Enhanced panel lines

Thanks much - appreciate the info - will give it a try on the F15 that I'm in the process of building.

Hey mercury,
In regards to what 72cuda mentioned about the actual panel line, it is true that they really dont show up(like how we represent them) but I have seen and been around military a/c that everything stood out. I understand that its the personal that maintains these a/c but also what are the surroundings, the weather and the like.
Remember we are modellers and we have are own ways of showing off our work and the biggest thing we are artists!! Have fun in what you do and you have to like how it turns out..!!
Hopefully this will help ya out a bit....
Below are the steps that will help you apply the "Smudge Wash" for your panel lines,details and the like.
1. Make sure your a/c has a gloss coating(or semi gloss) on her inorder for this method to work. You can go ahead and put you decals on before you apply the wash. Basically you kill two birds w/ one stone. (No birds injured in the typing of this post)
Putting on the gloss coat(or semi) also helps to protect the under lying colour so the wash method wont harm the painted surface.
2. I use a mixture of water based paint thinned w/ distilled water(you can also add a lil dish detergent). I prefer to use "scale black" when I go to high light.
3. Using a fine artist brush, start applying the wash over the panels and other surface detail that you see fit(including landing gear)
4. Let the wash dry for about 5 minutes or so then go back over the affected areas w/ a soft moist cloth or Q-Tip.
5. You can always reapply this method as many times as you would like or up until you get the look that you want.
6. Once all is said and done, spary a flat coat so it can protect the wash and the decals.
The color that you use for the wash also can depend on the color(s) that you use for the a/cs scheme.
In general though "scale" black or a dark gray would work out perfectly in any scheme that you would use.
This sounds like theres a lot to do but it really aint nothing to lose sleep over . If I can do it, so can you my friend.
If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me at
Falcon42177@yahoo.com or Falcon174th@aol.com
Flaps up, Mike

Hey Murcury;
working on Military A/C (A-10A's, C-130's & F-16's) you really can't see the panel lines like most modelers represent on the kits because the maintenance procedures will not allow the paint to CHIP away from the areas for long periods of time, and the personal pride of the A/C maintainer ( Crew Cheifs or Plane Captains ) too, but there are some areas that'll need a little bit more weathering then others but panel lines are not to noticable on modern combat planes

I use what can only be called 'dirty water'
acrylic black paint, Vallejo or any water based is best diluted at about 10:1 H2O:Paint.
Just paint along the panel lines with a thin brush and let it dry (varnish first, of course).
When it dries use a slightly damp cloth to rub off any overspill.
I used a light grey to highlight the black underside of my A1 and it looked great.
I just finished doing Showtime 100 in black - NNNNNice!

D'oh, I've just posted a reply to this on the 'General Modelling' section.

Karl

Have you tried using a fine-line marker or paint pen? I think Tamiya has some available in very fine line, and they work great for panel lines. I mainly see them on Gundam models, but they could be used for aircraft, if you really want them dark.

demono69