Natural
Metal for the Masses
A
common finish to many interesting aircraft of the World War II and 1950s
era is natural metal. Producing a convincing look of a metal surface on a
model is widely considered to be the hardest finish to get right. During
recent years, this has resulted in a proliferation of new painting
products which are supposed to ease the task - various metalizers,
polishable paints, aluminium paste or powders, Alclad, you name it.
In
this article I will review a method which I have been successful with, and
which is based on ordinary no-nonsense paint techniques. It is well-suited
for representing oxidised (weathered) metal surfaces, typical of the
aircraft that have had their share of field service. New or highly
polished aluminium aircraft would require even more shine, and for that
you would probably need to revert to other paints and techniques.
The
basis for this technique is Humbrol's classic No. 11 Silver enamel. Using
such an "ordinary" Humbrol paint to reproduce metal finish may
sound outdated and unglamorous. Rather than going into discussion
whether we need more modern products on the market, I'll rather let the
model images speak for themselves and leave it to the reader to make the
final judgement in this matter.
The
paint
The
basis of my silver finish is Humbrol enamel No. 11 Silver. Humbrol
produces also another silver shade, called No. 56 Aluminium. The latter is
in my opinion too dark to use for natural metal finished aircraft. However,
I frequently use it to paint aluminium casting parts like undercarriage
legs, since cast parts usually look darker than rolled aluminium plate.
To
obtain different shades of silver, Humbrol No. 11 can be simply mixed with
gloss black or gloss white. For example, the silver shades I used for my
1/72 Ki-61 Hien are:
-
Humbrol
Silver No.11
-
1
part Gloss White No.22 mixed with 5 parts Silver No.11
-
1
part Gloss Black No.21 mixed with 10 parts Silver No.11
-
1
part Gloss Black No.21 mixed with 5 parts Silver No.11
Before
spraying the aircraft I usually make a plan for the application of the
different shades (see the attached file), to make sure no two attaching
panels have the same shade.
Airbrushing
I
paint the model like the original: starting with the silver and then
applying the other colours.
Airbrushing
is the order of the day. For Humbrol paints I only use Humbrol's thinner,
approx. 50% paint to 50% thinner. Usually I give it a try at an old model
and the add some thinner if necessary.
I
set the pressure to approx. 2 bar for my Olympos HP-100B airbrush.
I
usually spray only one layer of paint (per silver shade). That's all
there is to it!
Like
with other Humbrol enamels, the painted surface should be left for at
least 24 hours to dry. I usually start masking for the next shade
after a day or two, and then the masking itself takes quite some time...
so it is not unusual that it takes several days until I airbrush the next
shade.
Quality
of the finish
The
big advantage of Humbrol's silver surface is that it is rather strong (at
least for a silver paint). There is no problem with fingerprints, paint
wearing off, or masking.
Although
masking is generally no problem, I take some extra precaution when masking
silver surfaces just in case. The first rule is to use a god quality
masking tape. Before application of a piece of tape, I first touch it with
my thumb to make it less sticky.
After
painting, masks should be removed gently. Depending on how tacky the tape
was, it has happened that flakes of silver paints came off with the paint.
You can prevent it by making the tape less sticky, see above. Or if you
dare, you can use this effect to your advantage. Since I'm often after the
look of more corroded metal aircraft (like Japanese planes), this
tearing-off gives a surface a naturally aged look.
You
can paint over the silver-painted areas with other colours. Some extra
care should be applied as the paint doesn't adhere so strongly to the
silver paint as it does to ordinary "solid" coloured surfaces.
Clear-coating
and decals
I
never polish or clear-coat a natural metal finish. I leave it as it is.
When
applying decals on top of the metal surface, I trim the clear decal
film. In fact I do it with any brand of decals. I was never
satisfied with the outcome when I left the decal film intact. I even
started to make silk screen stencils in order to avoid the decals
altogether.
Final
words
I
found that the described method has many virtues. It is reliable, and
gives a convincing metal finish within the limit of one's ordinary
painting techniques. That said, I am constantly experimenting with other
paints, too.
I
have also tried dedicated metalizer paints like Gunze Sangyo's Mr. Metal
Color with success. However, these paints are very delicate and you have
to careful handle the model after applying the silver. Humbrol's finish is
much more dependable in this respect.
Strangely,
I was not successful in using Alclad silver (though my friends were!).
Humbrol has also a range of polishable silvers, but I have hardly used
them.
I
still have to improve my NMF technique, but I hope one day I can make a
highly-polished Stratocruiser!
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