Farrari "Testa Rossa" head wrinkle paint help

[BWDenver]

I'm building Hasegawa's 250 Testa Rossa and am a bit stumped on replication of the wrinkle finish on the heads of some of the vintage Farrari engines.

Thanks in advance!

Bryan

 

[peteski]

1 hour ago, BWDenver said:

I'm building Hasegawa's 250 Testa Rossa and am a bit stumped on replication of the wrinkle finish on the heads of some of the vintage Farrari engines.

Thanks in advance!

Bryan

 

Bryan,

If you think about it, the wrinkly paint texture of 1:1 paint in 1:24 scale will be so fine that it would not really be discernible.    Maybe it would be worth trying to emulate if the model was 1:8 scale, but not in 1:24. That's my opinion. 

Maybe some satin finish paint would work well enough, or many the Faux Fabric paints that Scale Motorsports offered would look convincing.  Those have slight texture to their finish.

[Matt Bacon]

Plasti-kote does "Velvet" or "Suede" textured paint which I use straight onto the plastic (keep the coat light), and follow up with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer before applying the final color. Or if you're feeling brave, paint the heads using enamel paint, let it dry and then apply a VERY light coat of "hot' acrylic clear varnish which should crackle the enamel. Practice this first on some scrap before applying it to your model parts...

best,

M.

[sidcharles]

Martin at Night Shift YouTube channel may be of some help.

basically he uses Tamiya Extra Thin solvent/ adhesive mixed with Tamiya Putty and stipples it where he needs texture. sand it back if it's too aggressive.

 

[BWDenver]

1 hour ago, Matt Bacon said:

Plasti-kote does "Velvet" or "Suede" textured paint which I use straight onto the plastic (keep the coat light), and follow up with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer before applying the final color. Or if you're feeling brave, paint the heads using enamel paint, let it dry and then apply a VERY light coat of "hot' acrylic clear varnish which should crackle the enamel. Practice this first on some scrap before applying it to your model parts...

best,

M.

That sound like it can be a winner!

 

Thanks

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I would think that just a light dusting of paint from a couple of feet away would create enough of the basic affect that you’re looking for.

I’m not sure of the Ferrari finish that you’re trying to replicate, but the “dusting” technique looked satisfactory to me for the Hemi valve covers in my ‘68 Coronet.

 

 

Steve

Edited Sunday at 11:26 PM by StevenGuthmiller

[BWDenver]

probably the best shot of a Testa Rossa head...

From a corner of the Wide World Internet...

[BWDenver]

Little bit of Photoshop on the above image.  Feel free to use it on your project if you are lucky enough to have a Haseagawa 1/24 TR

 

[Keef]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I would think that just a light dusting of paint from a couple of feet away would create enough of the basic affect that you’re looking for.

I’m not sure of the Ferrari finish that you’re trying to replicate, but the “dusting” technique looked satisfactory to me for the Hemi valve covers in my ‘68 Coronet.

 

 

Steve

*SWOONNNN!!* 😍😍

[Bills72sj]

You could experiment with some Rust-oleum textured spray paint. I used it for the deck of my race car hauler.

[64SS350]

Interesting question. Just thinking out of the box, what if a guy has an airbrush media blaster(ie: Harbor Freight) and experimented with different medias on the plastic. Then lightly airbrushed desired color and sheen?

Never thought about it until now, may have to try it some day.

[StevenGuthmiller]

We just need to keep in mind that everything we do as far as textures on 1/25th scale model cars needs to be 25 times finer than the 1:1 to look correctly in scale.

That’s not always easy, and more often than not, it gets over done.

 

 

Steve

[Ulf]

I just learnd that some baby powder in the paint give a suede texture, I have not tried yet.

[gtx6970]

I just sprayed the valve covers with actual Rustoluem wrinkle finish paint

 

Then take a hair dryer and warm them up to the desired texture your feel is right 

 

Edited

 

I'll add a picture of the actual hemi valve cover Im trying to replicate

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 03:34 PM by gtx6970

[peteski]

2 hours ago, Ulf said:

I just learnd that some baby powder in the paint give a suede texture, I have not tried yet.

Talcum powder is most likely the additive (flattening agent) in glossy paint which turns it semi-gloss, satin, and flat (depending on how the percentage added).

[StevenGuthmiller]

24 minutes ago, peteski said:

Talcum powder is most likely the additive (flattening agent) in glossy paint which turns it semi-gloss, satin, and flat (depending on how the percentage added).

Corn starch can also be used.

 

I still think the “paint from a distance” technique looks just as good as anything else, and it has the added benefit of not requiring any special materials be purchased or any new techniques or equipment is needed.

Pretty much exactly the same process I use for vinyl tops.

Sometimes basic and simple can get you where you want to go without overthinking the subject.

Just my opinion.

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

[Exotics_Builder]

My recommendation would be to follow Steve's advice at paint from a distance.  Personally, I use the Rustoleum textured paint to simulate basic carpeting where flocking or embossing powder was not a good option.  To me, that would mean it is too thick (scale wise) for the texture of a valve cover.  Zero paints make a textured paint that could be used for that purpose but pricey to order and experiment with.

[Chris V]

7 hours ago, Exotics_Builder said:

My recommendation would be to follow Steve's advice at paint from a distance.  Personally, I use the Rustoleum textured paint to simulate basic carpeting where flocking or embossing powder was not a good option.  To me, that would mean it is too thick (scale wise) for the texture of a valve cover.  Zero paints make a textured paint that could be used for that purpose but pricey to order and experiment with.

Gravity Colors also has a range of finely textured interior colors that might give you the desired finish as well.

[Bugatti Fan]

It may be possible to simulate a textured valve cover by spraying the matt colour you want, sprinkle with fine talcum powder whilst the paint is still wet and shake off the excess. The talc shou!d absorb the colour whilst sticking to the paint and give that textured finish.

[sidcharles]

17 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

We just need to keep in mind that everything we do as far as textures on 1/25th scale model cars needs to be 25 times finer than the 1:1 to look correctly in scale.

That’s not always easy, and more often than not, it gets over done.

Steve

this falls in line with my 'nail' theory.

as a railroad model builder, i see way too many 1:87 scale buildings with nails applied to every iota of their surface.   at least that's the illusion of what the builder intends us to see.

let's assume we view a model building from 1'0" away (87 scale feet).

but as a check, go outside and stand 87 feet away from a building, and note how many nails you see.

to compound the odd illusion, model 'nails' are often holes poked with some type of needle.

so we are presented with unnaturally large holes passed off as super detailed nails.

let's not get started on deep scribed wood grain; that's for another day . . . .

[peteski]

Exactly! That is the same opinion I posted in the first reply in this thread.  I also have to admit that Steve's emulation of the texture has some merit too), but trying to accurately emulate the actual paint wrinkling is not really feasible in 1:24 scale.

[sidcharles]

exactly. except for the nails part. and the holes. oh; and the wood grain.

but other than that, it's exactly the same.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, peteski said:

Exactly! That is the same opinion I posted in the first reply in this thread.  I also have to admit that Steve's emulation of the texture has some merit too), but trying to accurately emulate the actual paint wrinkling is not really feasible in 1:24 scale.

 

26 minutes ago, sidcharles said:

exactly. except for the nails part. and the holes. oh; and the wood grain.

but other than that, it's exactly the same.

What I ultimately had in mind when I made the statement about overbearing "textures" was the seemingly accepted practice of using masking tape for vinyl tops.

For some odd reason, as modelers, our eyes apparently see a texture such as that as acceptable in 1/25th scale, when in reality, as a rule, it's not even close to what a texture reduced by 25 times should be.

Same can be said about metallic particles in paint that appear about the size of scale dimes on a painted surface, but for some strange reason, many people think that looks quite okay. 

 

I understand that it might not always be possible to get everything to scale on a model, but it escapes me how some of these things somehow manage to skate by as acceptable.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[NOBLNG]

On 6/22/2025 at 2:52 PM, BWDenver said:

I'm building Hasegawa's 250 Testa Rossa and am a bit stumped on replication of the wrinkle finish on the heads of some of the vintage Farrari engines.

Thanks in advance!

Bryan

 

 

21 hours ago, 64SS350 said:

Interesting question. Just thinking out of the box, what if a guy has an airbrush media blaster(ie: Harbor Freight) and experimented with different medias on the plastic. Then lightly airbrushed desired color and sheen?

Never thought about it until now, may have to try it some day.

Since I am in a bit of a building slump right now…I did a quick test. The bottom piece of Evergreen is blasted with crushed glass which is way too aggressive, but it’s what is in my cabinet. The top one is sanded fairly smooth with 800 grit. The blasted one is sprayed with slightly thinned Tamiya LP-21 Italian Red. The smooth one is sprayed with un-thinned LP-21 from a distance of about 8-10”. I think even blasting with a finer grit could possibly damage or obliterate the raised lettering on the cover.

[sidcharles]

3 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

 

. . .  it might not always be possible to get everything to scale on a model, but it escapes me how some of these things somehow manage to skate by as acceptable.

in this day & age, i still see spark plug wire that could be heater hose for its size & lack of 'droopy-ness'.

as Dr Cranky says, scale modeling "is a journey."