I need a few tips on painting the area behind the exhaust on a Phantom

[ScottsGT]

Building my 3rd Tamiya Phantom currently and I'm looking to make my life a little easier. I'm thinking about keeping the tail section and this rear lower half of the fuselage separate until after painting. This area has always caused me hours of frustration taping up after detailing.  Anyone try this?

 

Also, what is the best way to replicate the soot covered bare metal in this area?  The bare metal area on the horizontal stabs?  Thought about BMF and air brushing on some Tamiya smoke.

Edited November 20, 2015 by ScottsGT

[Zero77]

Building my 3rd Tamiya Phantom currently and I'm looking to make my life a little easier. I'm thinking about keeping the tail section and this rear lower half of the fuselage separate until after painting. This area has always caused me hours of frustration taping up after detailing.  Anyone try this?

 

I've built 2 Tamiya Phantoms as well, and personally, i'd prefer to keep assmbling this part before painting, even if this implies bothering masking and so on. But it's more sturdy, and allow possible puttying / sanding and so on if necessary.

 

 

 

Also, what is the best way to replicate the soot covered bare metal in this area?  The bare metal area on the horizontal stabs?  Thought about BMF and air brushing on some Tamiya smoke.

 

You can replicate the heat discoloration with clear paint, or inks. Alclad have a full range of this kind of paint, and they are pretty easy to use. Otherwise, i'd go with various alclad shades, clear smoke and/or thinned black or brown paint. Pigment may work, too, but one have to apply them at the end.

[Bill_S]

I used finely ground charcoal on mine (over MM Metalizers). The charcoal gives not just color, but a little texture.

[Magic Mike]

I usually put the lower exhaust section of after painting, although the first build I put it on before. I dont really see any fit issues either way.  It is just a little fiddly to work though. 

 

MM

[themongoose]

For the exhaust area i started with Vallejo semi flat aluminum, then i went perpendicular to exhaust flow with clear green and clear red from tamiya, i mixed these together to get purple to do the edges near the back of the tail, then i airbrushed Vallejo jet exhaust metal color over it at 10psi with a medium needle. I almost did what you wanted to do and put these pieces on last. I screwed up and got excited about the cans and glued the cans to the jet pipe before putting it into the fuselage...that meant it all had to go together at once because I couldn't slide the engines in with the cans on them, lord knows I tried.

 

 

Here it is before I did the heat effects on the end...

Edited April 15, 2017 by themongoose