Another quick update as painting progresses. I spent most of the day masking. I forgot to take pics before spraying on the green shades this evening. Anyway, it is worth seeing the paintwork at this stage for the remarkably dark, dull and uniform look to the Tamiya XF-11 shades before they have cured. I did, in fact, use three quite different shades, XF-11, XF-11 + XF-3 and XF-11 + XF-1. Doing the marbled/mottled variation was tricky when the colors tended to flatten out when sprayed fresh. The green segments looked almost black while airbrushing. I know from doing the Red Brown stage that I just have to wait a bit (as long as overnight) for the tonal variation to become visible. Just one more example of having learned patience in this hobby so as not to start "correcting" things too soon.

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This is going to be a super Betty, Colin! You do a splendid job!

Thank you Louis, Spiros and Erik. This has indeed been a productive weekend. Mostly things have come off well with only the usual touch-ups and fixes to do. More on that, below. To answer your question, Erik, I find Tamiya acrylics well-behaved as long as I thin them properly. It is a fine balance, and sometimes I have to stop and partly strip and clean the airbrush in the middle of a session. I use Windex to clean it. I may blow a bit through the brush between different colors as I go, being careful not to leave any Windex residue that might mix with the next coat. Windex really melts away Tamiya paint and has no unpleasant smell. I sometimes also clear the brush after the Windex by spraying a bit of de-mineralized water (I have a reverse osmosis water system for my home so I use that tap water). BTW, I also use Testor's Spray Booth vented outside and a cleaning jar to keep environmental pollution to an absolute minimum. As for thinning, I use at least 50/50 Tamiya Thinner to Paint, sometimes more like 60/40. I also add 4-5 drops of Acrylic Retarder to a normal paint session with half a thimble full of paint (see pic for what Retarder looks like if you are not familiar with it). I do a visual test on the mixed paint as shown in the pic by tilting up the bottle with sunlight showing through. The paint solution shouldn't cling to the bottom too much as it flows down with gravity in a second or two. Too much sticky paint on the bottom equals a quickly clogged airbrush! I spray between 12 and 18 PSI for Tamiya. Less pressure obviously for finer mottling or detail work. I suppose its worth mentioning that I use an Iwata Eclipse gravity feed airbrush, I also have a Venturi feed Iwata but it clogs and spatters more with acrylics. I hope this helps. Pardon the detail, but it is what I always appreciate receiving.

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Looks really good Colin @coling. Weathering base effects are noticeable.
Looking forward to it!

I'll chime in and echo the comments that were made above... Well done, and thanks for the explanation of what you use to keep the spattering and clogging down to a minimum. Your G4M is looking great !

Great! Folloing along, Colin @coling!

Thanks for your support, Spiros and Erik! This is the stage where I can get impatient to finish but where patience is very important. Here is the latest.

I have airbrushed the anti-glare panels and retouched the demarcation lines between colors on the fuselage. As I mentioned, the original masking left some ragged lines. These are now feathered and parts of the brown and green edges fixed. I also had to redo some work on the engine anti-glare panels but all is well now. Very fiddly work but well worth doing. I have also fitted the port flap to check the camo line. Some problems with the starboard flap as it was too tight and one tooth broke off. Currently under repair but no sweat!

Next stage in progress is masking for the hinomarus. Since my Tamiya tape strips are too narrow for the size of the circle, I attached added a green masking tape layer above to hold the strips together. BTW, I don't use the green tape directly on the paint as it can damage it. I cut the circles with my Olfa compass cutter (shown) and kept the center bit (colored red) to position the hinomaru accurately like a decal. I then fit the mask around that to make sure it is positioned accurately. I have never made masks for markings before, so I hope this turns out. It's a pretty clean cut with the Olfa cutter but not as perfect as laser cut masks. I will press down the mask fully just before painting and also extend the masks with paper and Tamiya tape to prevent overspray. Fingers crossed.

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Hello Colin,
Any updates on the G4M ? In the last pictures it looked as if you might have if completed soon. Your camouflage painting work looks great too. I will use this as a reference for when I finally get to finish mine.