Blue Engine Glow Help

By SpaceC0wboy, in Star Wars: Armada Painting and Modification

Hello All,

I am about to dip my foot into the fighter painting pond by doing some YT-2400's. My biggest concern approach this is how to do the the light blue engine glow. Can anyone give me some paint recommendations(specific colors) and tips for achieving a good effect?

15 minutes ago, SpaceC0wboy said:

Hello All,

I am about to dip my foot into the fighter painting pond by doing some YT-2400's. My biggest concern approach this is how to do the the light blue engine glow. Can anyone give me some paint recommendations(specific colors) and tips for achieving a good effect?

There is s basic tutorial in “So you want to paint some Rogues...”

or it’s in Tie fighters... or Rebels...

IT WAS IN REBELS! ??

Anyway, blue for me is these colours (almost all GW):

From Base Darkest to Light:

Stegadon Scale Green

Sotek Green

Temple Guard Blue

Bahharroth Blue

Ghost White (Reaper)

White Scar / Cold White (Vallejo)

The trick is the same with the 8 engine gradient glow - paint on main colour, paint next player on leaving base colour in acting outside, and repeat gradient down to a white dot.

With 2400s you quickly get to “line, thin line, thinner line!” So you might not even need all of my listed colours.

Edited by Drasnighta

Thanks Dras! For something small like a 2400 should I start farther in the gradient?(i.e. Temple Guard Blue). I've never done this before and I don't want to end up with a green engine glow when I was going for blue.

26840922_563906353951769_802268047106235 The colour is very turquoise - not really green, certainly more blue than anything. ?

For squads I don't worry to much about it. I usually just use Lothern Blue. For bigger areas I might start one shade darker and/or lighter (white). Like I said for squads I don't stress too much about it.

I use a complely different method for engine glow. Paint the entire engine area white fading out as you get to the edge and then glaze with an intense blue like the old GW enchanted blue until you reach the desired glow color. Then go back with white to build up the hot edge and youre done.

Here's an example of how it turned out: firedrake02.jpg

Don't get me wrong - Glazing is awesome, and you're showing it off well...

... But... Glazing is awesome until you have to describe to someone over the internet without having them there with you to see a demonstration on how to Glaze, right down to the mixing of the medium with present day materials :D

.... I can't do it, for one.

There's tons of good tutorials on the technique out there and it doesn't require any special glaze or acrylic medium to do.

The basic idea is just really thin out your paint so it goes on translucent but thick enough you have control and it doesn't pool like a wash.

It's far easier than feathering or wet blending to master so don't be afraid of giving it a go. ?