Ok! A mini tute on mid podge skinning! First I pour some podge in a smaller, resealable container. I got 10 of these from the dollar store for, well, a dollar. Next I take plain white tissue paper, the kind you stuff into shirt boxes and gift bags as filler, and tear up the paper into roughly one inch pieces. I try to be as random as I can when tearing.
Then I take a fairly large brush and lay down some podge across an area of 4 or 5 inches. I then pick up a torn tissue piece and lay it in the fresh podged area. Then I get some more podge on the brush and smooth down the tissue paper. I never try to make mine completely smooth, as I like the texture it makes. You just keep repeating this process until you have the whole item skinned.
It dries fairly quickly to the touch, but allow at least an overnight drying before any rough handling, as the paper underneath absorbs a lot of the moisture and will become a little flimsy. So you have to be careful handling it for about 12 or so hours. The surface sometimes looks like it is buckling, but that effect usually goes away once it is fully dried out.
Once it is dry, you can sand it if it has too much texture. Also you should plan on a light sanding of the entire skinned area before spray painting. That will allow the paint to stick better.
Oh yeah, use this technique on your on models at your own risk. Results may vary. So there.