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"Gunmetal" color paint


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This may be a bit of a silly question, but I have been using ModelMaster Gunmetal color paint, and everytime I use it, it seems to come out as a sort of mostly greenish mix of dark gray and forest green. Is this the proper color that should be showing up?

Is there a better color or paint brand for this color? I suppose it is listed as "Metallic" on the Hobby Boss kit directions that I have, as well, if that is of any identification help.

Thanks for any assistance!

E

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Floquil (the RailRoad colors line) makes a very nice gun metal, though it doesn't have that "blued" look one would expect for color named "Gun Metal". It's like a dark silver, airbrushes beautifully and lays down very shiny. I recently used it for some of the area around a Phantom's tail and IMHO it looks great. It's one of their regular enamel paints--I thin it with mineral spirits and a few drops of lacquer thinner to speed up the drying time.

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For "gun" Gun-metal, I've found nothing to beat matt black paint, coated in powdered pencil lead.

Edgar

That's the way!

Really I prefer to mix flat black with aluminum in a variable ratio according to the shade you need. Than the pencil treatment.

I never bought a gun metal color.

Sometimes a gloss black (always mixed with aluminum) works too, under particular situations; in this case the pencil treatment is much shorter.

Regards

Euge.

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I've been using Boltgun Metal from Citadel/Games Workshop on the last couple of kits and am quite happy with it compared to others.

I think it darkens some as it dries, even so it looks even better once you apply it than it does in the bottle.

Edited by wffwii
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Alcald's "Jet Exhaust," particularly, has worked well for me. For airbrushing, I've also had good luck with flat black paint followed by very careful drybrushing with steel or silver, all Model Master enamels. With a new, clean, and very soft brush, this works well.

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How do you go about mixing in the pencil shavings? This sounds like an interesting way to get a great color.

That's the way!

Really I prefer to mix flat black with aluminum in a variable ratio according to the shade you need. Than the pencil treatment.

I never bought a gun metal color.

Sometimes a gloss black (always mixed with aluminum) works too, under particular situations; in this case the pencil treatment is much shorter.

Regards

Euge.

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Alcald's "Jet Exhaust," particularly, has worked well for me. For airbrushing, I've also had good luck with flat black paint followed by very careful drybrushing with steel or silver, all Model Master enamels. With a new, clean, and very soft brush, this works well.

You don't find jet exhaust to look a bit bronze?

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How do you go about mixing in the pencil shavings? This sounds like an interesting way to get a great color.

Really I don't mix the pencil shavings. When the paint is dry I rub it with the pencil powder, with a cotton swab or a brush for small parts.

Regards

Euge

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How do you go about mixing in the pencil shavings? This sounds like an interesting way to get a great color.

Just grind the pencil tip into not-too-coarse sandpaper, then pick up the dust with a cotton swab (or your fingertip, if you're no too fastidious) and rub it into the paint. It clings to matt paint, which is why I prefer it. You can vary the effect by changingthe hardness/softness of the pencil lead; it's also possible to use the technique for depicting the oily seepage from under-wing empty case chutes.

Edgar

Edited by Edgar
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I've been using Boltgun Metal from Citadel/Games Workshop on the last couple of kits and am quite happy with it compared to others.

I think it darkens some as it dries, even so it looks even better once you apply it than it does in the bottle.

That's what I use too, although it seems that some batches dry a bit too dark, and it somehow becomes like a metalic black.

It might work well with the pencil dust technique mentioned on here as a highlighting tool - I'll have to try that on my next project.

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Remember that there is no one 'gun metal', it all depends on what exactly you are painting.

For aircraft components 'gun metal' is usually a phosphated finish, that can be anything from a dark grey to a light greenish grey. Also the amount of oil present on the finish makes a big difference. A newly cleaned phosphated component looks very pale and almost chalky until it gets a film of oil. American weapons like the .50 Browning or M60 have a phosphated finish.

For blued guns (as opposed to phosphated) the finish can be anything from a deep blue-black to a deep brown or even a mid grey. Older weapons tend to fall into this catagory, especially British and German small arms.

Modern guns are often have components that are powder coated semi gloss black, especially weapons with alloy parts.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Just grind the pencil tip into not-too-coarse sandpaper, then pick up the dust with a cotton swab (or your fingertip, if you're no too fastidious) and rub it into the paint. It clings to matt paint, which is why I prefer it. You can vary the effect by changingthe hardness/softness of the pencil lead; it's also possible to use the technique for depicting the oily seepage from under-wing empty case chutes.

Edgar

Would this be the same technic used for useing Mig gun metal powdwe?
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