Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I have been getting solid results so far with he Microscale product straight up with regular Reynolds Wrap foil. But will try thinning it a little with alcohol to see if I can get a smoother lay-down which becomes noticeable when you start putting layers on top of each other (gotten so with a single...

A latex dust/spray mask and some glasses/goggles is sufficient if you are shooting acrylics. There are no toxic-vapors with acyrlics, like there are enamels, etc. It is only the fine particles of back-spray being inhaled you need to worry about. If you are shooting anything that is not acrylic such...

Saltwater method? Sounds interesting, NEVER heard before... I'll try to search if I can find some info... Sounds very promising... Read a neat article on this (though never used the technique myself). It's where you stick on some salt crystals (with water) over a silver undercoat before applying th...

I think the acetate is a better idea - it has a much lower turnaround time. I don't know if the spray adhesive leaves a residue - paint a test sheet of plastic with the paint type you plan on using for the base color, let it dry fully, then stick on a small acetate sheet with adhesive sprayed on it...

All the acrylics I've tried have no problem mixing evenly with Future. After all, it's just a clear acrylic with some ammonia in it. Future slightly tinted with gray (or any other acrylic) will go on consistently, as long as you put on many thin, even coats. The only way it'll be inconsistent is if...

Thinned pearlescent white might be even more effective. Testors makes pearlescent paints in their Boyd line, both acrylic and enamel. I think less is more with this approach, remember not to let it pool. The pearlescent have too large a flake in them IMHO. It looks to "glittery" when view...

I've used the Future + light gray mix (sometimes Future + light gray + Testors flat) to give aircraft models a "scale" effect. On a few models, I noticed that it gave the bare metal surfaces an interesting hazy effect. It's hard to photograph. Sounds very much like what I am going after. ...

Suddenly I feel like this is within my scope, particularly as the raw materials such as Press n Peel are available in the UK, which makes a refreshing change! Even more so since reading your write-up (not half as scarey as the previous read). Nicely done! I noticed how the PE work you'd carried out...

Any advice on how to make a good quality SW Rebellion logo for my Y-Wing kits base would be much appreciated. Laser printer and/or inkjet printer decal media might be a nice solution. You can create custom logo artwork, print it out then apply it to a white gloss-coat painted shape on the base then...

Future is very sensitive to ammonia, alcohols and petroleum distilates... so it's tough, to a point. I knew it was very reactive to ammonia (which is used to wipe it away and clean up/remove it), but wasn't aware that alcohol would also affect it as well. Good to know, as I use thinned rubbing alco...

Does anyone have any experience fogging up or whitening up Future to make it into a translucent topcoat? If you don't want to flatten Future, you can mix a small amount of gray acrylic paint with Future. Tamiya and Testors Acryl work well. The mix ratio depends on the effect you're after. Well the ...

Mixing enough Tamiya flat base with Future will "whiten" it up. Check out this site for all your Future questions... http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html Yeah I was reading that website (great stuff there in the tips section). It is driving me nuts, because I know exactly w...

The real trick I am going for is to still allow enough of the reflected light from the underlying metal sheen (or rather the metals specualirty) which changes form direction of angle viewed to still come through (VERY subtly) while getting a very even "color" of a white (or rather a light ...

The problem with any translucent colors is the more coats you lay down the less translucent it looks. Very tricky stuff, hard to get an even coat over large areas. Best way I found was try to get it all down in a single shot and avoid going over it multiple time. That's what I was thinking would be...

Does anyone have any experience fogging up or whitening up Future to make it into a translucent topcoat? I have been working on foil techniques which have yielded some great specularity sheens on the metal hull plates (creating the mini-plates of the aztec pattern, etc.), which directionally "p...

Does anyone have a good hand on shooting a translucent white (very translucent) over metal foil (or other basecoat)...?

Excellent advice from all - thanks. I will be painting my PL 1/350 Enterprise refit with metallics, using a silver as base coat. I don't want a chrome finish, but I do need a tough coat of the stuff so I can mask off panels and such. I'll let you know how it goes. Damn, you stole my idea! ;-p I was...