Machinegun21 Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Hey Guys, Im building a Hasegawa F/A-18C and im working on the pilot dude. My question is how or what is the best way to paint him(particularly his helmet/head) should I just use regular brush's? is airbrushing the way to go? thanks alot guys Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Lots of different ways. For me. those little dudes are pure brush work all around. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaiidanTomcat Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I don't worry about airbrushing figures as much because its not really a flat surface like a tank or plane. cloth falls naturally and shouldn't look like a paintjob but more like clothes if that makes and sense Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arkhunter2002 Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Yeah, I use brushes for both 1/72 and 1/35th figures as do a lot (most, if I'm not mistaken) of modelers. It helps to have quality brushes though. HTH, Austin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Buck Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Aloha, Okay, this is going to sound crazy but here's what I do as far as techniques for painting pilot figures... Take the molded together head, helmet, mask and dremal or hand drill the head out. Depending on what you want to do you can leave the mask & visor intact or dremal them away as well. Hollow the helmet out so it fits whatever bare head you end up going with (say from a Hase ground crew set or other 48th scale source), then paint both separately. Paint up the body, LS equipment, and harness detail then fit to the seat... Don't forget to strap him/her in! Add the painted head, don the helmet & detail (add chin strap, visor, etc.) and finally, hang or don the mask. As far a the visor goes you can dremal it away as mentioned earlier or leave it in place (what I normally do). You can even go so far as heat-forming a clear example by taking thin clear styrene from a pack of batteries, heating it up and forming it over the helmet. Cut the form out, tint with smoke or high-contrast amber and attach. Going back to the mask... Hose it up, mask end hanging from the harness (USN style) or installed, hose end going somewhere towards the left/ lower left of the torso harness/vest (again USN style). Pretty sure that's were the mini-regulator is located... USN crew dogs can pass along a lot better gouge I'm sure. Sounds like a lot of work but it really isn't, may take a little extra time but the results can be quite striking & far more convincing! I'm about to start on a big E model superbug, I'll post a few images of the pilot figure once I get that far (if I get that far ;) ). Again it's really not that hard to do and well worth the results, give it a try :D HTH a little, Ahui hou Mark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Machinegun21 Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 Awesome guys! so brushing is the way to go, now one last question then ill go and model...I PROMISE :D On the dude's helmet, im going to paint it gloss white, along with his visor of gloss black, is there a trick or tip or something to paint that on there as well? is there a specific paint everyone uses? i just want to make it look smooth and clean. Thanks guys, REALLY apreciate the help ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Wenman Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Here is an article I wrote a few years ago, based on the Hornet pilot from Hasagawa http://www.arcair.com/tnt1/101-200/tnt130_...nman/tnt130.htm HTH Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skii Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Here is an article I wrote a few years ago, based on the Hornet pilot from Hasagawahttp://www.arcair.com/tnt1/101-200/tnt130_...nman/tnt130.htm HTH Pete I've had that article bookmarked for years now, it is superb. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aaron78 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 G'Day Pete, Do you know if your article has been moved? The URL doesn't seem to work any more... I'd love to have a look - I make a lot of in flight models, and thought I'd like to pop some pilots in them :-) Cheers! Here is an article I wrote a few years ago, based on the Hornet pilot from Hasagawa http://www.arcair.com/tnt1/101-200/tnt130_...nman/tnt130.htm HTH Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Model-Junkie Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I believe this is the updated link: http://www.arcair.com/tnt1/101-200/tnt130-Figure-painting-Wenman/00.shtm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scooby Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I served with Hornet pilots for 8 years, don't forget they all wear a pink g-string under there flight suits. :) Don't worry Alf, I got stuff chucked back at me too. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Flyboyf18 Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Just how did you find that out, the Inquirer wants to know????? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scooby Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Just how did you find that out, the Inquirer wants to know????? I found it out when we dressed the dummy pilots for the CF-5 and CF-18 in the aircraft park in Cold Lake. Both have a g-string on under their flight suits. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gervais8 Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Were those male or female pilots????? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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