Rookie mistake

[rcflyer]

Just realized that I sanded off every trace of the raised panel lines on my B25j. Should I attempt to re scribe them or just continue with the build? I have no idea where the scale locations are.

[fritzthefox]

What scale is it? On smaller scale models, panel lines would mostly be invisible, anyway. (The fact that most model kits include them is more of an aesthetic than a realistic choice) I would let photo reference be your guide. If you want to rescribe them, you certainly can...just find some scale drawings to guide you. But for smaller scale aircraft, they probably won't be missed.

 

Alternatively, if you are planning an aluminum finish, you could be truly masochistic and foil it one panel at a time.

 

Ultimately, I'd say do whatever you want. It's YOUR model. :m1helmet:

Edited March 30, 2014 by fritzthefox

[Ron Bell]

Panel lines are a much debated topic. How visible are they 76 or 48 feet from the aircraft in real life? Maybe you can see panels if they are different shades of color, but maybe not necessarily the lines between panels. It's an esthetic choice, really. You could re-scribe them, do them with pre and/or post shading, draw them in after painting with pencil or just don't bother at all. Like Barry said, it's your model.

[Nick Filippone]

This is hardly a rookie mistake. It is the great drawback to any raised panel line kit. In cleaning up the joints and seams, some of that detail is lost. Any modeler of any skill and experience must confront this problem if he or she is planning to build a kit with raised detail. In addition to the solutions mentioned already, there are two other options. Archer Fine Decals markets a sheet of resin raised panel line applied like decals. They work quite well but are a little pricey. Another approach is to restore the raised panel line by applying two pieces of masking tape very close to each other, then introducing some thick paint ( or, what I prefer, Mr. Surfacer) between the edges of the tape. When dry, remove the tape and lightly sand the ridge to the desired thickness. It is cheap and easily correctable if a mistake is made (simply sand off completely). It is tedious and labour intensive, however. The results are surprisingly good. I used this technique to restore some lost raised detail on an old Lindberg Handley Page Victor and was very satisfied with the results. Another advantage is that you can easily adjust the height and width of the line to match the molded panel lines. Good luck! Nick Filippone

[rcflyer]

Thanks everyone.This is the Revell 1/48 Jaunty Jo. I think I'll just draw them in at some point it seems there is still some surface detail there that can be high lighted. This will be more of a practice model to learn techniques. I'm building up to the Arado Ar 196 featured in the Sept 2013 Fine Scale Modeler.From there I want to try at least 1 or 2 armor subjects. I believe it is good to mix it up a little to learn new skills and keep things interesting.

[aAzZ09]

IF.......... the B-25J is done in natural metal, it will be to your advantage to have the raised panel detail removed. You can use drawings to replace it with masking after the base metalizer is used. Then mask off the appropriate panels for the desired affect. (See the late Les Sundt's article in Fine Scale Modeler (March, 1996) if you can Best,

 

Mark

[Nick Filippone]

If this is going to be a natural metal scheme, then simply masking off individual panels in perhaps three different shades of silver will provide a sufficient representation of panel lines as the varying tones are juxtaposed. If it is in OD over Grey, then drawing the panel lines in as Ron suggested would be the easiest. It is my preferred approach in kits with recessed panel lines because the redrawn lines look the same as the pencil accented intact recessed panel lines. This approach will not work, obviously, in combination with intact raised lines because the appearance would not be consistent. It sounds like you sanded them all off, which is fine. Whatever technique you use, the end result must be uniform throughout. Nick Filippone P.S. If you are going to mask off shades of natural metal, I favour Floquil Old Silver, Bright Silver and Platinum Mist. They stand up to masking with low tack scotch tape ( my preference, because even if there is a leak, it is hardly noticeable) and are very forgiving in that they touch up easily. Good luck!

[Nick Filippone]

Mark is correct. (He must have been composing and posting his reply just as I was. I would likely NOT try the techniques I suggested in my first post on a natural metal model! Masking various panels would then be best. The Victor I built using the Mr. Surface and tape technique was painted a lovely overall dark P.R.U. Blue. Truthfully, I wouldn't have even attempted the project if the scheme was natural metal! Nick Filippone

[rcflyer]

This is the od green finish.As I said before this is a practice model so I'll try different techniques on it. I tried posting a pic but it said the file was too large

[Ron Bell]

If you want to try re-scribing, styrene has a bit of a memory. If you know approximately where the panel lines were, brush some Testors liquid cement along the line. The panel line may pop out. I've done it myself. Then just wait a day or so so the plastic is nice and hard again and scribe along the revealed lines.

 

Works great for ejector pin marks as well, but that's a bad thing as I have found out many times.

 

Personally, i'd draw them in later.

[rcflyer]

Yes I believe I'll draw them in

[stefanwest]

I use method similar to using tape and mr surfacer. I use one piece of tape and airbrush some primer at a 45 degree angle at the tape edge. Takes practice put it goes very fast.

[stefanwest]

You can see how my method worked on my Wellington I posted here. The bottom panel lines are all created by my method. Also to can see them on top of the nose area.

[rcflyer]

That's a great idea to. I just wish I had time to try it.