I come to this forum in need of anyone who is willing to share their experience building or knowledge of the Revell 1/48 B-58. First, I have been out of the model building hobby since I was a teenager, now I am thirty somthing and getting back into my passion. My first kit is the Revell B-58 and I am at a lost on which natural metal paint finish that is the closest color to the real thing. Of course the instructions list a paint that does not exist in Testor’s Model Master product line-up which brings me to my plight. Overall the kit looks fairly easy to assemble for someone who has been out of this hobby for almost twenty years but would appreciate any one’s assistance with how to paint this all natrual metal paint finish on the B-58. Thank you in advance…
uhhmmm…before jumping right with BMF on this beast. Try a smaller project for experience
and go with either Alclad or SnJ. While the MM of buffable and Non-buffable metalic paints are nice, they are very fragile and don’t stand up to masking very well. You can make all the shades by adding blue, brown, grey, or black enamels to Alclad or SnJ (both also have the variations from Chrome to Gold). Humbrol and Tamiya also have thier own metallics - I have no experience with those however.
But again, try a smaller project first just for the experience.
Try a smaller, simpler project to start with. Like yourself, I returned to modelling in my early 30s, my first kit being Revell’s 1/72 Fw190, a great little kit, which I really enjoyed. I then went and bought Revell’s 1/72 Heinkel He177, a much bigger and more complex beast, both in terms of number of components and paint finish. Needless to say I made a complete hash of things!
Welcome back to the hobby, your story sounds so much like that of many other returning modelers. The B-58 may appear to be a simple kit but in truth is not. Attempting a bare metal finish can be difficult and with the Hustler you will have some filling issues that must be handled perfectly or they will show in the finial finish. I would suggest you keep that kit aside for a little later and start with a smaller project like a MiG or Saber. For the bare metal finish itself I would suggest looking at Alclad metal lacquers as the easiest thing to use, here is a tutorial on that subject … http://www.swannysmodels.com/Alclad.html and if you check the Jets tab on the site you will find a review of the B-58 and some aftermarket items as well.
Many thanks to all that responded, after reading the replies I will start out on a smaller kit like a MiG or WW II aircraft. Now I just need to pick which one! hehehehe Thank you all again for the advice.
If you want to do a WW2 aircraft and you want the NMF then look at the P-47 or P-51, both good choices for NMF. There are also several Japanese aircraft like the Ki-61 Tony that could be good proving grounds for NMF techniques. Good luck with whatever you choose and keep us posted on your progress.
Hello wibhi from Fraser, Michigan. Seen your post on the B-58. I can send you some pics of some aircraft i done in a BareMetal scheme using many different products such as Alclad 2, SNJ, MM, Floquil Old Silver. Floquil Platinum Mist to name a few. If you send me your e-mail address i will get the shots off to you. Doing a BareMetal finish is not easy but with patience and practice and persistence it will pay off. When done right they are beautiful. Send me your e-mail address to dsc070744@wowway.com If you have any questions about how to do it , I might be able to help. Keep practicing on it and it will pay off. Most of all, dont get discouraged. We have all made mistakes. I have all the virus protection so no need to worry about your system. Hope to hear from you. Dennis. Cheers