P&W R-1830 Engine Color

Oct 25, 2006 5 Replies

I'm doing a multi-engine plane with Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engines. I believe the Model Master "Engine Gray" 36076 is a pretty good match for the crankcase. Can anyone suggest a color match for the cylinder heads? TIA



Ed



Ed,

Here's some good pics of the real thing to help you decide:

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Scott.

It really depends how dirty you want it to look. Testors Steel (in the small square bottle) has been suggested as a good match. For a very clean, new engine you can use any shade of aluminium. I prefer to use Humbrol's Polished Steel because I can buff up the cylinder fins while still getting a dark grimy look for the rest of the engine.

Ed, Maybe this will help:

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I know it's an -1820 and not an -1830, but it may be useful. For painting, I like to use Modelmaster Steel, and the give it a wash of Tamiya Smoke.

HTH

I agree. To get a steel-like finish, what I frequently do is use a flat grey primer like Krylon, then dry brush the "steel" color- highlights the fins nicely doing an aircooled engine that way.

There is a fantastic on-line build article of the Accurate Minatures TBM Avenger at the Accurate Minatures web site.

Step Four shows in exquisite colour photography the step by step painting, detailing and weathering of the R-2600 Cyclone engine. The author tells what colurs he used.

The link to Step Four of the article is:

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I think this is exactly what you are looking for if the two engines were very similar.

I hope this helps you.

Paul

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