John,
Funny you should talk about Bare Metal foil, I just finished up
applying it to a P2K
E-7A (photo in the file section).
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BRHSlist/files/DSC02155.JPG
I had a little trouble getting the foil off the backing without
wrinkling it and the wrinkles never completely disappeared after I
burnished it onto the model. Also, the burnishing dulled the nice
bright finish slightly. I used a Woodland Scenics burnishing tool
sold with their line of pine car accessories. The foils rubs down,
and contours nicely to the model.
I have a friend that was able to make me some Burlington try transfer
rub ons through his employer's art department, so I didn't have to
attempt to put decals over the foil. I would suspect a clear
overspray would be necessary to get the decals to adhere properly. I
also have been having some trouble with the handrails breaking off,
so I replaced them with wire, and as you can see in the photo, still
need to be painted.
I was undecided which way to go with the battens. The photos I
examined looked to be stainless, but they could be painted as
mentioned in another posting. In either case, the difference in
appearance was minimal, so I opted to put the foil right over them I
also noticed on some models I used Bare Metal on a couple years ago
that after being stored in the box, the foil had "bubbled" as if
there was some expansion / contraction issues. I had to go back and
pop the bubbles and burnish the area. The areas where I popped the
bubbles are quite noticeable and I'm not altogether satisfied with
the model as it now appears.
You might want to look into the line of "Metalizer" paints. I Have no
first hand experience with them. My understanding is that the plastic
must first be polished before it is airbrushed on. That could be a
bit tricky with the corrugated sides.
Good luck, that's an ambitious project.
Greg Smith / Apple Valle MN
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