Calling it finished (for now). I've got to go through other kits to rob the bombs, and looking at those photos of the "ground weathered" airplanes and doing some test shoots on the paint mule, I have to say I am not sure at the moment just how to go about getting a realistic look of dirt on the airframe that's been rained on and left to dry later. So for right now, it's a VMA-212 AU-1 aboard USS Bataan (CVL-29) in 1952. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Doing this after 17 years not touching one of these kits got me to pick up a "started" F4U-5N (wing assembled) that I will do as my friend Admiral Don Shelton's VC-3 airplane aboard USS Princeton during the Chosin campaign and use up the last of the Victory Productions decals.

So, have a look. If anyone has an idea on doing that "dirt look," please post it.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Nice and practically finished, Tom!

I am mainly a pastel chalk weathering guy (and a subtle weathering guy, to tell the truth!), rubbing qtips on the chalks (black, brown, grey...) and apply them roughly to the airflow direction. I might rub the qtip onto more than one chalk, thus creating practically any dirty shade I can envisage.

A damp qtip may be run at spots over the weathering, to the airflow direction, to make things more dramatic...

Qtips cannot penetrate into tiny spots and slots, I use a paintbrush with some chalk powder there.

Well, not really an idea, just my way...

This is a nice looking Corsair!

Tom, @tcinla
Your AU-1 looks very good with the decals added. You might try mixing up some chalk powder, (using and earth shade), with some water. Try not to get it too thick, as you will want it thin and "soupy". Brush it on and let it dry. Come back after it has dried and try misting some clean water on top of the plane, and let gravity do the work for you. I have used this method in the past on some of my armor builds. It just might work for you here. If not, simply wipe it off and you can start fresh... as the chalk is not permanent until you seal it with some sort of clear coating.

One more thing about using chalk, is that once it is covered with a clear, the effects are not as pronounced as they were beforehand. You can always come back and add more later if it's not how you like it the first time around.

Just food for thought. Hope it helps.

Spiros' idea with the Q-tip and a paint brush is a good idea too.

Here's some better shots of the completed model.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.