hans-
Heiri Stapfer, Don Greer, Tom Tullis, and
Joe Sewell; Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close
Air Support Aircraft by Yefim Gordon:
Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
The Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot book by
Sergey Skrynnikov
has little text but
features a collection
of roughly 200
color photos with
captions.
April 2008 45
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 45
46 MODEL AVIATION
tip to the work surface between 2 and 5
inches, to produce a sharper or fuzzier
edge.
4) Move the tool at a moderate or
medium speed over the work—estimated
at 6-8 inches per second.
5) I press the air-release button fully
down every time I push it. It’s all or
nothing for me.
6) On my Paasche H-Set singleaction
airbrush, the amount of paint that
is mixed into the airstream is determined
by turning a collar at the front of the
tool. I turn it three “swings,” or three
one-third rotations.
On a double-action airbrush, the
amount of paint that is mixed into the
airstream is determined by how far back
the air-release button is pulled. I’m not
coordinated enough to run a doubleaction
airbrush, and so far I haven’t
found it necessary for the painting work
I do. There’s always more to learn; I’ve
purchased a double-action airbrush and
will soon try it on a project.
These adjustments and timings may
be different in your situation, but
practice spraying on card stock before
you shoot paint on your model. You can
see one of my test cards on the bench in
the background of the close-up shots of
work with the airbrush. I use the card to
test the spray pattern at initial setup,
after every paint-cup refill, and when I
start on a new area.
It may be helpful to get a
demonstration of airbrush setup and
technique if you have a buddy who is
willing to show you. If no tutor is
available, there are plenty of airbrushtechnique
books available at libraries, at
bookstores, and from airbrush
manufacturers.
I’m going to cover the steps involved
with airbrush painting; in this case I’m
working with masked areas of the Su-25.
Freehand painting involves the same
steps, just with more practice at handling
the airbrush.
Preparing to paint the dark-green
marking on the fin, I masked the lower
limit of the green area of the fin with thin
quality plastic tape (not cellophane or
paper tape). This material applies evenly,
can be curved when needed, allows for a
sharp line between two areas, and peels
off cleanly and easily when the painting
is done.
Extend the masked area with lowercost
paper masking tape, and tape paper
or card stock over the remainder of the
fin’s unpainted parts to avoid unwanted
overspray.
It’s time to airbrush the fin. I mix the
paint and then set up and test my
airbrush. Variables that affect the paint’s
application include:
• The ratio of thinner to paint
• How much air pressure is delivered to
the airbrush
• The distance the airbrush is held from
the work surface
• The speed the airbrush is moved over
the work surface
• How far the air-release button is
depressed
• How much paint is mixed into the
airstream
This process may look more
complicated than it is in practice.
Always clean your airbrush after use.
A dirty airbrush, or bent needle, will keep
your airbrush from operating properly.
Following is the setup I used for all
my Frogfoot’s airbrushed areas.
1) Mix Testors Model Master paint
with Model Master thinner at a 1:1 ratio.
2) Set the compressor regulator to 28 psi.
3) Keep the distance from the airbrush
Oops! After removing the tape, Dave saw
that the tip marking’s lower edge wasn’t
parallel to the fin bottom. He remasked and
resprayed the area, working more carefully
when laying the tape.
The vertical stabilizer has been built, primed
with Krylon spray, and base-coated with
Model Master spray. Plastic masking tape
produces a sharp line for the fin-tip marking.
Start and end each airbrush stroke with full
depression of the air trigger, moving from
off the part, across the part, and off the part
to lay even layers of paint.
When painting a solid area, such as
the fin tip, I start with the brush off to
the side, depress the air button fully, pass
the airbrush over the work, run it past
the far edge, and then release the button.
This is to release a steady and even
application of paint across the paint
target area.
Even when painting the camo blobs, I
depress the button fully at all times to
apply the paint. If I want to spray less
paint, I turn back the collar at the front
to reduce the amount of paint that is
mixed into the airstream.
Pay close attention to the
manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning
the airbrush, and follow them carefully.
There are some extremely close
tolerances within an airbrush, and a
small amount of dried paint will cause
problems.
Consider what you’ll use for a
compressed air source. The airbrush
manufacturers sell “canned air,” but that
gets expensive quickly and the pressure
varies as the can cools in use and as it
becomes depleted. I’ve heard of using
spare tires and cylinders of compressed
nitrogen to run the airbrush, but that’s
more trouble than it needs to be and
risks running out of compressed air at
the wrong time.
Most airbrush artists use a
compressor, and two main types are
available: small bench-top compressors
made especially for airbrushing and
larger, general-purpose compressors
made for tools powered by compressed
air. And one of the tools they can power
is an airbrush (as well as larger paint
spray guns).
The small and large compressors cost
approximately the same, but they don’t
make the same amount of noise. The bench-
Airbrush Technique
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 46
April 2008 47
The single-action Paasche “H” is a “starter” airbrush that
comes with a kit of accessories for less than $60.
top compressors either run all the time or
start on demand when the air-release
button on the airbrush is depressed.
These smaller units were designed to run
quietly but are not silent.
My general-purpose compressor has a
12-gallon storage tank. Although it
makes a fearsome racket while it’s filling
the tank, it’s blissfully silent when I’m
painting. I close the door and leave the
shop when the tank is filling, and
between fills I have 45-60 minutes of
working time with no motor running. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
Airbrush, paint and compressor supplier:
Dixie Art and Airbrush
(800) 783-2612
www.dixieart.com
Aztek airbrushes, Model Master airbrush
paint in bottles, Model Master spray
paint in cans:
Testors Corporation
(800) 962-6654
www.testors.com
Badger Air-Brush Company
(800) 247-2787
www.badgerairbrush.com
www.badgerairbrush.com/air101.htm
(tutorial)
Dave’s Paasche H beginner airbrush:
www.dixieart.com/HSet.html
Free basic airbrush lessons, how-to
Above: Dave’s talented wife, Paula, hand-paints the frog markings.
She’s working from photos from the Internet that show the Su-25’s
original markings.
Below: Andreas Mergner, Dave’s flying
buddy, custom-made the Czech Republic
national-marking decals for this project.
articles, tutorials, tech tips (Airbrush
makers also have online learning articles.):
How to Airbrush.Com
www.howtoairbrush.com
Paasche Airbrush Co.
(773) 867-9191
www.paascheairbrush.com
Products, a collection of how-to articles:
Iwata Medea Inc.
(503) 253-7308
www.iwata-medea.com
A Sears Craftsman 2-horsepower, 12-gallon compressor with
regulator costs nearly the same as a bench-top-dedicated airbrush
compressor.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:38 PM Page 47
48 MODEL AVIATION
Painting Hints and Tips
1) Practice with the airbrush and spray cans before shooting paint on a model.
You may learn that you need less paint than expected. A light touch on the nozzle
and patience lead to good application of scale paint. Keep the can or airbrush
moving while spraying.
2) Vinyl tape works better than paper masking tape; it gives a consistently
clean edge line and peels off cleanly and easily.
3) Be wary of aggressive adhesive on masking materials; they can pull up
paint even after it has dried thoroughly. Test your masking materials. You can cut
down the adhesive aggressiveness by carefully applying talcum powder. Be
conservative; it’s easy to use too much powder and remove all the stickiness.
4) Consider making one or more practice panels to check the spray pattern
from the cans, paint coverage, decal coverage, and the masking materials’
performance.
5) Newsprint is not the best choice for masking off large areas that don’t
receive paint. The ink can rub off on our hands and on the model. Brown
wrapping paper works well.
6) Take your time and work carefully. Most mistakes can be fixed with a brush
or toothpick application of more paint, but that generally takes more time than
doing it right the first time.
7) Don’t forget panel lines; they dress up the airplane and require little extra
work. I use a Sanford Ultra Fine Point Sharpie marker, a flexible plastic ruler, and
plastic templates. You can clean up mistakes with isopropyl alcohol.
8) Don’t be too hard on yourself for lack of perfection. Plenty of full-scale
warplanes were painted and repainted in the field under adverse conditions. Little
mistakes often seem huge on the bench but are unnoticeable in the air. If you
make a mistake, respray the base coat and start again in that area.
Working carefully, modelers with moderate skills can improve their models’
appearance using these techniques. It’s worth the effort. Few will notice if a Zero
panel-line layout is applied to a Spitfire, but everyone can tell the difference
between an airplane with panel lines and one without. MA
—Dave Garwood
Single-Action Vs. Double-Action Airbrushes
Select an airbrush considering the following design parameters.
• External mix: Paint and air are mixed outside the airbrush body. These units are
easier to clean and more suitable for painting larger areas, such as camo markings.
• Internal mix: Paint and air are mixed inside the airbrush body. These units are
more involved to clean but control paint output more precisely.
• Single action: The airbrush trigger controls airflow. An external collar controls
paint flow; less muscle coordination is required.
• Double action: The airbrush trigger controls both airflow and paint flow, for finer
control; more muscle coordination is required.
With single action, you typically push fully down on the airbrush spray button,
causing the air and paint to mix and spray in a fixed ratio. The paint proportion is
usually controlled by a single control nozzle at the front of the airbrush, which
limits the amount of paint being sprayed out at the airbrush tip. You can rotate the
nozzle during the painting process to control the size or spray pattern. This is a
fairly easy technique to master and use to get good results.
Using a double-action airbrush, as you push down on the painting lever, air is
supplied to the airbrush. The more you push down, the more the air comes out. At
the same time, you pull back the lever to regulate how much paint is supplied to the
nozzle and how large the spray pattern is.
This method gives finer control over the spray painting process. The big
difference is that it takes more practice to become proficient.
The single-action airbrushes are usually great for basic model spraying and for
creating a constant large pattern. However, they are not designed to do detailed
work. Highly detailed markings are where the added control of the double-action
airbrush excels.
Maintenance is similar on both types of airbrushes; cleaning and taking care of
the needle are top priorities. Whether you are doing basic model painting or intricate
detail work, keeping your airbrush in perfect working order is a must. MA
—Carl P. Maas
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04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 48
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/04
Page Numbers: 41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48
Give your model “life” with
these simple techniques
April 2008 41
Dave’s Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot Slope Soarer in the judging area at
the Southern California PSS Festival in May 2007.
Airbrushing Your
Model’s Finish
SOMETIMES ONLY a painted finish can
produce the results we want for a model
airplane. The main reason to finish a Scale
model with paint rather than iron-on
covering is that with a larger number of
paint colors available, more accurate color
matching greatly enhances the scale
appearance. Additional reasons are to
achieve the matte finish that is desirable on
military models and to produce a “feather
edge” for camouflage colors—not too sharp
and not too fuzzy.
I am definitely not a high-level craftsman
or a super detailer. I make plenty of building
and finishing mistakes, and I believe that “if
you can’t see it in the air, you don’t need it.”
One trick when using a spray can is to
heat it in warm water just before spraying.
This reduces the paint’s viscosity and
increases the propellant’s pressure, allowing
the container’s nozzle to perform at its best.
Make several passes with slow, even
strokes, fully depressing the nozzle, staying
approximately 12-14 inches from the
surface. Take your time and build up the
color coats slowly and carefully, thus
avoiding paint runs. Give plenty of time for
the new paint to dry before handling, and
especially before applying masking tape.
My first color application on the Su-25
Frogfoot was the light gray, applied with a
Testors Model Master 3-ounce spray can.
So no rivet detail for
me, but I have learned
how to use an airbrush and
other detailing techniques to make a military
model look sharp in the air.
This article shows how I finished and
detailed a Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot and placed
in a Scale contest with it. If I can do it, you
can do it too.
Let’s begin with the completed airframe after
primer paint has been applied to the model.
One paint-finishing secret is to use spray cans
when possible. There’s no sense in dragging
out the compressor and the airbrush to paint
large areas when a “rattle can” works so well.
by Dave Garwood
Brian Laird pilots the author’s Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot for the camera at the 2007 PSS
Festival. Carl P. Maas molded the fuselage; the
author built, painted, and flew the model.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:47 PM Page 41
42 MODEL AVIATION
Photos by the author except as noted
Dave carefully sanded his completed model and
applied Krylon spray-can primer.
Most of the airframe was painted with Model Master light gray
from spray cans, to match photos of the airplane.
Dave prefers to mask the canopy areas with vinyl tape. It seals
tightly, cuts cleanly with a blade, and peels off cleanly, leaving a
defined edge.
The second spray-can application was the yellow areas. The color
was unavailable in military flat—only glossy. Dave dulled the shine
with steel wool.
Above: Light-gray paint has been
airbrushed onto the top aft components.
Right: The Frogfoot on Dave’s paint
bench, waiting for the next step in the
finishing procedure. The normally noisy
compressor is blissfully quiet in use
because the compressed air is stored in
the pressure tank and the motor is shut
down.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:43 PM Page 42
When that dried I
sprayed yellow,
from the 3-ounce
can, on the front of
the fuselage and on
the LEs of the
upper side of the
wings.
Oops! I forgot to
mask the clear
canopy, which the
observant reader
will notice is
missing from the
yellow spray
session. Most of the
clear canopy as
modeled gets
painted, with only
small areas left
clear.
I masked the
clear areas with
plastic tape, gave
the area to be
painted a light
sanding with 400-
grit sandpaper,
sprayed primer,
and then sprayed
the yellow. I was
glad I had
purchased a spare can of yellow paint.
Now back to the paint bench to take
care of yellow overspray with more light
gray—this time applied with the airbrush,
which gives me much finer control of the
paint. The yellow paint came in a glossy
version only, and I rubbed it lightly with
steel wool to knock off the shine.
In the photos you can see prints of the
full-scale Su-25K “White 9013” tacked to
the board behind the bench. I used these
pictures, as well as three-view drawings, as
a guide to the canopy markings, the
yellow, and the camouflage green and
brown paint.
It’s time for airbrush fun: painting the
freehand camouflage areas. Slowly and
prototype aircraft. Make sure to note the
colors’ “layer” order so you overlap them
correctly. Try to always spray the light
colors first and the darker colors later.
Additional details in this finishing job are
the “9013” numerals, which were cut from
sticky-back vinyl at the local truck
lettering shop, and national insignia
decals. I am indebted to Andreas Mergner
at Plane Insane Models for making the
custom Czech Republic markings. They
are easy to draw but require attention to
detail to lay out correctly on the airframe.
The markings have left and right mirrorimage
layouts, which I discovered by
studying the photographs.
I added panel lines using a Sanford
April 2008 43
Airbrushing is complete, and it closely matches the aircraft depicted in the photos on the wall. The
camouflaged areas have fairly soft edges—not too sharp but not too fuzzy. Getting the right effect takes time!
The completed Frogfoot with national-marking
decals, cut-vinyl number below the canopy, and panel
lines applied.
The simulated panel lines were applied with an Ultra
Fine Point Sharpie. The frog artwork on the fin was
handmade with acrylic paint.
carefully I started with the outline of each
area in one camo color, working to get the
prototypical size and shape of the brown
and green sections and paying attention to
the distinctive military-camo soft edges—
not too sharp and not too fuzzy. Then I
gradually filled in the centers with airbrush
strokes.
It’s hard to put too little paint on with
the airbrush since it’s so easy to add more
color. My main technique is to add a bit
more at a time and build up the paint
application until I get the look I want.
There are three camo colors—brown
and two greens—so after two more
sessions of building up the camo blobs
with the airbrush, I’m starting to feel like I
might have captured the look of the
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:40 PM Page 43
Models on this page competed in the 2007 Scale Masters (Hemet CA). Airbrushed
finishes work well on Scale power models. Photos by Carl P. Maas.
This Albatros sports an airbrushed finish. A
protective clear coat is required over
airbrushed paint on gas- or glow-powered
models.
A de Havilland Mosquito makes good use of camouflage
airbrushing. No two bombers were painted exactly alike, so
you can choose a scheme that appeals to you!
This Albatros’s paint scheme shows the personalization for which German World War
I pilots were famous. Airbrushing makes this type of trim detailing easy to apply.
Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker, an
assortment of flexible plastic rulers, and
three-view drawings from the Internet
and the Squadron Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action book. Panel lines add substantial
detail with minimal time and effort, and
adding detail is the game in Scale
modeling.
You can clean up Sharpie panel-line
goofs by carefully applying isopropyl
alcohol, which dissolves the ink but not
the paint. And yes, I had to clean up a
few mistakes.
Since the model was to be judged, I
added under-wing weapon racks and
display landing gear. I was hoping to
distinguish my model from the others in
the paddock when the judges reviewed
them.
Judging at the Southern California
Power Scale Soaring (PSS) Festival
begins with scoring the scale outline,
colors, markings, and detailing. Points
can be added for craftsmanship, and
models that are built from scratch rather
than from a kit get extra points. In
addition, there is a point bonus for flying
the model at the event.
At the May 2007 PSS Festival I
entered the Frogfoot in the “Jets”
category. Other categories are
“Propeller,” “Civilian,” and “Foam.”
“Dave, you picked a tough year to
enter best jets category since the F-86
Sabre is this year’s club project plane and
there are seven of them here,” remarked
one Inland Slope Rebels club member
when I was taking my model to the
judging area.
I was not one of the five finalists after
the static judging, but after a flight
demonstration I gained enough points to
finish in fourth place. I was happy with
the results of my effort on this project—
especially since I’m not an advanced
craftsman or a super detailer.
The reason for this article is to
encourage you to try the airbrush to
expand your model-finishing skills. I’m
happy I listened to other modelers’
encouragement and learned to use this
tool. MA
Dave Garwood
[email protected]
Sources:
Andreas Mergner (creative genius):
Plane Insane Models
(518) 542-9527
www.planeinsanemodels.com
Southern California PSS Festival:
Inland Slope Rebels Slope Soaring club
www.inlandsloperebels.com
www.inlandsloperebels.com/slopeflyer/Sl
opeflyer06-5.pdf
44 MODEL AVIATION
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:41 PM Page 44
markings—seemingly a good-humored
acceptance of the NATO reporting name
“Frogfoot.” Since many of the ground-attackaircraft
camouflage paint schemes tend to look
muddy brown (ugly) or sandy tan (boring), this
was one of the few that struck me as attractive
enough to model.
An Internet search for “Su-25 Frogfoot”
turned up plenty of material including more
photographs, more three-view drawings, more
paintings of paint schemes, and more history. I
used the Google search engine to find these,
and especially the Google “Images” search
feature.
One particularly rich source for highresolution
aircraft photos is Airliners.net. It
features hundreds of thousands of photos,
including an abundance of military aircraft in
addition to their namesake airliner photos.
Airliners.net has a powerful search engine.
Start with the manufacturer name and the
aircraft-type name. For more shots of “White
9013,” use the “Quick photo search” feature to
view photos 0487300, 0482454, 0307026,
0656603, 0502601, 0439023, and 1190788.
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation is a
wonderful source for carefully produced sets of
documentation photos and three-view
drawings. I have purchased several Foto Paaks
and sets of drawings from Bob Banka and have
received high-quality materials every time.
I used the collected scale documentation to
model not only the Su-25’s paint scheme and
panel-line layout, but also such details as the
pilot figure (purchased at a hobby shop), the
sawtooth notch in the wing LEs, the structures
at the base of the vertical stabilizer, the layout
and arrangement of the Czech national
markings, and the display landing gear (bent
wire and wheels from the hobby shop).
Adding details enhances a Scale model’s
appearance and “wow factor,” and how far you
go with it is limited only by your patience and
persistence. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
400,000 photos and 39,000 drawings:
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation (formerly Scale
Model Research)
(714) 979-8058
www.bobsairdoc.com
Google
www.google.com
More than 150 photos of the Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot:
Airliners.net
www.airliners.net
Pilot figure:
Michigan Toy Soldier Company
(248) 586-1022
www.michtoy.com
Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey Skrynnikov
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books are
reprinted. Try eBay [www.ebay.com].):
Concord Publications Company
www.concord-publications.com
Scale Documentation
The Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot is the Soviet
counterpart to the American Fairchild-
Republic A-10 Warthog. Both are groundattack,
or “strike,” aircraft, sometimes called
“tank busters.” Both are designed to fly at low
altitude and deliver ordnance onto enemy
targets; they carry rapid-firing, high-caliber
guns.
The A-10’s official nickname was
“Thunderbolt II,” but it has more often been
called the “Warthog,” perhaps reflecting its
ungainly appearance. The Sukhoi Design
Bureau nicknamed the Su-25 “Grach” (Raven),
but its assigned NATO reporting name was
“Frogfoot.” That name has become associated
with the Su-25 in many English-speaking
countries.
I had long been interested in this aircraft,
and I am heavily indebted to my flying and
photography buddy, Carl Maas, for molding
the fiberglass fuselage. This mold was not a
trivial project; the complicated shape of the
fuselage, especially the engine nacelles,
required a four-part mold. Carl was
magnificently generous with his talent and
expertise, and his work on this project inspires
me to learn fuselage molding for one of my
next endeavors.
The materials, photographs, drawings, and
paintings of the prototype aircraft came from
books and Internet searches. The Squadron
company’s Squadron/Signal book series is
often a good place to start. Squadron’s book
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action by Yefim Gordon
(stock number SBM254), part of the Aerofax
series, has plenty of photos, three-view
drawings, paintings of paint schemes, and
aircraft history.
I also found Concord Publications
Company’s Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey
Skrynnikov (item 4012), which is essentially a
color-photo collection with little text. There are
hundreds of photos with descriptive captions.
The book’s cover shot and the photos of the
Frogfoot with special air-show colors led me to
settle on the paint scheme for my model.
With the advent of perestroika toward the
end of the Cold War, more and more Soviet
Bloc aircraft began appearing at Western air
shows. In June 1992 the Czech Republic sent
“White 9013” to the Boscombe Down air show
in England.
That Su-25 had a distinctive camouflage
scheme that was reminiscent of frog
This three-view
drawing is available on
the Internet. Use the
Google search engine
to find airplane photos
and drawings.
Photo from Sergey Skrynnikov’s Suhkoi Su-
25 Frogfoot. The caption reads: “Just prior to
its visit to Boscombe Down in England in the
summer of 1992, Su-25K number ‘9013’
received a distinctive frog-like camouflage
paint scheme that seems appropriate
considering its NATO name ... ” (Marcus
Fulber).
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action is an excellent Scale
modeler’s reference. It has three-views,
black-and-white photos, color paintings, and
the aircraft’s history. Photo courtesy
Airliners.net.
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (Aerofax) review:
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/books
/sp/aerofax/su25.htm
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (book 0011296);
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close Air Support
Aircraft (book 0015220):
Historic Aviation
(800) 225-5575
www.historicaviation.com
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster by Yefim Gordon
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books
are reprinted. Try eBay.)
Squadron
(877) 414-0434
www.squadron.com
Sukhoi Su-25: Russian Aircraft in Action
by Yefim Gordon; Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action: Aircraft No. 129
(Squadron/Signal Publications) by Hans-
Heiri Stapfer, Don Greer, Tom Tullis, and
Joe Sewell; Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close
Air Support Aircraft by Yefim Gordon:
Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
The Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot book by
Sergey Skrynnikov
has little text but
features a collection
of roughly 200
color photos with
captions.
April 2008 45
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 45
46 MODEL AVIATION
tip to the work surface between 2 and 5
inches, to produce a sharper or fuzzier
edge.
4) Move the tool at a moderate or
medium speed over the work—estimated
at 6-8 inches per second.
5) I press the air-release button fully
down every time I push it. It’s all or
nothing for me.
6) On my Paasche H-Set singleaction
airbrush, the amount of paint that
is mixed into the airstream is determined
by turning a collar at the front of the
tool. I turn it three “swings,” or three
one-third rotations.
On a double-action airbrush, the
amount of paint that is mixed into the
airstream is determined by how far back
the air-release button is pulled. I’m not
coordinated enough to run a doubleaction
airbrush, and so far I haven’t
found it necessary for the painting work
I do. There’s always more to learn; I’ve
purchased a double-action airbrush and
will soon try it on a project.
These adjustments and timings may
be different in your situation, but
practice spraying on card stock before
you shoot paint on your model. You can
see one of my test cards on the bench in
the background of the close-up shots of
work with the airbrush. I use the card to
test the spray pattern at initial setup,
after every paint-cup refill, and when I
start on a new area.
It may be helpful to get a
demonstration of airbrush setup and
technique if you have a buddy who is
willing to show you. If no tutor is
available, there are plenty of airbrushtechnique
books available at libraries, at
bookstores, and from airbrush
manufacturers.
I’m going to cover the steps involved
with airbrush painting; in this case I’m
working with masked areas of the Su-25.
Freehand painting involves the same
steps, just with more practice at handling
the airbrush.
Preparing to paint the dark-green
marking on the fin, I masked the lower
limit of the green area of the fin with thin
quality plastic tape (not cellophane or
paper tape). This material applies evenly,
can be curved when needed, allows for a
sharp line between two areas, and peels
off cleanly and easily when the painting
is done.
Extend the masked area with lowercost
paper masking tape, and tape paper
or card stock over the remainder of the
fin’s unpainted parts to avoid unwanted
overspray.
It’s time to airbrush the fin. I mix the
paint and then set up and test my
airbrush. Variables that affect the paint’s
application include:
• The ratio of thinner to paint
• How much air pressure is delivered to
the airbrush
• The distance the airbrush is held from
the work surface
• The speed the airbrush is moved over
the work surface
• How far the air-release button is
depressed
• How much paint is mixed into the
airstream
This process may look more
complicated than it is in practice.
Always clean your airbrush after use.
A dirty airbrush, or bent needle, will keep
your airbrush from operating properly.
Following is the setup I used for all
my Frogfoot’s airbrushed areas.
1) Mix Testors Model Master paint
with Model Master thinner at a 1:1 ratio.
2) Set the compressor regulator to 28 psi.
3) Keep the distance from the airbrush
Oops! After removing the tape, Dave saw
that the tip marking’s lower edge wasn’t
parallel to the fin bottom. He remasked and
resprayed the area, working more carefully
when laying the tape.
The vertical stabilizer has been built, primed
with Krylon spray, and base-coated with
Model Master spray. Plastic masking tape
produces a sharp line for the fin-tip marking.
Start and end each airbrush stroke with full
depression of the air trigger, moving from
off the part, across the part, and off the part
to lay even layers of paint.
When painting a solid area, such as
the fin tip, I start with the brush off to
the side, depress the air button fully, pass
the airbrush over the work, run it past
the far edge, and then release the button.
This is to release a steady and even
application of paint across the paint
target area.
Even when painting the camo blobs, I
depress the button fully at all times to
apply the paint. If I want to spray less
paint, I turn back the collar at the front
to reduce the amount of paint that is
mixed into the airstream.
Pay close attention to the
manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning
the airbrush, and follow them carefully.
There are some extremely close
tolerances within an airbrush, and a
small amount of dried paint will cause
problems.
Consider what you’ll use for a
compressed air source. The airbrush
manufacturers sell “canned air,” but that
gets expensive quickly and the pressure
varies as the can cools in use and as it
becomes depleted. I’ve heard of using
spare tires and cylinders of compressed
nitrogen to run the airbrush, but that’s
more trouble than it needs to be and
risks running out of compressed air at
the wrong time.
Most airbrush artists use a
compressor, and two main types are
available: small bench-top compressors
made especially for airbrushing and
larger, general-purpose compressors
made for tools powered by compressed
air. And one of the tools they can power
is an airbrush (as well as larger paint
spray guns).
The small and large compressors cost
approximately the same, but they don’t
make the same amount of noise. The bench-
Airbrush Technique
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 46
April 2008 47
The single-action Paasche “H” is a “starter” airbrush that
comes with a kit of accessories for less than $60.
top compressors either run all the time or
start on demand when the air-release
button on the airbrush is depressed.
These smaller units were designed to run
quietly but are not silent.
My general-purpose compressor has a
12-gallon storage tank. Although it
makes a fearsome racket while it’s filling
the tank, it’s blissfully silent when I’m
painting. I close the door and leave the
shop when the tank is filling, and
between fills I have 45-60 minutes of
working time with no motor running. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
Airbrush, paint and compressor supplier:
Dixie Art and Airbrush
(800) 783-2612
www.dixieart.com
Aztek airbrushes, Model Master airbrush
paint in bottles, Model Master spray
paint in cans:
Testors Corporation
(800) 962-6654
www.testors.com
Badger Air-Brush Company
(800) 247-2787
www.badgerairbrush.com
www.badgerairbrush.com/air101.htm
(tutorial)
Dave’s Paasche H beginner airbrush:
www.dixieart.com/HSet.html
Free basic airbrush lessons, how-to
Above: Dave’s talented wife, Paula, hand-paints the frog markings.
She’s working from photos from the Internet that show the Su-25’s
original markings.
Below: Andreas Mergner, Dave’s flying
buddy, custom-made the Czech Republic
national-marking decals for this project.
articles, tutorials, tech tips (Airbrush
makers also have online learning articles.):
How to Airbrush.Com
www.howtoairbrush.com
Paasche Airbrush Co.
(773) 867-9191
www.paascheairbrush.com
Products, a collection of how-to articles:
Iwata Medea Inc.
(503) 253-7308
www.iwata-medea.com
A Sears Craftsman 2-horsepower, 12-gallon compressor with
regulator costs nearly the same as a bench-top-dedicated airbrush
compressor.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:38 PM Page 47
48 MODEL AVIATION
Painting Hints and Tips
1) Practice with the airbrush and spray cans before shooting paint on a model.
You may learn that you need less paint than expected. A light touch on the nozzle
and patience lead to good application of scale paint. Keep the can or airbrush
moving while spraying.
2) Vinyl tape works better than paper masking tape; it gives a consistently
clean edge line and peels off cleanly and easily.
3) Be wary of aggressive adhesive on masking materials; they can pull up
paint even after it has dried thoroughly. Test your masking materials. You can cut
down the adhesive aggressiveness by carefully applying talcum powder. Be
conservative; it’s easy to use too much powder and remove all the stickiness.
4) Consider making one or more practice panels to check the spray pattern
from the cans, paint coverage, decal coverage, and the masking materials’
performance.
5) Newsprint is not the best choice for masking off large areas that don’t
receive paint. The ink can rub off on our hands and on the model. Brown
wrapping paper works well.
6) Take your time and work carefully. Most mistakes can be fixed with a brush
or toothpick application of more paint, but that generally takes more time than
doing it right the first time.
7) Don’t forget panel lines; they dress up the airplane and require little extra
work. I use a Sanford Ultra Fine Point Sharpie marker, a flexible plastic ruler, and
plastic templates. You can clean up mistakes with isopropyl alcohol.
8) Don’t be too hard on yourself for lack of perfection. Plenty of full-scale
warplanes were painted and repainted in the field under adverse conditions. Little
mistakes often seem huge on the bench but are unnoticeable in the air. If you
make a mistake, respray the base coat and start again in that area.
Working carefully, modelers with moderate skills can improve their models’
appearance using these techniques. It’s worth the effort. Few will notice if a Zero
panel-line layout is applied to a Spitfire, but everyone can tell the difference
between an airplane with panel lines and one without. MA
—Dave Garwood
Single-Action Vs. Double-Action Airbrushes
Select an airbrush considering the following design parameters.
• External mix: Paint and air are mixed outside the airbrush body. These units are
easier to clean and more suitable for painting larger areas, such as camo markings.
• Internal mix: Paint and air are mixed inside the airbrush body. These units are
more involved to clean but control paint output more precisely.
• Single action: The airbrush trigger controls airflow. An external collar controls
paint flow; less muscle coordination is required.
• Double action: The airbrush trigger controls both airflow and paint flow, for finer
control; more muscle coordination is required.
With single action, you typically push fully down on the airbrush spray button,
causing the air and paint to mix and spray in a fixed ratio. The paint proportion is
usually controlled by a single control nozzle at the front of the airbrush, which
limits the amount of paint being sprayed out at the airbrush tip. You can rotate the
nozzle during the painting process to control the size or spray pattern. This is a
fairly easy technique to master and use to get good results.
Using a double-action airbrush, as you push down on the painting lever, air is
supplied to the airbrush. The more you push down, the more the air comes out. At
the same time, you pull back the lever to regulate how much paint is supplied to the
nozzle and how large the spray pattern is.
This method gives finer control over the spray painting process. The big
difference is that it takes more practice to become proficient.
The single-action airbrushes are usually great for basic model spraying and for
creating a constant large pattern. However, they are not designed to do detailed
work. Highly detailed markings are where the added control of the double-action
airbrush excels.
Maintenance is similar on both types of airbrushes; cleaning and taking care of
the needle are top priorities. Whether you are doing basic model painting or intricate
detail work, keeping your airbrush in perfect working order is a must. MA
—Carl P. Maas
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04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 48
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/04
Page Numbers: 41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48
Give your model “life” with
these simple techniques
April 2008 41
Dave’s Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot Slope Soarer in the judging area at
the Southern California PSS Festival in May 2007.
Airbrushing Your
Model’s Finish
SOMETIMES ONLY a painted finish can
produce the results we want for a model
airplane. The main reason to finish a Scale
model with paint rather than iron-on
covering is that with a larger number of
paint colors available, more accurate color
matching greatly enhances the scale
appearance. Additional reasons are to
achieve the matte finish that is desirable on
military models and to produce a “feather
edge” for camouflage colors—not too sharp
and not too fuzzy.
I am definitely not a high-level craftsman
or a super detailer. I make plenty of building
and finishing mistakes, and I believe that “if
you can’t see it in the air, you don’t need it.”
One trick when using a spray can is to
heat it in warm water just before spraying.
This reduces the paint’s viscosity and
increases the propellant’s pressure, allowing
the container’s nozzle to perform at its best.
Make several passes with slow, even
strokes, fully depressing the nozzle, staying
approximately 12-14 inches from the
surface. Take your time and build up the
color coats slowly and carefully, thus
avoiding paint runs. Give plenty of time for
the new paint to dry before handling, and
especially before applying masking tape.
My first color application on the Su-25
Frogfoot was the light gray, applied with a
Testors Model Master 3-ounce spray can.
So no rivet detail for
me, but I have learned
how to use an airbrush and
other detailing techniques to make a military
model look sharp in the air.
This article shows how I finished and
detailed a Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot and placed
in a Scale contest with it. If I can do it, you
can do it too.
Let’s begin with the completed airframe after
primer paint has been applied to the model.
One paint-finishing secret is to use spray cans
when possible. There’s no sense in dragging
out the compressor and the airbrush to paint
large areas when a “rattle can” works so well.
by Dave Garwood
Brian Laird pilots the author’s Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot for the camera at the 2007 PSS
Festival. Carl P. Maas molded the fuselage; the
author built, painted, and flew the model.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:47 PM Page 41
42 MODEL AVIATION
Photos by the author except as noted
Dave carefully sanded his completed model and
applied Krylon spray-can primer.
Most of the airframe was painted with Model Master light gray
from spray cans, to match photos of the airplane.
Dave prefers to mask the canopy areas with vinyl tape. It seals
tightly, cuts cleanly with a blade, and peels off cleanly, leaving a
defined edge.
The second spray-can application was the yellow areas. The color
was unavailable in military flat—only glossy. Dave dulled the shine
with steel wool.
Above: Light-gray paint has been
airbrushed onto the top aft components.
Right: The Frogfoot on Dave’s paint
bench, waiting for the next step in the
finishing procedure. The normally noisy
compressor is blissfully quiet in use
because the compressed air is stored in
the pressure tank and the motor is shut
down.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:43 PM Page 42
When that dried I
sprayed yellow,
from the 3-ounce
can, on the front of
the fuselage and on
the LEs of the
upper side of the
wings.
Oops! I forgot to
mask the clear
canopy, which the
observant reader
will notice is
missing from the
yellow spray
session. Most of the
clear canopy as
modeled gets
painted, with only
small areas left
clear.
I masked the
clear areas with
plastic tape, gave
the area to be
painted a light
sanding with 400-
grit sandpaper,
sprayed primer,
and then sprayed
the yellow. I was
glad I had
purchased a spare can of yellow paint.
Now back to the paint bench to take
care of yellow overspray with more light
gray—this time applied with the airbrush,
which gives me much finer control of the
paint. The yellow paint came in a glossy
version only, and I rubbed it lightly with
steel wool to knock off the shine.
In the photos you can see prints of the
full-scale Su-25K “White 9013” tacked to
the board behind the bench. I used these
pictures, as well as three-view drawings, as
a guide to the canopy markings, the
yellow, and the camouflage green and
brown paint.
It’s time for airbrush fun: painting the
freehand camouflage areas. Slowly and
prototype aircraft. Make sure to note the
colors’ “layer” order so you overlap them
correctly. Try to always spray the light
colors first and the darker colors later.
Additional details in this finishing job are
the “9013” numerals, which were cut from
sticky-back vinyl at the local truck
lettering shop, and national insignia
decals. I am indebted to Andreas Mergner
at Plane Insane Models for making the
custom Czech Republic markings. They
are easy to draw but require attention to
detail to lay out correctly on the airframe.
The markings have left and right mirrorimage
layouts, which I discovered by
studying the photographs.
I added panel lines using a Sanford
April 2008 43
Airbrushing is complete, and it closely matches the aircraft depicted in the photos on the wall. The
camouflaged areas have fairly soft edges—not too sharp but not too fuzzy. Getting the right effect takes time!
The completed Frogfoot with national-marking
decals, cut-vinyl number below the canopy, and panel
lines applied.
The simulated panel lines were applied with an Ultra
Fine Point Sharpie. The frog artwork on the fin was
handmade with acrylic paint.
carefully I started with the outline of each
area in one camo color, working to get the
prototypical size and shape of the brown
and green sections and paying attention to
the distinctive military-camo soft edges—
not too sharp and not too fuzzy. Then I
gradually filled in the centers with airbrush
strokes.
It’s hard to put too little paint on with
the airbrush since it’s so easy to add more
color. My main technique is to add a bit
more at a time and build up the paint
application until I get the look I want.
There are three camo colors—brown
and two greens—so after two more
sessions of building up the camo blobs
with the airbrush, I’m starting to feel like I
might have captured the look of the
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:40 PM Page 43
Models on this page competed in the 2007 Scale Masters (Hemet CA). Airbrushed
finishes work well on Scale power models. Photos by Carl P. Maas.
This Albatros sports an airbrushed finish. A
protective clear coat is required over
airbrushed paint on gas- or glow-powered
models.
A de Havilland Mosquito makes good use of camouflage
airbrushing. No two bombers were painted exactly alike, so
you can choose a scheme that appeals to you!
This Albatros’s paint scheme shows the personalization for which German World War
I pilots were famous. Airbrushing makes this type of trim detailing easy to apply.
Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker, an
assortment of flexible plastic rulers, and
three-view drawings from the Internet
and the Squadron Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action book. Panel lines add substantial
detail with minimal time and effort, and
adding detail is the game in Scale
modeling.
You can clean up Sharpie panel-line
goofs by carefully applying isopropyl
alcohol, which dissolves the ink but not
the paint. And yes, I had to clean up a
few mistakes.
Since the model was to be judged, I
added under-wing weapon racks and
display landing gear. I was hoping to
distinguish my model from the others in
the paddock when the judges reviewed
them.
Judging at the Southern California
Power Scale Soaring (PSS) Festival
begins with scoring the scale outline,
colors, markings, and detailing. Points
can be added for craftsmanship, and
models that are built from scratch rather
than from a kit get extra points. In
addition, there is a point bonus for flying
the model at the event.
At the May 2007 PSS Festival I
entered the Frogfoot in the “Jets”
category. Other categories are
“Propeller,” “Civilian,” and “Foam.”
“Dave, you picked a tough year to
enter best jets category since the F-86
Sabre is this year’s club project plane and
there are seven of them here,” remarked
one Inland Slope Rebels club member
when I was taking my model to the
judging area.
I was not one of the five finalists after
the static judging, but after a flight
demonstration I gained enough points to
finish in fourth place. I was happy with
the results of my effort on this project—
especially since I’m not an advanced
craftsman or a super detailer.
The reason for this article is to
encourage you to try the airbrush to
expand your model-finishing skills. I’m
happy I listened to other modelers’
encouragement and learned to use this
tool. MA
Dave Garwood
[email protected]
Sources:
Andreas Mergner (creative genius):
Plane Insane Models
(518) 542-9527
www.planeinsanemodels.com
Southern California PSS Festival:
Inland Slope Rebels Slope Soaring club
www.inlandsloperebels.com
www.inlandsloperebels.com/slopeflyer/Sl
opeflyer06-5.pdf
44 MODEL AVIATION
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:41 PM Page 44
markings—seemingly a good-humored
acceptance of the NATO reporting name
“Frogfoot.” Since many of the ground-attackaircraft
camouflage paint schemes tend to look
muddy brown (ugly) or sandy tan (boring), this
was one of the few that struck me as attractive
enough to model.
An Internet search for “Su-25 Frogfoot”
turned up plenty of material including more
photographs, more three-view drawings, more
paintings of paint schemes, and more history. I
used the Google search engine to find these,
and especially the Google “Images” search
feature.
One particularly rich source for highresolution
aircraft photos is Airliners.net. It
features hundreds of thousands of photos,
including an abundance of military aircraft in
addition to their namesake airliner photos.
Airliners.net has a powerful search engine.
Start with the manufacturer name and the
aircraft-type name. For more shots of “White
9013,” use the “Quick photo search” feature to
view photos 0487300, 0482454, 0307026,
0656603, 0502601, 0439023, and 1190788.
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation is a
wonderful source for carefully produced sets of
documentation photos and three-view
drawings. I have purchased several Foto Paaks
and sets of drawings from Bob Banka and have
received high-quality materials every time.
I used the collected scale documentation to
model not only the Su-25’s paint scheme and
panel-line layout, but also such details as the
pilot figure (purchased at a hobby shop), the
sawtooth notch in the wing LEs, the structures
at the base of the vertical stabilizer, the layout
and arrangement of the Czech national
markings, and the display landing gear (bent
wire and wheels from the hobby shop).
Adding details enhances a Scale model’s
appearance and “wow factor,” and how far you
go with it is limited only by your patience and
persistence. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
400,000 photos and 39,000 drawings:
Bob’s Aircraft Documentation (formerly Scale
Model Research)
(714) 979-8058
www.bobsairdoc.com
Google
www.google.com
More than 150 photos of the Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot:
Airliners.net
www.airliners.net
Pilot figure:
Michigan Toy Soldier Company
(248) 586-1022
www.michtoy.com
Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey Skrynnikov
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books are
reprinted. Try eBay [www.ebay.com].):
Concord Publications Company
www.concord-publications.com
Scale Documentation
The Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot is the Soviet
counterpart to the American Fairchild-
Republic A-10 Warthog. Both are groundattack,
or “strike,” aircraft, sometimes called
“tank busters.” Both are designed to fly at low
altitude and deliver ordnance onto enemy
targets; they carry rapid-firing, high-caliber
guns.
The A-10’s official nickname was
“Thunderbolt II,” but it has more often been
called the “Warthog,” perhaps reflecting its
ungainly appearance. The Sukhoi Design
Bureau nicknamed the Su-25 “Grach” (Raven),
but its assigned NATO reporting name was
“Frogfoot.” That name has become associated
with the Su-25 in many English-speaking
countries.
I had long been interested in this aircraft,
and I am heavily indebted to my flying and
photography buddy, Carl Maas, for molding
the fiberglass fuselage. This mold was not a
trivial project; the complicated shape of the
fuselage, especially the engine nacelles,
required a four-part mold. Carl was
magnificently generous with his talent and
expertise, and his work on this project inspires
me to learn fuselage molding for one of my
next endeavors.
The materials, photographs, drawings, and
paintings of the prototype aircraft came from
books and Internet searches. The Squadron
company’s Squadron/Signal book series is
often a good place to start. Squadron’s book
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action by Yefim Gordon
(stock number SBM254), part of the Aerofax
series, has plenty of photos, three-view
drawings, paintings of paint schemes, and
aircraft history.
I also found Concord Publications
Company’s Su-25 Frogfoot by Sergey
Skrynnikov (item 4012), which is essentially a
color-photo collection with little text. There are
hundreds of photos with descriptive captions.
The book’s cover shot and the photos of the
Frogfoot with special air-show colors led me to
settle on the paint scheme for my model.
With the advent of perestroika toward the
end of the Cold War, more and more Soviet
Bloc aircraft began appearing at Western air
shows. In June 1992 the Czech Republic sent
“White 9013” to the Boscombe Down air show
in England.
That Su-25 had a distinctive camouflage
scheme that was reminiscent of frog
This three-view
drawing is available on
the Internet. Use the
Google search engine
to find airplane photos
and drawings.
Photo from Sergey Skrynnikov’s Suhkoi Su-
25 Frogfoot. The caption reads: “Just prior to
its visit to Boscombe Down in England in the
summer of 1992, Su-25K number ‘9013’
received a distinctive frog-like camouflage
paint scheme that seems appropriate
considering its NATO name ... ” (Marcus
Fulber).
Su-25 Frogfoot in Action is an excellent Scale
modeler’s reference. It has three-views,
black-and-white photos, color paintings, and
the aircraft’s history. Photo courtesy
Airliners.net.
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (Aerofax) review:
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/books
/sp/aerofax/su25.htm
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster (book 0011296);
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close Air Support
Aircraft (book 0015220):
Historic Aviation
(800) 225-5575
www.historicaviation.com
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: The Soviet
Union’s Tank-Buster by Yefim Gordon
(Currently out of print. Sometimes books
are reprinted. Try eBay.)
Squadron
(877) 414-0434
www.squadron.com
Sukhoi Su-25: Russian Aircraft in Action
by Yefim Gordon; Su-25 Frogfoot in
Action: Aircraft No. 129
(Squadron/Signal Publications) by Hans-
Heiri Stapfer, Don Greer, Tom Tullis, and
Joe Sewell; Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot: Close
Air Support Aircraft by Yefim Gordon:
Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
The Sukhoi Su-25
Frogfoot book by
Sergey Skrynnikov
has little text but
features a collection
of roughly 200
color photos with
captions.
April 2008 45
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 45
46 MODEL AVIATION
tip to the work surface between 2 and 5
inches, to produce a sharper or fuzzier
edge.
4) Move the tool at a moderate or
medium speed over the work—estimated
at 6-8 inches per second.
5) I press the air-release button fully
down every time I push it. It’s all or
nothing for me.
6) On my Paasche H-Set singleaction
airbrush, the amount of paint that
is mixed into the airstream is determined
by turning a collar at the front of the
tool. I turn it three “swings,” or three
one-third rotations.
On a double-action airbrush, the
amount of paint that is mixed into the
airstream is determined by how far back
the air-release button is pulled. I’m not
coordinated enough to run a doubleaction
airbrush, and so far I haven’t
found it necessary for the painting work
I do. There’s always more to learn; I’ve
purchased a double-action airbrush and
will soon try it on a project.
These adjustments and timings may
be different in your situation, but
practice spraying on card stock before
you shoot paint on your model. You can
see one of my test cards on the bench in
the background of the close-up shots of
work with the airbrush. I use the card to
test the spray pattern at initial setup,
after every paint-cup refill, and when I
start on a new area.
It may be helpful to get a
demonstration of airbrush setup and
technique if you have a buddy who is
willing to show you. If no tutor is
available, there are plenty of airbrushtechnique
books available at libraries, at
bookstores, and from airbrush
manufacturers.
I’m going to cover the steps involved
with airbrush painting; in this case I’m
working with masked areas of the Su-25.
Freehand painting involves the same
steps, just with more practice at handling
the airbrush.
Preparing to paint the dark-green
marking on the fin, I masked the lower
limit of the green area of the fin with thin
quality plastic tape (not cellophane or
paper tape). This material applies evenly,
can be curved when needed, allows for a
sharp line between two areas, and peels
off cleanly and easily when the painting
is done.
Extend the masked area with lowercost
paper masking tape, and tape paper
or card stock over the remainder of the
fin’s unpainted parts to avoid unwanted
overspray.
It’s time to airbrush the fin. I mix the
paint and then set up and test my
airbrush. Variables that affect the paint’s
application include:
• The ratio of thinner to paint
• How much air pressure is delivered to
the airbrush
• The distance the airbrush is held from
the work surface
• The speed the airbrush is moved over
the work surface
• How far the air-release button is
depressed
• How much paint is mixed into the
airstream
This process may look more
complicated than it is in practice.
Always clean your airbrush after use.
A dirty airbrush, or bent needle, will keep
your airbrush from operating properly.
Following is the setup I used for all
my Frogfoot’s airbrushed areas.
1) Mix Testors Model Master paint
with Model Master thinner at a 1:1 ratio.
2) Set the compressor regulator to 28 psi.
3) Keep the distance from the airbrush
Oops! After removing the tape, Dave saw
that the tip marking’s lower edge wasn’t
parallel to the fin bottom. He remasked and
resprayed the area, working more carefully
when laying the tape.
The vertical stabilizer has been built, primed
with Krylon spray, and base-coated with
Model Master spray. Plastic masking tape
produces a sharp line for the fin-tip marking.
Start and end each airbrush stroke with full
depression of the air trigger, moving from
off the part, across the part, and off the part
to lay even layers of paint.
When painting a solid area, such as
the fin tip, I start with the brush off to
the side, depress the air button fully, pass
the airbrush over the work, run it past
the far edge, and then release the button.
This is to release a steady and even
application of paint across the paint
target area.
Even when painting the camo blobs, I
depress the button fully at all times to
apply the paint. If I want to spray less
paint, I turn back the collar at the front
to reduce the amount of paint that is
mixed into the airstream.
Pay close attention to the
manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning
the airbrush, and follow them carefully.
There are some extremely close
tolerances within an airbrush, and a
small amount of dried paint will cause
problems.
Consider what you’ll use for a
compressed air source. The airbrush
manufacturers sell “canned air,” but that
gets expensive quickly and the pressure
varies as the can cools in use and as it
becomes depleted. I’ve heard of using
spare tires and cylinders of compressed
nitrogen to run the airbrush, but that’s
more trouble than it needs to be and
risks running out of compressed air at
the wrong time.
Most airbrush artists use a
compressor, and two main types are
available: small bench-top compressors
made especially for airbrushing and
larger, general-purpose compressors
made for tools powered by compressed
air. And one of the tools they can power
is an airbrush (as well as larger paint
spray guns).
The small and large compressors cost
approximately the same, but they don’t
make the same amount of noise. The bench-
Airbrush Technique
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 12:53 PM Page 46
April 2008 47
The single-action Paasche “H” is a “starter” airbrush that
comes with a kit of accessories for less than $60.
top compressors either run all the time or
start on demand when the air-release
button on the airbrush is depressed.
These smaller units were designed to run
quietly but are not silent.
My general-purpose compressor has a
12-gallon storage tank. Although it
makes a fearsome racket while it’s filling
the tank, it’s blissfully silent when I’m
painting. I close the door and leave the
shop when the tank is filling, and
between fills I have 45-60 minutes of
working time with no motor running. MA
—Dave Garwood
Sources:
Airbrush, paint and compressor supplier:
Dixie Art and Airbrush
(800) 783-2612
www.dixieart.com
Aztek airbrushes, Model Master airbrush
paint in bottles, Model Master spray
paint in cans:
Testors Corporation
(800) 962-6654
www.testors.com
Badger Air-Brush Company
(800) 247-2787
www.badgerairbrush.com
www.badgerairbrush.com/air101.htm
(tutorial)
Dave’s Paasche H beginner airbrush:
www.dixieart.com/HSet.html
Free basic airbrush lessons, how-to
Above: Dave’s talented wife, Paula, hand-paints the frog markings.
She’s working from photos from the Internet that show the Su-25’s
original markings.
Below: Andreas Mergner, Dave’s flying
buddy, custom-made the Czech Republic
national-marking decals for this project.
articles, tutorials, tech tips (Airbrush
makers also have online learning articles.):
How to Airbrush.Com
www.howtoairbrush.com
Paasche Airbrush Co.
(773) 867-9191
www.paascheairbrush.com
Products, a collection of how-to articles:
Iwata Medea Inc.
(503) 253-7308
www.iwata-medea.com
A Sears Craftsman 2-horsepower, 12-gallon compressor with
regulator costs nearly the same as a bench-top-dedicated airbrush
compressor.
04sig2.QXD 2/25/08 1:38 PM Page 47
48 MODEL AVIATION
Painting Hints and Tips
1) Practice with the airbrush and spray cans before shooting paint on a model.
You may learn that you need less paint than expected. A light touch on the nozzle
and patience lead to good application of scale paint. Keep the can or airbrush
moving while spraying.
2) Vinyl tape works better than paper masking tape; it gives a consistently
clean edge line and peels off cleanly and easily.
3) Be wary of aggressive adhesive on masking materials; they can pull up
paint even after it has dried thoroughly. Test your masking materials. You can cut
down the adhesive aggressiveness by carefully applying talcum powder. Be
conservative; it’s easy to use too much powder and remove all the stickiness.
4) Consider making one or more practice panels to check the spray pattern
from the cans, paint coverage, decal coverage, and the masking materials’
performance.
5) Newsprint is not the best choice for masking off large areas that don’t
receive paint. The ink can rub off on our hands and on the model. Brown
wrapping paper works well.
6) Take your time and work carefully. Most mistakes can be fixed with a brush
or toothpick application of more paint, but that generally takes more time than
doing it right the first time.
7) Don’t forget panel lines; they dress up the airplane and require little extra
work. I use a Sanford Ultra Fine Point Sharpie marker, a flexible plastic ruler, and
plastic templates. You can clean up mistakes with isopropyl alcohol.
8) Don’t be too hard on yourself for lack of perfection. Plenty of full-scale
warplanes were painted and repainted in the field under adverse conditions. Little
mistakes often seem huge on the bench but are unnoticeable in the air. If you
make a mistake, respray the base coat and start again in that area.
Working carefully, modelers with moderate skills can improve their models’
appearance using these techniques. It’s worth the effort. Few will notice if a Zero
panel-line layout is applied to a Spitfire, but everyone can tell the difference
between an airplane with panel lines and one without. MA
—Dave Garwood
Single-Action Vs. Double-Action Airbrushes
Select an airbrush considering the following design parameters.
• External mix: Paint and air are mixed outside the airbrush body. These units are
easier to clean and more suitable for painting larger areas, such as camo markings.
• Internal mix: Paint and air are mixed inside the airbrush body. These units are
more involved to clean but control paint output more precisely.
• Single action: The airbrush trigger controls airflow. An external collar controls
paint flow; less muscle coordination is required.
• Double action: The airbrush trigger controls both airflow and paint flow, for finer
control; more muscle coordination is required.
With single action, you typically push fully down on the airbrush spray button,
causing the air and paint to mix and spray in a fixed ratio. The paint proportion is
usually controlled by a single control nozzle at the front of the airbrush, which
limits the amount of paint being sprayed out at the airbrush tip. You can rotate the
nozzle during the painting process to control the size or spray pattern. This is a
fairly easy technique to master and use to get good results.
Using a double-action airbrush, as you push down on the painting lever, air is
supplied to the airbrush. The more you push down, the more the air comes out. At
the same time, you pull back the lever to regulate how much paint is supplied to the
nozzle and how large the spray pattern is.
This method gives finer control over the spray painting process. The big
difference is that it takes more practice to become proficient.
The single-action airbrushes are usually great for basic model spraying and for
creating a constant large pattern. However, they are not designed to do detailed
work. Highly detailed markings are where the added control of the double-action
airbrush excels.
Maintenance is similar on both types of airbrushes; cleaning and taking care of
the needle are top priorities. Whether you are doing basic model painting or intricate
detail work, keeping your airbrush in perfect working order is a must. MA
—Carl P. Maas
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