Painting AIM-7 fins in 1/48

[kenlilly106]

I'm at the point I need to paint the missles on my 57th FIS F-15C build and I've ran into a dilemma on the best way to paint the missile fins.

I found a Metalizer color that I think replicates the bare metal look of the fins but it's a lacquer so handbrushing is difficult, plus I didn't mask the fins when I painted the bodies so there's a little texture difference where the Metalizer went over the paint.

I thought about masking and spraying but that's masking around 8 fins per missile and doing that 4 times. That seems like a lot of work for a small reward.

Anyone try something different from the above? How did it work out? Maybe I'm missing something paint-wise that can go on by hand but look good.

Ken

[gb_madcat_sl]

Mask and spray.

Mark

[thegoodsgt]

Mask and airbrush. Tedious for sure, but that's what we do.

Steven Brown

Scale Model Soup

[scotthldr]

Spray the entire area of the missile around the fins first with the Metallic colour, then mask them off before spraying the body with the Grey.

[Scott R Wilson]

Or make your model representative of how a real F-15 would be 99 percent of the time, no AIM-7s uploaded at all. Just a single captive Sidewinder trainer, no other missiles. Modelers seem to find reality rather boring, but it is how it really was.

Scott W.

[FAR148]

Spray the entire area of the missile around the fins first with the Metallic colour, then mask them off before spraying the body with the Grey.

+1

[Drifterdon]

Mask and airbrush. Tedious for sure, but that's what we do.

Steven Brown

Scale Model Soup

+1

[boom175]

Or make your model representative of how a real F-15 would be 99 percent of the time, no AIM-7s uploaded at all. Just a single captive Sidewinder trainer, no other missiles. Modelers seem to find reality rather boring, but it is how it really was.

Scott W.

CAP-9's and BDU-33's are boring!!! :monkeydance:

[Fly-n-hi]

Or you could get the Brassin AIM-7s. The main fins are separate. Still have to mask the rear fins, though.