WIRING

[hawkhornet]

HI guys and gals

can someone please tell me how to paint molded on wiring in the wheel bays

whenever i try i just managed to screw everything up

thanks

Stav

:blink: :)

[Oliver]

Stav, if the usual, careful painting doesn't work anymore, try drybrushing. It is described very well in the Tools n Tips articles.

HTH,

Oliver

[T-bone]

Like Oliver said, drybrushing plus apply a darker wash to help add depth and help accentuate the wires. When drybrushing use very little paint so you will have good control over how much you apply and will be less likely to make a mess (paint undesired areas). Just don't get in a rush. If you can, I find it helps to paint them before assembly as much as possible, again because it is harder for me to paint the details in the small space of the wheel well. Sometimes I also replace the molded wire with real fine wire or stretched sprue. You can paint these wires before placement so it minimizes the need to paint them in the confined wheel wells.

Edited March 1, 2005 by T-bone

[The Keeper]

Additionally, you can also try permanent marker pens and colored pencils. I personally don't understand why the mold makers replicate these features as they're easier to reproduce as an add on detail. Aside from the fact they never include a color marking guide.

Cheers,

[MattCar]

What scale are you working in?

In the past, when I have done the occasional 1:48 or 1:32 model, I've found that, as The Keeper said, its sometimes worth replacing with something else. You can fairly easily scrape the moulded details off (making a drawing of the layout beforehand) and then replace those bits of wiring and plumbing with very thin wire or stretched sprue, which will look a lot better and solve a lot of the problems of painting, just paint the 'parts' and then put them in.

Give the whole bay a nice wash with a grubby grey colour to enhance the shadows and you're done

[Old Man]

For that sort of thing, Sir, I have had good results with toothpicks. Very little paint on the tip of a sharp round tooth-pick, and touched on dot by dot. You should keep some clean toothpicks handy as well, because if a bit goes astray, you can remove it immediate by rubbing with a clean point. The point of a razor knife will do for that, too. It is not just putting on the paint, sometimes it is removing it as well....

[MattCar]

Speaking of which, thats how I do canopies sometimes, I hand paint the frame as well as I can, then remove the excess paint with a toothpick dipped in a little turpentine substitute.

Works pretty well and saves a bunch of hassle with masking tape.

[jjuwana]

Careful painting, no need to go over the whole wire, and a dark wash works for me, you should try it too

JAhja

[singeri]

So far, I like a combo of dry brushing and colored pencils.

Irv

[stusbke]

and to realy make the shadow effect try brushing some fine smoke paint over it FOXTWO does this all the time and im trying it out now but from the first looks it sure looks good to me.

greetz STB

[Grey Ghost 531]

I've read, but not tried this trick that figure painters use for straps and such.

Scribe into the floor or wall of the wheel bay or wherever it is gently on either side of the pipe or wire. That way you can paint it with slightly thinned paint and the paint will stop at the scribing and not run all over the place.

It sounds like it may work but I haven't had an occasion to try it yet.