You have a nice setup, Carl (@clipper). Mine isn't nearly as sophisticated. I was just on Amazon looking at inline valves that are similar to the one that you have. Like you were saying, one of the downsides is not being able to tell what pressure you have.

George (@gblair), The inline valve is easy to use despite not having any type of gauge. In reality, by turning the valve all the way closed and then opening until the atomization looks right, it doesn't really matter what the actual PSI value is. It is usually also possible to judge if the paint is too thin or too thick when testing the paint spray pattern.

So today, I got the main painting done. I used blue tack worms for the second color (green) and had a bit of areas where the worm was too close to the unpainted part of the model, resulting in some touch up work needed afterwards. It was a good opportunity to practice my very fine line airbrushing skills, which definitely need some practice. However, I think I want to see about finding different airbrushes because I find it hard to get the trigger to move smoothly when doing this fine work.

The green is a mixture of Vallejo Cam. Olive Green and a bit of black. This gave me the closest color match to my color chip sample. Since my water based acrylic spray painting is limited, I was a bit nervous about doing this, but I used the Vallejo Flow Improver to thin the paint and it lay down fine.

The green camo looks great, Carl (@clipper). Did you use ModelAir or regular Vallejo? I sometimes use ModelAir on my models, but I thin it about 20%-25%, even though they say it is airbrush ready. I haven't had a lot of luck airbrushing regular Vallejo. Both of them seem really fragile until you protect it with some clear. I almost gave up modeling when all of the paint companies shifted from enamels and lacquers. I initially tried to convert to acrylics using Vallejo regular, and had no luck at all. I tried several brands of acrylics and almost gave up until I found Tamiya. Everything clicked with the Tamiya and I have been using it since. AK Real Colors are very similar to Tamiya in use and consistency. Rudy at Lionheart told me to try Atom Paints by Ammo. He said modelers have gotten good results using Mr. Colors Leveling Thinner to thin it. I bought some, but haven't tried it yet.

Thanks Spiros (@fiveten), George (@gblair), and John (@johnb).

George, This time around it was primarily Vallejo Model Color with the shading being Model Air. I have found that using Vallejo Flow Improver as the thinning agent works best for airbrushing, but it is a fine line between not enough thinner and too much, so it pays to test it until it is spraying the way you want it to.

However, from what my own testing shows, and what I have seen, it really comes down to the best color match or the best choice for mixing to get a color match because paint colors seem to be all over the board when it comes to matching what is supposed to be a standard color. I am sure you have experienced this as well.

As for durability, I have found that Vallejo dries quickly to touch, but needs longer to dry fully and does need a clear protective coat. The protective coat is not usually a problem since I am doing that for other reasons anyway. I've had real good results with Alclad Aqua Gloss and VMS Satin (both are water based acrylics).

The one thing I really like about Vallejo is the choice of colors to choose from (and the lack of odor). Atom paints, I am still not sure about. I only have a few that I have used so far. They seem to spray well, but the metallics at least still look more like paint than metal. However, I have not tried very many of them and am leaving myself open to trying more.

After nearly a week of slow work on the Mohawk, finishing up the painting, markings, decals (all two of them), touch ups, etc., I have finally gotten to the point where I have something for a photo that looks different from the last photos. I am trying Flory Washes out for the first time on this model. For anyone not familiar with these, it is a clay and water based wash that you apply as a sludge wash over the entire model and let it dry. Then you remove it using a slightly (or not) dampened paper towel. If applied over a matte or satin finish, it will leave a slight darkening of the colors, giving the airplane a slightly dirtier look. The panel lines will also remain filled in with the wash.

So we'll see how this turns out soon. I started with the bottom side and will try that first in case I do not like the effect.

With the Flory Wash wiped off. On the satin clear coat, it was rather difficult to remove even with a slightly dampened cloth.

This is awesome, Carl.