OP
OP
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Making Models From Scratch
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
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OP
OP
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
It's laminated card of various types and grades, rolled paper and wire mostly. There is a bit of wood in the structure - some dowelling and a couple of mum's knitting needles, and a block that fits under this section of the car which makes up the lower half of the chassis / gearbox / sump.
Was needs must really, as I started this project in lockdown, so I used what I had to hand.
OP
OP
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
A bit of a fail on the paint side of things...
Am working on painting the rear wing - two end plates plus the wing itself. All of the parts took up the grey Tamiya primer OK, so a good start. The endplates (offcuts of mounting card stuck together with Roket glue) then painted fine with artists acrylics - I'm using a mix of Daler Rowney System 3 and Winsor & Newton Finity btw, but the paint just beads up on the wing and scratches off when dry. Aaaargh!
I should add that the rear wing was assembled with 2-part epoxy - it was the last part I made before the allergy-induced hiatus - to avoid using superglue. A bit of poking around with Mr Google suggests that acrylic paints don't "stick" to epoxy resins terribly well, so I'm a little bit fubared right now. If it was something inside the cab, then I wouldn't be too worried, but this is one of the main external parts that also requires signwriting. So I need a good painted surface, not one that scratches as soon as you touch it.
Have sanded the failed paint layer and primer off, and I think I will cover the wing plane with a paper sleeve stuck down with the Rocket glue. In theory, that should give me a porous surface for the acrylic paint to stick to.
This does leave the plastic bits on the rear wing (and on other parts of the car, on which artists acrylics will also scratch.
However, the plastic is that modelling box section, so it's certainly intended to be painted over. But I've no experience at all with modelling paints, and there is a large array of different ones in the shop in town - Humbrol, rattle cans, other various different pots of stuff... So can anyone recommend me something suitable.
Am working on painting the rear wing - two end plates plus the wing itself. All of the parts took up the grey Tamiya primer OK, so a good start. The endplates (offcuts of mounting card stuck together with Roket glue) then painted fine with artists acrylics - I'm using a mix of Daler Rowney System 3 and Winsor & Newton Finity btw, but the paint just beads up on the wing and scratches off when dry. Aaaargh!
I should add that the rear wing was assembled with 2-part epoxy - it was the last part I made before the allergy-induced hiatus - to avoid using superglue. A bit of poking around with Mr Google suggests that acrylic paints don't "stick" to epoxy resins terribly well, so I'm a little bit fubared right now. If it was something inside the cab, then I wouldn't be too worried, but this is one of the main external parts that also requires signwriting. So I need a good painted surface, not one that scratches as soon as you touch it.
Have sanded the failed paint layer and primer off, and I think I will cover the wing plane with a paper sleeve stuck down with the Rocket glue. In theory, that should give me a porous surface for the acrylic paint to stick to.
This does leave the plastic bits on the rear wing (and on other parts of the car, on which artists acrylics will also scratch.
However, the plastic is that modelling box section, so it's certainly intended to be painted over. But I've no experience at all with modelling paints, and there is a large array of different ones in the shop in town - Humbrol, rattle cans, other various different pots of stuff... So can anyone recommend me something suitable.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Incredible detail.
Cycleops
Legendary Member
- Location
- Accra, Ghana
You're going to get the best finish with an airbrush. You could try using a brush and humbrol enamels but won't come out great.
Rattle cans might be a better alternative.
Rattle cans might be a better alternative.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Jameshow
Veteran
How do you rattle can a tiny detailed model then ?
All over!!
OP
OP
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Well, the paper sleeve on the rear wing was a bust. It sort of helped, but didn't really. Oh well, at least I tried. The trouble is, when I built the rear wing, I covered the ribs and struts with a card skin using epoxy, and then wrapped the whole lot with paper stuck down with more epoxy in order to smooth out and hide the seams. All to avoid using superglue...
What I didn't realise at the time is that epoxy acts like wax resist when painting. And that's even when covered with extra paper stuck down with conventional glue.
Now I could have tried adding yet more paper, but then it would change the shape and scale of the wing, so today I bit the bullet and sanded it right back down to the original skin. I got lucky there, as I'd made that skin using card from a cereal packet, and stuck it down with the shiny printed side on the inside. Which means that the epoxy has only bled through a little along the seams on the leading and trailing edges as opposed to the whole thing. I've trimmed off as much of the extra glue as I dare with a knife, and I shall re-cover the wing in craft card. With luck, that should solve the paint problem.
It does mean that I will also have to modify both the exhaust back box and the differential / rear axle assembly prior to painting, as I made a fair bit of use of epoxy resin on both.
As a point of interest, the stuff that I peeled off the rear wing really did feel like the strips of waxed paper you get in those packets with the posh air-dried ham. No wonder the paint didn't want to stay put!
What I didn't realise at the time is that epoxy acts like wax resist when painting. And that's even when covered with extra paper stuck down with conventional glue.
Now I could have tried adding yet more paper, but then it would change the shape and scale of the wing, so today I bit the bullet and sanded it right back down to the original skin. I got lucky there, as I'd made that skin using card from a cereal packet, and stuck it down with the shiny printed side on the inside. Which means that the epoxy has only bled through a little along the seams on the leading and trailing edges as opposed to the whole thing. I've trimmed off as much of the extra glue as I dare with a knife, and I shall re-cover the wing in craft card. With luck, that should solve the paint problem.
It does mean that I will also have to modify both the exhaust back box and the differential / rear axle assembly prior to painting, as I made a fair bit of use of epoxy resin on both.
As a point of interest, the stuff that I peeled off the rear wing really did feel like the strips of waxed paper you get in those packets with the posh air-dried ham. No wonder the paint didn't want to stay put!
Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
You could try Humbrol enamel paint . It used to stick to the little Airfix plastic figures. It takes a bit longer to dry as it dries by oxidation .
OP
OP
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
I will need to buy something of that ilk to paint the few plastic parts that I have.
Although according to Mr Google, nothing will stick to epoxy without flaking - even Humbrol - so I'll have to re-make / modify the parts where I've used it.
Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
Your model will be kept indoors so it will not suffer from weathering or flexing . You could try a bit of wet and dry to roughen the surface up before painting .
OP
OP
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
I've already tried that with some of the plastic parts and / or test pieces, and no, artists acrylics will not stay put.
The results look good but the finish scratches really easily. IMHO it's not worth putting in all the time and effort to get the paint right, only for it to fall off as soon as it's touched. I don't need many colours (black, white, raw umber, burnt sienna) so I will be investing in specialist paints for those parts.
Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
I was referring to enamel paint . Artists acrylic or even modellers acrylic paints will not adhere to some surfaces . I was angry when the acrylic paint peeled off the hull of a plastic model . It might be because I didn't use a primer but I have never used a primer for enamel paint .
OP
OP
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Ah booger, that must've been really frustrating...
You'd think though, that the people making modelling stuff would make it in such a way that the paint does a stayputnik.
Illaveago
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham,Wiltshire.
Paints have changed over the years . VOC's have been taken out . Paints have less body as I call it . The paint is so thin just like water . Gone are the nice smells that you used to get when you opened the tin . I can remember the small set of bottles that my brother used to buy for painting his models . That was before Humbrol came along with their model paints . The pack contained the basic colours which had to be mixed to get the right colour .
Paints have different resins in them for different applications so artists paints will have a different make up to modellers or household paints .
