2 - Priming and Painting the Tri-Deck

From a painting standpoint, this is a ship with two features - a colored hull, and stripes on the flight decks. The first Big Choice is whether to paint stripes-on-hull, or hull-around-stripes. I'm concerned that it may be trouble to try to paint white stripes and get good coverage, and worry that it will take multiple coats and look too thick. So I decide to prime the ship white, then paint the hull color around the stripes.

According to the directions, an "authentic" Gamilon Tri-Deck Carrier can be painted green, blue or purple - I opt for green. Rumaging through my paint bin, the color closest to the catalog photo is Apple Barrel Kelly Green. This paint turns out to be a terrible choice, not due to the color, but due to the consistency of the paint. Like many Apple Barrel colors, this shade makes a great wash or even overcoat, but is not good for laying down an even color coat. I come back again and again to touch up areas where the color is thin...

It's also not so easy to "paint around the stripes," even though the parts have scribed lines showing where the stripes should be. Next time, perhaps I'll spray the ship green and use white decal stripes.