t.valdez Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I was wondering about overall glossy Sea Blue as applied to late and post war USN naval fighters. As I understand in general, gloss colours weather better than flat as they are a harder finish, fade somewhat less, and are easier to maintain. I see, for modern US warplanes, in flat finish, that they are nasty looking critters while in carrier service, but also, have longer service lives than the typical WWII aircraft. I add this proviso because I have been following the builds of a number of models, (Corsair, Bearcat, Hellcat, etc.) and for scale appearance, how much gloss is too much? If too glossy, it appears to be too new and toylike in appearance, if too weathered, not in keeping with the original application. I can buy into a duller topsides due to the effects of sun and surf, but the bottoms? How do you feel about glossy finishes and how the OUGHT to appear on a reasonably built and finished model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Use a satin clear coat . it deadens it slighty and looks better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisS Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I've also had great luck getting "scale gloss" by using straight flat coat and then buffing with a t-shirt. The more you buff the more shine you get, so you can control the effect locally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Well my personnal opinion is the high gloss straight out of the bottle looks toyish. I clear coat with a 50/50 mix of Testors MM gloss and matt clear mix to get a satin finish. I think it looks more "scale like" but that's just me. I am sure others will disagree. Gloss sea blue out of the bottle After a 50/50 mix of gloss/matt clear. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5IKL Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I just recently finished the old Hasegawa F6F-5N Hellcat and ended up doing it in a semi-gloss/satin finish. Didn't like the glossy look. Cheers, Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Bellis Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I agree with the others that gloss doesn't look right on a model. I use a semi-gloss to start with, then add streaks of flatter semi-gloss to areas around fuel fillers, walkways, exhausts and on random areas of the upper surfaces. Also, the fabric covered surfaces get a light shot of straight flat clear to set their surface texture apart from the metal covered surfaces. This method in practice on my 21C F4U build: HTH, D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoHands Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I think sheen is one of the things you can play with to make a model look "right". Tires, exhaust stains, markings, and paint outs all have a different sheen than he base paint. Some areas are prone to scuffs and other wear. Shinny does look toylike but so does coating everything with one level of sheen. I like future buffed with 0000 steel wool for paint work but use flat base and colors to create variations that avoid the look of a "dip job". Coating your plane and you canopy in future (or polishing the plastic) not only looks bad IMO, but I have seen planes where the paint work shined more than the canopy. When was the last time you SAW a giant glare line on a canopy?? A very soft sheen looks great on a modern jet and a crisp shine looks bad on a prop carrier plane. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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