> Hello All:
Hi,
> I'm going to be getting ahold of some aircraft minis rather soon and I
I dunno... a good natural aluminum finish on an airplane model is difficult.
Most guys prime with a light color (white or gray) and paint with
'metalizer', a funny metallic lacquer. There's two kinds- the kind you
buff and the kind you don't. I assume you don't want to polish every little
airplane, so I'd go with the non-buffing.
Oh... supposedly it can only be applied with an airbrush. However, I and
others have successfully used small amounts of Testors Model Master metalizer
with a paintbrush.
This is for fairly large airplane models though. It might be different for
minis.
> Later,
-From: Mark A. Siefert <cthulhu@csd.uwm.edu>
> I'm going to be getting ahold of some aircraft minis rather soon and I
Hmmm... couldn't really say as I've found metallic acrylics to cover fairly
well over black. Consider painting on a gloss or semi-gloss clear coat
after you've sealed the minis with a protective coat. This of course after
testing the clear coat on something other than a miniature you've just
invested some major amount of time painting.
When I was more a plastic modeler (too many years ago) I used to use a Micro
Sol brand adhesive to tack actual aluminum foil down, rubbing and burnishing
it smooth afterwards. Looked great but was a pain to get paint to adhere to
for such things as oil runs and dirt streaks. Not that this will be much use
with miniatures.
Best of Luck,
For my 1/144th scale planes like the B-17, B-24, P-51, P-47 and
P-38, I primer light gray and use aluminum spray paint. It's quick,
but not as shiny as real aluminum. But then again you're not going to get that
kind of shine without a whole lot of work or money. More
expensive methods include self-adhesive metal foils - the kind used
for scale classic cars to do chrome work and fenders or electro-
plating. If you're just doing it for game pieces, I'd stick with the
spray paint - it's quick and cheap.
As for looking plain - plain aluminum does look plain. We add details
such as panel lines in a medium gray color or pick squadrons that have
interesting colors or patterns for the wingtips, tails and noses.
--Binhan
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