Hey there,
I’m currently building a 1/48 P-38 lightning and I am attempting to foil it. I normally use Bare Metal Foil but after reading the article in FSM on using common house hold foil I decided to give it a try. I’ve completed the wing surfaces (pretty easy) but now I’m having problems with the seriously curved sections on the plane.
What’s the best way to get the foil down without wrinkles. Even trying to cut to shape doesn’t seem to help
HELP[:0]
well, cut one piece that fits the thing behind the cockpit and then use a qtip to smooth. continue like this but with diff sections. i would rather use paint tho
Foil is really tough to use around compound curves, and even simple curves. Heck, a flat surface can be a challenge sometimes!
When I’ve used foil in the past, I made a bunch of tools out of small wooden dowels (wooden Q-tips!) to help burnish the stuff into tight spots. I carved 'em up and then sanded them smooth. Something like this may help you out.
A guy that was in our club years ago did a few models in foil. He did a 48th P-38 and a 72nd B-36 and did an outstanding job. He was a meticulous guy, though. He did it panel by panel, and that helped ease some of the woes around the curved areas. It was still tough for him to do, however. I think I recall him saying something to the effect of; if he did it all over again, he’d paint the tough spots with a buffing metallic and use the foil on the rest. You may want to rethink your approach, but in any event…
Keep at it!
Fade to Black…
That brings up an interesting question…I’m about to build a P-51D, and thinking of foiling…is there any real difference between foiling and using, say, the ModelMaster Metallics paint?
The MM Metalizer, if not clearcoated, will rub off. Clearcoating can change it’s metallic look however.
Lee
Ahhhh…cool. I’d been wondering if that would happen. Time to foil! Thanks.