Thanks George, yes I have been doing type of comparison since childhood. Seeing displays of models in hobby shops or at model shows and see the vast difference in size between them. A WW1 Spad next to a Skyraider. An F-14 next to a Zero. And yet man is pretty much the same size whatever aircraft he or she is flying in. The Lanc is a bit larger than the Betty, but the cockpit looks so much roomier compared to the narrower Lancaster fuselage. Was it more comfortable? One can imagine.
With the basic painting now done. Time to mask off and paint the anti-glare panel and engine cowls. This build started before that excellent Japanese WWII color research posting by Louis Gardner. And really despite that Japanese aircraft may not be as diversified in color variety like Luftwaffe and the other air forces in WWII. Recent information has made it quite interesting. Now Aeromaster was on the right track back in the early 90's with the introduction of their line of paints which included a new color called Blue Black. With a very little hint of blue as it dried. Too me closer to NATO Black. Recently a fairly new paint (at least for me personally) has been produced by Mission Models and they have introduced some very interesting colors. One Cowl Blue Black.

First I masked off the nose and engine cowlings to prepare to airbrush.

Now research is still lacking that Blue Black was used on the Betty, but I am going to assume it was being that the Betty was built by Mitsubishi, as the Zero had this color applied as well.
I am using this brand for the first time. And it comes out of the brush very well, cutting it Testors airbrush thinner, alcohol based, no clogging. At first it looks too Glossy Sea Blue in appearance when wet. But as it dries, it dries to a darker shade with a nice hint of blue.

It dries to a nice flat sheen, a comparison of the current Blue Black and the Aeromaster War Bird Acrylic Blue Black painted back in 1993 on this Tamiya A6m3.

A toast to Mission Models, as I will pick up some more of their paints. I love the way it does not clog in the airbrush. Unmasked the Betty to reveal the finish. On the nose and cowls.

Next up decal, decal time. Future Gloss coat time. More to follow.

Chuck, the Betty is coming along nicely. Choosing the blue black seems the most logic choice for the reasons you mentioned. I have 1 bottle of MM paint but somehow it didn’t impressed me that much, certainly not like the experience you just had with them. Perhaps I’ll give that paint another go on a future occasion.

Hi Pedro, I have just started using the Mission Model paints recently while searching for a better dull coat finish. Bought a couple of colors, liked the way they performed, no clogging and covered very well. The finish looks good once dry. The important part is having some colors that others don't have. The choice for some Japanese camo colors look good and looking forward to trying them on the current Zero that is in the works.

D-L, it is an organized mess, I know where everything is. But at the end of the day, it's all picked up and put it in it's place. However I am always ready for a challenge. This is my work bench, and this is how I like it. This is my comfort zone. You are more than welcome to visit, however don't touch. Fair warning. Though you can wash the Escalade, I will be ok with that.

I am using Techmod decals for the markings on this project. I have used this brand before on the Hein Ki-61 Tony a few years ago and worked well.

They are thin and work well with Microscale decal system of Aero/Micro Sol and Aero/Micro Set. Applying the Hinomarus on the wings.

There are not that many decals to apply. No stencils, not much in colorful markings. Largest piece is the white leading edge stripe applied to the tail.

Once the decals are applied sit and set for a few hours. Then a dirty wash is applied under the airframe. This is best done in the glossy stage.

Next day I will use Lifecolor Flat clear as the final finish over the decals. This dries quite flat.

What I like about this finish, it really tones down the color quite a bit. Especially the red on the Hinomarus.

Overall the finish looks as I hoped it would be. Toned down with a bit more weathering to do will enhance the final finish. The cowlings are left off, easier to paint around the nacelles and less masking.

The tail and the nose is about the only color on this otherwise rather bland paint scheme.

Next unmask the canopies and start adding the final bits and some weathering.

More to follow. Sayonara!

Your Betty is looking awesome Chuck. I believe I purchased that same decal sheet a few years back, since the kit decals have all turned fir the worse while stashed in my basement storage, so nice seeing you having 0 problems using them

Now the decaling process is done. Some weathering. Flat coat sprayed. Time to de mask the clear parts. Thank the good Lord that this does not take as long as masking. Starting at the nose.

Still crystal clear. Do you ever find yourself holding your breath at times when unmasking. Especially the clear parts!

Just take your time, hopefully no bleed thru or peeling paint off. Though I rarely encounter that, you never know.

So far so good. The EZ masks worked flawlessly and what is really nice is that there is no glue residue on the glazings. Lots of small window panels on the tail cone.

The tail cone looks great, nice finish once the maskings are removed.

Next up finish up the landing gear and under surface detail bits. More to follow.

If Tamiya had been a little bit more Monogram like, they could've really filled out that interior, but only the basics are in there. Open up that LH rear entry way hatch, yes all kinds of ways to display this beautiful model of the Betty. Thanks Don I appreciate your comments.