Enter keywords or a search phrase below:
BigJim In model contest judging, are panel lines given more points?
In model contest judging, are panel lines given more points?
Not in IPMS judging.
I think everyone here has made valid points regarding whether or not to highlight panel lines or not. IMHO I feel that moderate to light shading is more realistic than some of the heavier lines that I've seen.
I will never fault someone for doing it or not. That is what this hobby is about, as long as it looks good to the person who built it that is what is most important. I
know for myself, that I am not going to likely be entering my kits into any contests, so as long as I'm happy with the results then I'm good with it.
On the Bench: Lots of unfinished projects!
Just Google any aircraft type you want and you will find examples of one extreme to the other, regarding panel detail, weathering, soot, grime, or spot free and no dirt/grime at all. So no one is wrong regarding how they weather and what they choose to do with panels, however; it is keeping the weathering in Scale and consistent with the rest of the build that a modeler will sometimes over do or screw up on. I wont' post a bunch of weathered up real pics here, as a quick google search yourself will be sufficient.
I think its just a matter of artistic liscense.People model them the way they like to see their models.
Panel lines are more evident on bare metal airplanes than on painted ones. A good freshly painted aircraft has quite a low visibility on most panel lines. A ramp queen may have much more prominent panel lines. Just be consistent. If the plane is painted and not heavily weathered, it shouldn't have stark black, extremely evident panel lines.
Now, what I was talking about was the lines between riveted panels, panels not removable. Removable (access) panels are more visible, and often evident by chipped paint on edges of panels.
Same thing is true for door edges on car models. A light colored car should not have stark black door lines. If I want to use an enhancement on doors, I just darken the color of the finish paint and make a wash of that.
I think we need to spend more time actually observing our prototypes rather than modeling them as we think they appear.
Don Stauffer in Minnesota
I don't have any pictures off hand, but I grew up surrounded by civil aviation and I fly myself. We keep our personal airplanes very clean; however, on the bottom of the fues panel lines tend to stand out a lot. A large cause of this is the exhaust stains as a result of our short-stacks. But oil blow-back as well. All this really does highlight the panel lines underneath.
As for the other surfaces, you got me. I have seen very dirty airplanes in my short time, but I have never seen panel lines so highlighted. But I have seen it on a small-scale on WW2 aircraft in books (as well as Naval jets)
I only highlight panels lines when they are extremely fine and are on a larger scale. I will not highlight on a scale smaller then 1/48. ESPECIALLY Airfix's new tools. They are GREAT new tools, but their 1/72 panels lines would and do look awful highlighted. Way too overstated.
I am a huge fan and pre and post-shading, but highlighting panel lines just usually takes things too far for my taste. But there are always exceptions.
Edit: Depending on the angle and sun, panel lines can tend to cast a small shadow. But this is getting a little crazy!
I see that a lot of you go to great lengths in order to highlight your plane's "panel lines" to where they are quite obvious. However, I don't think that I have ever seen photos of actual planes that have panel lines that stand out or where you can even tell that a panel line is there at all.
So, my questions are:
When / Where did this "Panel Line" phenomenon start?
Can you point me to photos of planes that show panel lines highlighted the way you highlight them?
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.