Painting ejector seats

[lesthegringo]

I have recently been looking through some of the jet models the builders have posted on this site, and I am super impressed by the way that they are able to capture the look of the modern seats. It's a failing of mine that my seats are not good, and there is more than one model skulking at the back of the display cabinet with an empty cockpit, with the seat still in the box waiting for me to get round to doing a job worthy of the rest of the model.

I must say, a dedicated tips guide for how to do this would be welcomed by me, especially for the grab handles and how to make the fabric look realistic

Les

[Jennings]

Honestly: practice, practice, practice. Do something, and if you don't like what it looks like, try something different. Look at lots and lots and lots and lots (did I mention lots?) of photos of real seats in real airplanes. Try to break it down into very small sub-projects. Concentrate on exactly what the back cushion looks like - then re-create that. Focus on what the frame of the seat looks like - then re-create that. The basics are the same as for painting anything else; use a base color then use dry brushing and washes to pop out the detail.

Practice, practice, practice :)

You will get better at it, I promise!

[Bigasshammm]

For the grab handles get yourself a nice artist super fine tip felt pen. Paint them yellow then hit it with the pen and you can simulate the black lines pretty easily.

Otherwise as Jennings said practice. Airbrush the base color then dry brush all the rest. Once they're in the pit though there's only so much you can see.

[ChippyWho]

^Like they said!

One thought: if you are adding anything to your project from the aftermarket bestiary, a good resin seat is the most visible improvement. They are usually inexpensive (compared to an entire 'pit, wheel bays, etc.), fit without much surgery, improve massively on the kit item and...leave you a plastic one to hone your skills on! Try anything. Try everything! When you've nailed it, apply it to the resin jobbie.

For modern jet seats, with loads of plumbing and features, painting all that detail sharply is the key. Easiest way is the acrylic base colour, then clear acrylic satin varnish followed by detail painting with enamel. It is easier to remove over-painting accurately than to paint accurately! Use a very short/fine-tipped brush slightly moistened with clean thinner to tidy up the edges. When it's all dry, shoot another clear acrylic coat. Then you can outline all the details/angles with artist's oils -keep it really tight and again remove excess with the pointy brush and clean thinner. This is better than a simple wash, because you can vary the 'depth' of detail by adjusting the width of the outline.

Also, I find etched harnesses a waste of time: they never drape convincingly. Use narrow masking tape instead, cut the fastenings/adjusters from the etched bits and attach to the tape straps.