I'm thinking about building a F-86F Sabre and was going to try my hand with foil.
Have any of you guys tried foil, if so was it easy to use do you have to trim your decals, is it easy to paint over I need the whole skinny before I do this.
PS.If I screw up how hard is it to get rid of without destroying the jet.

I've used it a few times. Curiously enough, I'm thinking of starting with it again. It's not easy to use but with care the effect can be spectacular. I have always used it with a series of templates almost like laying on panels and building up the 'skin' gradually. It is definetely worth trying... Jim

I hope this sudden interest in Bare Metal foil is not going to result in a rash of shiney chrome-like aeroplanes. Real aircraft just dont look like that, except maybe for the occasional show special or over-restored vintage kite.

When you remove the protective wrap from a new sheet of 2024 or L72 to skin an aircraft it does not blind you with the light.

FSM ran a good article a few month ago on a P-38 with kitchen foil finish. It was rubbed with fine steel wool and flat coated. The result was very close to 'real' for even a slightly used aircraft. I would guess that a steel wool rub and a gloss coat could achieve a good approximation of a shiney finish.

Regards Dave :-)

Just to echo KiwiDave. I've worked around hundreds of real scale BMF planes, and they just don't look that shiny... even straight from the factory. The kitchen foil idea is worth trying. You will get a more realistic look.

Guys:
A couple of questions about kit. foil.
How do I glue it to my plane.
How do I deal with the wing edges & how do I butt two pieces togeather

.

I dont have the FSM article 'cos I borrow them from the library!

I would say kitchen foil would be more difficult than BMF but I also think you could de-shine BMF with a very fine steel wool.

Jims point is worth noting. Panels will vary in colour as a reult of different material spec and different 'grain' direction.

As a civvie I have absolutely no idea how a Sabre went together. However I can make some educated guesses about the materials used. For instance the intake is a compound curve so is probably made from a heat treatable material, possible in welded together sections. This will be a different shade (and surface texture) to the Alclad panels on the rivetted structure. Same applies to wing tips, root fairings etc., which are low or no stress and would use heat treated alloys or straight aluminium.

Also there may be some different materials used. The hot end often has titanium or stainless panels, and sometimes stainless is scabbed onto areas where there is rubbing wear, ie all-flying tail to fuselage junction.

Best advice with any scale model is to do some research. Get a look at as many pics of the subject as you can and work from there.

Bloody hell, I may just have to tackle an aircraft model yet!

Regards Dave

Bare-metal is adhesive backed. If you screw up a panel, it removes fairly easily, and you cut a new one. It can be burnished around compound curves, but sometimes these are better done with paint (different shades are desirable). Ditto remarks about "too shiny." That Silver Sabre has garnered some laudatory comments, but it looks like polished Sterling Silver, not aircraft aluminum. If anyone wants a scan of the FSM P-38 article, lmk off -forum.

Oh, yeah, you DO have to trim decals (cause they're going on metal, not paint). Look at the film around the wing "USAF" on the "Silver Sabre."