This is my first post on the forum. I was an avid modeler back when I was in grade school (about 20 years ago), and have recently taken up an interest again. It’s amazing how far the hobby has progressed since then, and it has been a lot of fun just reading the forums and getting caught up.
As my first project returning to the hobby, I am building the Monogram 1/48 “First Lunar Landing” kit reissued by Stevens. The kit calls for three colors: Gold, Silver, and Flat Black.
I was planning to use Tamiya acrylics, as I’ve read they work well in an airbrush, although I’ve also read that metallic paints such as gold and silver typically do not spray very easily. True? Should I instead plan to brush paint these colors? And if so, should I use a different brand other than Tamiya?
Another question – Tamiya makes two gold paints and two silver paints in acrylic. In gold, they offer “Titanium Gold” and “Gold Leaf”. In silver, they offer “Titanium Silver” and “Chrome Silver”. Assuming I stick with Tamiya, which of these colors would be most appropriate for my model? It’s difficult to tell by looking at the bottles what the “Titanium” colors really look like.
Alternatively, are there other paint brands I should be considering? Any advice is appreciated!
I’m no expert on the LEM, but my understanding is that the descent stage was covered in gold mylar “foil”, so attempting to render this using gold paint may be inadequate.
This thread regarding “foiling” the Lunar Module may be helpful. /forums/923093/ShowPost.aspx
The photos I’ve seen of the ascent stage appear to be a dull metallic grey colour, rather than a bright silver, so the "Titanium Silver"colour may be suitable.
Tamiya’s metallics can be a little tricky to airbrush because the metallic particles in the paint tend to settle very quickly. If you thin sufficiently, stir very thoroughly and work quickly it shouldn’t be a problem. It may be better to airbrush using a siphon feed AB rather than a gravity feed, so you can swish the paint around in the jar in between passes to keep the metallic particles suspended.
Thanks Phil for the suggestions. The kit does come with a sheet of gold foil to be crinkled up and applied to the descent stage, but according to the instructions there are a few parts that require gold paint as well. Do you think the Gold Leaf would be a shinier gold, more akin to the foil, than the Titanium?
Tamiya’s Gold Leaf (X-12) is slightly yellower than Titanium Gold (X-31), which has a slight copper tinge to it, making it a little closer to brass. Though they are both quite close in shade, I think I would go more for X-12 in this case.
Rub 'N Buff works very well. Comes in a small tube paste in many different metal types. You do as the name implies and the result is a uniform metallic finish. My old man used to build models of knights and used it on the armor. I think it sometimes looks better “in scale” than metalizer. One thing I’ve noticed about metalizer, which I love using, is that depending on the metal type you can sometimes see the particles/grains of color. You can get RnB it at any good art supply store.
It was difficult to tell in the store, so I bought small bottles of both to test. As it turns out, the Gold Leaf X-12 was the way to go. Phil was right, the Titanium Gold is closer to antique brass than gold.