Bare metal foil??

can't say that I would use that since it is a bit thick. But for about 7-8 bucks you could get a pint of gold leaf size (adhesive) and a roll of normal aluminum foil and have enough to do more than quite a few models.

All,

I've never used the stuff but want to. I am very cheep. How thick is BMF? I've got a whole roll of aluminum tape from the hardware store for duct work, duct insulation etc. Anybody think of using that? It might be too thick to conform to the panel details.

I picked up a whole load of sheets of BMF at my LHS a few years ago. He was selling them off at the GBP equivalent of 50 cents each! I then used some of them to finish a Hasegawa 1/48 F-86. I first sprayed the whole model with grey automotive primer, and polished the whole airframe smooth. I then sprayed, and masked, the dark metal panels around the gun ports and tail pipe. When I came to applying the BMF, I found that so long as I took the process slowly, covering one panel at a time,there were no major problems. The trick is to use a piece of foil slightly larger than the panel you are covering, burnish it down, and trim to size.

I also found that, where I had to use more than one piecs of foil on a complex curve, that I could remove the wrinkles by burnishing with the blunt (rounded) end of a colouring pencil, and then, using worn 1200-grade wet & dry, polish the surface to eliminate the join line between the individual pieces of foil entirely.

I also found that, by sanding in different directions, using this worn 1200-grade wet & dry, I could achieve different effects on different panels. A coat of Future then made the model ready for the decals, and another coat of Future sealed them in, with the effects of the different metal panels still showing.

Since then, I've only used BMF for details such as chrome trim, rear view mirrors, and highly-polished panels on natural metal airframes, but , on the 'waiting to be built' stack,I've got a Revell (Germany) 1/48 P-47D and a Tamiya 1/48 MiG-15 bis which may well get the BMF treatment

I did a 48 scale p-51d with BMF. I think it turned out pretty well, but you will need patience. The only areas I had problems with were around the guns, the portion of the wing under the radiator intake and the radiator intake itself. I could have saved myself some trouble on the last two if I had planned ahead, but I had the wings on before I started foiling. I didn't lay down a gloss coat prior to decalling, but I had absolutely no problems with adhesion.
I liked how the model turned out, but I don't know if I'd use that method again to do a whole model in that scale again, as it is time consuming. If you do it, plan ahead and try to anticipate problem areas.

Al

QUOTE: Originally posted by DanCooper There is a tutorial in FSM July 2002 about it.

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/default.aspx?c=a&id=283

Hi Sorry for the late reply. Just joined. I used Bare Metal Foil on a P-51 with pretty good results. There's a picture of it on my webpage at http://ddwngauge.homestead.com/index.html on the plastic models page. BMF is so thin that small pieces can be overlapped onto complex curves with few wrinkles showing. Wrinkles can be smoothed out with a smooth, round toothpick, or something similar. It tears easily, but can be patched just as easily. You'll get used to it. Concerning applying decals, I put a coat of Future on first and let it dry, then apply decals. Don't think they'd stick to the foil itself very well.

Do decals adhere to bare metal foil? I've never used it, but want to try it on an F-100?

You can't peel off and reposition BMF, so try to get it right.
I use a cheaper alternatif, household aluminium foil in combination with Microscale Metal Foil Adhesive....A lot cheaper if you have to start over again.
Metal foil is actually metal, so it has the abbility to stretch a little for curves and tight spots, just rub gently with a cottonstick.
There is a tutorial in FSM July 2002 about it.

Im with Richardl in this one.

How in the world would you manage to overcome tight spots like wing roots etc????

This stuff would be alot easier than airbrushing with the Alclad system, but complex shapes would probably drive you nuts.

Swanny:-
Thanks for the reply. I'm wondering how it compares to a metalizer finish. Is it better, worse, or about the same?
The part that has me hesitant is, what happens if you get a wrinkle in it? Can it be partially peeled back off and re-positioned?
Sorry about all the questions, I'm relatively new at this...
BTW, a tutorial on your website would be great since there doesn't seem to be any around.
Thanks,
Rich

I did a PT-20 with BMF once. It really was very easy. I cut small sections off the sheet and burnished it down with a round toothpick. I burnished it to an existing panel line then trimmed the excess off with a fresh razor blade. In this manner I worked over the entire fuselage, struts and landing gear pants - it looks great. I don't have a picture handy (can you believe that?) or a tutorial done yet (another astonishment) but am working on it.