Painting

JET ENGINES

1
After cutting the parts from the trees, I masked the exterior surfaces. I planned to paint the interiors first. I hate overspray: It doesn’t look tidy when
all the parts are glued together and you can see paint from the interior.

48 FineScale Modeler May 2021

 Background: Walter Arce/
Dreamstime.com

Throttle up your models with careful detailing

BY KEVIN OTTENS

B
efore working on Trumpeter’s 1/32 scale
F-14B Tomcat, I’d never painted a jet
engine. On the finished model, the
engines will be barely visible, so it seemed like
this was a good chance to practice my skills. If I
messed things up, I could close the fuselage and
no harm done.
I searched the internet for references, armed
myself with metallic paints from AK Interactive,
and grew some confidence.

2 3
First, I base-coated the areas aft of the rear fan with an even layer of Then I airbrushed those areas with a mix of equal parts Vallejo Model Air
Vallejo black primer (No. 70.602). white (No. 71.001) and aged white (No. 71.132).

www.FineScale.com 49
 4 5
Parts that will be dark and look a bit rusted were then lightly To embellish the sooty appearance in the jet pipe and nozzle, I
oversprayed with Model Air black (No. 71.057). Vallejo airbrush flow airbrushed thin lines of Model Air burnt umber (No. 71.040) focusing on
enhancer keeps the paint moving smoothly. the areas that had been painted black in the previous step.

6 7
I mixed equal parts Model Air orange rust (No. 71.130) and wood I applied Ammo by Mig Jimenez dark wash (No. AMIG1008) in the
(No. 71.077) to go over the black and burnt umber. A layer of Vallejo darkest areas like the nozzle and afterburner.
clear gloss (No. 70.510) protected these layers from the next steps.

8 9
Then a mix of equal parts Ammo tracks wash (No. AMIG1002) and tan After assembling the engines, the effect if the interior staining and
filter for three-tone camo (No. AMIG1510) thinned with white spirit was scorching is visible through the nozzle and down the jet pipe. I will add
flowed into the darkened areas. more soot and scorching around the nozzle once the engines are
installed.

50 FineScale Modeler May 2021

10
Before adding exterior details, I filled seams
with putty and sanded everything smooth.
11 12
Details really spruce up the exterior of the The last parts added were the front frames and
engines. Added parts include electrical corresponding commpressor fans.
conduits, oil tanks, and accessories, and each
engine also gets 18 clamps that attach around
the midsection.

13 14
To protect the painted jet pipe and nozzles, I stuffed foam rubber into As I had with the interior, I base-coated the outsides of the engine with
the rear openings. Vallejo black primer.

15 16
I started the process by painting the middle section of each engine with … the front and rear sections with Xtreme Metal pale burnt metal
AK Interactive Xtreme Metal titanium (No. AK669) … (No. AK 485) …

www.FineScale.com 51
17 18
… and the nozzles with Xtreme Metal jet exhaust (No. AK486). I also Next, using Xtreme Metal copper (No. AK473) and metallic blue
used this shade to spray rings around the engines to add tonal variety. (No. AK487), I replicated discoloration from heat, especially around the
rear of each engine. A coat of clear gloss sealed the layers.

19 20
I sprayed thin layers of burnt umber around sections and details … … with a mix of equal parts wood and orange rust finishing work to
enhance the heat exposure effect

21 22
With a steady hand, I brushed Vallejo Model Color black gray I mixed black gray and white, and dry-brushed it over the just-painted
(No. 70.862) onto the ring around the front of each engine. engine-front rings.

23 24
Flowing Ammo dark wash over the engines, I enhanced surface details I picked out the mid-section clasps with hand-painted white …
and deepened shadows.

52 FineScale Modeler May 2021

25 26
… then brushed them with a mix of 3 parts Model Air medium yellow An application of Ammo dark brown wash for green vehicles
(No. 71.002) and 7 parts white. I always use a white base coat for yellow (No. AMIG1005) over the yellow popped the molded details and gave
and red to make the colors more vibrant. them depth.

27
Ammo engine grime (No. AMIG1407) was applied in a few areas to
make things more interesting. But I’ve talked to former jet mechanics
who told me engines where pretty clean, so I didn’t want to overdo this
effect
28
Finally, I lightly dry-brushed Model Color natural steel (No. 70.864) over
the details at the front of the engines. Vallejo dark steel pigments
highlighted details elsewhere on the body.

Uh, something seems wrong here.

Kevin finished the engines from
Trumpeter’s 1/32 scale Tomcat while
building Revell’s 1/144 scale F-14.

FINAL THOUGHTS
THIS IS A LOT OF WORK for something that may never
be seen. But some kits offer the option to display an
engine on a trolley, so these techniques are worth
practicing. When a kit offers the option to paint
something in detail, I dive in. FSM

www.FineScale.com 53