Many jets including
the F-4 Phantom and the Su-24 have tiny holes drilled into the area just infront
of the jet engine intakes. Trying to paint these with any level of skill
has proven hopeless in most cases. Here's a simple solution.
Click on
images below to see larger images
First you
find some suitable screen material. A
suitable screen could be found in car fuel filter, in medical blood
filters and so on. The type of screen you choose will depend on
scale of the model and what screen you can find. You need to get a
screen with suitable cells and place the mask on it (I'm using the Tamiya
mask tape). Another option is to make the whole grid pattern on the
screen with tiny strips of masking tape that you can cut yourself with an
A-Xcto knife and a metal ruler. |
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Now you
have a stencil for airbrushing. Now you need to take some clear decal film
and airbrush through the screen to the clear decal film underneath the
screen. You need to airbrush it quickly and in one pass - to avoid the
paint leaking through the stencil. I'm
use enamel paint for airbrushing these screens. |
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In this
particular photo the grid pattern was sprayed on to the excess clear
carrier film of an existing decal sheet.
Now you have a decal
that you can trim and apply to the model. Be sure to sand the
plastic of the intake area first to remove the detailing of the screen
from the bare plastic. This will give you a smooth surface to apply
your decal.
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Finally
you'd paint the model as usual and apply your screen decal to the model as per
reference photos. The finished result is very convincing in the Su-24
below.
Valery Korelov
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