I am closing in on the final stages of the A-20, and in doing so I am now grappling with a reality that is fairly evident in the photographic evidence. It seems pretty clear that the A-20s delivered to North Africa came in a monotone dark green upper paint scheme and a neutral gray underside, like this...
However, the A-20s that fought at Kasserine Pass and later were sand-splotched, like this...
The above photo, and several others, reveals that the planes were hand-painted with a tan over the dark green base in the field, that their handiwork was anything but neat and pretty (even interfering with the insignia at times), and followed no specific pattern.
This means that I needed to paint the aircraft and apply decals first, before applying the sand splotching scheme.
Here she is, ready for the final stage...
She looks glossy because I've added an overcoat to protect the decals from the masking that I will have to do. I cannot merely airbrush the splotches on, because the soft edge would not replicate the actual airplane's rough look that the period photos reveal. (Obviously, I cannot unmask my canopies yet.)
Wish me luck!
