SPA Modeler

The exhausts look great. But I am quite surprised that you are able to dry brush with Tamiya paints. Do you add retarder to make it so that you can dry brush using them?

jkim wrote:Next, I decided to paint the exhaust pipes. I'm using the kit pieces that I've modified by hollowing out the ends with an x-acto blade.


The exhausts are given a base coat of black.


This is followed with a coat of Alclad Steel.


Next is a light coat of Alclad Exhaust Manifold, which gives the exhausts a bronze tint.


I mix up a rusty brown color using Brown, Red and Yellow. This is dry-brushed onto the exhausts.



It's back to the airbrush for the last step. I spray a thin mix of black into the openings of the exhaust, isolating each individual pipe with a small Post-It.


And the exhausts are finished. I'm sure there are other, better ways to paint exhausts but this method is relatively simple and repeatable and yields decent results.


Here's a look at how the exhausts look mounted in the fuselage.

That is one of those invaluable tips. Thanks for presenting it in such a clear and well documented way, John!

I see by the grooves in your Tamiya lids that I'm not the only one who needs pliers to open them

Beautiful work on the exhaust.
For Tamiya paints, gunze, mr color etc - those styles: turn them upside-down and give the top a good wack on the floor a couple times. Really helps with stubborn tops - but only with these types of containers. Try that with testors and you'll have a cleanup on isle 6

I whack my Model Master bottles on the cement floor, too. So far no clean up. I find that if I clean up the threads well enough on the Tamiya paints that they open pretty well.

Floki wrote:Exhaust looks beautiful as always

Thank you Clint!

Stikpusher wrote:The exhausts look great. But I am quite surprised that you are able to dry brush with Tamiya paints. Do you add retarder to make it so that you can dry brush using them?

Tamiya paints tend to dry really quickly but not fast enough to prevent dry-brushing. I add a drop of 91% iso alcohol whenever I apply Tamiya/Mr Hobby Aqueous/AK Real Colors by brush. Probably not as effective as actual retarder but I do think it does slow down the drying time a bit.

BlackSheep214 wrote:

mostrich wrote:That is one of those invaluable tips. Thanks for presenting it in such a clear and well documented way, John!

Of course! Just one possible way to do this and you can vary the paints involved to get your own unique finish.

tempestjohnny wrote:I see by the grooves in your Tamiya lids that I'm not the only one who needs pliers to open them

Oh yeah... I have a set of pipe pliers at the ready anytime I'm painting.

keavdog wrote:Beautiful work on the exhaust.
For Tamiya paints, gunze, mr color etc - those styles: turn them upside-down and give the top a good wack on the floor a couple times. Really helps with stubborn tops - but only with these types of containers. Try that with testors and you'll have a cleanup on isle 6

jeaton01 wrote:I whack my Model Master bottles on the cement floor, too. So far no clean up. I find that if I clean up the threads well enough on the Tamiya paints that they open pretty well.

Ahhh... never thought of that but I could see that working too. When I work on my fishing reels and I run into ball bearings that have some corrosion in them, I'll get them unstuck by throwing them against a cement or tile floor.

I just got back from a trip to a Tijuana orphanage so I haven't been in the modeling room for a few days. Hopefully, I'll be able to provide some updates soon!

Nice pics!

John, those are wonderful pictures from your trip. You make a difference!

That's an amazing looking holiday John - very rewarding I would imagine.