discussion Jet Engine Colours?

[AlanG]

Whilst i love building WWII aircraft i do love the Su-27B Flanker and was lucky enough to get a Hobbyboss kit for a steal on evilbay. But the problem is i know absolutely nothing about painting jet engines. I know they are lots of different colours due to the heat zones and that's about it. I am looking at buying/using Vallejo Metal colour range as they get a better 'useability' rating on youtube reviews.

So what colours should i look at getting for painting jet engines?

 

[boatman]

HI Al well I think gunmeatal for a starter's not sure about other colours though but im sure the other guys will tell you
chris

 

[AlanG]

Hiya Chris

I was thinking along the lines of gunmetal, magnesium, burnt iron, copper, exhaust manifold and pale burnt metal. But i also noticed that some engines have a yellow and blue tinge to them.

 

[Guest]

I use Tamiya paints and they do a selection of clear colours, blue ,red ,yellow ,orange, green, and smoke which I am experimenting with on a mig 29 engines, the colours are ok, but the trick is to blend them together, too much overlap of blue and yellow and you get green, looks odd. I've had a couple of goes but not happy yet so just keep stripping the paint off and trying again. If I get it right i'll post some pictures, good luck.

 

[Ian M]

Hiya Chris

I was thinking along the lines of gunmetal, magnesium, burnt iron, copper, exhaust manifold and pale burnt metal. But i also noticed that some engines have a yellow and blue tinge to them.

Think you got the base colours you need there. As said the heat staining is the hard part. Even though you can find photos of it with the full rainbow of colours the most seen are blue, purple, brown and a bit of yellow. All of which can be found as clear colours. The hard part is putting them down in a convincing way.

 

[yak face]

Its a tricky thing alan , as youve already noticed its quite prominent on a lot of jets so it always adds to the model if you can get it right. Just a couple of alternative methods you can try before splashing out £30 on umpteen different metal shades though. Coloured inks can be very effective , just a blue and brown , diluted and strategically washed over a silver base can give a nice effect ,particularly when talking about the cans on a flanker which have a distinctive blue stripy effect on the inboard sections. Another thing ive used quite a bit is eye shadow. Get a cheap palette containing as many different suitable colours ie. purples ,browns, blues ,coppers,bronze (poundland has some good ones and you can usually get all the colours you need in one palette) . I paint the exhausts first with a silver , then matt coat it to help the eye shadow stick. Then it a case of dabbing on the different colours with a cotton bud till you get the effect youre after ,if it goes wrong just use a baby wipe to clean it off and start again. Once youve got the effect seal it with a quick mist of hairspray or varnish but only sprayed, if you tried to brush it on it would smear off the eye shadow. Ive used this technique on a few models but particularly the f100 super sabre which had a notorious heat stained rear fuselage,heres a few pics cheers tony

 

[Guest]

watching with interest for the me262 !!! :smiling4:

 

[boatman]

HI tony yea thinks it looks great :thumb2: now you've said that I wil have to go an raid my missus's makeup for while I remember for my big hornet an tomcat kits which I hope to have a go at if I cant carry on with the tiger build with notes in the kits sayin what they be for an any chance of some more pics of them lovely S/S F100 an voodoo ?
chris

 

[yak face]

HI tony yea thinks it looks great :thumb2: now you've said that I wil have to go an raid my missus's makeup for while I remember for my big hornet an tomcat kits which I hope to have a go at if I cant carry on with the tiger build with notes in the kits sayin what they be for an any chance of some more pics of them lovely S/S F100 an voodoo ?
chris

Cheers chris , you can find both build threads and completed threads if you search ‘yaks century series’ theres only the two so far but im hoping to do the others too , cheers tony