[Jetdefiant]

hi there everyone, im new to modeling, and i just got a defiant model by amt/ertl, and i would like to hear any suggestions u might have. one thing i was curious about is how to enhance the panel lines on the model? any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated

 

[Prince of Styrene II]

I built it some time ago, but here's a few things I remember- the overall fit of the top to bottom is slightly off. You might want to cut off the pins to help that. Can anyone else remember fit problems? I think they were minor, but there.
And you talked about enhancing the panel lines. I assume you want to make them show up better after painting, & not make them deeper. After painting, try doing what's called a "wash" or "drybrushing". You should be able to find great instructions (better than I can give!) at www.culttvman.com

Good luck!

 

[justinleighty]

I've also seen where people have used a pencil, very lightly, to enhance the panel lines, then smudged it before spraying a clear coat over it. That's just for the panel lines that are all one color, of course; that model has lots of different colors of panels. The easiest way to do it is spray the whole thing in a base coat and then hand paint the other colors; some guys would use masking tape and sprays for all that, but if you're new to modeling, that may be more than you want to put into the whole effort.

By the way, welcome!

 

[Jetdefiant]

is there any other way to enhance the panel lines? i have been tryin to use pencil and so far it actually looks pretty good but its slightly messy, ive seen many pictures of models with the panel lines accented perfect and was wondering how it was done,

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/trek/ds9tech/wm_Defiant_AboveDetails.jpg

like that =)

 

[justinleighty]

I'd say pencil is your best bet for that effect. The best way to go (and this will be painstakingly slow, but effective) would be to do a small amount of pencil line, then give it an overspray of clear coat to protect it from smudging, then work on the next section, spray, rinse, repeat.

The nice thing about working with pencil is if you smudge something, you can erase it and start over relatively easy. If the eraser isn't working, a really fine-grit sandpaper would work well, too.

 

[BEBruns]

Something I've been experimentilng with recently is Matte Medium. You can pick it up in most hobby/craft/art stores, in the acrylic paint section. Mix it with a dark color, brush it on, then wipe it off with a cloth or paper towel. The color should stay in the crevices. One drawback is that it may create a weathered effect on the model which you may or may not want.

 

[John O]

Well ...you probably won't want to read this, but I found the best way to enhance the panel lines on Defiant was to get rid of the raised panel lines and rescribe them all. Nothing like raised panel lines to make a good model look like a cheap toy. :drunk: Its not as hard to scribe the new lines as it might sound and it gives you the opportunity to correct the layout, which on the kit is close in some places and way off in others. When I get a chance, I'll try to post some pics of work I've done on mine.

There are many other problems with this kit to consider (that I don't have time to list right now), but I think it is pretty decent starting point.

John O.

 

[BEBruns]

The lines are raised? Forget my suggestion, then.

One technique I've heard about is to basecoat it black. Paint over it, then gently sand the lines until the black shows. I haven't had much luck with this technique, but you could try it.

 

[Dr. Brad]

Here's what mine looks like using the pencil technique. After the lines were applied, I also sprayed a fine mist coat of the base colour to tone things down a bit. Looks fine, but maybe not quite as good as rescribing the lines. I've done that on some kits; I just didn't feel like doing it on the Defiant. Still, I am happy with how it turned out.

Brad

 

[Jetdefiant]

since im new please excuse my ignorance...but should i spray the base color on first and then pencil it in? or do i do all the painting first then pencil the lines? could someone explain in a really "modeling for dummies" version =P

 

[justinleighty]

You can go either way; you can just basecoat then do the lines then do the panel colors, though then if you screw up panel colors and have to re-spray the base coat, you'll have to re-line nearby panel lines.

If you do all the colors, you might be a little safer, since pencil will erase if you screw up the panel lines.

Honestly, it's just a matter of preference. If you want to break up the job a bit for variety's sake, do some lines, then paint the panels, then finish the lines. Whatever makes sense to you.

At any rate, get all that other stuff done then decal the model LAST, after a good, shiny gloss clear coat. Then you can spray a matte coat (Testors has Dullcote spray in a can that's available widely). The trick with those clear coats is don't go too thick. If you use lacquer-based clear coats, they can yellow with age, so go somewhat sparingly to reduce that yellowing on down the road.

 

[omnimodel]

EZ panel lines

My personal favorite for panel lines is a series of pens by a company called Micron. Your local arts and crafts supplier should have them in stock. They come in a variety of colors and thicknesses, from .005 (best for detailing panel lines) to .08

These pens are ideal when you don't want to deal with the weathered look that comes with doing a wash, and gives you more control over which lines are highlighted.

As for using a pencil for detailing, you may have to take care when choosing your finish coat. Alcohol based solvents may erase or smudge the lines.