Airfix WW2 US Paratroops Part 1

Summary

Paint and base Airfix WW2 U.S. Paratroops set A02711V.

The basics:

  1. Unboxing and admiring
  2. Prepping figures by quick wash to removed any factory residue and removing mold lines
  3. Prime in acrylic base coat
  4. Paint the figures
  5. Base the figures
  6. Seal the figures
  7. Admire artwork

I got mine directly from Airfix, but getting them in the US is unreliable due to supply chain or general inventory issues. Not sure about rest of world though.

I wanted to bust out the old Harbor Freight tent sale special airbrush setup from many moons ago (See projects page for the write up). The plan is to prime half the figures in a black while the other half in white to see what the difference it would make in the painting process. I did have to play with the paint to water ratio to get a consistency of what I wanted. Do you have a favorite ratio when you do these paint-ups? Or do you just paint straight from the paint pot/dropper?

You will notice that process can be broken down into just a few steps. It’s how much time and effort you want to put into each step that will determine the outcome. I have to keep reminding myself, I am doing this for me.

Again, I am using a cork stopper as a model holder with a piece of poster tack – you can find poster tack . You can also re-use the poster tack for the next mini.

A color wheel is sometimes useful when doing color paint projects. I am using my DIY wet palette again for this and upcoming paint projects until I can fund something better (or I just continue to use the DIY version – seems to work for my immediate needs)

I don’t know if I will keep the factory bases. If I don’t, I will cut off the base using some hobby cutters and used a pin vice to pin the feet to a wooden disc. You can buy the wooden disc in bulk (1.5″). I got my pin vice and drill set from a local hobby shop. The pins are just a cut up paper clip.

I am not sure how I am going to base these just yet. I will update this article when I get to the end of this project.

Happy crafting, readers!

I tested the spray pattern of this gun with some knock-off mounted army men