Shades of Ghost Grey

To start off the painting process, I first disassembled the model into its separate parts and gave everything a clean with isopropyl alcohol. Next, I covered the cockpit with card and secured the edges with blu-tac. Then, I attached all of the small parts to toothpicks, and everything was ready for the painting turntable.

Finished model.

Model prepped for painting.

Small parts stuck to cocktail sticks for painting.

To prime the model, I used Mission Models black primer through the airbrush. This is my favorite primer as it goes on super smooth and flat, and it also has a nice sheen to it once it's dry.

Priming with MMS-001 Black.

Main rotor blades being primed.

Everything primed and ready for painting.

Next, I used Mission Models Light Ghost Grey, mixed with a little white to pre-shade the model's surface. I focused on painting the center of panels, allowing the black to subtly show through along the seam lines and around raised details.

Light Ghost Grey being applied.

Letting the black show through the seams.

Then I thinned the mixture to 30% paint using thinners and sprayed it over the entire model to unify the surface and complete the base coat.

Covering the model in a thinned Light Ghost Grey.

This step brings the paint job together.

The underside being unified.

For the darker grey on top, I used Mission Models Dark Ghost Grey. I added some black to give it more contrast with the lighter grey. I applied this free hand, using photos for reference and following rivet lines.

Dark Ghost Grey being applied to the upper parts.

Above the exhaust being covered.

The top of the tail wings being painted in Dark Ghost Grey.

For the scheme I was following, I needed to paint the tail black. I masked it off and painted it with Mission Models Black.

Tail being painted black for the scheme.

I also masked off the areas for the anti-slip pads on the wings and on the landing skids. I used Vallejo Black-Grey to paint those in.

Anti-slip surface on the wings.

Anti-slip surface for the skids using 70.862 black-grey.

I moved on to some detail painting, including the rotor mast, blade grips, wires and grips inside the canopy, and also all of the tail rotor's wiring.

Painting in the blade grips.

Painting the grip handles in khaki.

Black-Grey used for the wire tubing.

Tail rotor wiring being painted in white.

The entire model was then treated to a couple of coats of TS-13 Clear Gloss.

Clear coat being applied.

A couple of coats, then left to cure for 24 hours.

Main rotors being clear coated.

The unit markings I went with for the decals were the USMC stationed in Iwakuni, 2017.

I tried something a little different with the decals this time. Instead of water, I used Micro Set to soak them.

Micro Set and Sol, a two part decal setting solution.

This seemed to strip the film down quicker, and once on the model, they conformed very tightly to the surface. This also cut down the working time but gave little room for error, so I had to be quite precise with the placement. After they were in place I brushed on some Micro Sol, which smoothed them down into the surface.

Soaking the decal in Micro Set.

Placing the decal into position.

The decal after Micro Sol is applied.

I use a cotton swab to remove any air bubbles and excess moisture.

After adding the main markings, I then systematically went through and added over 200 information and warning labels, including the missiles and rockets. I did this over a few days to keep my sanity...

The 'Shark Mouth' decal is in three parts.

There are twelve decals for each missile!.

Hellfire with detailed decals.

I then used some metallic silver paint to finish off the details, including the leading edges of the blades, missile fins, and rivets on the targeting system.

Adding silver to the rotors leading edge.

Distinctive silver rivets on the targeting system.

Aim 9 Rollerons.

The model was once again covered in a clear gloss, this protects the decals from any damage and it also sets the model up for the next stage...oil weathering.

Final clear coat from the can.

Clear coat on and left to cure.

The progress so far.