I got a little experimental painting done, but my time was cut short by a short-notice granddaughter pick up at pre-school and then baby-sit for a while. She is never a burden to watch, so it was a great tradeoff. I sprayed some Vallejo Flat Black, which is really more of a semi-flat, from a can for a primer. I then tried Humbrol Metal from a can, some Vallejo metal from my airbrush, and some Alclad II from my airbrush. I am fairly settled on using the Vallejo Black, but I am still deciding on the metal I will use overall.

3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Always difficult if you have to choose between multiple possibilities which are close together, George @gblair
Choosing between babysitting your granddaughter or modelling is easy.

Thanks, Spiros (@fiveten), John (@johnb), and Bernard (@lis). Decisions should come today. You are right that it is an easy decision to spend time with my granddaughter.

Go with the Alclad II George. Two or 3 mists should do it. It dries really fast but I would let it cure overnight and try not to touch it with your fingers. Handle with gloves.

Primeing looks good! Did You find some imperfections?

Good remedy on the accidentally painted transparencies, my friend @gblair! Looking forward to painting!

I decided to try using Alclad II for the metal finish. I got the primer finish buffed, and then loaded the airbrush with Alclad II Airframe Aluminum. If you have never used Alclad II, like me, then it is interesting stuff. It is a very thin lacquer that sprays directly from the airbrush with no thinning. It reminds me a lot of the Mercury we used to see in our science classes in high school. It won't go on in one coat, so you need to plan several misted layers. I sprayed the first coat into the center of the panels, hoping to create some pre-shading. I let it dry for an hour and then added the second layer.

This model wouldn't be complete without a catastrophe. My Paasche airbrush has a topless paint cup. As I was moving the airbrush back and forth to keep the paint from building up, some of the Alclad sloshed out of the cup and landed directly on the model. There is no doubt that Alclad is a lacquer, since it ate through the paint, the primer, and some of the plastic in a matter of seconds. I figure I will let it dry overnight, fix the problem, and then finish the first color of Alclad.

More tomorrow. Cheers.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Accidents happen, my friend @gblair 🙁

Nothing unfixable, though, in fact fixing looks straightforward. I would follow our friend 's @lgardner advice and wait a couple of days for the affected (practically melted) plastic to fully cure, otherwise the filling/sanding process might be compromised.

For the rest, the Alclad looks superb on the Mitchell.

Looking forward to your remedy/progress!