pre-painting panel lines?

[Gary]

I love these opinions and ideas about how to create the right look.

[cthulhu77]

Those are obviously faked photos. No aircraft ever have any visible smudges or panel lines. Seriously.

[GTX]

Canadian aircraft - how typical - all those grubby Canadian hands all over it...

Regards,

Greg

[Gary]

Hey, what do you expect, eh, after a day of chopping down trees and eating maple syrup? Most egloos don't have running water here in the great white north, eh? Got any beers ya hoser?

PS: before you say it, I am Canadian.

[matrixone]

I prefer to pre-paint the panel lines on many of my models, but in most cases it works better on the larger scales mainly because it is easier to keep the pre-shading only on the panel lines without too much overspray.
On most single engine WWII prop fighters the pre-shading can really help out on making realistic looking weathering if you keep the pre-shading confined to the area around the engine and the exhausts, the pre-shading should get much lighter the further out you get from the engine(s). Also pre-shading can be useful on the undersurfaces in areas where mud or dirt gets thrown up by the wheels and will sometimes collect in the panel lines.

Here is my 1/72 scale MPM Ki-83 after the base color has been sprayed on and the gloss black pre-shading has been added. On these small scale planes the pre-shading must be sprayed on in narrow lines or the pre-shading effect won't work very well.


This is what the model looks like after the base color has been sprayed on. Yes the pre-shading still looks way overdone at this stage but when the rest of the model is painted, the markings added, weathering added, and the flat coat put on the pre-shading will look about right. I tend to use slightly darker and heavier pre-shading on the undersurfaces because they are always in shadow and it does not show up well on the finished model. Not very scale like I know, but it makes for a better looking model.


If you want to see examples of the pre-shading gone beserk check the older builds on the H.S. Gallery section. Yikes! Some of those old models look like quilts.

Matrixone

[Nigel Bunker]

I don't care if you pre-shade, post-shade or don't shade - just keep making models.

[noxioux]

Those are obviously faked photos. No aircraft ever have any visible smudges or panel lines. Seriously.

And obviously fake, if they're supposed to be Canadian---there are no beer bottles on the hood.

[The Rat]

Those are obviously faked photos. No aircraft ever have any visible smudges or panel lines. Seriously.

And obviously fake, if they're supposed to be Canadian---there are no beer bottles on the hood.

Are you saying that we're just a bunch of beer-swilling, womanizing, fish-fighting, drunken...


Oh, forget it... 

[Excalibur]

I mostly build in 1/72 scale so I don't pre shade etc I have noticed the trend for what can be overdone panel lines as well. I put this down to the modeler (in a competition setting atleast) wanting to 1/ compete with everyone else who pre shades and 2/ wants the model to look detailed/pretty.

As someone pointed out on a recent heavily shaded model that was posted (not done by a whif member) as perfect as it looked the modeler still got the paint colours wrong! My point is no matter how hard you try for perfection someone will always find or notice something wrong with your build. Build in which ever manner makes you happy and yes I have also noticed that panel lines on most aircraft aren't all that prominent if there at all.

[sotoolslinger]

Hey JHM'S models look cool so do Matrixone's so do Eddie's and I don't mind saying so do mine.When I teach my grandkids to model I won't start them off Whiffing and I won't start them off airbrushing. I don't spend as much time on my interiors as other folks cause I'm usually interested in getting the exterior right (according to my warped imagination) but I still build really cool stuff and it is finished really well .... see Wooksta's quote

[Weaver]

As someone pointed out on a recent heavily shaded model that was posted (not done by a whif member) as perfect as it looked the modeler still got the paint colours wrong! My point is no matter how hard you try for perfection someone will always find or notice something wrong with your build. Build in which ever manner makes you happy and yes I have also noticed that panel lines on most aircraft aren't all that prominent if there at all.

There is no such thing as a perfect model of anything: every model involves a compromise with reality at some point. Models are artist's impressions of the real (or imagined) thing, and like any other artworks, there are different styles and priorities and the end result can only be judged using taste, not logic.

[Excalibur]

As someone pointed out on a recent heavily shaded model that was posted (not done by a whif member) as perfect as it looked the modeler still got the paint colours wrong! My point is no matter how hard you try for perfection someone will always find or notice something wrong with your build. Build in which ever manner makes you happy and yes I have also noticed that panel lines on most aircraft aren't all that prominent if there at all.

There is no such thing as a perfect model of anything: every model involves a compromise with reality at some point. Models are artist's impressions of the real (or imagined) thing, and like any other artworks, there are different styles and priorities and the end result can only be judged using taste, not logic.

Which is what I was trying to say, build to suit your own tastes.