The Projects: The Afrika Korps tank was one of my early projects using this technique so I have only photos of the finished model. The tank was base coated with dark gray aerosol and the gel was applied using a well-worn square edge paintbrush. The tan color was mixed using acrylic paints for ceramics. The tan was airbrushed on and then scrubbed away with another square edge brush. The tank was weathered with pastels and a couple of dark washes. Rust was applied with a small brush in various places and the numbers and crosses were hand painted. The church was primed with light gray aerosol and the base coat of pale yellow was airbrushed. Gel was dabbed on with a sea sponge. The top coat of warm yellow was airbrushed and after drying, the yellow was scrubbed off with water and alcohol. This process allowed for a gradual erosion of the yellow color as opposed to a scratched and blasted look to the degraded paint. I had a good reference photo and book to refer to and worked the paint off until the look was comparable to the reference. The wall sign was created by spraying sheet plastic bricks with a brick red aerosol. Using the photo as a guide, I created the Noilly Prat sign on the computer and printed it. I taped the paper to the bricks along the top edge and traced the text using white Saral paper. The tape at the top allowed me to check my progress by lifting the paper as needed. I hand painted the complete sign using acrylics and randomly dabbed on the gel. I sprayed a second coat of brick color enamel. The gel was then scrubbed with a stiff art brush. This is one variation of the process because it would not have been practical to hand paint the sign neatly over the gel. I touched up the wall colors with a small brush until I achieved the look I was after. I washed the wall with dark gray to force the shadows between the bricks and the wall was complete. The helmets were created using the simple steps of one color over another except that the Normandy camouflage helmet had one additional step concerning the decal. The helmets are 1/6 scale and meant to be used with action figures. I think they are an ideal way to get used to the technique as they are inexpensive, a convenient size and can be painted in an endless variety of colors and finishes. The helmet that became the Normandy example had a shape and profile indicative of the M42 version of the combat helmet. I cut away the bumps depicting the liner bolts and replaced them with three cut off pin heads. I covered the decal with gel and sprayed the helmet as well as the others with a dark gray green aerosol. The gel was washed from the decal and then new gel was applied randomly over the shell, including a little bit back over the decal. The camouflage colors of tan, brown and green were airbrushed. The gel was gently scrubbed off with a stiff brush and after some small scratches and a wash of dark gray the helmet was finished. The tan helmet and the whitewash helmet were both sprayed dark gray green and randomly dabbed with gel. The respective colors were airbrushed and the gel removed. Each of these two helmets received a wash of dark gray to age the paint finish. The white helmet received an additional wash of raw umber to tone the color even more. Go to page 3

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