I was wondering if anyone can advise on the best way to do the “green” glass in the upper part of the fuselage above the pilots heads on a huey helicopter?
i tried using tamiya clear green in a spray can but it beaded up on the clear glass section and ruined it. would i be better getting the clear green acrylic paint in a jar and thinning it and trying to spray it on using my airbrush or simply apply it with a paint brush?
i have heard of someone using a sheet of clear green acetate and sticking it to the upper glass but how would i do that without destroying the transparent clear plastic?
should i also paint the interior or exterior of the glass, what would give me best results?
Given the size and for control I would probably use a paint brush to apply. I would have recommend Tamiya clear green and apply in a fine coats. I think you could mix with future to help coat. I think a clear acrylic paint would also work.
If you have a clear green plastic, I would cut in the shape and used instead of the clear part. Maybe a clear green film might work but that seems more difficult to hide the glue etc to make that work.
I would probably only paint the top of the glass as it would be difficult to see out through the bottom. That said a thin coat on both sides cannot hurt.
I have used Future in the past, but I’m sure any clear acrylic will work - add a pinpoint (seriously, that’s all you need) of green food coloring to the clear and spray it on. That food coloring is potent stuff. A little goes a long way.
Alternately you might find some flexible green film someplace. I bought a welder’s lens and it had a light blue protective sheet over it - very thin and self sticking. I used it successfully on an MRAP build. Maybe something similar exists in green
Is the clear “glass” styrene or some other plastic?
Vac-formed?
Future or similar floor polish should be able to adhere.
Use Tamiya “acrylics” of your choice to mix into the floor polish.
I just used Mr. Color clear green with a brush a couple weeks ago but you are getting answers from folks who have far greater skills than me. Without an air brush my options are limited.
First of all:
I almost never use Tamiya paints so bear that in mind.
If I were to attempt this operation I would paint the inside of the glass in an attempt to use the thickness of the glass to simulate a tinted glass. The “green-ness” is not on the outside surface, it is “inside” the glass. This depends on how the original is made: film on outside, film on inside, tinted all the way through.
I would build up thin layers, sneaking up on the desired opacity.
Most importantly, I would DEFINITELY experiment on some scrap plastic first. Cracked CD-cases or buy second hand CD’s from a thrift shop or similar?
As Robin said it is on the inside or all the way through. On my Kiowa Warrior I used Tamiya X25 sprayed through an airbrush on the inside of the canopy, this then leaves the outside to stay shiny as in the real thing. I cleaned the canopy well beforehand in case there was any residue on it and then built up light coats.
Ryan, thanks for those articles they were brilliant and it mention on the kitty hawk build that the used tamiya enamel paint…i didn’t know they made the stuff but i am used to humrol so its probably similar so i might experiment with that.
