Scale Aviator International Magazine Issue 3 | Page 60

MASTER CLASS in PILOT PAINTING

the black helmet starts to look just like leather. For a darker leather
helmet, use less paint and for a more brown leather helmet use
more. This technique takes the most time, but it is the most
rewarding for the realistic effect achieved.
The Best Pilots Bob Sweeney USAAF figure uses the same
technique on his helmet.
The Best Pilots Pappy Boyington uses an altogether different
technique since navy/marine flying helmets were cloth. But we do
use the Dry brush technique to get the earcups to look like leather
that house the headphones.
To get Pappy�s helmet to look real, first paint the cloth area MMA
Dark Tan. To bring out the detail, we apply a wash.
-Washes- A wash is simply thinned down paint that is very watery.
This allows the pigment to run into lower areas like stitches, ridges
and seams to make that detail “pop”. I discovered a very useful wash
that works a bit better than plain water. We�ll call it Best Pilot�s
Wash. To make, mix slowly- no bubbles - 5 parts water and 1
part Future floor polish in an empty medicine bottle or similar
container. The Future is a well-used magical liquid used by fine
scale modelers for years, [