Painting Camouflage Patterns.

Simply put; how do you do it?

Let’s say* I wanted to paint a four color pattern such as the one shown here.
https://www.madcowrocketry.com/AGM_33_Pike_p/k-169.htm
It would seem to me the simplest way would be to first paint the “Blotch” colors, then mask them and spray the final lighter Sand/Tan color.

But then you would be painting the lightest color over multiple shades of darker colors and; wouldn’t that make for varying shades of Sand/Tan?

Any advice. . .with regards to this subject, would be appreciated.


* “Airplane” jokes would not be out of order at this point.

boomtube said:

Simply put; how do you do it?

Let’s say* I wanted to paint a four color pattern such as the one shown here.
https://www.madcowrocketry.com/AGM_33_Pike_p/k-169.htm
It would seem to me the simplest way would be to first paint the “Blotch” colors, then mask them and spray the final lighter Sand/Tan color.

But then you would be painting the lightest color over multiple shades of darker colors and; wouldn’t that make for varying shades of Sand/Tan?

Any advice. . .with regards to this subject, would be appreciated.


* “Airplane” jokes would not be out of order at this point.

Click to expand...

Paint the whole rocket with the tan paint first because it's the lightest color.

For the blotchy look spray the camo colors free hand, second color should be whatever is darker then the tan but lighter then the remaining colors. Then spray the next darker color.

Finish with the darkest color.

Tape off a pattern if you want the splintered or jagged look. To prevent overspray on a finished area, use masking.

Depending on the brand of paint, a lighter color can completely cover a darker one. I have airbrushed Tamiya paint by spraying the darker color first, masking of the areas with frisket paper or masking tape the areas to remain that color and then spraying the lighter color over it. Most model paints are opaque enough to cover a dark color with a lighter one.

You can likely find a lot more Information on Painting Camo Patterns on Firearms Forums than you will here. Just a thought.

Try m4carbine.net and ar15.com or Glocktalk. Survivalistboards has great Camo Painting tips too.

Just go there and do a Search for "Camo Painting Tips".

When Painting it is Always best to start with the lightest color and work to the Darkest. Pick your base color depending on the Type and style of Camouflage you are trying to simulate. Many can be accomplished with 3 or 4 colors when Dark Brown or black being the final "Brush" applied liner.
If you are looking to duplicate a specific Hard Line Camo scheme such as on some German V-2 patterns the process is still the same Lightest color to darkest but is a bit more involved as you well have to tape off portions with a good masking material such as Yellow Frog tape (for delicate finishes), Low Tack EZMask tape, Parafilm M, or Tamiya tape. All mentioned will five decent edge if sealed between color coats with a coat of Clear Dull Coat. Why dull coat you might ask? it help you see that you've sealed All around the area to receive the next color without fear of wicking under the tape which CAN happen with any tape unless it's sealed. Why Clear instead of another coat of the previous color? Because Clean has NO pigment to increase the thickness of the Paint dam left behind at the masked line. With this type of camouflage you will get a paint dam at each taped color separation line. These can be reduced and smoothed by Wet sanding and buffing AFTER the paint is Sniff test DRY.
One of the best parts about Camouflage paint schemes is it is almost impossible to Screw it up. As long as your model is not sitting beside the original prototype NOONE will be able to tell where you deviated a bit from your prepared pattern.

Most of my Camo patterns are done freehand with rattle can paints and Maybe a small quill to add a few scattered lines for effect. Once the patterns are wet sanded you cannot feel any difference in paint thickness. A Few below to spur your imagination.
Hope these Help.

What size is the rocket? And what materials is it made from? If it is waterproof, you should look at hydrographics. If not, consider vinyl wraps.

If you're determined to paint, then start with the lightest colour. Here's my Estes V-2, I started with the lightest colour as others suggest, then masked my way up to the darkest colour. It was a near enough scale copy of the original colour scheme, aside from colour differences. But is now sadly dead although it went out in style!

Here is an example of how I airbrushed the camouflage pattern on this Custom M320 by first spraying the dark green and masking off the areas with frisket, then I sprayed it dark brown and again masking the areas to remain dark brown. When the paint was dry, I sprayed the tan. I got this idea from reading an article in Finescale Modeler in which it was demonstrated how to camouflage a splinter scheme on a F/A-18 Hornet to represent an adversary aircraft. I used Tamiya acrylic paints.

Never heard of “frisket paper” before and I’m not sure where locally I can get any.

But now that I am aware of this stuff, the next time I get to a Hobby Lobby or make an order from Hobbylinc, assuming they have it, I’ll get some.

boomtube said:

Never heard of “frisket paper” before and I’m not sure where locally I can get any.

But now that I am aware of this stuff, the next time I get to a Hobby Lobby or make an order from Hobbylinc, assuming they have it, I’ll get some.

Click to expand...

Just so you know: you can do exactly the same thing with 2" or 3" 3m Blue Painters tape. I find it helpful to tear off a piece big enough to go completely around the model with about 1/2"overlap. Lay this material on a Glass plate sticky side down and cut your zig-zag or complicated "digital" pattern then lift and apply to the model where you wish.

It is very important to seal the edges of Frisket paper or these tapes to prevent paint wicking.

I had the same question as you when I wanted to paint my 4" Madcow AGM-33 Pike close to the photo you included in your post. I painted mine as the 3 color camo.

I used Rust-oleum Camoflage Khaki, Army Green and Brown spray paints. The ultra flat colors cover well, go on very nice and dry fast.

Masking took a long time, actually longer than the build I think.


Here is how I did mine:

After the primer I painted the whole rocket Khaki first. Then I used 20# regular printer paper and taped it to the rocket and traced out in pencil where the green was to go. I then removed the paper and cut it out using an X-Acto knife. I would recommend this over scissors so you can get smooth curves, then taped the cutouts to the rocket using 1/8" 3M vinyl tape (this tape works great when masking curves and leaves nice sharp paint lines), and painted the green.

After the green was done I used tracing paper and taped it to the rocket and traced where I wanted to brown to go. The tracing paper let me see through where the green was. I removed the tracing paper and cut it with an X-Acto knife. I then traced the tracing paper cutout patterns on copier paper, this is because tracing paper is porous and will allow paint to go through. Then again as the green, taped the patterns using the 1/8" 3M tape and painted the brown.

After the paint was done and cured I added the decals and clear coated with Rust-oleum 2X Matte clear.

Hope this helps with your camo paint job.

Added after: One suggestion I forgot to mention is mask and paint in sections at a time. So nose cone as one then upper body tube then lower body tube and then fins. do all of one color first then move on the the next darker color. The reason is you will find sometimes the tape may lift over time so doing it one section at a time is easier to manage and to keep your sanity.

“Keep my sanity”?
That boat sailed long ago or I wouldn’t be in this hobby in the first place.

Or perhaps it was involvement in this hobby that destroyed the last vestiges of sanity I had going for me.
It’s just another one of those “Chicken and egg” conundrums.