SHUTTLE SRB paint question

[VIPER0177]

Should the SRBs be flat, gloss or semi gloss?

[crowe-t]

SRB's are actually white and an off-white, cream, color. The tops(cones), lower skirts and the systems tunnels that run down the sides are cream colored and the rest of the segments are white. The white segments are semi-gloss and the cream areas are flat.

Edited November 6, 2012 by crowe-t

[VIPER0177]

Thank you crowe. I knew the tops were cream colored I didnt know about the skirts and the tunnels. Would the outsides of the exhausts be cream as well and would this be correct for Challengers last flight?

[crowe-t]

I'm not 100% sure about the outsides of the exhausts but I believe those were white like they are on the later missions. Unfortunately there aren't too many hi-rez pictures of the earlier missions but there must be some consistency though out the years. I suggest going subtle with the cream color. I used a mix of Testors Acryl Flat White and Radome Tan on my current Revell 1/144 STS-133 build's SRB's cream color. The SRB's usually appear all white at first sight but upon closer examination the cream color becomes more apparent.

Here are some picture of how I did mine.

My STS-133 build

[catfan]

ok hear is my qustion i have about the SRB's what dose the engine bell area look like. where the flame comes out. is there any foam in that areay and what color is that area down there because im doing my shuttle to look like its about to launch so any pictures would be awsome

[crowe-t]

Here are some hi-rez pictures that show the SRB's engines. There is foam applied on the bottom of the cones.

[catfan]

crowe-t thank you so much for the help this is a area you almost never see did you get to see the shuttle up close like you see in the pictures you posted?

[catfan]

so wat the best way to simulate the foam used on the SRBs i was thinking of a putty of some kind

[crowe-t]

I found those pictures online. I did get to see a shuttle launch in person but didn't get this close to the stack.

After I painted and sealed the SRB's I added some Squadron white putty. I then masked and painted the foam.

Here are some pictures of my current build.

Edited November 6, 2012 by crowe-t

[VIPER0177]

crowe thanks for those pics of the SRBs they answered a couple more questions I had. I'm planning on using Tesors cream and white in the 1/4oz bottles to get the off white color.

[catfan]

crowe-t where did you get the decals that you used on your stack model are they kit decals?

[crowe-t]

The markings on the shuttle are from the Revell Of Germany decal sheet, the black bands on the SRB's are 1/32" stripe decals from Microscale, the various markings on the SRB's are the Real Space Models decals from Tangopapadecals.com, the bottom tile decals are ones I had printed from scans of the Cutting Edge tile decals. The window decals and few others are decals friends shared with me. It's difficult to have a one size fits all decal sheet for building a shuttle stack.

Edited November 7, 2012 by crowe-t

[Jay Chladek]

Milliput works great for doing the foam rings. I applied mine before paint on my 1/144 and 1/72 examples before the paintwork began and just masked and painted them an orange/yellow color after the rest of the paintwork was finished. Unfortunately I don't have any decent images of the SRBs when I was adding the rings. But it was just a matter of making a few milliput clay snakes, applying them, then removing the excess. You can also use masking tape to act as a guide line so you know how far down you need to go without making the rings too big.