I was wondering, the engines on a lot of Russian aircraft are usually a colourful scorched metal, and its good to do this as it is a challenge as I enjoy painting plastic in order to change the appearance of the material. Some people use tin foil for NMF aircraft so do you think if you held foil above a candle it would discolour like the metal on a actual engine? Being that it is metal, and more to that point it could be cut to shape and glued to give about as realistic a finish as possible, anybody know or think this is a good idea?
Radio shack used to sell an etching solution used to etch circut boards. I have used it on scale corrugated roofs and siding and it looks just like rusty metal when done right. It will work on tin -foil but you will want to test it first to find the right soaking time for the effect you are looking for. I now from experience that soaking for more than 20 seconds dissolves the part completely!!! I belive the stuff was called Archer echant. I still have a bottle of it somewhere. 18 oz. lasts a lifetime. For a “blued” exaust look… about 4 to 5 seconds should do the trick. Oh yea…the stuff puts off an incredable toxic cloud so work with a fan or outside.
Hmm sounds a bit dangerous, would it make the metal look heated?
Heated and pitted just like a muffler on an old car. It only starts to pit if you soak the part a little longer.
Might have to try this but I have never heard of the stuff will look into it.
You can also use it to etch your own parts from brass or copper. I mannaged to make a set of channel-locks in 1/25 scale on the head of a penny. Just be careful with this stuff… you could “shoot your eye out” ; 0
Dean, I’ve heard of folks doing just what you’re asking about, but using a small gas torch to scorch the metal. They seem to have better, more consistent results that way as a candle might not be hot enough and you avoid all the black soot too.
The trick seems to be finding a foil thin enough to work around details and strong enough to withstand the torching and handling.
Hmm that’s true Dre I wonder it possibly might just be more hassle than it’s worth.
The scorching should be the easiest part; making the delicate foil behave properly afterward is another.
I wonder if you can abuse Bare Metal Foil in this way?? That may be the thing…
Only one way to find out Dre, could be worth a shot.
I found it at Radio Shack: PCB Etchant Solution. $11.50 and I can’t wait to try it, too (Outside apparently!). Thanks for the tip.
I think tin foil will only blacken if exposed to candle heat, but I’m not positive. Certainly an inexpensive thing to try. I used colours from a Tamiya pastel weathering set over gunmetal paint with good results. Mine was done with only their soot & rust colours, if you can track down the brighter colours, I think it would look quite convincing.
Well vance I used exactly what you said only over Alclad white aluminum and with alclad hot metal blue, and tamiya clear red and a ton of rust pigments and mud etc, worked quite well actually