Hand painting fine lines

Ralph, I have tons of respect for ship modelers and I'm not about to tell you what to do. Venturing into the naval modeling is very overwhelming to me. I'll tell you what I do with my detail painting though. (1) do the details as best you can and cover up your "mess ups" later with the original color. Kinda like its easier to apologize rather than ask for permission. (2) get a pin-striping brush - albeit a very small one. Getting good with one of these goes a long way but still has limits. (3) Technical pens can be used with thinned paint (4) Every once in a while I use a Staedler old fashioned fountain pen for paint - the dip kind without the built in well

Just some suggestions, you should get some more and probably better ones from others, good luck with your USS Constitution.

For really fine detail work, good tiny brushes are a must, no. 0 or finer. Go into your local artists supply house and look at their brushes.

QUOTE: Originally posted by ag918w35 ... and better eyesight, neither of which are in the budget -- are there any tips for painting stuff like this that really cannot be masked off?

What is the Budget? The reason that I ask, is that if your eyes aren't what they once were, you may find a magnifier light could be a godsend. My wife got me one similar to the one in office depot link for my birthday a few years back, and the thing has been a real lifesaver. Between the light and the magnification, I just couldn't imaging futzing around with detail work without it.

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=665891&No=40&Ne=6+1+10313&Nr=FILTER(domestic)&N=1000000157+10324&An=browse

Good luck with your Old Ironsides. I built that kit a couple of times as a kid, and keep eyeing it out out of a sense of nostalgia.

Andy

Ralph - this helps me a lot..

http://www.ccrane.com/optisight-magnifying-visor.aspx

there's lots of different kinds and you should be able to pick them up at a craft store, hobby shop etc... in fact Lowes has them too...

For some of my tiny detail the visor and placing my hand on the desk and using my fingers to move the brush keeps a good line. ditto on the other two comments as well. Especially the brushes. Go to a hobby store or a craft store (Hobby Lobby etc.) and get you some good brushes. They might cost you $5 and up but it is worth it in the end.

Something you might try is a liner brush. It's like a regular detail brush but the length of the bristles is longer so it allows the tip to flow around corners easier... Also posting this in the ship topic should get you some responses on your particular situation with the Constitution...

I have both fluorescent and incandescent magnifying lamps on my bench. The fluorescent cost about $50 and the incandescent cost about $20. Personally I prefer the $20 incandescent version and seldom use the other one. I think both of them came from OfficeMax, OfficeDepot, or something like that.

As for steadier hands, don't give them the chance to shake. Rest your hand against something, anything, while painting and it will remove a lot of the shakes. I frequently put my left hand on the model and rest my right hand against it to steady it. Works wonders.

I control my shakes the same way I used to cometition shoot. Draw in a full breath, let half of it out, hold it and do your fine line work. It really does steady the shakes and result in a finer line. Hope this helps.

Ric

Hola Ralph,

Great advise so far from all the other OLD guys here ;), but I have some more for ya. I do a bit of art work for a living and I can pass you a technique to go along wit all these magnification suggestions (which is good by the way).

First: support your elbow a solid flat surface, and thats doent mean your knee (youll get the shakes that way). Do not lock up your wrist or elbow, youre not a robot so dont move like one.
Second: Direct lighting to your subject, nothing matters no matter what if you can't see what youre aiming at.
Third: Magnification... already gone over above.
Lastly: Don't go slow, but not to fast either. Practice on scrap to you find your speed. To slow, shaky To fast, Wild and the lines dont start and stop together
Hope this helps ya out
Jeff

Great responses, folks! I have an Ott full-spectrum light and an attached magnifier, which does do wonders compared to trying to use overhead lights and my bare (ok, bifocaled) eyes. I'd heard of the "half-breath, work, exhale" thing when I was doing photography, but didn't click that it would be most helful here.

I'll be touching up the irrationally exuberant first effort and will try to post a few shots for your comments. Thanks again!

Well, the good news is that the advice from the group seems to have worked! I went back with a very fine brush to touch up the errant paint, using the magnifier, braced hands, etc., and it came out very well! I still have a few spots that need another review with fresh eyes, but generally it looks pretty sharp.

I have decided that the paint pens are good for some lining tasks, but not really for very short and/or barely raised areas, as the ones I have are just not precise enough. As always, picking the right tool for the task seems to help.

would love to see some pictures of your effort!

OK, I've posted a few new photos of the painting. Clearly my next task is going to be to get a better camera...

http://shipmodel0.tripod.com/revell_1196_uss_cons/index.album?i=6

When working with raised or recessed details, I've painted the kit with the deatailed color, followed by a clear coat, and then the base color. After the base coat is dry, I take a razor or scribe and gently scrape off the base color from the details. This usually works for me. The clear coat serves as a barrier to protect the detail color. I hope this makes sense.

Don