As I’m working on converting my Testor 1/48 scale F-19 stealth fighter into a GI JOE X-19 stealth fighter based on the old 1980’s toy, I’m going to need to tint the cockpit canopy a blue color.
What might be the best or easiest way to do this?
One or two thoughts I’ve had. Tell me if these will work or not.
Any other suggestions or advice?
Tamiya TS-72 Clear Blue Spray paint. Spray thin coats until you reach your desired darkness.
You can get pretty much any color you want in a “clear” spray.
The Tamiya clears in the jars work well for this. You don’t need to mix with Future, just thin it with your X-20A and spray light coats. If you don’t like the look, you can strip it off with iso alcohol and try again. I suggest tinting the inside of the canopy, so you won’t wear the tint handling it, and you can still polish the outside if needed at any point.
Do you have something clear you could do a test on? Such as an empty Scotch tape dispenser?
Cheers,
Mark
It sounds like you’re suggesting I airbrush the color onto the part. Airbrushing is not an option for me as I don’t own/use an airbrush for various reasons which will take too long to explain.
Yeah, I think I’ve got some spare clear model parts I can practice on. I’ll have to take a look.
Tinting future with food colouring does work, avoiding the need to use an airbrush. There is a slight risk of some of the colour pooling on the lower edge of the canopy, but at least future is relatively easy to remove if you don’t like the results and this area might be covered by paint on the canopy frame.
As far as clear sprays, I haven’t tried the Tamiya, but Testors also has/had a couple clear spray colours, one of them being transparent blue. I used it years ago on a project and it worked well. The only caveat is that it’s relatively difficult to get a very light tint that is even and there may be a bit of distortion due to the thickness of the paint. To have even coverage you need a fairly wet coat of paint. If you go the spray can route, paint the inside of the canopy to have a smooth finish on the outer side.
I appreciate all the spray can advice, folks. But I probably won’t go that route. TAMIYA spray cans at my local hobby store are in the $7-8 range. I’m not going to spend that kind of money for just one little part. Not worth the effort.
Ah, my mistake. What about some kind of transparent film or tape? That heat-resistant masking tape I’ve been using is an orangish metallic color, I bet there’s something blue out there.
