Here's a few WIP shots of my second attempt at the 1/48 Lunar Module from the Monogram First Lunar Landing reissue by Revell.
On the last kit, I used the kit foil and Bare-Metal foil on the descent stage, but wasn't happy with the look. The BM foil really needs to be burnished down to stick to the plastic and when trying to apply it wrinkled, it just didn't look right. The kit foil has better stick, but just doesn't have the color and, in my opinion, is too reflective.
I came upon these arts and crafts embossing foils.
They are stiffer, almost like a soft drink can, which I think helps in several ways.
It's easier to get the "puffy-ness" you want for the descent stage sections. You can bend it, wrinkle it, but since it is intended for embossing, it isn't hard to smooth either. I like the depth it gives, but the gold color isn't quite right, depending on the light source. So, I cover it with the Bare Metal gold, and use a craft glue. I can rub the BM foil onto the other foil's surface pretty hard to get good contact for the glue without crushing the stiffer foils contours.
The copper works very well for parts of the landing gear. In the Apollo photos, the outrigger struts don't have much wrinkle to them, and appear to be wrapped rather thickly. I believe this will give a decent approximation when the gear is completed.
I pushed some of the aluminum foil into the kit part and shaped the RCS blast shields.
I'm using the aluminum for the ascent stage panels too. Its thin enough to look right, can hold a slight wrinkle, and again when finished and sprayed with some beige paint, should work well.
I'm still using household, plain and black painted foil, where needed and Bare Metal for the landing gear etc.
I'll post more WIP photos as things go along.
Mike