Hi,
Is there a technique for painting clear goggles onto a face in 1/35th scale?
If I paint & detail a head/face in 1/35th & then add some goggles but want to be able to see the eyes through them how can I acheive this?
Thanks.

Joe.

Hello Joe,

you could give Humbrol Clear Fix a try. This is a kind of thicked clear coat which easily forms a very thin film if applied with a brush or toothpick. Some ship and aircraft modellers use it to create windows and glass portholes which have not been supplied in clear plastic like in smallscale ships and planes. Application is easy with some try and it won`t cost to much. The largest parts I have covered with this was about 1 cm² so glass googles in 1/35 should not be a problem. They will be transparent but I doubt that you can really see through them due to blurring. But you can try.

Best regards

Dennis

Hello again,

just to get it right: are we talking about fotoetched googles offered by variuos companys or about googles you actually painted flat on the face?

Dennis

If you want to see through them you can use clear resin, or something similar product people use for making clear water in dioramas... I have a product from Woodland Scenic, but I'm sure there are many other products that you could use. I guess you would have to be very careful when pouring it though.

Mario

Another idea would be to cut out a pair of glasses from some clear plastic and just paint a frame and glue them on. There are always lots of clear plastic in packaging of different kinds. I found that the “clearness” varies so just make shore that you choose something that's crystal clear.

Cheers

Jakob

I will recommend this, even though I have not tried it myself. Depending on the paint you used, you may be able to apply a drop of x-tra thin ca glue. Just build it up a few layers. I got this idea, when I was clean one of the tips. A very large piece of hardened glue came out of the tip. It is almost transparent. As I said, I have not tried this. Proceed at your own risk.

You could try Micro Kristal Klear to build up the glass between the frames. It can also be used to make headlight lenses and even windows (though I have not tried this).

Cheers!
Stefan

hello there ,
I've just done this with 3 modern us tank crew 2 of which have moulded on goggles .paint face as normal then pick out goggle frame in black then just layer up Johnsons clear over a few hours and job done . hope this helps

I'd love to see those figures, can you give us some pics please?

Mario

As Ian has it.

Future (Johnson's Klear) works just this way for creating clear glass lenses on instruments - you paint in the face details and marks as you like, and then fill in with the Future a couple of layers. Being sure to carefully prop the target piece so that the rim of the desired "glass" is level - or your future glass will run out! While I have not done this on a face with goggles, I am sure that it would work the same there as for instrument faces.

Just thinking here after looking at some styrene kit figures with goggles... You may want to excavate in a little into the goggle to get a little depth. I would guess that many figures have very shallow rims on their goggles, and a little additional depth (scrape out the "lens" with your Exacto) could help enhance the effect. Remember that the Future is a watery liquid and will flow... IF your "google" "lens" is curved and NOT flat, like an old type of plate diving mask or welding goggle, you can actually form the curve in your Future lens by flipping the target piece over so that the goggle faces DOWN and the Future will then pool towards the center by gravity. A couple-3 thin coats are necessary.

Just a suggestion!

Bob

hello Mario,
not a lot to see at the moment but here's a few pics for you .





as you can see the second one has spilt . nothing a little re paint wont fix

Looking really good! Perhaps masking the goggles before pouring would help in minimizing the possibility of spilling. And perhaps adding a tint to the Johnsons... just thinking out loud.

Thanks for the pics, this is definitely something to try!

Mario

both good ideas there mario

Hi Joe,

i have used Micro Kristal Klear for a pair of glases and it works very well. Also it is out of the bottle usuable and you need no harder. It´s some kind of milky color fist and looks like white-glue but transform fast into a clear coat. Looks really like glas and it is very thin. I use a toothpick and a little drop of it and thats all. It should also work with "larger areas" like bigger wind/dust googles.

@Ian: great work on these heads and looks very good.

Greetings

Stefan

thanks Stefan ive done a little more work and will clean up over the weekend