A-36 Exhaust Staining

Thanks, Mike!

Thanks for the info, Mustang V.

Nice job!

Mike

Exhaust stains on OD paint with Allison or Merlins must be dirty white.  Check literature for Photos of

the P-51As used by the Air Commando group in the CBI.  (Miss Virginia) is an extreme example.

Lead and fuel additives caused the dirty white stains on painted surfaces.  Allison and Merlins were clean  running and dark stains indicated carburetor trouble.

Turned out really well! Great job.

ww2psycho, I'd really like to see a photo when you finish.

Thanks, Mike!

It looks so good! I'm painting one right now.

Nicely done! That turned out very nice.  :)

The B&W needs more grain and a touch of blur  ;)

Well, for what it's worth, I've finally finished this build. Here are a couple of color shots:

Here's an attempt to replicate a black-and-white photo taken with a box camera:

Melgyver, very nice. Very subtle. I like that. How did you do it?

Not a A-36 but here is the light exhaust staining I did on my F-51.

Jug that ME-110 is awesome!!

Did you make those exhaust pipes or did they come with the kit?

Also how do you apply your mottleing effect?

Great work!!

Here's my latest attempt at the exhaust staining. Still not sure that I like it, but I'm pretty sure that if I keep messing with it, sooner or later I'll break something. I've also included a photo of my first attempt at modeling the antenna wire on a Mustang.

Larry

If anyone's interested, I've posted a build log on my Web site. You can see it at

home.comcast.net/.../A-36.html

Larry

I've added a bit of soot to match the war time color photos that I've been able to find. I think it's about right.  My understanding is that they ran these aircraft with a really rich fuel mixture and that some uncombusted fuel was exhausted. As it dried, the lead remained behind and resulted in the stain. In the photos I've seen, it looked like the lighter colored deposits covered the soot deposits, so that's what I tried to duplicate.

As always, feedback is appreciated, especially if it means that I learn something new.

Yeah, that looks better.

Here's my latest attempt. I think the size and shape of the stain is better. I need to reapply my burnt umber wash to a few panel lines and add some soot (probably with black pastel) to the exhaust stain, but I think I'm getting there. BTW - in the background you can see a 1/72 Monogram X-15A-2 that I shortened to the original X-15 configuration (following an article in FSM!). I'm practicing rescribing panel lines that were lost in the surgery.

I agree that exhaust stains should be sprayed on. It's hard to get a feathered edge otherwise. I use gouache water colors, available at any art store. Mix up what ever color you want and spray at very low pressure, <5 psi. If it beads up the mix is too thin or the pressure is too high. Build it up slowly.  Very realistic appearance. The best part is there is no pressure or worry. If you are not happy it can be wiped off with a wet q-tip and just try again. Takes a little practice.

Jay

It looks like I've got a bit of reshaping to do after work. Good thing I've got plenty of olive drab paint on hand.

If you are worried about the shape of the stain, you can always make some sausages out of Blu Tack. If you are careful to not spray TOO close to the sausage, you can get a nice feathery look, and get what ever shape you want.

That's looks good, however the light color was created by the exhaust heat, so you need to add a little soot to the top of the heated paint. Like GS said, the exhaust followed the airstream, so it would rise up and curve following the shape of the airfoil.
 

Looks good but I'd add a lot more! Those A-36s stayed dirty! I've noticed the staining usually arcs upwards from the exhausts and gradually curves downward as it passes over the wing. Also nice choice on the scheme, the only A-36 ace!

Well, I took at shot at it. Mixed some MM sand and neutral gray, thinned it about 50% and tried spraying at 5 psi. It's not great, but OK maybe. Thoughts?

Thanks,
Larry

Apache looks good. I'm building the same model now-my third of the AM Mustang series. I'll get one right one of these days. I've been using them to practice various techniques; I'm going to paint my Apache in a NMF--my first foray with Alclad II.

I've tried both airbrushing and pastels on these kits. My exhaust's edges come out too hard. I just don't have the technique down, and feel like my control is not where it needs to be to risk wrecking my model at that late stage in the game. Also, making the exhaust look the same on both sides of the fuselage is a crapshoot for me.

I recently bought the Tamiya master weathering pastels. They're like little makeup kits. Although I made the mistake of applying the pastel-exhaust over a clear coat (sprayed on for decal-application), they nevertheless worked very well. I had much better control over the finished product (AM's P-51A). I'd post a pic, but I'm not at home now to take a photo).

I've got three more of these AM Mustangs to practice on before I dig in to the higher-end section of my model stash. Good luck with your Apache. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

Working on my technique. Hope to have photos to post soon.

I use chalks for exhaust staining, too.  For white, I don't have an artist's chalk stick, I have a piece of good, old-fashioned schoolhouse blackboard chalk.

It's true, a matte surface is best, to allow the powder to bite.  I usually apply the chalks after decaling and after the matte coat.  If I have to apply more matte coats, it's usually necessary to apply more chalk, because the sealing coat will knock the intensity of the color down a bit.  But they're pretty easy to use, once you get a little practice with them.

Personally I find a medium or wide tip gives more feather to these kits of stains, but I agree with low pressure and dialing way back on flow.  In order to work with the low flow I typically thin a little more than usual.

Great ideas, all. Thanks - I'm learning a lot.

In addition to low pressure on the airbrush, I realized this morning that I have a fine needle and head that I could put on in place of the current medium ones. That might help, I think. We'll have to see after work today.