Paint The Panel Lines On Your Fighter Plane Model
So you just made yourself a shiny new model of an F22 Raptor or a Eurofighter Typhoon! Now, it is the time to paint it and make it look like real.

Whereas generally any paint can do, when you are to paint the panels of the model plane, you will have to be extra careful. You must understand that when it comes to the panel lines; most of the modern fighter planes have rather tight joints between their panels. As a result, the individual panels of the plane's superstructure and airframe are not commonly visible. You should paint your model airplane to show this particular "detail" which is non-existent in reality.

You should paint your fighter plane model in the final coat. After this, you will have to put on it a "wash" of paint. This has to focus on the panel that you want to highlight. Because of the physics, the capillary action of panel line will make the paint run down the line only. You will have to be very careful here and remove the extra paint from the surrounding area as fast as you can. Water based paint is particularly recommended here because you can remove it simply with water, provided it has not dried yet.

Enamel or lacquer based paints can do the job as well but they will be useless in terms of fast and precision cleaning that is required to paint the panel lines on your fighter plane model. Such paints dry really fast and are too thick to be instantly cleaned away. Note that if your fighter plane model is made of glossy material, you can try oil based paints as well but you will have to be careful that the oil is first diluted using turpentine. Always remember that you want to highlight the panels of your airplane model and not overemphasize its panel lines. You are well advised to use a darker shade for this entire purpose.

In some cases, you can also have the option of using an airbrush. Note that airbrush based painting is a bit too expensive and requires precise workmanship. You will have to first mark straight edges along the panel lines. Use a ruler, pencil and piece of card to mark boundaries and protect other areas. When you have the airbrush in your hand and you are ready to go, you should lightly spray the dark color paint but make sure that you approach at a very low angle with the brush and adhere to a straight edge for the base. The best approach is to first of all, paint with a dark color along the panel lines. Following this, you can apply the topcoat but do it only a little at a time and you are done!
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