I am going to model a 1/48th revell germany B-17. I like to use Testors Model Master enamel. What type of aluminum, or silver paint should I use?
Also is pre-shading good to use with aluminum or silver?
Thanks
If you’re going for NMF, I’d recommend MM metallizers. NO PRE-SHADE!!! Anything underneath an NMF will mess up the texture and look goofy(unless it is an overall glosscoat). If you have a decent airbrush, you can do all the weathering with it. With this SB-2, I varied the “Aluminum” non-buff metallizer by adding a drop or two of black and spraying along panel and rivet lines.
One word of warning, in case you don’t already know, make sure the model surface is flawless!!! This paint is super thin, and will amplify any imperfections. The tiniest of scratches WILL show. I use a buffing wheel in a Dremel to polish everything, before spraying any NMF.
…and [snWcm]! Stick around, lots to be learned here! And post some pics!!!
What markings scheme do you paln to do? The 1/48th revell germany B-17 kit is an F model, historically they were all olive drab over neutral gray, with a few exceptions of course.
Agreed though, on not pre shading.
I was goint to do the aluminum scheme. the directions show both the aluminum coler and olive drab, problem is I not sure which MM aluminum to use to be as acurate as I can.
I get it …no pre-shading
thanks
If it were me and I were bound and determined to stick with Model Master, I’d paint a base coat of MM Aluminum, followed up by MM Metalizer Aluminum (buffing or non-buffing…really depends on how weathered and beat up you want it to look).
Metalizer can lift easily, so the aluminum base would help hide any of that.
thanks for the info…which is better for the weathered look…the buffing or the non buffing?
don’t mean to sound stupid but I have been out of modeling for 30 years and just got back into it awhile back so some of the termanology and materials are new to me. having a good time however
Buffing can be buffed to a high shine. Non-buffing can’t.
For a weathered aircraft, I’d go non-buffing.
thanks I’ll give it a shot
Keep in mind that EVERY flaw in the plastic will be magnified under the metallics… It’s usually a good idea to paint a gloss (color is irrevelant) undercoat first… Generally, the NMF Forts were pretty well oxidized in a short amount of time… A highly-shined metallic finish is fine for Warbirds at airshows, but operational Forts didn’t get polished… You’d also find a mix of OD parts& panels here & there on the Forts that had a more than afew missions in the log…
About the most famous NMF B-17 was “Little Miss Mischief”, an NMF Fort that had an OD/NG rear fuselage and outboard port wing after flak had ripped her belly open near the ball… Best of both worlds with that particular paint scheme…
Don’t sweat the markings though… One can always make up one’s own paint-scheme and nose-art, with spurious squadron markings and a phony serial number… Keeps the river-counters at bay too, since they can’t tell you that the paint’s “wrong”…
I do that on most of my USAAF aircraft builds… The camouflage, Wing, Group, and national markings are correct, but the exact airplane isn’t, since it’s “mine”…
Hey Afvet, Here is a shot of Ain’t Miss Behavin’II my wife’s grandfather’s plane. This plane was painted with the Buffing Metallizer from Testor’s Model Masters, lightly buffed to help with the weathering, as parts of the plane oxidize at different rates. She is modeled as to her last date she flew after 11 missions, No one was killed in her crash. I use a very thin mix of silver, black and red, to weather my NMF so you get the effect of oil and soot that gets push out and back as she cuts through the air. One thing to remember is that the vents on the tops of the wing ARE NOT EXHAUST PORTS, they are fresh air vents for the oil and turbo air coolers to exit the wing the area them should be relatively clean with the soot creeping in toward the trailing end of the wing. notice on mine how they look and look at real shots of them. Hope this is of help to you! James 
See if you can find some Alclad 2 spray or an airbrush for Alclad 2. Much easier than buffing your butt off with buffing metalizer. If you do stick with Testors, be sure it’s super dry be fore rubbing it, otherwise bad things. Wait a week if you can. Do some sub-assemblies. Another tip is to mask a few panels and paint a color or matte paint. Then spray your silver finish. The previous coat with make some subtle differences to the metal coat w/o having to worry about overspray and masking a metal finish coat. Good luck. Post some WIP.
I opened my 1/48 RoG B-17 today to look at the instructions for the painting diagrams. Mine is the F “Memphis Belle”. The diagrams show the OD “Belle” and a 306th BG OD F. Maybe AFvet actually has a G kit with the different painting schemes.
Modelers always say build for enjoyment. So unless you’re looking for historical accuracy, paint it anyway you want as best as you can. Good luck.