Painting Cockpits Club Demo...

[StanA300BigBrown]

OK, I got it to work via Ryans button suggestion...I edited and added the pics..

Warning, you can't just imbed the actual image, using the button does a resize on the image, which does reduce the quality of a large image, so I left the actual links also...

[Lee_K]

Testing links to images:



What I did was click on the "insert image" button from the set of buttons above the reply window.

The Modeling Madness forum works in a similar way, but Network 54 groups just let you put the URL of the image in the post and it does all the rest for you.

Lee K

[Bill L.]

Damn!  These look good, and the step by step technique is something I will try on the next kit.

Bill

[Ryan K]

My embedded pictures didn't work like they do on other forums......you will have to click on the links till I figure out how this site works...

Stan

I am sure you did but I throw out there incase not, did you added the little [_img_] and [_/_img_] (remove underscores)? You can also highlight the link and use the 2nd button on the 2nd row , under the Italicize button.  I did a test quote and it worked for me, if it doesn't for you, let us know.

[StanA300BigBrown]

My embedded pictures didn't work like they do on other forums......you will have to click on the links till I figure out how this site works...

Stan

[StanA300BigBrown]

I was recently sending an email to a friend who is jumping into some more advanced techiques of painting using oils for drybrushing and washing...

The email dealt with cockpits, because a cockpit is something you can experiment on, and have something to show for your efforts in just a few hours...

These techniques work for me on aircraft exteriors also

Anyway, since we talked of a club demo, I thought I'd modify and repost the email here...Its not really step by step with the pics, but a general overview....

This email below was sent to a modeler who generally used spray bombs and brush paint, but was beginning to airbrush and use more advanced techniques...


**************************************************************************
Here is give a quickie method on cockpits, and using oils to drybrush and wash

This method is really easy and quick, and I'm a big believer in the longest journey begins with a single footstep thingie....

You can spend 30 minutes to an hour doing an oil wash and oil drybrush on the next cockpit you build (cockpits are fun because you can sit down with a brand new kit and have something really nice done in under 2 hours!)

Note: Almost took me longer to do the 1/48th scale P-47 instrument panel decal than to paint the whole cockpit, IIRC the thunderbolt cockpit was painted and built in a tad over 2 hours...





http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/Aerobat51/DSCN3483s.jpg






http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/Aerobat51/DSCN3481s.jpg


I'm going to first suggest that you do not spray can paint the interior parts...too thick and will hide alot of fine detail.

I usually airbrush the base cockpit colors while the parts are still on the sprue trees...This allows the maxium of detail to show through the thin layer of paint.

Or you can even brush paint the cockpit interior with the basic color. Enamel or acrylic.  doesn't matter.  I am fond of brush painting PS acyrilic as it flattens out with no brush strokes and dries faster, but damn acrylics never last long in storage.  My enamels last decades. (of course, they cause cancer in the state of California)

Still, I pretty much airbrush everything these days...its faster and easier ( I use a gravity feed artist brush with a built on color cup..color changes are a snap)

After the base color drys, pick out BIG details with different colors, brush painting with a nice quality brush... boxes, trim wheels, structural items...mainly blacks and greys and greens...

FOr brushes, I can't recommend better than a quality round point fine tip Red Sable brush...a few bucks, but take care of that tip and don't let it sit down in the bottom of the paint or thinner jar and bend the hairs...

Talkon works fine too, and is cheaper, just not as nice as real sable...

While I'm at it, I usually take my base color, and vary it on a few items with a tad of white thrown in.  I just mix a little on a plastic butter top like an artist pallette.

The key is to break up the consistancy of the interior so its got some variation. (while we are at it, I almost never paint anything with straight Black or white, they are a bit stark, and I tone them back a notch)

Takes longer to type this than to paint the real thing....

Don't worry about little details at this stage...skip that for now...we are doing the foundation.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/George/DSC00150.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/George/DSC00151.jpg

Once satisfied (really only takes a few minutes) take your cockpit parts over and hit them with your favorite clear gloss from your airbrush or a spray can..just a misting...Rattle bombs are fine for this...

I prefer polyscale clear, but have also use metalizer sealer from the spray can and spray gun, and future works fine.  DOn't slop it on and lose detail, but don't be too thin either.  You want a good coat to protect the base from the washes and drybrushing.

let dry.

The clear gloss is a protective coat for the next step, an Oil pinwash

using and old jelly jar lid (butter tub lid, medice cups or whatever)get a tiny blob of black and brown oil paint on the lid, and get a teaspoon or so of turpintine in the lid..I partially mix it so I have some thick wash and some thin wash...

Use a fine pointed 00 sable or taklon brush to gently touch the wash to the side of any detail or structural items....no skill here, just touch and it should flow around the gloss clear coat finish....don['t worry about the sharpie marker patrol or tobacco stained teeth complaing about your work, we are just building shadows for now  because without shadow you cannot have highlights and relief...without dark, you cannot have light.

Again it takes longer to type than to do!

Let dry (about five minutes 10minutes, meanwhile you are painting the instrument panels and such)

Once the wash is dry (you can hit with the clear again to speed the drying,)
here is the fun part...wet a soft brush with turp, then get a bit of very light grey oil paint on it (Just white mixed with a tad of black) Get the paint deep into the brush...then completely wipe the brush on a paper towel till you remove the paint..



If I can stroke the back of my hand with the brush and can barely see any paint or can see no paint, the brush is ready...Even though the brush looks clean, there is still oil paint hiding in there.

Gently brush the cockpit with residue laden brush and miracles will appear. Suddenly you have joined the ranks of Michelagelo and Van Goeh.  It helps to mutter to yourself like Bob Ross while dry brushing "Ah lookie at this rudder trim control knob hiding behind the hydraulic acsess panel!"    LOL

At this point, the thing suddenly becomes alive and the results can be stunning...

Why oils for the drybrushing??? Well you can certainly use enamels or even acyrillic.  But oils have the finest pigments and give you a translucence to the colors that enamel and acyrillic can't do as well.  If you look at the George cockpit I posted with this, you can see the difference between the enamels and the oil dry brushing on the Thunderbolt and the zero cockpits..

Now, really only 3 things and about 5 minutes of work left...

With the drybrushing done, we need a splash of color...Touches of red, yellow, blue on some swtiches ect....Use your favorite paint and your best fine point brush  for this (I cannot overly recommend a nice pointed natural sable brush for this...they hold their point well, and if you protect the poiint from impact damages, a 4 dollar brush will last years) If you forget and do this step before the drybrushing the bright vibrant colors get quite muted...
(edit, Im getting old, repeating myself about brushes)


Now clear coat with your favorite spray flat coat...Rattle bombs are fine. The last step is to paint any slver items with your fine point brush...harness buckles ect...the flat coat and drybrushing will kill the shine of silver paint, so its the last step...  Also a prsimatic silver pencil is great for adding scratches on seat edges and floor plates and such.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/George/DSC00148.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/George/DSC00147.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/George/DSC00155.jpg

The same technique above works on the instrument panel, and its quicker and the results can be stunning on a nice panel...

Just brush paint the whole panel a medium dark grey(we will use pure black for the instrument faces behind the glass...let completly dry.

Then using very thinned  pure black paint, use a fine point brush and let the instrument faces fill with straight black paint (straight black- remember, I said I almost never use straight Black.white-exception to every rule!)

This is more of a 'wash' than a paint job....

Let completely dry..Then drybrush the panel as explained above with a very whitish grey....

Then add a few colored switches ( I sometime drybrush the colored switches, just dont overdo it and kill the color)

Add some clear gloss or future to the glass faces...



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/George/DSC00145.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/George/b.jpg

SOme generic shots...

Masking tape seat belts w/ copper wire buckles on the 109 pit(takes longer than a cockpit paint job to do the belts) Note: on the ME cockpit and the George, I didn't use oils, I used enamels for the drybrush and you can see how clumpy it is...oils are vastly superior



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/12f1-11-2820-20.jpg

Tape belts are  then painted



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/14f1-11-2822-6.jpg



Various Oil drybrushes and washes...IP is a decal...zero cockpit..note the muted multilayered effect of the oil paint compared to others...



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/DSCN2579.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/DC8BigBrown/DSCN2578.jpg