How do you do automobile windows?

[ginzokid]

Dot asked in another thread how to do windows in her resin car kits. She tried paints. Unsatisfactory. I have had the same negative results with paint too. I once thought about cutting thin acetate sheets to fit the model just like a windshield, but haven't tried it yet. How do you guys make a resin, metal or plastic kit car look like it has reflective windows? Pete

[70novahound]

I haven't tried this yet, but I will break out some resin kits and give it a shot in the very near future. Testors makes a product called "Clear Parts Cement & Window Maker" stock #3515, after achieving a color on the window that I can live with, I will brush some of this on in several thin layers, it should simulate glass. It does a great job with clear parts, no frost at all, and it dries clear as glass. CJ

[trmwf]

Dot How about painting or leaving them black then take a needle or something extremely pointed and dip in a little (I mean very little) white or silver paint and just make a couple of those little slash type lines to indicate a reflection on the black window. I'm sure you know what I mean. I have never tried it but it is just an idea. You know, if you can't create glass then create the illusion of glass. Mike

[ginzokid]

I just had an idea for the windows. (Oh how that hurt my head too.) Try different color paints on the resin models to see which you like best for window color; silver with a little blue and grey in it is what I'm thinking. Then cover the paint with Microscale's adhesive called Kristal Kleer. I know you can use thisin open windows to make glass per their instructions and it looks good. So, why not try it as a coating over a color? I do not have any of the Kristal Kleer, so I can't try it. Would someone else experiment and let us know if it works please. Codfadda

[dl85vette]

I always wondered what you do for the pewter trucks that are molded solid. Here's what I do for larger scales... I use 2 part epoxy to make 'glass' to cover the gauges in my 1/25 scale car models. It dries/hardens relatively clear. The only trick is getting it applied with the right consistency (and before it starts to set up)so that it cures without any air bubbles. I scoop a little 'ball' of it on a end of a toothpick and dab it into position. beings it is freshly mixed it will still run therefore smoothing out in the recessed gauge area. maybe even mix a tiny amount of paint (light/faint blue?) into it to make it look like the sky reflecting off it. Dave I chaeated, Atlas made a Pacific Green extended cab F150 (just like my real truck) so it has hollow cab shell and 'glass'

[trmwf]

After giving this some thought, and I assume these resin autos are "solid" correct? What if you were to put a real small bit in your dremel tool and kind of hollow out a space behind each window, paint the inside of your cavity a lite color and then add a clear resin to make the glass covering? If you can successfully do this you could even leave a couple of the windows "rolled down". Hey, then you could even have a small curtain blowing out of the open window. The prof PS: just kidding about the curtains.

[beastranger]

Carefull with the Dremel. Don't use too high a speed as the resin or plastic will begin to melt if you push it too hard. Punk

[70novahound]

I have experimented with the resin kits, and I have found a fairly decent window treatment. I used: two large drops of Testors 1366 Teal Green Acrylic one drop of Testors 2734 Silver Chrome Gloss Enamel Testors 3515 Clear Parts Cement & Window Maker Mix the silver and teal green together real well, this is a little tough since the silver is solvent based and the teal green is water based, but keep mixing. Apply two coats of the mixed paint on the window surface, and mix the paint with the brush every time you dip in. Allow this to dry thouroughly, and then apply three thin coats of the window maker. I have achieved decent results with this method. For headlights, I used the silver chrome, and a small dot (two coats) of the window maker. Here is a picture, but not a very good one. CJ

[70novahound]

Dad, The windows actually look like the light blue factory tint that the auto manufacturers charge extra for. The picture is pretty crappy. There is an indentation on the windows, and acetate just might work wonders. We would still need a back ground color, unless the resin is hollowed out. The Testors window maker can also be used on a hollowed out resin kit. I don't have a Dremil tool, but I have a bunch of these kits from Road Apples. CJ

[70novahound]

In the past, the only vehicles that I bought were the finished ones, Atlas, Classic Minitures, Con Cor and such. I happened into a bunch of these resin kits at a train show, and couldn't pass on the price. The guy sold me approximately 60 vehicles for $10, and 40 or so were kits, mostly Road Apples, but a couple were C in C Precision in Miniatures metal kits. The kit that I just finished was a '40 Ford Pick-up, but there is a wide variety in this bunch, fire trucks, wreckers, box trucks, utility trucks, pick-ups, old cars, newer cars, Corvettes, Mustangs, ambulances, and a couple of Dodge Vans. The Professor is right about the vehicles blending in to the scenery. If they aren't good enough to be front and center, why not "hide" them in an alley or a parking lot? Want more bang for your buck? Try sawing some of those ugly cars in half, and put the halves inside two different structures, the front half of a truck poking out of a loading bay, and the rear end barely visible in a garage, or maybe that "weekend warrior" drove it into a building! Got a car or truck with a missing wheel? A vehicle on a jack, and someone bending over with a tire tool almost makes me want to lend the person a hand, the urge is even greater if the person with the tire tool has on a nice dress! (not a red dress and a hairy back, doesn't work for me) How about a burned out car? Gives the fire dept, something to do, and they make that fire truck look great! Hide an abused car in the bushes, take the wheels off, (save them for details) and put it up on blocks! (just be sure to put a couple of hound dogs under the shack's porch) A salvage yard is a nice addition to a layout, perfect for those "cheap" cars, just weather the heck out of them, heat the plastic, smash them up a bit, and you turn an eyesore into a great scene. Hope this helps out! CJ

[ginzokid]

To update this thread a bit, try making windows with Canopy Glue. This also works for making windows in buildings per the DVD by Scott Mason that I have. We are assuming that the windows are empty space and have no backing like a resin kit. Otherwise, the painting per CJ's foumula with Canopy Glue over the top might work for solid surfaced windows. B-)

[beastranger]

Micro Mark sells stuff for doing windows too. Punk