Used a paint pen for roll patterns

[KILTED COWBOY]

Just got to the point of painting my Estes Saturn V.
Painted the entire rocket with gloss white rattle can Rustolium.
Then was intimidated by painting the roll pattern.
Masking was turning into a nightmare to spray paint.
Tried something different.
Went the Michael’s MJ design store bought some paint pens in extra fine, medium and broad tips in gloss black and white. It is an oil based pen by craft smart.
Just needed to mask with Tamara tape on the edges only.
Was just going to paint the transitions between the black and white.
But the paint went on so precise that I wound up painting it entirely with the pan.
The fine point fit perfectly in the corrugation on the wrap and along the mask line.
The wider tips filled it all in.
No runs,no streaking and fast drying.
Finished all the roll patterns in one evening.
I now have a piece of plastic and old body tube painted with some of the paint pen to see how it will react to a clear cote before I try it on the model.
This was so easy it was a joy.

 

[kuririn]

Hey Scottish Wrangler.
Like the saying goes, pics or it didn't happen.
I believe Tim Milligan/Apogee recommends the Sharpie method for painting the edges of the corrugations on their Saturn V too.
Then fill with black paint.
BTW how's the GT coming along?
Cheers.

 

[neil_w]

Like the saying goes, pics or it didn't happen.

+1 on that. Let's see it!

 

[KILTED COWBOY]

Hey Scottish Wrangler.
Like the saying goes, pics or it didn't happen.
I believe Tim Milligan/Apogee recommends the Sharpie method for painting the edges of the corrugations on their Saturn V too.
Then fill with black paint.
BTW how's the GT coming along?
Cheers.

The Gemini Titan was a blast to build till it came time for the body wraps. Screwed up the first set. Alex at Boyce was nice enough to give me another set.
I used a heat gun to take the old one off and just finished putting the replacement on. Better but still not perfect. It will have to do. Not too bad
Guess I just suck at wraps.
Since Boyce was nice enough to give me the wrapsI just bought a Mercury Redstone with the BT-80 tubes. So that will be next.
Will try to get some photos of the X-15, The Saturn V, Gemini Titan and Mercury Redstone soon.

 

[kuririn]

You'll enjoy building the bt-80 Redstone.
Take your time on the tower, get everything nicely aligned before gluing.
Mine is filled and sanded, getting a shot of white primer today.
Cheers.

 

[KILTED COWBOY]

You'll enjoy building the bt-80 Redstone.
Take your time on the tower, get everything nicely aligned before gluing.
Mine is filled and sanded, getting a shot of white primer today.
Cheers.
View attachment 407860

Looks good. I am waiting on some body tubes.
Bought some Estes BT-80’s then figured out that they are too short.
So getting to 18” on line should be here next week.
I think I am going to use a 24mm screw on motor retainer instead of the clip.

 

[SecondRow]

I’ve never had luck with those pens to release the paint smoothly. Sometimes I’ll get what I want. But usually, I get nothing, nothing, nothing and then a giant glob comes out. So I’ve given up on using them.

 

[kuririn]

Shake, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake
Shake your booo-ty
Shake your booo-ty…..

 

[SecondRow]

Shake, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake
Shake your booo-ty
Shake your booo-ty…..

Lol. I do. Maybe not enough.

 

[KILTED COWBOY]

I’ve never had luck with those pens to release the paint smoothly. Sometimes I’ll get what I want. But usually, I get nothing, nothing, nothing and then a giant glob comes out. So I’ve given up on using them.

My first try, maybe beginners luck.
Maybe the paint type.
It was an oil based paint by craft smart.
Now I just have to worry about compatibility with a clear coat

 

[SecondRow]

Pen quality and user error were probably factors. This was when I first started out painting rockets, and I got them from Walmart.

 

[kuririn]

I picked up a set of these at Home Depot a while back: oil based Sharpie paint pens.
Sliding weight inside the barrel to mix the paint.
Depress the fibrous tip to saturate it then apply paint like a regular felt pen.
Great for detail work when you don't want to break out the brush and clean up with thinner.

 

[jqavins]

Guess I just suck at wraps.

So far. I haven't used them myself (yet?) but I have to assume that they take practice like anything else.

Shake, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake...

Lol. I do. Maybe not enough.

I have only very little experience with paint pens, but more than I have with wraps. Shake your booty for a good while, get the flow started on some scrap paper, shake it a little more, go for the real thing.

 

[neil_w]

I picked up a set of these at Home Depot a while back: oil based Sharpie paint pens.
Sliding weight inside the barrel to mix the paint.
Depress the fibrous tip to saturate it then apply paint like a regular felt pen.
Great for detail work when you don't want to break out the brush and clean up with thinner.

How bad do they smell?

 

[KILTED COWBOY]

Not bad at all. I have been doing a little reading and discovered that it will most likely not be a good idea to put a clear coat on top as the pen is oil based and most clears are water based acrylic. But the finish looks tough. So i may just put a brush on clear over the decals and leave the rest of the Saturn alone as I did paint the white gloss also.

 

[blackjack2564]

I did this entire rocket [6in diameter] graphics with paint pens from Michael's then followed up with clear several days later. ll went fine used Krylon clear,,,but that was back in 2003.

2 light fog coats,let dry then followed up with wet coat. I did it for UV ray protection, otherwise my colors would fade. So if ya clear coat be sure it has UV protection or you are wasting your time. Or just don't display at launch for long hours in hot sun, you can see the pens lined up in top row first pic.

 

[KILTED COWBOY]

Beautiful graphics. Now that rocket is bad to the bone.

 

[RocketRoll]

When I made mine, I found that the Tamiya tape was so awesome that I didn't need the pen at all!

 

[RocketRoll]

So, I meant to upload a picture of MY Saturn V, but I accidentally uploaded a screenshot of someone else's that I was using as a reference while I painted mine, and now I can't delete it. THIS one is MY Saturn V...

When I made mine, I found that the Tamiya tape was so awesome that I didn't need the pen at all!

 

[AfterBurners]

I did this entire rocket [6in diameter] graphics with paint pens from Michael's then followed up with clear several days later. ll went fine used Krylon clear,,,but that was back in 2003.

2 light fog coats,let dry then followed up with wet coat. I did it for UV ray protection, otherwise my colors would fade. So if ya clear coat be sure it has UV protection or you are wasting your time. Or just don't display at launch for long hours in hot sun, you can see the pens lined up in top row first pic.

View attachment 408342 View attachment 408343 View attachment 408344 View attachment 408345 View attachment 408346 View attachment 408347

awesome rocket!!