Miniature aircraft are some of my favorite to paint; you can use an airbrush for much of the painting and there is always a good selection of decals available.  For this tutorial I chose to paint a pair of 1/285th Messerschmitt Me-109F's in an Eastern Front paint scheme.

While I didn't model a specific aircraft, these 109's are an adaptation of Werner Molders 1941 109F-2 and Max-Hellmuth Ostermann's 1941 109 F-2 (with a little artistic license applied).  If you're looking for an excellent book on Luftwaffe fighter profiles and color schemes then I highly recommend "Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile" by Claes Sundin and Christer Bergstrom.  You can find it in the World War II Central StoreFront.

Ok, enough details...  let's get started.

The top order of business when painting such small aircraft is to get them mounted on some type of handle that will hold them securely while you're painting.  I use a toothpick that I mount into the hole drilled for the aircraft stand.  I then stick the toothpick into a strip of dual density styrofoam...  forming a "mini" assembly line of the miniatures I'm painting.  Be sure to clean off all the flash and mould lines.

Next, I sprayed Vallejo Model Air "Grey Primer" through my airbrush to give a nice smooth and consistent primer coating.  The Grey Primer is quite easy to use and it's all pre-mixed...  just put some in the airbrush and spray.  If you prefer to use an Aerosol can that would be fine; just make sure you keep the coat thin and smooth.

Next, spray on the aircraft base color using Vallejo Model Color "Sky Grey".  I didn't use the Model Air range but thinning the paint with Vallejo's airbrush thinner worked just fine.  I also added a couple of drops of water.  Don't apply the paint too thick and you can actually airbrush in "strokes" across the wings to give the impression of airflow and wear over the wings.  Make sure you spray the underside as well.

This next step is a bit tricky but if you have a little patience it's quite easy.  Lay down some strips of Tamiya 6mm masking tape on your cutting matt and use a razor blade to cut some wedges and camo patterns for the wings.  Then, lightly press the tape on the wings to imitate Luftwaffe wing camo patterns.

Next, choose your secondary color - I used LifeColor Grey (UA 073).  Hold your airbrush perpendicular to the top of your aircraft and spray down on it.  It is important that you don't tilt or move the aircraft too much or you'll spray the bottom of the plane.  You want just enough to cover the top and your masked strips.  After you're done, you can carefully peel off the masking tape.

Your goal when done is to have a darker top half of the fuselage and the undersides are still your lighter Sky Grey.  If you choose you can try some mottled camo on the sides of the fuselage by gently painting spots and patterns.

For this next step I used my airbrush again...  but I didn't mask enough areas and got yellow all over the place.  Fortunately I was able to touch it up with a brush later.  Mask off the areas you'd like to spray your yellow markings on or paint it on with a paint brush.  Be aware that yellow is a difficult color to both airbrush and paint brush...  it'll probably take a few very thin coats to adequately cover.  Once everything is dry coat the aircraft in a thin coat of Testors Glosscote.

Time for a wash.  This will help add a little depth to the aircraft and also give a little "wear" to it even if it's not heavily weathered.  I use MIG Productions Neutral Washes and with a small brush touch off the areas I'd like darkened.  Don't worry too much about perfection but also don't splash the wash everywhere.  Let the wash dry for 15 minutes or so before proceeding.

Now with a flat sable brush (I use cheap Royal & Langnickel sable brushes for this) dampened in MIG Thinner or Turpentine gently brush the aircraft and clean up the wash.  Don't clean the aircraft entirely but try to push the oil wash into the recesses and clean off the flat panel areas.  In my experience, oil based washes are always superior to acrylic washes - but if you're inclined you can always try experimenting with acrylic washes.

At this point, I also wash the aircraft canopy with MIG Productions Dark Wash.  Give the canopy 20 minutes or so to dry and then gently try to clean off the canopy frame with a thinner dampened brush.

Next, paint the aircraft details like the engine exhausts, landing gear, and any other details you'd like.  For my engine exhaust pipes I used Vallejo Panzer Ace paints - Dark Rust highlighted by Light Rust and then Yellowish Rust.

Your last step is to apply decals of your choice.  I used MicroSet and MicroSol by Microscale Industries, Inc. to set and then dissolve the decals.  Apply MicroSol a few times to ensure the decal is thoroughly dissolved onto the aircraft - to prevent decal "silvering".  Oops, one last step...  apply Testors Dullcote for a good matte finish.

Once you're complete you should have a couple of Air Aces ready to do battle.  One more piece of advice... while painting 1/285th aircraft - don't get frustrated if it doesn't turn out exactly like you hoped.  I never really started to improve in my miniature painting until I realized that it will never be perfect.  Also make sure to practice your painting and you're guaranteed to improve.