exhaust stubs on engines; wot is the best colour??

[Markh_75]

At present i paint all my exhaust stubs, nozzles and pipes with Humbrol Metalcote 'Polished Steel', it looks fine, but what is the BEST colour that looks most realistic on a model?

I tried a kind of rust brown but it looked a bit naff to me, so i painted over it with 'Polished Steel' again.

I started using the pol steel when i was last making models, about 25 to 30 years back and found it quite excellent for jet exhaust areas as it could be rubbed with a soft cloth and came up looking like the real thing; since then i've used it on every exhaust wotsit.

[fredk]

Questions to clarify.
1. Jet exhaust pipes?
2. Jet variable exhausts?
3. Props?
3a. WW1 props?
3b WW2 props?
3c. Post WW2 props?

All these, and others, need diffrent treatments to have the right sort of look

[Early Bird Fan]

not sure if this is the kinda look you're after but these have had 1 coat of humbrol gunmetal metallic and one coat of humbrol rust enamel on top

[Markh_75]

That’s what I’m looking for, Early bird! Cheers!

[Markh_75]

Anything I need to know about it? Hints on use etc?

Cheers, markh

[Early Bird Fan]

Nothing special, both applied with a brush and thinned with white spirit. To get an uneven rust finish i let the paint pool a little bit in some areas and applied it thin in others so the base colour is still partly visible.

[Markh_75]

Ah, i get it! Cheers for that, much appreciated,


markh.

[beany]

A method I'd swear by is dry brushing. These Jagdpanther exhausts were done using those nasty little acrylic freebie pots from Airfix. First use 33 Matt Black on the whole pipe. Let it dry for a few minutes then stab on some 27 Dark Earth and then 63 Leather on top of that straight away (use an old brush cut very short for "stippling"). Let it all dry then dry brush 11 silver around the rim of the pipes.
I was very happy with this as it was the first time I'd even tried it. I've used the same method to a lesser extent on aircraft engine exhausts and jet pipes.



Cheers
Al.

[Markh_75]

Looks good, thanks for this.

[dogsbody]

I know these 1/72 Hurricane exhausts are a bit dark, but it's my first attempt in a few decades.
I started with Tamiya XF-84 Dark Iron. When dry, I used some Tamiya Weathering Pastels, dabbed on with their supplied sponge tip, using Rust and Orange Rust. The tips of the two rear pipes will get a bit of grey later.





Chris

[Clashcityrocker]

Look good to me.

Nigel