Panel lines on a black coat?

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Alex
I'm currently working on a Hurricane Mk1 and the colour scheme underneath is half and half black and white. Now the white side is OK but on the black side I'm wondering how to make the panel lines pop out. I'm not sure if it's worth doing. I thought about using white chalk to help the panel lines show through but, is that actually realistic? ie: would you really need to define panel lines on a black coat which contrasts against a white one since shadows will only really show through on lighter colours.
 

Ian M

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Well my approach would be either paint the black and white then use a medium dark grey to bring out the panel lines. Or use an almost black for the paint and black for the panel lines. Though true black on a model i often just to black!
Another thing to consider is that the "shadow" in the deeper detail is often more dirt and grime than shadow So you could use a panel wash appropriate to the opperating area of the aircraft. Was it a hard runway, grassy field with mud and muck? Was it dry, was it wet?
I dont get into it as much as that. I normally stick with paynes grey for almost everything lol
 

Snowman

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I agree with Ian.o_O
 
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Rik101

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An idea I have had might possibly help. I'm doing a Dodge Challenger in gloss black and I'm planning to do the panel lines in matt black, after all, shadows and dirt tend to not be glossy. I have no idea how this is going to look as yet as I am still in the process of laying down the gloss black.
 

stona

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As you are brush painting I would suggest that pre-shading is not really an option. First I would not apply black for the black (if you know what I mean). There are various options, I usually add some red to the black, but others use green or blue. Once you've got that base coat on you can dry brush a lighter shade of of grey (black/white). Usually this would be done in the centre of the various panels, but I've seen it done on the panel lines, a sort of reverse shading. Most important, either way, is to keep it subtle, It shouldn't jump out at the viewer.
White is similar. When spraying I spray a base of a VERY light grey and then use white to highlight panel centres etc. I don't see why something similar couldn't be done with brushes.

This is a similar black/white/aluminium scheme on a Spitfire, still a work in progress and before any varnishes etc.
IMG_1273.JPG
And the finished model.
IMG_1281_web.jpg

Cheers

Steve
 
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Thanks for all your advice, I just popped out to buy a children's colour pencil set because I wanted to try a grey pencil, I already have a 4B which is great for the panel shading on lighter colours but it's quite dark, well I tried the cheap grey pencil and actually it works quite well and gives a nice subtle highlight, the only problem is it snapped when sharpening because it was very low quality. I see someone mentioned using Payne's grey which I've found out is a colour that Faber Castell do. I'm quite fond of using the pencil method as opposed to a liquid wash as I've seen the pencil method used to very good effect on some youtube videos and i feel that i get a bit more control with a pencil. As you mentioned dry brushing is another way of highlighting areas. I also went out and bought some willow charcoal sticks which i think will be great to use in future for things like burn marks or soot etc. I'll be posting photos up soon
 

monica

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very interesting this one,as I,m at the same point,
what I have done is try a wash in dark gray,blue,with ,the up most tinny touch of black,
not so sure if you can see it in my build,but its there,maybe do a few times,;)

will be keeping an eye on this one to see what and how people do tackle this :smiling3:
 

BarryW

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AKI do a panel wash for the black undersides of aircraft.
I used it on my HK Models 1/32 Mossie.
That said I did not just apply that. I also modulated the colour by spraying a black mixed with a drop of white into the middle of panels. I then mist sprayed a very diluted NATO brown to take the edge of the black (essential as black does not really look so black in real life) . The panel wash followed after a gloss coat ending with a matt coat.
here is how it looks:
IMG_1514 - Copy.jpg
IMG_1515.jpg
It is looking a bit more 'bleached' under the light in the photo than in reality.

http://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/35ml-paneliner-for-black-camouflage-ak-interactive.html
 
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