I realize this is a big subject, but could anyone share their techniques for painting instrument panels?
Easy, paint it black, drybrush white on the dials, then pick out a few dials or switches for some color…or at least that’s how I do it for ww2 ip’s. For jets, I’ve always used a decal or PE.
Depends on the set. For instance, if you have a PE set, then it’s easy. The panel and guages are seperate pieces. Paint the panel, then glue the guage decal on the backside and back-paint it with white to highlight the guages.
With an OOB IP, paint it the base color (I like tarnished black) and then use a drybrush technique to hightlight the knobs, dials and guages. BUT, if you’re like me and hate dryrushing tiny little areas, check your local hobby shop for PrismaColor colored pencils. They’re soft-lead pencils in every color. Since you can sharpen them to a point, you don’t have to worry about getting them all over the place, like stray paint. I keep a few pencils in silver, off-white, red, green and yellow. I can color all kinds of things and not have to worry about accidentally painting over other things.
-Fred
Aside from dry brushing already mentioned, put a drop of clear gloss or certain glues over the instruments afterwards to simulate the glass. I use either Testors or Micro Scales glue used for attaching canopies.
If I can’t see 'em I don’t worry about them. Future on the instrument lenses to replicate glass, decals where possible, dry brushing is the old tried and true technique, PE & film (just remember to give the background the appropriate color so the films details show), using the appropriate colored pens to highlight the switches and knobs…yeah this is a huge subject.
I once did a 1:24 Stuka, I used a picture of the instrument panel that was scaled to the appropriate size, then cut out each dial with punch and glue them into place, followed by a drop of Krystal Klear for the lense.
On a similar scaled P-51 a friend of mine was building I used instrument pictures on 35mm slides working with some fancy equipment in a darkroom by a knowledgable party we shot the pictures. The slide film was placed into the dash and back lit. It was impressive but he made one mistake, used incandescent bulbs and forgot to turn it off…the model had a molten cockpit several hours later. All that work and expense into the toilet. Someday I may do it again using better technology and LEDs.
Try a Prismacolor silver pencil- it gives results that I can’t believe. It’s like dry brushing, only more precise. It only hits the raised detail. And with a few different colors, you can really make details pop.
I also like the dry brush and colored pencil method on 1:48 and 1:72 panels, I use extra fine point paint pens (these also work great in small spaces like wheel wells). I have also experimented with painting the inside of guages with white enamel, and after drying well, I put a drop of highly thinned acrylic black in, which leaves any raised details standing above the black. If needed, I take a gentle swipe across the tops of the raised details t rub away the black that may have stuck. Works pretty well, I think.
Brian [C):-)]
For a simple panel, what I like to do is I paint the background panel first, which is usually flat black, and simply paint the dials white or silver, depending on which looks better at the time. And then I do a light wash of flat black, quickly wiping any excess away with some bathrom tissue, over the gauge faces to give them a slightly dirty look that highlights any gauge marks,etc.
Tom [C):-)]
Thanks for all the idea’s. I am going to try them all.
Here is a technique for PE panels.
http://s96920072.onlinehome.us/tnt1/001-100/TNT033_PE-Painting_Kwikkel/tnt033.htm