I want to give my Ki-44 ‘Tojo’ and aged look to it as opposed to a factory fresh, shiny NMF. Before I experiment, any suggestions or experiences anyone could share? I’ve been planning on experimenting with a very thin white wash to take the shine out and add a faded look.
If you want a more aged look on a NMF, try painting the model with Floquil " Old Silver " ( a model railroad color ) which will give a more oxidized effect than the Alclad2 or other NMF paints. I don’t think a white wash would give the effect you want. Experiment before you do the model. I would suggest a very thin wash of a very dark grey, I use Paines Grey, would be more effective.
If you look at pics of aged NMF aircraft, you’ll notice that the first thing to go is the reflective quality of the metal. It becomes very dull. As Rick said, using a white wash will probably not give you the results you desire. As long as you use enamels with enamels, and acrylics with acrylics, you can mix a little color (white, black, blue, brown, gray) with the metallic paint. Another approach is to use a flat or semi-gloss final coat. You can dull the top surfaces more than the sides or belly. The final coats will also seal fragile metallics (such as MM Metalizers) and decals.
Hope this helps !
Hi, Michael
Here a couple of pictures of aged aluminum finishes. The final coat on both a/c is a flat clear acrylic from a spray can. The manufacturer is Mr. Hobby, in Japan; and I’m not sure whether or not it’s available in the States. Probably any comparable product would be ok. Under the flat clear on the MiG is Tamiya TS-17, Gloss Aluminum; and the Tojo is Bare Metal Foil.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the ideas, guys. I’ll do some experimenting.
I use SnJ paint for NMF finishes and I have liked the effect I get when polishing the panel with a Q-tip and polishing in circles about 3/16" in diameter. The smaller the better. I dip the Q-tip in the polishing aluminum dust and tap is off on the rim of the jar a few times to nock off the excess, then I polish the panel. As I polish the dust collects on the panel and I usually blow that off. It ends up with a motteled weathered aluminum finish that is not overly shinny. I use this technique mostly on wings and when I tape off the panels and polish them individually I can use the same technique and by varying amount of time and pressure on the Q-tip I get verying hues of the weathered panels. You can probably do the same with Alclad even though it is not designed to be polished. If you use SnJ, try it. Hopefully it is what you are looking for.
Scotsman,
If that’s what you did on your B-29, that’s what I’m gonna do with mine! Your Enola Gay came out looking great.