Panel line contrast help!!

hey lads,

im stuck with panel lines...

im doing the Raybrid NSX, using all tamiya acrylic paints,

body is painted in TS-57 'Blue Violet'
PIC:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/Blazed_racer/P1020468.jpg


excuse the crappy picture,

the body has been left to dry for the past 3 weeks, have since started two other models, so i'd like to get this completed before i end up with a deck load of uncompleted kits..:banghead:



originally, i was intending to paint the panel lines black, using a ultra fine sharpie marker,

but the thing is, the black would stand out too much, so i have been trying to find a colour to use that wont stand out as much...

i found this thread: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=653318&highlight=painting+panel+lines which lead to this thread: http://www.italianhorses.net/Tutorials/Panelines/panels.htm

the latter a real top notch thread, great builds from that guy as well,


anyways, ive spent the last 4 hours or so mixing paints to try blend with that purple, how would you go and mix up a darker shade of purple to go with the purple i used for this kit?!!?!

I usually look for a similar colour in the Tamiya enamels range and add a speck of black to it.This just darkens it enough to use for lining panels.

My method is too late for you now but might be use for again, I do my panel lines during painting using a 'sharpie', lines like where the bumper joins the body and I only want faint darkening I do after primer, around doors where I want it darker I do before top coating, sorry that my camera and I aren't friends or I could post pics :-/

In general, I always use a wash that's only 2-3 shades darker than the body... If you're concerned that the colour might be wrong, take a piece of scrap styrene, scribe a line through it, and paint it that body colour--then test colours, from lighter to darker, until you find the shade you like.

I dunno off the top of my head which "TS" colour would be ideal for that, but basically, a darker blue is what you want. A purple might work as well, but may be too great a contrast.

If you can get Tamiya acrylics, X-4 blue looks like it would probably be spot on. Don't worry too much about the color- the big trick to panel lines is getting the right contrast. The right shade of grey would work just as well as the right shade of blue or of purple. But X4 looks like it would be a good place to start. You can thin it with Tamiya acrylic thinner and it won't attack the laquer. This way you can put it on, and if it's not just the way you want it you can clean it all up with a paper rag wet with acrylic thinner and start over (and again and again). If X4 is too light/dark, add a touch of black/white.

thanks for the tips...




http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/Blazed_racer/P1020473.jpg


was having a stoopid moment the other day and couldnt figure out how to mix up a suitable colour,

ended up with a mix using flat red and blue, probably a 5:1 ratio, thinned right out....

pretty tricky to get the brush tip to stay within the lines, most of it rubbed out with a q-tip, but some of it just wouldnt come off, so ill give that a buff soon....

other than that, i thought i did pretty good... i should really of put this all up in to a W.I.P thread...:banghead:

Becareful of using gundam markers and applying clear right after. Seems like the paint just flows out (black,grey). I used tamiya clear. Grey works good for me.