thankyou again wotjek. My kit doesnt have near that level of detail, but nevertheless i wanted to try an create at least some of the radiator effects. ive made a bit of a start, firstly to dismatle the assembly. Next i used a 0.1 hard drafting pen that i had lying around, to create the lines on the radiator ends. i thought about scribing the lines into the plastic, but decided against that, because i thoiught that deeply scored lines would just make it look too rough.
next i had to create that bronze/gold/copper colour. not sure if ive naqiled that, but i mized a little Xf-4 (yellow green) with a non-standard GW colour called "dwarf bronze"...a metallic paint that i had lurking in the paint box.
im happy with the result, but Im open to comment or criticism. The black drafting pen ink (black) appears to have created little ridges, to which the paint has tended to adhese more than the unpainted bits. thats what i thought it might do. Whether the effect is vivid enough to be actually seen, Im not so sure, but its ther, and its quite subtle, which is the effect i was after.
The images are very heavily magnified so they look very rough, but in the flesh the paintwork is okay.
Once the paint is dry, i need to decide if i want to enhance the moulding by adding my own metal rods to give greater depth and realism to the model. Im still considering that as ther is a degree of risk in doing that....mostly that the part might not fit into its recess if i mess around too much