Panelline shading on a black helo

A very faded black for the overall bird and a burnt umber wash for the panel lines should give a light but distinct contrast.

stikpusher wrote:

A very faded black for the overall bird and a burnt umber wash for the panel lines should give a light but distinct contrast.

That's the way to do it! An alternative that should work is to spray the whole model in a true black, and then spray the centres of the panels in black, let down with dark greens, browns, and reds. Do not use grey, because if you do, you end up with a grey helo, not a black one.

Another method not to use is light wash in the panel lines:

It amy look neat, but it doesn't look realistic!

Cheers,

Chris.

Another method is to drybrush with a very dark grey, or grey-black, then drybrush w/gunship grey for highlights.  I used this technique on my MH-60L DAP and MH-6J MELB models.  The effect looks good to me.

I never paint anything straight black. If you look at stuff in the sunlight almost nothing is actually black; even tires and stealth fighters are actually a dark grey.

I take Black and mix it w/ either some Anthracite Grey (for a neutral tone), Burnt Umber (for a brownish/rusty one), Panzer Dark Grey (for bluish) or Red (for a warm tone).

Then for panel lines I use Ivory Black oil paint, thinned w/ turpenoid.

thanks for all the info guys.

Somebody just posted some good photos for this on ARC the other day. It seems like deeper black would be authentic , but by looking at these, it looks like a lighter color works better on raised stuff. Maybe a separate dark ink or something for the deep cracks.

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=162038

Dave
www.TheNorthSpin.com
Dedicated to Aircraft Flight Test for the Aviation Enthusiast

Consider using some of the Floquil Polly Scale colors - forget the fact that they're marketed as railroad colors.  Here are some of the colors I used for a Measure 9 (all black) paint scheme on a GATO class sub: Night Black; Steam Power Black; Grimy Black; Tarnished Black; Oily Black; nd Engine Black. 

thanks guys.