Head/Tail light tips needed!

Hello all! Long time reader first time poster. Would like to thank everyone for there expertise.

However one subject that I seem to be missing out on...How to paint/detail your headlights/tail lights.

My first question was around glueing the clear lights onto the model. Using regular modelers cement melts the paint and ruins the look.

Are there any other tips or guides that anyone has for painting head/tail lights?

Cheers in advance :)

i use UHU Flexclean. Don't know the expression of in the UK. This adhesive is mainly for child/school use.
it drys clear and works perfect...

http://www.uhu.de/_uk/indexx.html?main=/_uk/produkte/alles_viel_kont/flinke_alles.html

maybe u know that ;)


regards

Typically, you can paint silver on the body where the clear lens will go on.
Then using clear orange/clear red/etc to paint the back of the clear lens.

When gluing clear parts, you can either use a special glue that are design to joint the clear parts (anti-fogging and dries clear) or I just use Tamiya's acrylic clear as an adhesive; it is tacky enough to hold light parts in place. That way you won't see gluing mess... :)

For gluing these front and rear light you could use Microscale Micro Kristal Clear or White glue (those for wood). It's very good to do this job without melting or damaging anything! For the painting CifeNet gived you a very good tip...

There is an original tip I practice on models allowing it to be done, on rally cars from tamiya for example, when you have to put the light block by the inside:
I put some modelling clay to keep it in place ! no glue wrong issues becuse no glue anymore !
when I can't do that, I put small drops of "white glue", which are wood or paper glues, on lens edges.
I also glue some lights with cyano by letting a drop put on my work surface "breath" a bit before applying it. But in this case glueing has to be a "one shoot", if you slide on the body, paint or anything you risk to melt the paint or make a trace on the model surface...

These are all excellent tips. a few I had never heard of or tried.

One tip I always try to use that I learned from building model aircraft and military miniatures is always color the edge of the lens or glass. It makes the part look more realistic in thickness because you can't see how thick the plastic is. Now if you have a clear piece to represent a colored lens, I suggest painting the outside of the lens with a light coat of amber or red, whichever you are using, then do the inside as well. If there are parting lines in the lens between say a headlight lens and corner marker, use some black acrylic paint and fill in the panel line and a damp paper towel to wipe any excess from the lense. Silver works best for backing on colored lenses, but I try to use polished bare metal foil, or equivalent in headlight buckets.

I have used Testor's window maker/clear parts cement for about 20 years now...and I still use the same original bottle I bought way back then, if you can believe that. I would try to stay away from any CA type glues for fear of fogging or etching from the vapors. Clear paint works very well as a lens adhesive.

One thing you should always try to do is look at a 1:1 car for tiny details like how the lights are assembled, colored and their fitments. This will give you a clear idea of what needs to be done to make it look real.

You can use Bare Metal Foil in the headlight buckets. The effect is great when you put the clear part in place.

To avoid glue drops in your headlights, you can buy some thin transparent styrene rod. Make a smal hole in the headlights and the headlight buckets, and use a piece of the clear rod to position the clear parts in place. The clear rod is almost impossible to see and you get a stronger, cleaner bond! :grinyes:

Wicked responses! Has anyone got any pictorial walkthroughs?

h3lldriver - I think you might mean PVA glue (in New Zealand's words)...is white out of the container then drys clear.

Tamiya Acrylic clear might be an idea. So Im guessing I will paint the bucket silver, then paint the clear piece the red/orange clear. Leave that to dry and then paint a coat of Acrylic clear onto the back of the red/orange clear and this will stick to the model?

Pictures of peoples work would be great! (And maybe add this thread to the sticky up the top)

I use this cement... it works great... If you can't find it in your country, try buying it directly from Testors...:

http://www.testors.com/product/136633/3515C/_/Clear_Parts_Cement___1_Oz.

...if it also not possible, use "white glue"... yes, that you used in kindergarden, once it is dry it turns clear.

Saludos!!!

JulioAF

These are all excellent tips. a few I had never heard of or tried.

One tip I always try to use that I learned from building model aircraft and military miniatures is always color the edge of the lens or glass. It makes the part look more realistic in thickness because you can't see how thick the plastic is. Now if you have a clear piece to represent a colored lens, I suggest painting the outside of the lens with a light coat of amber or red, whichever you are using, then do the inside as well. If there are parting lines in the lens between say a headlight lens and corner marker, use some black acrylic paint and fill in the panel line and a damp paper towel to wipe any excess from the lense. Silver works best for backing on colored lenses, but I try to use polished bare metal foil, or equivalent in headlight buckets.

One thing you should always try to do is look at a 1:1 car for tiny details like how the lights are assembled, colored and their fitments. This will give you a clear idea of what needs to be done to make it look real.

Hundred per cently agree with this post. I do the same way. Somtimes I use Alclad II Chrome for the backing. I would advise to use Clear Fix or PVA glue to cement the lens
Here are some tips (text in Russian but pictures say for them self):

How to make lights bezels http://www.autoinscale.com/?section=article&id=350
How to improve not clear turn signals http://www.autoinscale.com/?section=article&id=569
Light rubbers http://eng.scaletrucks.ru/howto/?id=373
Clik pictures to enlarge.

These are all excellent tips. a few I had never heard of or tried.

One tip I always try to use that I learned from building model aircraft and military miniatures is always color the edge of the lens or glass. It makes the part look more realistic in thickness because you can't see how thick the plastic is. Now if you have a clear piece to represent a colored lens, I suggest painting the outside of the lens with a light coat of amber or red, whichever you are using, then do the inside as well. If there are parting lines in the lens between say a headlight lens and corner marker, use some black acrylic paint and fill in the panel line and a damp paper towel to wipe any excess from the lense. Silver works best for backing on colored lenses, but I try to use polished bare metal foil, or equivalent in headlight buckets.




I may add something.

If the clear part should stay clear (not colored) a pen with waterproof ink, i.e. a CD/DVD Marker, works good. So it's much easier to paint the edges of the part compared with a brush and paint.
And if you use black, it represents the sealing of the headlight housing quite good.

I use Sharpies, and all kinds of artists pens/pencils on my models. For head/tail lights I use the "suncatcher" paints. These can also be used to simulate anodizing over chrome. In addition, I've been known to use Testors turn signal amber, and stoplight red. Also red, and orange Sharpies work. For the black trim around the seals, I use an ultrafine rollerball ink pen.

The best weapon in my arsenal, by far, is my set of Rapidograph pens. They are refillable, and can be used with any color acrylic paint, or ink.