1/72 Steyr RSO - Part 3

Basic painting
I have now sprayed the RSO with a coat of Humbrol's 'Matt Desert Yellow' (#93) acrylic spray. I could have gone with a black base coat - I know many modellers like that method - but I like to start with a mid-shade base coats so I can go darker or lighter with my subsequent shading.

I was pleased that this light coat covered up the model's original camo colours nicely and I did manage to get some of the wrinkle effect in my canvas tilt...

Obviously if I had gone for a thinner masking tape when making the tilt cover more of the wrinkles from the foil base layer would have been evident. But, still, the effect isn't bad. The roof of the tilt came out especially well, with just the right amount of 'droop' between the supports...

The base painting has highlighted some ragged seams and areas that need some extra work. A quick bit of sanding here or there, nothing major.

Next I add the modulation colour with a airbrush misting of Vallejo's 'Middle Stone' (#031). This will create a slightly darker tone to the 'Dunkelgelb' areas and make the overall effect a little less yellow. Hopefully I can create some nice tonal effects by letting more or less of the base coat show through.

Yes...Vallejo's 'Middle Stone' (ochre) paint is a bit on the vivid side! But this will
be toned downed at the weathering stage when I do some fading, staining and
shading. 'Dunkelgerb' is a tricky little sucker!

I then masked out the tilt and give it a spray of a dark grey. I could have used the current base coat as a good starter for a khaki canvas cover, but I want some contrast and I note that a lot of the RSOs seem to have a dirty field grey tarp in contemporary photos.

Note: Just looked at this again and I'm not sure I am at all happy with the 'yellow' colour of the Vellejo Middle Stone paint. I think I was happier with the Humbrol Desert Yellow that I primed the model with! Oh dear, this vehicle might look different the next time you see it!

NEXT: Painting the cab interior.