Ok, I know…Probably there is some article explaining this, but I couldn’t find it…
I read that some modellers paint the cockpits only with a brush…How do they do it? Do you use the paint straight of the bottle?
I tried and became frustrated with the results…A lot of brush marks and an irregular cover of the paint when I tried to dilute it…
I am using Tamiya acrilics that are easier to find here…
Any tips? I don’t have an airbrush, yet…LOL
As a former car modeller, I normally used spray cans…
I’m similarly confused, but I do find that Tamiya acrylics don’t seem to brush on too well, leaving transparent patches even after a couple of coats with certain colors. I’ll be interested to hear everyone’s responses though - once they start to flood in, that is [;)]
When brush painting you need to dilute the paint. You will need two or even more layers to get an even finish. When covering larger area’s use a flat brush.
When the basic color is dry, you can pick up the details with a fine brush, dry brushing and washing.
I have an airbrush, I use it for the basic color then paint the details with the techniques described above. Instead of a airbrush, you could use a spray can for the basic color.
I mask with Bare Metal Foil and then airbrush. For the details it’s best to use a small brush to dry brush. I sometimes will mask and paint the inside of the canopy frame the same color as the interior cockpit. This makes it look more like the canopy frame separates the individual canopy panes. Though it can be tough to mask the inside of the canopy without the raised canopy frame for a guide. You gotta have a steady hand.
Ok, since this is my pet peeve, I’m going to chime in everytime this comes up. The answer is, there is no "easy’ way to paint cockpits. Yes, there are techniques that you can learn that will help, but the bottom line is you must learn by doing. I use a combination of acrylics and enamels and brush paint, PE color sets, drybrushing and scratch building techniques to get the results in the examples below:
It has taken many yeaars of practice to acheive realistic results, just keep trying, use your imagination and talent, and it will happen…
I start out with the main cockpit color. Usually for modern jets it’s a neutral gray. I will dilute Tamiya acrylic XF53 then brush paint the cockpit with a flat brush, the size depending on the scale of the kit. Let it dry then paint again. Then dry again then paint once more. Three times should be enough.
Then apply a wash to the corners and bottom to simulate shadows. (Or apply the wash everywhere to give the cockpit a darker appearance.)
Drybrush white or silver on the edges of the cockpit (contol panel, dashboard, etc etc), to accentuate.
First you need good refferences and then a lot of time, patience and a steady hand. You can dry brush, use a brush with 2 or 3 stands, a nylon bristle, paint lighter color underneath and overcoat with black and scrape away for the “details”. Now you can buy prepainted PE! Pick your poison!
I agree: you gotta learn by doing. Flea market kits, or stuff from you scrap box is invaluable for this! Use the lightest touch you can imagine, and then figure it’s about double what you should be using.
Someone makes a little tool that I love for dry brushing. FSM included a few of them with one of their issues last year. It has a plastic handle about 3" long, and the tip looks like a section of pipe cleaner. They come in three sizes. If you will write to me a wrodgers@spinn.net, I can give you the name and maker tonight. I’ve never found ANYthing that works as well for drybrushing cockpits.
Wess
Thanks everybody for the recommendations!
Seems that everyone here uses almost the same technique…Light coats of the color than dark wash and drybrushing…Do you use the base color directly from the bottle or dilute it before painting? Just to have an idea, how much do you mix paint and thinners ratios?