I am working on a 1/72 Airfix Hotspur glider. I am wondering what is the best technique to paint the bottom of the skid. Repeated landings ,would strip the paint off of it and leave it bare wood. What color of paint or paints would you use to make it look realistic?
Hi William,
I think an oil paint wood grain over acrylic would be your best bet.
Quite simple to do.
Paint the skid in a buff or pale sand acrylic. Then using an old flat brush with a little darker brown oil paint, brush in the wood grain. This an old brush works as the splayed out bristles create the grain. At 1/72 you’re going to want a tight grain.
You must use acrylic as you might get a reaction between the oil and enamel paints. You can also clean it up very easily with a rag damped with thinner if you’re unhappy with the result.
You then need to let it dry in an airtight container for a few days, maybe a week or longer to let the oils dry thoroughly.
Last step is to give it a protective coat of Tamiya clear yellow or orange, depending on how dark you want the final finish.
Best advice I can give is to practice first till you get the result you want.
It’s a very simple technique, just takes a while with the long drying times.
Best of luck with it.
Thank you. I will give that a try!