Thanks Wheels, I do have a couple of P-38's on the drawing board. I've never done bare metal so they will be a challenge, any suggestion there GG ?
Don't know why I just now saw this
There's a number of good tutorials out there regarding bare metal finishes (BMF), and there's about twice as many arguments regarding which is the best method.
I personally prefer the look that matches the aircraft, each is unique and why should the bare metal finish be the same on a P-51D as it is on a P-38 or a B-24? They were made by different manufacturers, assembled at different times with metal made from different vendors and deployed in different locations at different points in time. But that's my opinion and doesn't hold up well in discussions with the "experts"
I tend use a number of layers with differing shades of silver/gray and with varying opacity, the top of which has a slight silverblue hue. I'll also use the same silverblue color in a layer that highlights junctions, such as wingroots, leading edges and panels...anywhere the panels would reflect on each other. Make sure to add a layer of these that'll dull various panels to give them a weathered or mismatched look, since the aircraft's skin and the panels were assembled at different stages during the it's assembly/construction.
I'll post a screenshot from a recent project I worked on for LesOfPrimus' tribute video to Drgndog's father and the gang from Steeple Morden. This screenshot was a "prelim" and still had yet to be weathered and finalized, but might help illustrate the way I'll do a BMF. By the way, all of the BMF on the mustangs I did for that video are slightly different...I didn't "cookie cutter" them
And jeez, Amsel...cutting that headon a little close, weren't ya'???