I am a relative newbie and I probably bit off more than I can chew with my first real model build.
I am working on the Tamiya1/48 F14 A and have been trying to get a good look for the exhaust.
I started with a base of Mr Finishing Surface Black. That was followed by a layer of Ak Extreme Metal Stainless Steel. On the nozzles I then added model Master Titanium buffing.
From here I am stuck. I’ve seen various makers do the the light blue highlights but I am not being successful with this at all.
Is there anything I am missing? Any advice or tips to advance the look?
Hey NMM, welcome to the hobby! Nice to “meet” you.
If I’m correct, I’m guessing you’re talking about the blue dicoloration caused by heating? I did a little heat discoloring on my F-16 using my airbrush and making very light passes with very thin(ned) Tamiya Clear Blue. Sorry, but I don’t remember the ration. I sprayed it a low pressure and slowly built up the color.
I think that’s the look you’re going for, right?
Hopefully this helped a little. Feel free to ask any questions, and I’ll see if I can help.
I’m not an expert on…well…anything, actually, but especially the F-14. I don’t know if the discoloration goes all the way around. I bet if you Google F-14 exhausts you’ll be able to find some good reference pictures. Just try to copy what you see in the pictures. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t nail it the first time. I’ve been modeling a long time, and it still takes me several attempts to get things right. Even the simple things!
As far as the ratio goes, I would start with something “thinner” and practice. Shoot some spare sprue or even a plastic utensil. Try different ratios. Remember, it’s better to start thin and build up. If memory serves me, my ratio was probably thinner than 5:1. That just gave me more margin for error. I could slowly spray and monitor the color’s density more easily that way.
Good luck! I hear the Tamiya Tomcat is a great kit. Maybe Santa will bring me one. Anyway, be sure to post your pictures. I’d love to see the finished product.
Alclad makes a transparent blue that works really well for exhausts, and you don’t have to worry about the correct paint/thinner ratio. You just dust it on, straight out of the bottle.
Hey! Good to know! Alclad is my go-to stuff for NMF. I’ll have to check out their transparent stuff. Thanks Michael for your original post, Eaglecash 867 taught me something.
I’ve used Tamiya clear smoke/orange/blue to achieve heat staining on other applications like motorcycles. I’ll have to check the Alclad stuff as well as I am a big fan.
I use alclad products for tailpipes and exhausts. I stsrt with a base color representing the unburned taipipe material. Alclad has a burned metal color that I put on with a very, very thin blotchy coating. Then I put on even thinner blotches of transparent blue and red (any of several brands). I sometimes put these on drybrush if I want thinner blotches than my airbrush can do.
On my F4 I used a basecoat of stainless steel metal master and then used oi paints to give some tonal difference between the pannels and the “feathers” on the cans
Then I used a graphite artist pencle to go over it and this gives a really nice metal look
Basically the same on my f15 but not quite as dark.
Flory Wash is another water-based way to do a good wash. For that, you just slop the stuff all over the part with a large brush, let dry for 20-30 minutes, and then wipe off the excess with a damp sponge. Tried it for the first time a week or two ago, and I’ll never go back to the old way of dabbing thinned paint into each and every engraved line and mopping it all up with what seemed like a whole box of q-tips later. The stuff is amazing and makes quick work of a job I used to dread.
I was curious about the burned effect too, and I recently tried it on a pair of F-4 exhausts. here is one of them…
Many folks have mentioned Alcad. I used Alclad Hot Metal Sepia, Violet, and Blue for this test. Being my first time and as you can see, I got a bit heavy-handed and should have stopped adding thin layers before I thought it was enough!
Started with gloss black base, I don’t recall if I used Alclad or Vallejo Metal colors for the metal base.
Again, I think I overdid it but it will probably be barely visible if at all after I hit is with some exhaust or soot spray later, but it was fun to do and IMO it looks better in person than in the photo.
Speaking of the Tamiya F-14A, here’s how my burner cans turned out. I used Alclad Dark Aluminum and their Transparent Blue and Hot Metal Sepia paints. The inside is flat black, which I dry-brushed with flat white. Turned out OK for my first try at doing a burner can that way I guess.
First time trying this too. I have no idea if this F16 nozzle is accurate. MRP super silver then burnt iron and burnt blue added. Soot inside is ABT 502 oils-industrial earth and black. I had fun painting it so I’m calling that a win.
Agreed that it is a bit too heavy, but beyond that it is great. Good blending of colors. Just a little less color, or a light overcoat of burned exhaust color and it would be perfect.
