Welcome back. We start the painting process by pre-shading all the panel lines with flat black paint by airbrush.
Basically everywhere dirt would accumulate.
I then sprayed Humbrol 127 all over, layering it up slowly, stopping just before the pre-shading disappears. When the top coat dries back, the pre-shading will show through again.
After I let it dry for a few hours, I sprayed the diamond shape using Humbrol 128. As you can see the diamond did not come out perfectly, I was somewhat happy to continue.
While I waited for the paint to dry, I started with a wash on the landing gear. I used Flory Models Dirt Wash. It is a fantastic product that has no chemicals in it and it is clay based. You just brush it on (or you can even airbrush it on if it is done on a large area) and once it dries, you wipe it off with a moist cloth. The wash comes off, but stays in places where dirt would accumulate.
Once the paint dried, i did the same with the entire model.
And this is what it looks like when the wash is wiped off.
What I forgot to mention, is that I applied the decals to the model BEFORE I did the wash. This is important so that the decals will look worn like the rest of the model and thus blend in and look natural.
Thanks for looking!