dmthamade Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Hello all!! Building an A-4E Skyhawk in US Navy colors and tried to do the red edge on a gear door. It turned out a disaster, what a mess. How do you guys do such a neat job on these? Tried a fine brush with poor results and masking looks to be impossible. I haven`t done a Navy aircraft in years, when i did 1/48th i didn`t bother with the edges but in 1/32 it is more obvious. Can anyone give some tips/ideas, please? Thank you. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 (edited) Fine tip red Sharpie, or a red Prismacolor pencil. Edited March 24, 2008 by David Walker Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JasonB Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 (edited) Red Sharpie permanent marker or red paint pen are 2 easy methods. Also, if you have a stiff wide, flat brush, you can load it with paint, but use the side (not the tip, but the flat side of the bristles)and lightly run it along the edge of the gear door. If the brush isn't overloaded with paint, the wideness of the brush prevents the paint from going beyond the egde as can happen with a smaller brush. I hope that makes sense. Edited March 24, 2008 by jburch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie Cheetah Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I use a dual tip red Sharpie. It has a fine tip on one end, and a broader pointed tip on the other. Works great for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 Red Sharpie.... thats BRILLIANT!!! I just tried it with a black fine point on a scrap gear door and it worked great!!! Will go to Staples tomorrow and get a red Sharpie. Thanks, guys!! Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bwog Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 dmthamade, A method that has worked for me in the past is to paint the gear door with gloss or matalic white. Then use red oil paint applied with a fine tipped brush. Oil paints take a long time to dry. If you mess up, use a toothpicks to lift/remove the mistake. The sharpie sounds good too, but i haven't used it. Good luck! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LemonJello Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I have a red paint pen I picked up in a set while living in Okinawa ("Gundam Markers"). I just used it on the gear doors for my A-4M and it takes a steady hand, but it does a nice job. The red Sharpie is an idea I'll file away for when this pen dries up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel_B Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 If you go the red Sharpie route, DO NOT put any kind of clear-coat on it afterward (including Future), or it'll run and make a great big mess... Daniel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karl Sander Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 If you go the red Sharpie route, DO NOT put any kind of clear-coat on it afterward (including Future), or it'll run and make a great big mess... Daniel Yep - clear coat, THEN Sharpie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I had a feeling about that. Sharpie inks at the very least don't like Lacquer coats as they seem to cut through and soften. The Future bit is surprising though as I would have expected something like Future to be inert to a Sharpie. Or could it be reacting with whatever agents are used to thin the Future? I am curious as to how it would react with traditional model acrylic clear coats. Thanks for the tips, I am getting close to finished on an F-14 model and I too would love to know of easy techniques for red on gear doors as well. I might be able to secure some red Gundam markers, so I might spring for those first as I love using fine line black pens for other detailing cheats. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel_B Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I had a feeling about that. Sharpie inks at the very least don't like Lacquer coats as they seem to cut through and soften. The Future bit is surprising though as I would have expected something like Future to be inert to a Sharpie. Or could it be reacting with whatever agents are used to thin the Future? I only thin mine with 3-4 drops of Windex, so it's pretty much straight out of the bottle, and the one time I tried it over the Sharpie, it turned my nice white doors pink... Daniel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 If you go the red Sharpie route, DO NOT put any kind of clear-coat on it afterward (including Future), or it'll run and make a great big mess... Daniel Thanks for the warning. I use acrylics, so i will experiment with it before doing all the doors. If it does run, i will do the red last, then weather with MiG pigments. Man, pink doors. What a way to ruin your day!! Thanks again!! Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
markiii Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Gundam markers are good, but they seem to be hard to find. I go to Michaels and buy Sakura gel ink pens. You can buy them in sets or individually.They have many uses. Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
F106A Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Arrrgh! Something else to buy!! Nah, that sounds like a very simple technique. I will definitely pass this on to my son for his current F-14 build. I'm just the money behind the project! Anyone have some close-up shots of their Sharpie work? Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Anybody know if the Sukura pens might have the same style ink pigment in them as Gundam markers? Reason I ask is I can also get Sukura pens locally and I would probably have an easier time scoring these then the Gundam markers (I think the local Michaels has red in stock too). I use the black pens and love them (in fact I need to replace my .05 tipped one since it got used up in a washing machine by accident (doh!). I also use ink pens from another company called ZIG, but these aren't quite as good as the Sukuras in my experience. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 (edited) I only thin mine with 3-4 drops of Windex, so it's pretty much straight out of the bottle, and the one time I tried it over the Sharpie, it turned my nice white doors pink... :DDaniel Upon thinking about it, the Windex itself is probably what did it rather then the Future since the stuff is designed to clean marker residue from glass and windows (I had to do it often once). I'd be curious to see how Future would react with a different thinning medium. Of course, that means when in doubt about a paint/clearcoat combo, test first. Edited March 24, 2008 by Jay Chladek Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Nothing close up handy, but this was done with a red Tamiya paint pen. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Filak Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I've tried the red Sharpie, but I find now that I get the best results using Italian Red and a striping brush. Remember to gloss coat the doors with Future first; that way, if you make a mistake, you can just wipe it right off: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gervais8 Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I use the same approach as Steve but may give the red sharpie a try too. Thanks for the advice guys. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rjwood_uk Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 ah a striping brush is a good idea!! i use the sharpie method but sometimes it seams a little pink to me. revell ferarri red is a good one to use. Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 I tried the fine brush and paint but i`m too hamfisted to do a good enough job. I didn`t think about wiping off excessive paint but i will try the Sharpie idea first. Looking at pictures of various real doors, they certainly aren`t super neat about it. Some outside of the lines looks acceptable. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reddog Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 One way i paint them is to take a piece of blue tape and put in sticky side up, paint insignia red on the sticky side the gently press the door onto the paint. The paint sticks to the side of the door and you get a nice effect because on the real thing they ain't always perfect or straight. HTH Reddog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Clumber Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I've tried the red Sharpie, but I find now that I get the best results using Italian Red and a striping brush. Remember to gloss coat the doors with Future first; that way, if you make a mistake, you can just wipe it right off: Mr. Steve, Sir? Pardon my ignorance, but what is a 'striping brush' and where does one find such a critter? Thanks tracy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mark M. Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 I use a simple paint brush and red paint. I just wipe the brush off on the rim of the jar thoroughly before touching it to the gear door. The more paint on the brush, the more likely you'll blob it over the edge. Do it like dry-brushing, but on a specific surface instead of raised details. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Huey Gunner Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Mr. Steve, Sir? Pardon my ignorance, but what is a 'striping brush' and where does one find such a critter? Thanks tracy Micro Mark. There very long bristled brushes. I believe they call them "Liner Brush's". Have them, use them, love tme. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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