Modeling tools.
Discussion
I think it worked too.
British aircraft tended not to be left in their natural metal finish. Most silver looking British aircraft were actually painted with aluminium paint. The version they used in the 1950s was referred to as "High Speed Silver" and was common on aircraft such as the Canberra, Meteor and Vampire.
British aircraft tended not to be left in their natural metal finish. Most silver looking British aircraft were actually painted with aluminium paint. The version they used in the 1950s was referred to as "High Speed Silver" and was common on aircraft such as the Canberra, Meteor and Vampire.
Didn't the Vampire have moulded wooden fuselage pods, ISTR they were a composite, wood/metal construction so they'd need to be painted, to be finished in silver
I saw lines of them in Yorkshire being decommisioned in the sixties as an ATC cadet. We must have been marched past two dozen T11s en route to the AEF dispersal
I like the Duxford picture even though to my "eye" both the Cranberry and the Hastings look far too "silvery clean" for real life
I saw lines of them in Yorkshire being decommisioned in the sixties as an ATC cadet. We must have been marched past two dozen T11s en route to the AEF dispersal
I like the Duxford picture even though to my "eye" both the Cranberry and the Hastings look far too "silvery clean" for real life
perdu said:
I like the Duxford picture even though to my "eye" both the Cranberry and the Hastings look far too "silvery clean" for real life
Talking about clean aircraft, I have been pondering the weathering method for my next model, a 1/144 scale Revell Globemaster. It has a boring Grey colour scheme, so I am going to try some pre-shading of panel lines, shading of adjacent panels followed by a dark wash for panel lines, and dry brushing for staining.I can't help thinking that, in many cases, black panel lines on model aircraft look very un-realistic at small scales, yet an overall flat colour scheme looks too toy like (just as bad as no weathering/lining at all). Some people go to great lengths to black-wash panel lines, but the end result often looks a bit naff to my eyes. Check this one out for example:
Beautifully executed, but does it bear any resemblance to the real thing?
If you measure a 1/72 aircraft scribed panel line, it would be something like 0.5" - 1" wide in real life. Looking at real military aircraft, it is sometimes very difficult to make the lines out at all - even at 1:1 scale when you're standing a few metres away from them, let alone the tens of metres effectively when viewing a model at arms length.
I might try using a slightly darker shade of grey rather than harsh black for the lines. that, in conjunction with some darker panel edges would be more than enough IMO. We will see.
Any thoughts?
I wonder now whether I meant T11s Eric? 
I'm getting old and forgetful
anyway yes I do remember sad looking fuselages weathering at a different rate to the wings even then just after withdrawal
dr gn I used to remove panel lines from many over "developed" airframes and then rescribed them with the tip of my SwannMorton number 2 blade. Then scraping away some of the panel surfaces so they were diferent under the paint and showed signs of being real, made the surfaces look far more real and much less like a model
Under a well sprayed paint film such panels stood out far more naturally with little in the way of obvious panel lining
the last kit I started was the Matchbox Chinook and I was detailing it this way when I decided I wasn't enjoying it anymore
and stopped
the buggeration factor now, years later is that I chucked lots of "part mades" away and sold more on evilbay
even now I dont understand why I threw away the Italaeri DC3...
I'm getting old and forgetfulanyway yes I do remember sad looking fuselages weathering at a different rate to the wings even then just after withdrawal
dr gn I used to remove panel lines from many over "developed" airframes and then rescribed them with the tip of my SwannMorton number 2 blade. Then scraping away some of the panel surfaces so they were diferent under the paint and showed signs of being real, made the surfaces look far more real and much less like a model
Under a well sprayed paint film such panels stood out far more naturally with little in the way of obvious panel lining
the last kit I started was the Matchbox Chinook and I was detailing it this way when I decided I wasn't enjoying it anymore
and stopped
the buggeration factor now, years later is that I chucked lots of "part mades" away and sold more on evilbay
even now I dont understand why I threw away the Italaeri DC3...
perdu said:
I wonder now whether I meant T11s Eric? I'm getting old and forgetful
anyway yes I do remember sad looking fuselages weathering at a different rate to the wings even then just after withdrawal
dr gn I used to remove panel lines from many over "developed" airframes and then rescribed them with the tip of my SwannMorton number 2 blade. Then scraping away some of the panel surfaces so they were diferent under the paint and showed signs of being real, made the surfaces look far more real and much less like a model
Under a well sprayed paint film such panels stood out far more naturally with little in the way of obvious panel lining
the last kit I started was the Matchbox Chinook and I was detailing it this way when I decided I wasn't enjoying it anymore
and stopped
the buggeration factor now, years later is that I chucked lots of "part mades" away and sold more on evilbay
even now I dont understand why I threw away the Italaeri DC3...
The T55 was the export version of the T11 - they're virtually identical. I'm getting old and forgetfulanyway yes I do remember sad looking fuselages weathering at a different rate to the wings even then just after withdrawal
dr gn I used to remove panel lines from many over "developed" airframes and then rescribed them with the tip of my SwannMorton number 2 blade. Then scraping away some of the panel surfaces so they were diferent under the paint and showed signs of being real, made the surfaces look far more real and much less like a model
Under a well sprayed paint film such panels stood out far more naturally with little in the way of obvious panel lining
the last kit I started was the Matchbox Chinook and I was detailing it this way when I decided I wasn't enjoying it anymore
and stopped
the buggeration factor now, years later is that I chucked lots of "part mades" away and sold more on evilbay
even now I dont understand why I threw away the Italaeri DC3...
You've obviously mot made any models for a while. Italeri dropped the old "Italaeri" form of spelling over 30 years ago.
perdu said:
Didn't the Vampire have moulded wooden fuselage pods, ISTR they were a composite, wood/metal construction so they'd need to be painted, to be finished in silver
I saw lines of them in Yorkshire being decommisioned in the sixties as an ATC cadet. We must have been marched past two dozen T11s en route to the AEF dispersal
I like the Duxford picture even though to my "eye" both the Cranberry and the Hastings look far too "silvery clean" for real life
I saw lines of them in Yorkshire being decommisioned in the sixties as an ATC cadet. We must have been marched past two dozen T11s en route to the AEF dispersal
I like the Duxford picture even though to my "eye" both the Cranberry and the Hastings look far too "silvery clean" for real life
oh dear
mind you that one looks as if it's getting real tlc from a chippy
or two
ref Italeri I stopped modelling about a year after Matchbox produced their Chinook
and threw away so much stuff I could cry
NOW
I even threw away a scratch-built Shorts C-23A Sherpa
I still have the photo-story boards for that and the RAE Dakota (in 1985 RAE celebration markings) that was left in limbo
I used those to compare paint samples and colour swatches
And find panels that stood out and those that "hid" a bit
bill
mind you that one looks as if it's getting real tlc from a chippy
or two
ref Italeri I stopped modelling about a year after Matchbox produced their Chinook
and threw away so much stuff I could cry
NOW
I even threw away a scratch-built Shorts C-23A Sherpa
I still have the photo-story boards for that and the RAE Dakota (in 1985 RAE celebration markings) that was left in limbo
I used those to compare paint samples and colour swatches
And find panels that stood out and those that "hid" a bit
bill
Eric Mc said:
British aircraft tended not to be left in their natural metal finish. Most silver looking British aircraft were actually painted with aluminium paint. The version they used in the 1950s was referred to as "High Speed Silver" and was common on aircraft such as the Canberra, Meteor and Vampire.
Eric, I know that this is a little later than the 50's but many lightenings that stood on the pan at Laarbruch during the 'cold war' era were of natural aluminium finish with nothing more than a clear coat of laquer, as were a number of luftwaffe F104 Starfighters that I have personally witnessed over the years.During the late 70's & early 80's there was a 'Vampire' hidden away & gathering dust in a hangar at RAF Swinderby.
Regarding aluminium finishes, I find that one problem with using paints is that the particles used to give the metallic effect can be rather large sometimes and this can make models look a bit odd.
Having switched to acrylics, I am also yet to find a really good silver/aluminium acrylic paint, the one I am using is way too thick and thinning it makes it rather transparent and it doesn't want to stick to the model even after washing the surface. I am using a brush because I am yet to invest in a decent airbrush and the best I have been able to acheive is to polish the surface with a metal polish to try to smooth it out. The brush strokes can still be seen though.
I think I may go back to enamel for metallic finishes unless I can summon sufficient courage to try bare metal foil.
Btw Eric, I love that museum photo, is it Hendon? It must be almost impossible to find a photo that includes a Vulcan, a TSR2 and a Lightning.
Having switched to acrylics, I am also yet to find a really good silver/aluminium acrylic paint, the one I am using is way too thick and thinning it makes it rather transparent and it doesn't want to stick to the model even after washing the surface. I am using a brush because I am yet to invest in a decent airbrush and the best I have been able to acheive is to polish the surface with a metal polish to try to smooth it out. The brush strokes can still be seen though.
I think I may go back to enamel for metallic finishes unless I can summon sufficient courage to try bare metal foil.
Btw Eric, I love that museum photo, is it Hendon? It must be almost impossible to find a photo that includes a Vulcan, a TSR2 and a Lightning.
Edited by SlipStream77 on Monday 10th August 19:08
SlipStream77 said:
Regarding aluminium finishes, I find that one problem with using paints is that the particles used to give the metallic effect can be rather large sometimes and this can make models look a bit odd.
Has anyone ever tried Humbrol/Revell MetalCote? I had some success with it years ago: you paint or spray it on, leave it overnight and then polish it with a cloth and it comes up like foil. I could imagine mixing slightly lighter and darker pigments with it to give varying shades to adjacent panels.Edited by SlipStream77 on Monday 10th August 19:08
dr_gn said:
SlipStream77 said:
Regarding aluminium finishes, I find that one problem with using paints is that the particles used to give the metallic effect can be rather large sometimes and this can make models look a bit odd.
Has anyone ever tried Humbrol/Revell MetalCote? I had some success with it years ago: you paint or spray it on, leave it overnight and then polish it with a cloth and it comes up like foil. I could imagine mixing slightly lighter and darker pigments with it to give varying shades to adjacent panels.Edited by SlipStream77 on Monday 10th August 19:08
I think I will have to try to get to Duxford sometime too.
SlipStream77 said:
dr_gn said:
SlipStream77 said:
Regarding aluminium finishes, I find that one problem with using paints is that the particles used to give the metallic effect can be rather large sometimes and this can make models look a bit odd.
Has anyone ever tried Humbrol/Revell MetalCote? I had some success with it years ago: you paint or spray it on, leave it overnight and then polish it with a cloth and it comes up like foil. I could imagine mixing slightly lighter and darker pigments with it to give varying shades to adjacent panels.Edited by SlipStream77 on Monday 10th August 19:08
When I was an ATC instructor my squadron went to Wattisham when the Lightnings lived there. No obvious paint on any of them except for roundels, stencilling and squadron insignia. Just bare (probably anodised ally) metal
And a year or so later at Leconfield as the Mk 1as were being graveyarded. No visible paint
The radomes weren't painted finish either, a sort of greenish olivey "natural glassfibre" effect. I'd start with a light "sand" colour and streak a greenish layer over it to get the look.
Anyone remember the old Gloster Javelin nosecones that used to litter the roadside outside many a MOD establishment, all lop-sided 'cos they slanted at the back across the airframe. Always looked daft as modern art gate guardians
There was a cadet unit ISTR in Worcester that had a few outside.
And a year or so later at Leconfield as the Mk 1as were being graveyarded. No visible paint
The radomes weren't painted finish either, a sort of greenish olivey "natural glassfibre" effect. I'd start with a light "sand" colour and streak a greenish layer over it to get the look.
Anyone remember the old Gloster Javelin nosecones that used to litter the roadside outside many a MOD establishment, all lop-sided 'cos they slanted at the back across the airframe. Always looked daft as modern art gate guardians
There was a cadet unit ISTR in Worcester that had a few outside.
The Lightnings were definitely natural metal - until they started camouflaging them in the 1970s.
I didn't say that NO British aircraft were in natural metal finish. However, the MAJORITY of British military aircraft in silver finishes were painted silver.
On the other hand, the USAF were quite happy to leave their aircraft in natural metal. For most of the 1950s and well into the 1960s, many of their front line fighters and bombers remained unpainted - apart from the often highly colourful unit markings. As the war in Vietnam intensified, camouflage became more prevalent and by the 1970s the colourful all metal schemes had largely disappeared.
I didn't say that NO British aircraft were in natural metal finish. However, the MAJORITY of British military aircraft in silver finishes were painted silver.
On the other hand, the USAF were quite happy to leave their aircraft in natural metal. For most of the 1950s and well into the 1960s, many of their front line fighters and bombers remained unpainted - apart from the often highly colourful unit markings. As the war in Vietnam intensified, camouflage became more prevalent and by the 1970s the colourful all metal schemes had largely disappeared.
Gassing Station | Scale Models | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff