What do you use to line the doors?

[SniperX13]

On the models, for the black lines, to simulate the gaps on the doors, what do you guys use? a black pen, or do you black wash it?

[TheSyndicate]

This should be addressed in the FAQ, if not there, then try the search function for "panel lines".

[Vric]

2 words: Dundam Marker

[rmg313]

alot of great modellers (p-man comes to mind w/ his recent projects) use black thats cool and all but

if go look at a real car there is NOT a black line down the fenders

wut you see is just a darker hue of the color not black

so wut i use is the actual color used on the body, mixed w/ a bit of black and the thinned out


hope it helps

[SniperX13]

thanks vric and rmg 313, its nice to see there are still people here who help out others, instead of just saying check the faq. which I have btw, but its nice to get OTHER opinions, that might differ from those on the faq, because not everything works the same, or is done the same by everyone else.

[IwannaDRift]

BTW its Gundam Marker, not Dundum... Laters PEAS!!!!!

[fredo]

Originally posted by rmg313
alot of great modellers (p-man comes to mind w/ his recent projects) use black thats cool and all but

if go look at a real car there is NOT a black line down the fenders

wut you see is just a darker hue of the color not black

so wut i use is the actual color used on the body, mixed w/ a bit of black and the thinned out


hope it helps

When looking at those great models (especially the light colours like white or yellow) I always find them "strange" with these black panel lines that look unrealistice, kind of exxagerated, to my eyes, when compared to the reality.

I think that mixing the body colour with a few drops of black should do the trick and enhance greatly the realism of the model.
Has anyone pictures of this practice ? Would be interesting to compare both techniques.

[LamboNut]

I use black oil paint

[primera man]

You need to do what you think best for the colour of the panel lines.
I will always do mine black as IMO that is the colour you see when looking at a car.
Have a real close look at this car and then tell me what colour you see on the panel lines.

[Decs0105]

BLACK !!!

[freakmech]

ive already posted this but what i do is scribe the panel lines between every coat of paint. this keeps the lines crisp and deep so you get a realistic shadow line. i feel this is much better looking the black line look. i recommend EVERYONE try this at least once... you would be surprised!!!! also i now others that use various shades of weathering chalk and dust the lines for a great look as well. this is for military modelling and comes in a ton of colors and can be mixed. with in the circle of modellers i know he have gotten away from the black line technique a long time ago unless you want your car to look like a cartoon.

[primera man]

Originally posted by freakmech
unless you want your car to look like a cartoon.

Cool...i'll cut some holes in the floor of my next kit so Fred Flintstone and Barney can use there feet

[Ferrari TR]

First, a couple of points:
Panel lines on 1/1 scale cars appear black regardless of the color of the car.
The panel lines on model cars are not in scale, "Huge" comes to mind.

Three methods have been discussed and they all are useful.

Black lines scream "panel lines" and very well may distract from other features of the model.

Using a darker shade of the body color is a bit more subtle but sometimes looks odd too.

Re-scribing the lines may well be the most accurate method.
The problem with kit panel lines is the shape (like so "U") not "V".
This is the method I use on "contest" models, but, I only re-scribe the lines on the final coat of primer where mistakes are easy to fix. Never on color or clear coats where a slip or a chip would be a disaster!
I also clean the lines with a sharpened toothpick after polishing.

Thats my opinion on the subject...

[rmg313]

i guess it is up to wut your into

i mean even tamiya recomends to use a darker shade for panel lines

i find to the black too loud but i guess its wut ever floats you boat

[yellow15]

Originally posted by primera man
You need to do what you think best for the colour of the panel lines.
I will always do mine black as IMO that is the colour you see when looking at a car.
Have a real close look at this car and then tell me what colour you see on the panel lines.

it is quite funny how human eye works but i can tell you even thou something looks like black, it may not be black.. colour we see is affected by surrounding area.

let's do a small test here, look at the pic below, now tell me which one is darker? grid A or grid B?

i bet you'll say A is darker than B right?
the answer? they are the same, A is not any darker than B.. Don't believe me?:

Just use photoshop to check it and see if i'm lying or not

so after this, you may understand that you don't need 100% black lines to make the panel lines look like black.. and also remember the lines on the model car will also make them look a bit darker just like the real car anyway ..

Even in real life, the panel lines are not absolutely black as well if you look closely or examine some car pics using photoshop..etc

this is how i do panel lines:
mix the bodycolour and black paint in approx 2:1 or 3:1 ratio.. then thin it using thinner and paint it just like how most ppl here does...

The mixture will not look like black at all esp when your bodycolour is a light colour like yellow or white.. but trust me, it will look just like black after you apply it onto the car.. and it will not have that cartoon/top feeling that you'll have if you use pure black to do the door lines.

Have a look at yellow S15 model i built:

The paint i used to do the panel lines of the yellow s15 were mixed just like what i said.. the mixture looks like medium grey or even a bit light grey. But after it is painted , it'll look just like black. and I did try paint it using pure black before but the result just looks too fake/toy to me.