Exhaust stains

[Smithy1961]

Hi folks,

 

After a 40 year break from modelling, I have taken up the hobby once again. This time I got myself an airbrush and have had some pretty good results (with AFVs) so far. My first aircraft was the Tamiya 1/48 A-1 Skyraider which I have finished to a reasonable standard. After putting a wash on the model it looks a whole lot better. However, I am not confident enough to try and spray the exhaust stains. Can I use a drybrush technique and stipple on the stains?

[Stew Dapple]

You could do that, might be a bit too colour-intense/dense though; if I don't spray them I tend to use ground-up hard art pastels in whatever colour I think appropriate, the powdered result can be applied with a brush and streaked to your own satisfaction, also it tends to require repetition to get the desired density of colour, so you can build it up over a few goes until you are happy with it.

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[lesthegringo]

6 hours ago, Stew Dapple said:

You could do that, might be a bit too colour-intense/dense though; if I don't spray them I tend to use ground-up hard art pastels in whatever colour I think appropriate, the powdered result can be applied with a brush and streaked to your own satisfaction, also it tends to require repetition to get the desired density of colour, so you can build it up over a few goes until you are happy with it.

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

Same here, with the added comment that you can easily start afresh if you need to by wiping it away without the need for aggressive thinners, plus even a cheapo set of pastels has a myriad of colours so you can use the different greys and browns to tone it correctly.

 

The pastels are also excellent for the rusty look of exhaust pipes

 

Les 

[Mark Harmsworth]

Another vote for using pastels. I rub the colour I want on some fine sandpaper and then use an old brush to apply the streaks.

Mark

[Smithy1961]

Thanks everyone. I'll certainly be trying the pastels method as it sounds like a good way  to get the right look. Sounds like it will work well on tank exhausts too.