Have Glass paint (AKA F-22 paint)

[Spey_Phantom]

every modeler building an F-22 has one big problem, namely the Raptors metallic pearlecent coating, know has "Have Glass" (also seen on some F-16's, like dutch and Greek vipers)

exsample:



most builders prefer to use the Alclad2 types of paint, but these can be quite expensive for the budget minded modeller and not all hobbyshps have them available.
i have a couple of raptors in my stash and love to give them the "Have Glass" treatment, but i dont have that type of paint available.
thats why ive decided to develop some sort of easy and cheap to make coating, moslty by mixing thinner, metallic and transparent paints.

today, i have tested an experimental mixture (of witch the recepy still needs dosage perfection) with some early promising results
this 1/144 F-15 salvaged from my junkyard have become a testsubject for my Have Glass experiment.

the basic patern has been painted on with standard matt/satin greys, then with the Have Glass coating applied.

this coating is made with a mixure of Iron (Revell 91), clear gloss transparent (Revell 1) and a large ammount of revell color mix.
i might get better result with Satin or Matt clearpaint and darker gunmetal. once i perfected the dosage, i'll make a recipe for it.

first test results  



in light shot, the red square shows where the coating was applied, this is the same model, no modifications to the coating.

[Geoff]

I have used some glass paint from Hobbycraft (the store) once. They do a series of different coluors in the craft section. Seemed to work ok.

[Spey_Phantom]

ok i did some preliminary testing and i made a temporary production recipe

what your gonna need is a Pipette (for dosage), paint thinner, transparent gloss (revell or humbrol,...), steel metallic paint (revell 91, or for  alternative brand, check paintcharts), toothpicks (or piece of leftover sprue, for mixing) and an empty paintjar, pantrydish or something else to mix the paint in.



take your mixingdish (or jar, pantrydish,...) and pour in, using the marked pipette:

-3.5ml Clear paint (preferably gloss)
-1 ml steel metallic paint
-4ml thinner

then mix it all toghther, you should get this result (can look bubbly)



before painting it on your intended model, test it on an older model from the scrapyard first. if the coat is not clear enough, you can always ad more thinner, if the mixure it to liquid, you can ad a bit more transparent paint.

the test with this mixture is shown on these pics (marked in red squares)



close up



tail surface



the recipe i noted is for quite a large dosage, so if you paint is satisfactory, anf you have some left over, you can always put in a tin or jar in case you need it again in the future.

[Gondor]

Very interesting

Gondor

[Dizzyfugu]

IMHO the result is not really convincing - it looks like a disco coating, due to the single and relatively large metallic flakes? Not certain what could be a better solution, though. Thought about pearlized coatings, but those have a green/pink shade to them in the sun, even though the overall shiny effect should be better?

[Spey_Phantom]

as mentioned, its stil in an experimental stage, there are a lot of kinks to be worked out, might try chrome/silver paint instead of metal, as that seems less flakey 

[Dizzyfugu]

What's also worth having a look at is nail varnish! There are some effect lacquers available with a metallic sheen, and a very fine pigmentation. I haven't used this stuff on such a broad scale, but it's something to consider

[Gondor]

How about a metallic surface with translucent , ie clear, paint on top. Probably difficult to end up with a convincing grey though but its just a suggestion.

Gondor

[Cobra]

Have You Tried mixing in some Testors Model Master Anthracite Gray for Your F-22 Paint? might give You the Look You're Trying to achive. Dan

[pyro-manic]

How about a metallic surface with translucent , ie clear, paint on top. Probably difficult to end up with a convincing grey though but its just a suggestion.

Gondor

I'd agree with this. Base coat in a steel/gunmetal metallic, and then build up the camouflage with thin layers on top. You'll avoid the "flaky" effect you have with the metallic wash. Tamiya Smoke would be a good colour to try out as one of the top colours.

[Mossie]

I'd suggest GW's Citadel Colour, Chainmail and Boltgun metal followed by Klear on top.  This paint has the benefit of being easy to brush paint and having virtually no 'flakes'.  Coats don't always go on brilliantly over each other, but a layer of Klear between them helps this.  I might have a look-see and report back.

The whole Citadel range has been changed recently.  Ironbreaker and Leadbelcher are supposed to be matches for the above paints, although I'm not sure how close they are. The new paints are equivalents and not nessecarily exact replacements for the old ones, they're also supposed to have slightly different properties which most web reports suggest are an improvement.

[Old Wombat]

If you don't mind using enamels: Have you thought of using a very, very light coat of Humbrol Metal-Cote "Gunmetal" (possibly with thinner &/or clear) with a satin lacquer coat over the top?

[Old Wombat]

Or, perhaps, lead (graphite) or silver pencil rubbed onto a tissue or piece of soft cloth, then the rubbing on the tissue/cloth rubbed gently onto the model, & again finished with satin lacquer.



Guy

[ysi_maniac]

The graphite idea sounds good.