Painting aircraft

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Hi everyone

Was looking at Narita’s website and took note of how he painted his tomcat. Basically:

1)Primer

  1. Dark colouring on panel lines & stain marks.

  2. Main aircraft painting.

  3. Enamel wash for panel lines & stains (photos do show them very generously applied)

  4. Remove excess enamel with enamel remover.

Looking at other modeller’s writeups abt their tomcat experiences also more or less follows the above procedure.

My question is why is there a need to do (2) when the effects of panel lines & staining is brought out more strongly in (4) & (5)? I think (2) is whats called preshading?. If so, the enamel wash on the same areas are redundant & vice versa right? Ive also been looking at other articles on aircraft painting & they seem to leave out (2).

So my current plan is primer, acrylic main colours, enamel wash on panel lines & stain marks & remove excess with enamel remover. Do I need clear gloss layer before enamel wash? Please advice me if I got something wrong in my thinking here.

Thanks very much for your time.

2

I would apply a gloss clear coat before the wash for two reasons:

  1. The gloss finish allows the wash to flow more easily across the surface.

  2. I have had mineral spirits (my base for enamel wash) dissolve under lying acrylic paint if I flood it too much.

I generally try to do it in this order, but depending on the model, adjust as required):

  1. prime
  2. paint
  3. initial post shade (simulate fading paint)
  4. gloss coat (Usually, Future in my case, sometimes Testors Glosscote)
  5. decals
  6. post shade to blend decals (simulate fading paint on markings)
  7. sometimes reapplying gloss coat is necessary
  8. wash (simulate dirt and grime)
  9. flat coat
3

jbdoggy - 8 posts in? Welcome!!

Pre-shading can add some subtle depth to panels, darkening the outer portions will end up making the center of panels look lighter by comparison, and doing it ahead of the main aircraft painting allows you to control the effect a little easier. I’ve done it on a couple of models that I knew were going to have a single colour finish coat, but I rarely bother if there is multi-colour camoflage coming later.

Some do it, some don’t. As with anything you see around here, by all means try it sometime, if you like it, do it again!

Clear coat - I’m with dmk - highly recommended. It also helps blend different colours a little more than if you haven’t used a clear coat.

4

Also I think you get much better results is you use an “opposing” paint for the wash. i.e. If the main painting is done with enamel then wash with acrylic. If main is done with acrylic then wash with enamel. I would never use the same type of paint for the wash and the body color. However, I always clear coat with lacquer so in my case it’s usually more of a color availability than whether or not I choose enamel or acrylic for the wash. Also if you are doing the wash correctly then it really flows ONLY into the panel lines and not much elsewhere. That’s the advantage of the clear gloss coat.

5

I’m building my first bird soon that will follow some of the paint sequences mentioned here. I’m wondering if that many coats of “stuff” has the potential to actually fill the fine recessed lines on some models aircraft. Comments?

Thanks, Chris

6

Thanks for the warm welcome, Vance!

So judging from replies from you & Dmk, it seems that the preshading step is an optional step rather than a compulsory step. Good then. I will do away with it and focus more on trying to bring out the panel lines and stains during the wash stage. Saves me a fair bit of work already & simplifies things a bit.

Another thing… Narita sprayed his tomcat with a thinned mixture or light blue & sky gray paint after the decalling works for scaling effect before finishing up with flat coat. Does anyone here know what this scaling effect is?

7

I haven’t seen the article that you’re referring to, but I’ll make a guess here!

“Scale effect” when refering to models usually refers to “how black does black look”, for lack of a better explanation! If you paint a 1/72 airplane with the same paint that is used on the full-size version, it ends up looking too dark. It comes down to the distortion of colours that happens as your eyes are looking at something far away. (The grey on the Tomcat, you’re seeing from 50 feet away; but on your model, you are only inches away - less distortion.)

So for scale effect, you generally want to lighten your colours a little. In the case that you mentioned, I’m assuming the decals were also too dark in his opinion, so he wanted to fade them a little at the end. An overall mist coat will also help blend areas that have too much contrast.

Be careful with this one though, you want REALLY thin paint, or you’d just end up covering the paint/decals underneath. If you’re looking to try this out, definitely try it on a “donor model” that you don’t mind testing your methods on!

8

Hi Chris,

From what ive seen on Narita’s website and other tomcat builders in the various forums are doing, everyone of them did rescribing the panel lines. Im guessing that this to deepen the panel lines to accomodate the many layers of ‘stuff’ so that you will still get well defined lines when the ‘project’ is over.

Another thing that many of them (they might jolly well be competition standard modelers) do is they fill up panel lines found in the ‘A’ version with putty & rescribe the panel lines found in the ‘D’ version. I will rescrcibe the existing lines to deepen them, but I dont think I will go as far as to fill up & rescribe new lines. Besides…Most people in our lives probably wont even notice the difference betn ‘A’ & ‘D’ panel lines (except tomcat super detailers & fanatics) & pay more attention to admiring good & neat modeling work.

Hey, if you’re interested, we could set up a separate thread & discuss these various processes, modeling plans, decals etc further just to exchange notes.

9

There is that potential if you aren’t careful. But that is true even with just your basic color coat.

I use an airbrush and low air pressure, so after primer (light gray or white), I use thin application of color coats. If multiple colors are needed (like a camouflage scheme), I work from the lightest shade to the darkest so thin coats are all that is needed to cover the previous color.

The fading effects are very light in both color and in application. Very thinned so it is translucent when applied (multiple passes required to even see it). The thinner evaporates leaving just a light mist of paint behind.

The same with the washes. They are very thinned and use high contrast colors usually (dark on a light scheme, light on a dark scheme). The thinner evaporates leaving very little paint behind.

My problem is usually the opposite from obscuring details. After going through a number of steps, I’ll notice a hairline seam or scratch that I missed earlier, and that now stand out like a sore thumb in the finish.

10

Thanks for the quick reply Vance. Certainly clears things up. The links to Narita’s site is below:

Specifically the F14D : http://www.naritafamily.com/Scalemodel/airplanes/photo_frame.htm

Just enter “How to build this tomcat model”. I was making to references to “Day 10 - Washing”. I personally thought he made a real beautiful tomcat diorama there.

Also you can go here: http://www.naritafamily.com/scalemodelTOP.htm

Here you will also be able access his other models - aicraft, tanks, ships etc. Some pictorial tutorials there as well. Hope you enjoy this site as much as I did. [:)]

11

Everything is optional. This is a hobby after all. Besides that, everyone finds their own way to do things. I usually start with techniques that I read here or in magazines and then adjust them as I get experience with them. Sometimes what works well for some doesn’t work for others using their different equipment, paints, and other materials. There can be a lot of trial and error in this hobby which is why most will recommend practicing techniques on a cheaper model or scrap materials before trying them on an expensive kit.

As far as the shading (and maybe I’m not using the technically correct terms here, I am very much an amateur), I’m not trying to to bring out panel lines. That is what I use the wash for. What I am trying to do with the shading is to simulate faded paint. I think I should have used the term 'filter" instead of shading.

Pre shading to simulate panel lines is generally done right after priming and before your color coats. Dark colors trace panel lines. This dark color will bleed through the color coat and look like oil and grime seeping from the recesses. Personally I don’t like this effect except for rarely and in very specific locations (like around the engine or other areas that will leak fluids).

Fading is done after color coats are down and uses very thinned light colors applied to upper surfaces that get faded by the sun. Though the center of the panels is usually where you would pay most attention to here.

12

That is a cool site. I made the links “hot” in the quote here.

13

While I don’t think anyone has the market on “How to Do It”, there are about as many ways to finsih a model as there are modelers…

My personal technique is this:

1A: This is optional. If I want chipping paint, I first shoot aliminum in the general areas to be chipped: Then I dab rubber cement over those areas using a stabbing motion. Then, I let the rubber dry, then proceed to the next step.

1B: Shoot the overall color. If I used step 1A, I then rub the rubber off the areas I put it one to expose the metalic underneath.

2: Shoot clear gloss (rattle can’s good enough) overall, and apply decals.

3: Apply a burnt sienna or dark grey wash over the recessed areas, with opposing paint-types, ie: acrylic over enamel, vice-versa.

4: Shoot a clear flat overall (again, rattle-can’s good enough)

5: Post-shade with artist’s charcoal, appling with a “0” brush for panle lines, 14" flat for larger areas.

6: Seal with a clear flat.

7: Apply “fade-coat” using heavily thinned and lightened base-color(s) IF DESIRED. Make sure you get decasl too, as everything fades… Practice this part on a paint hulk first… Also, be advised that you can’t “Un-fade” a model… So when it gets to the point that you think “one more pass will do it”, DON’T! Stop right there. Let each coat dry thoroughly before spraying another one.

I don’t “pre-shade”, since I think it’s just an unecessary step… Plus, I have ore control over a post-shaded model with the charcoal, and it can be removed and redone if the effect is wrong…

8: Apply pastels. I don’t appy a fixative over these, sine the the spray will drastically alter or even destroy the pastels… Just handle it while wearing gloves from this point on… Otherwise, it’ll look like it was gone over by a CSI team dusting for prints…

14

Ah! So now we see the logic behind pre-shading the panel lines. Proceed to spray main colours in betn the pre shaded lines taking care not to paint over the lines etc etc. Near impossible I think, if using a brush or rattle can to do the main colours. Takes a lot of hand control with an air brush too. All in all much easier to just rattle can spray the main colours & do the shading with wash afterwards & so much more flexible that way!

Hmm…fading is a new technique to me. Something new I leaned from this thread. But if you fade the bodywork parts, how do you fade the decals? Fading parts of the bodywork, but leaving the insignia decals etc unfaded looks kinda inconsistent dont you think? Or another very diluted paint coat to follow afterwards?

15

Thanks for sharing your finishing sequence Hans. I feel exactly the same way as you in the quote above.

16

That’s it exactly, that’s why Narita was over-spraying everything at the end, after the decals are in place. Again, if you’re trying it you need really thin paint, almost like you are tinting the thinner, rather than thinning the paint.

17

Bingo, that’s it exactly… That’s why you want to fade the “factory” paint and insignias in one step…

!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Screenshots/Models/P-39 GB/ARIIP-40004.jpg?t=1297970011)

That’s what I did here, using a tan-tinted thinner to fade the OD (and tan, but it doesn’t show well in the picture) and the insignias, as well as “grime up” the white a skoshi-bit. Ordinarily, this much fading wouldn’t happen fast if it were based in England or CONUS, but this one was based at Guadalcanal, so the fading from the South-Pacific sunlight and salt air is accelerated, as well as it getting grimy faster… The white wing-tips didn’t stay that way long & the sand-colored streaking show the coral dust that was the main runway construction material in that area…

Had the model been been of a 'Cobra in N Afrika, I would have color-shifted the paint a bit more, and likely faded it more severely, especially the insignias, since the blue paint used on USAAF didn’t hold up well in that theater…

18

Whoa, hold on here. Are you using a brush and spray can or an airbrush?

You can certainly prime with a spray can and the wash is often applied with a paint brush, but shading and fading require an airbrush.

19

Actually, one can post-shade & fade with pastels and a brush… Only pre-shading with paint requires an airbrush if the feathered edge is what you want… On the other hand, I’ve also used a Sharpie Utra-fine marker for pre-shading… The effects are quite different, but still quite subtle…

20

That’s a thought. It doesn’t turn purple under the paint?