Best way to go about painting small lettering?

If you were looking to do white lettering with a contrasting color on the face of the 'block,' I'd be tempted to paint all the recessed lettering white (no need to be too neat), then paint the 'faces' with a paint marker (like a paint Sharpie).

If you just want the white lettering (with no contrasting color) then just paint the recessed lettering...let dry thoroughly...then remove any 'extra' on the faces by carefully rubbing with a thinner-soaked cloth or cotton swab. (A light sanding would accomplish the same thing.) The neater the initial lettering, the less to remove.

Either way, a light touch will serve you well.

Whoa! This model looks very cool from what I am imagining. Have you or will you post pics of the finished build?

GlennH

Whoa! This model looks very cool from what I am imagining. Have you or will you post pics of the finished build?

 

Dark or black lettering is easy to do with inkjet decal.  White lettering is a challenge, but can be done.  What you do is use a graphics program to set the background color to the shade of gray of the paint.  If you have a scanner, or printer with a built-in scanner, is to paint a piece of plastic with the paint you are using.  Print out a sample of that gray on glossy photo paper and hold it up to model.  Play with that background color in the program.

When it matches pretty well, make up the decal image by using that background color, set your lettering color to white, and type up all the stenciling.  Then print out on white inkjet decal paper.  Now, the whole printed sheet will be a decal, so you must cut out each word.  Having a good matching color means you only need to cut out a rectangle around each stencil.

GlennH

Whoa! This model looks very cool from what I am imagining. Have you or will you post pics of the finished build?

 

I most definitely will, Glenn! This is a cool little kit. it is an old Monogram kit that was repopped in, I beieve 1984. It has been downsized and changed a bit over the course of a couple boxings, but it is a really neat little kit. It is also one of the simplest kits you could build. There is 9 US Rockets and 11 Soviet rockets in the kit, all except for 1 just being two halves that you glue together. Painting is taking longer than any of the constructon by far, mostly just because I like to let the  enamels sit for a good while before doing anything else to them. 

The lettering is on the display base, not the missiles, correct?

You can paint them or make decvvcals in any color you choose.

Yes, it is on the display base and not the missiles. I plan on doing the lettering in gloss white, though that may change if I end up doing the base plates in a contrasting color as mentioned above. I was just curious how other more experienced modelers would go about doing it neatly. 

Cheesenip1462

 

 

GlennH

Whoa! This model looks very cool from what I am imagining. Have you or will you post pics of the finished build?

 

 

 

 

 

I most definitely will, Glenn! This is a cool little kit. it is an old Monogram kit that was repopped in, I beieve 1984. It has been downsized and changed a bit over the course of a couple boxings, but it is a really neat little kit. It is also one of the simplest kits you could build. There is 9 US Rockets and 11 Soviet rockets in the kit, all except for 1 just being two halves that you glue together. Painting is taking longer than any of the constructon by far, mostly just because I like to let the  enamels sit for a good while before doing anything else to them. 

 

After I saw this I went hunting down stuff about the Nike bases that were near my house back in the early 60's. A couple installations within 20 miles or so.

I live about 20 miles from Grissom Air Reserve Base in Bunker Hill, IN. Some really cool history associated with the base throughout the Cold War, all the way up until now, really. Now they are mostly home to a refueling wing, but I see lots of cool stuff come and go through all the time. You should read up a little bit on the nuclear accident involving a B-58 Hustler that happened at the base on December 8th, 1964 that resulted in the death of the navigator and 5 warheads being burned. They used to fly nuclear capable B-58's out of there all the time during the Cold War, and they have a beautifully restored Hustler at their Air Museum, along with many other really nice aircraft.

I dry-brush small stuff like that.

Yea, ... sometimes you have to go over it  more than once.

This crane is 1/87 scale, so I had to go light on the paint to keep from getting it everywhere.

I have included a Quarter in the last picture, ... just to give you an idea of how small the lettering is.

Paint the plaques the background color using enamel.

Fill the letters with white-out or white water based paint.

Wipe off while still wet.

Thanks for all the tips guys! I have decided to go with GMorrison's suggestion and use an acrylic gloss white to do the lettering, as I already had Gunship Grey enamel as the base coat. It seems to be working out pretty well so far. Using some of those pointy, fiberless cosmetic cotton buds dipped in a tiny bit of ISO to remove anything outside of the lettering. May need a few minor touchups when done because it still wants to pull some of the paint out of the recessed lettering, but I'm making progress. Have just under half of them done at this point. 

annnd, done. Thanks guys!