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Author
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Topic: Painting tips for Mercury spacecraft models
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tfetner
Member Posts: 247
From: Birmingham Alabama USA
Registered: Sep 2002
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posted 07-13-2007 10:13 AM
  
Can someone who has completed a Mercury model share what paints they used to achieve the proper finish/colors akin to the "real thing"? |
Jerry Brouillette
Member Posts: 147
From: Louviers, CO
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 07-13-2007 04:57 PM
I have a copy of Fine Scale Modeler (somewhere!) from April 2005 that has a great article on building the 1/12 Mercury scale model. I've been looking all over for it to start my own kit! They do have access to the on finescale.com BUT... you need to subscribe to it or you can get limited time search of the site if you buy the latest issue and enter a code from the cover.They had several articles listed going back to 1999 on the Mercury. It's a good magazine, might be worth picking one up to check out the site! |
ea757grrl
Member Posts: 729
From: South Carolina
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 07-13-2007 10:50 PM
Mat Irvine does a very good build of the 1/12 kit in his recent book "Scale Spacecraft Modeling," and for his he applied a coat of matte black, then a coat of Testors Metallic Black, ad then a very faint coat of Testors Sable Brown to add a little bit of "not quite black" to the finish. Mat bases this on years of experience and his experiences around 1:1 Mercury spacecraft.  |
Lou Chinal
Member Posts: 1306
From: Staten Island, NY
Registered: Jun 2007
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posted 07-14-2007 04:45 AM
Do you want the color to be before the spacecraft flew or after? |
tfetner
Member Posts: 247
From: Birmingham Alabama USA
Registered: Sep 2002
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posted 07-14-2007 10:50 AM
I'm looking for the "before" appearance.
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divemaster
Member Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002
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posted 07-14-2007 06:38 PM
Testors Exhaust Metalizer. |
Peter
Member Posts: 15
From: Milwaukee,WI
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 07-16-2007 09:09 PM
Check out the Mercury Spacecraft Modeling wiki. Plenty of reference material there. |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 08-15-2007 01:32 AM
I had done an experiment a few months back which I thought I would pass along for consideration with regards to the Mercury Rene 41 panels in terms of how best to paint them. Tamiya has a nice smoke tint shade available in spray, but my attempts to do it over a black or dark gray base have resulted in a brownish shade. So I wanted to see what would happen if I sprayed it over a blue shade.So for a TIE Fighter model I was doing, I decided to try this on the solar wings. The base coat I used was Tamiya dark sea blue, then I oversprayed a few wet coats of smoke tint over the top. The resulting shade was a nice even glossy black with a blue tint, which to my eye matches the Rene 41 panels pretty closely, more so then just straight black or a black metallic tint. As such I will use it on my Capt Cardboard Mercury kit when the time comes to finish it. At this point it is partly done as I also did some work on the heatshield and decal work on the retropack. Tamiya Hull Red (also available in spray form) is a great representation of the reddish brown shade of the ring next to the heat shield. As for the heatshield itself, I tried a Hull Red base shade, oversprayed with a light mist coat of smoke tint over the top gave it a little better representation of the heat shield color then just the straight hull red coloring. |
Tad_N
Member Posts: 24
From: Dundas, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 03-07-2010 12:31 PM
I was just wondering if anyone can tell me the proper color of red for the manned Mercury escape towers?Editor's note: Threads merged |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 03-07-2010 01:58 PM
Its very much a reddish orange. I'll have to check and see if somebody has an exact shade, but Chevy Engine red is a good start (available from Testors in their Model Master car color line). |
dsenechal
Member Posts: 539
From:
Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 03-07-2010 03:31 PM
For the escape tower, Testor's Brilliant Red. This is available in spray only, but you can decant if you want to airbrush. For the shingles, try black sandable primer (auto parts store), wait for it to dry, then buff with fine steel wool or a toothbrush with Softscrub. I would not recommend this for a 1/48 scale model, or even 1/24, but it looks exceptional on a 1/12 or larger model. |
Philip
Member Posts: 5952
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 03-08-2010 10:25 AM
Check Pascal's 1/12 scale model with re-entry flames. |
spacewoman
New Member Posts: 2
From:
Registered: Aug 2012
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posted 08-02-2012 06:03 PM
HELP! Need the exact color callouts from the Mercury Atlas Friendship 7, including the capsule, escape tower and fairings. Does anyone know where I can find this information. Thanks! Editor's note: Threads merged. |
divemaster
Member Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002
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posted 08-04-2012 12:31 AM
Depending on the scale: - Engines: Testors Metalizer Stainless Steel
- Atlas Body: Aluminum Bare Metal Foil. Paint where needed
- Mercury spacecraft: Metalizer Exhaust for the body. Red for the clamps and white for the antenna fairing
- LES: I have no problems just using red. If you want to mix in a touch of orange, that's fine, but it should not take away from the red too much.
I don't think Mike's "Space in Miniature" has any specific call outs, does it? It's been awhile since I've read the book or David Weeks blueprints. Most of the instructions for the spacecraft say "bluish-black" which is no help at all. |
kosmo
Member Posts: 388
From:
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 06-12-2015 04:24 PM
What was the true color of Mercury beryllium shingles? Some where I read that they were blue/ black in color, but was this a post flight color caused by the heated entry of the capsule?Editor's note: Threads merged. |
mercsim
Member Posts: 219
From: Phoenix, AZ
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 06-12-2015 05:47 PM
I hate answering this questions as every scale model buff out there has their own opinion. I have spent lots of time around the real things and here is my opinion...Blue doesn't really come in. I think its a function of lightning and flash reflection. If anything, there is a slight green tint. Different panels have faded differently over the years. They have microscopically collected dust and and are never really cleaned. The Liberty Bell is an exception to this. It tends to show the green hue more than others. I don't know if the salt water affected this or not. I spent several days at the Cosmosphere when the Liberty Bell and #10 were there studying and photographing them. The finish on most of #10 was surprisingly well preserved (except for the physical damage). It was stored in the cool dark basement for many years. The colors were nearly identical. I would describe them as a dark gray with a hint of very dark green. I have played with finishing full-size shingles and have found the best results with Testors flat black over white. Not layed on heavy but just enough to cover. The white tends to lighten it up. Then I have buffed it with various paper towels to a semi gloss sheen. Putting one on #10 and Liberty Bell makes them REALLY close. I'm currently making some in black styrene. They are not as nice as the finished white ones but a lot less work and scratching doesn't show. It tends to be a matter of preference or opinion. It also depends on whether you are modeling a new one, a flown one, one stored in bright lights, one stored in the basement, or one stored at the bottom of the ocean. I think the care of spraying over green or blue to get the effect you want is perfectly fine. Jay described his technique several years back and it sounds pretty cool. I'm working on a full-size capsule for a movie prop and am excited to share it. We are a few weeks away from the announcement and I'll post more then. |
Captain Apollo
Member Posts: 260
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 06-14-2015 08:29 AM
Are you making the props for Astronaut Wives? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42982
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-14-2015 09:10 AM
Production on The Astronaut Wives Club has wrapped. All 10 episodes of the series are filmed and complete. |
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