Hi guys…
I wanna ask how you guys paint your cockpit (the seat, instrument panel, etc)? Using an airbrush or just a fine brush?
And before you glue the parts together, do you scrape their paint first?
Thanks…
I use a really fine brush for cockpit painting but I’m not the best painter for parts like that. As for scraping off paint on parts to be cemented, it’s a must! Liquid cement “melts” into enamels and acrylics paints (it almost liquidfies them again) when they make contact and thus does not always make the best of bonds. I think most - if not all - instruction manuals inform you to scrap off paint on parts to be cemented “inorder to obtain a strong bond”. Hope that helps.
Btw, [#welcome] to FSM!
—edit-> typos—
Yeah, I usually use a brand new 000 brush for the tiny pieces, like seat belts instrument panels and other cockpit walls details… and I’ve had no problems with that… but, as I build in 1/72, I prefer decals for the instrument panels, they look more realistic, but only the newest Italeri kits and Hasegawa kits come with decals, I think…
I’m a horrible modeller. I never scrape. It’s come back to bite me in the bum a few times, though. So i would suggest you scrape. It’s a good idea, I’m just not patient enough to do it [:I]
I like to spray the base colour of the cockpit on with my airbrush, and then paint all the control panels etc with a fine brush.
As for paint scraping I don’t really do it because i don’t see the point when the cockpit is going to be secure and safe inside the fuselage.
But this is just what I do!?!
Yea I agree with you on the cockpit part, but I think spyro was refering to all parts of his model regarding scraping before cement[:D].
We need to scrape the mating parts before cementing (where the cement will be applied), so that the cement gets to work on the plastic, not the paint. If you don’t scrape, the adhesion will just be as strong as the paint adhesion.
When I heard people say “… the fitting of the fuselage is good that no putty is needed…”, does that mean we just need to sand down the cement that ooze out of the seams when it dries ? Thanks…
I will usually airbrush the interior colors first, then move to the insturment panel and then to various controls with the fine brush. I will switch to enamels for the fine work as they seem to cover better using the paint brush. The final touch will be belts, etc.
I spray all of the basic interior with an AB, then add washes & dry brush to bring out details. Finish up using a brush & Vallejo acrylics to paint the final details. I don’t scrape paint off the interior parts before glueing, but I only assemble using CA.
Regards, Rick
I use an AB to paint large cockpit parts when they are still on the tree. I scrape paint off where I have to apply glue. A very fine brush is used if I have to touch up any paint. The instrument panel is painted the basic color and then the instriments are painted with a brush. I use stretched sprue, toothpick, or a very fine brush to bring out the cockpit detail. About 50% of my time is spent on the cockpit. Once that is completed, the rest of the build goes pretty fast.
I do the same as rkjplasticmod with painting my cockpits, which, btw, are my FAVORITE kit part to work on (HEY-great topic!). but I tell you what, IF you don’t scrape before you glue, it WILL come back to haunt you, especially on load-bearing parts!! Unfortunately I’m not that patient most of the time either…
I use both (it depends on what I’m building if it’s a fighter I hand brush, if it’s a WWII bomber or any transport I use my Airbrush) and for the weapons, landing gear bays I airbrush them (mostly newer aircraft because the gloss white is a pain to hand brush) and then I’ll paint the details with a brush as with the weathering slug and highlights
You may want to try the Eduards photo etched zoom sets, they are fairly cheap and mainly concist of cockpit parts,you can check them out on eduards web site. I do all of my cockpit painting with a brush and bring out thhe details by dry brushing hte cockpit with flat silver which gives it a used worn apearance. I only glue with c.a. so I dont realy need to scrape. HAPPY MODELING!!!
I just posted this answer on another post about fine lines.
When working with raised or recessed details, I’ve painted the kit with the deatailed color, followed by a clear coat, and then the base color. After the base coat is dry, I take a razor or scribe and gently scrape off the base color from the details. This usually works for me. The clear coat serves as a barrier to protect the detail color. I hope this makes sense.
Don
I heartily agree with those who say that the cokpit is their favorite part. I work pretty exclusively in 1/72 scale, which I’ve heard others say, “why bother with the detail, especially if you won’t be able to see it when it’s closed.” My philosophy is no matter what scale, the cockpit should receive the same attention.
I likewise airbrush all the big pieces seperately. When it comes to instrument panels, I prefer to use PE. I use the same process though and airbrush the big parts seperately. After this is complete I use various size fine detail brushes to do the smaller details (ejection seat belts, handles, oxygen tanks, etc.). If the details are molded in (I prefer to use molded in cokpit instruments if they’re good–PE otherwise–as opposed to decals) I’ll try masking them off. In my opinion the results are better, but this can be time consuming. Hope it helps.