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Spitfire & Hurricane Exhaust Manifolds


fishplanebeer

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Dear All,

 

Having perused many of the excellent recent builds of these two aircraft it makes me realise just how 'unrealistic' my efforts are when it comes to painting the exhaust manifolds as they still end up just looking like painted plastic.

 

I'm not after any trade secrets, and I know that practice may eventually make perfect though sadly not true in this case, but can anyone share some basic tips on how I can get them to look as if they are actually made from metal and far more like the real thing please?

 

Apologies if this has been raised in a previous thread/topic.

 

Kind Regards

Colin.

Edited by fishplanebeer
typo
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Years ago someone on this website posted how he painted exhaust and it's a technique that I still use today, paint the exhaust with Humbrol 113 Matt Rust, allow it to dry and then rub in ground pencil lead, you can then give it a matt or silk coat but I do not bother.

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Cheers

 

Dennis

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The objective here is to make the exhausts look like burnt metal, not rusty. Having said that, using a rusty type finish as above does give a burnt look if done carefully. Maybe worth adding in some blue shades too. Then there is the effect of the exhaust - this typically left a black or dark grey 'soot' on the rear exhausts and on fuselage panels, but it could also be a light grey if the engine was running lean. Strangely some aircraft (eg BoB Spitfires) don't show a lot of this effect - maybe they didn't stick around long enough.

 

A google of exhausts will hopefully give you some good examples. In particular, check the photo of your subject if you have a photo available.

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1 hour ago, Peter Roberts said:

The objective here is to make the exhausts look like burnt metal, not rusty. Having said that, using a rusty type finish as above does give a burnt look if done carefully. Maybe worth adding in some blue shades too. Then there is the effect of the exhaust - this typically left a black or dark grey 'soot' on the rear exhausts and on fuselage panels, but it could also be a light grey if the engine was running lean. Strangely some aircraft (eg BoB Spitfires) don't show a lot of this effect - maybe they didn't stick around long enough.

 

A google of exhausts will hopefully give you some good examples. In particular, check the photo of your subject if you have a photo available.

 

The grey on the exhaust is lead from the TEL ( Tetraethyllead ) used to boost the Octane rating in fuel. By the BoB, the UK was just starting to get this higher octane fuel from the US and a bit from it's own refineries. Before this time, the grey soot wouldn't have been seen.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraethyllead

 

 

For my RCAF fabric-wing Hurricane, I painted them with Tamiya XF-84 DArk Iron, then I rubbed in some Tamiya Weathering Pastels ( Rust and a bit of Orange Rust ).

 

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Chris

 

 

 

 

 

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If you have access to an airbrush, I start with Alclad steel, then exhaust manifold, then maybe burnt iron, or pale burnt metal misted on. All dry in seconds. There is also a sepia and blue shade, both translucent that can work if used carefully. I then gloss, add a burnt umber wash , matt coat and then dry brush.

Not a Spit or Hurricane but a recent build using this process:

https://ipmsavon.org.uk/build-page.php?page_id=118#296-2

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