How to Frost clear windows and ports .

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Techniques
1

Hmmmm;

Does this bug you ? A beautiful ship model .But , The wheelhouse is empty and crummy looking , or you can see clean through the vessel to the other side at the ports ?

This is a solution I have used for years . On most ships I run a panel right down the center of the hull . It is painted completely top to bottom and the length with Flat Black paint . This also works on Vehicles and Armor

Now for wheel houses .You can paint the windows . I personally think this looks unreal , no matter what color you use unless they are the engraved type . Even then there is a fix . Frost the clear ports with a layer of styrene glue before taking them off the sprue ( if they are seperate parts .If they are just holes then put a strip of .010 styrene clear sheet frosted , behind them .

Now for those wheelhouses in larger scale . Sheet plastic , again .010 clear styrene strips . Frost the strips with model cement ( the liquid type ) ( I find Testors or plain old lacquer thinner to work best ) .One swipe in one direction with a wide brush is all that’s needed .

Result , even in 1/48 or 1/32 the windows are there .You just can’t see the empty space behind them . This has been used by me for many years with many clients happy because they didn’t want the detail inside but wanted light to pass through .

T.B.

2

I definitely think this is a good thread. I hate seeing a war weary bomber, heavily weathered, but with canopy or windows futured to look pristine. Same thing with heavily withered ships. I have sometimes airbrushed a thin coat of dullcoat on windows. One thing I do for areas with windows but no interior detail is paint the inside area flat black. I have even, in a few cases, actually painted back side of windows black, but only for very small windows.

Fortunately, for some of those larger scale models, if you do decide to furnish interior of bridge, you can still get binnacles, wheels, and chadburns, though such ship accessories are fading from the scene- fewer vendors of ship accessories these days.

3

Don ;

That’s when you have to get inventive . I haven’t bought a Binnacle or other wheelhouse hardware in years . Problem is , in miniature , the new style bridges don’t look right . T.B.

4

Hey T.B. - good info, look forward to trying one day!! Just to clarify - are you saying you can use the laquer thinner to attach the strips to the plastic window or to use the thinner to coat the window to frost it? tks!!