"Spaceships: Gloss or Matte?" Topic

What finish do you prefer on your spacecraft models?

Matte

Not a fan of gloss on pretty much all figures. So yeah, me too. Matte.

Curious thought, but would a spaceship traveling in a vacuum not collect a lot of "space dust" as it travels since it would be the strongest magnetic field in the are the void? Just seems like it would be like a giant dust rag collecting microscopic debris as it travels . . . . .

For ships that can enter an atmosphere, I am sure that the heat build up is also rather harsh to a nice shiny finish.

Jeff

Matte, or flat, although for spacefighters, which are presumably polished, to make them "faster" (yes, I know, probably doesn't matter in space, but perhaps if they enter an atmosphere), a nice satin finish would look good.

Perhaps you are right Jeff, about the atmosphere, but I'll bet the Krylon people are working on that now, as we speak.

Matte. There are some practical reasons, but generally matte is better for looks most times.

Matt for bodywork, gloss for glasswork (canopies, portholes and what have you). For some reason I can't envisage the widespread use of non-shiny transparent materials for looking out of in the future.

Matte.

Definitely matt. If for no other reason than in a well lit gaming environment it makes it harder to see detail on the models (I also prefer it for the look of the model).

Technical question: how do you paint a starship in vacuum?

And mine are all matte.

why you use the fancy futuristic "electro-coating" process. Or maybe a "fusion coat" system. Yeah, fusion coating sounds better. That's the ticket.

Matte.

Matte

Lister used a pressure paint roller to paint "Red Dwarf"!

Matte.

Matt, unless it's organic. Then I like 'em a little slimy :)

Matte for most things – except as noted canopies or the odd highlight

Satin, or semi-matte.

Should be very 'smooth' to give the appearance of distance/great size. Interestingly, this is from the way us simple hominids perceive, given we live in an atmosphere.

Without the atmosphere to 'dull' the image, upto but not quite gloss, but I'm still tied to my hominidness.

Doug

For minis, I prefer at Matte finish.

Actual space ships, the paint could easily be manufactured such that in the vacuum of space it could be sprayed on and attach in much the same manner as here on earth in the atmosphere. As a matter of fact, since space is a vacuum, there would be a lot less dust adhering to the surface to be painted as long as the surface was kept electrically neutral until the paint was to be applied.

As for atmospheric operations, the "glossier" the surface, the less stealthy the vehicle is. "Glossy" surfaces reflect a good deal more light that strikes the surface of them, thus the reason they seem "brighter", more light is returning to the observer's eye. This is one of the reasons that "Stealth" vehicles appear dark or black as the surface is coated with energy absorbing paint. The more "absorbent" the paint, the wider the range of wavelengths (including the visible wavelengths) is can absorb. If it were absorbing all the wavelengths of visible light, it appears as a black object. "True Black" would actually appear as if it were a hole/void in the shape of the object at that location.

Sorry for the physics lesson one of the perils of being a physics teacher! Can't help myself

Andy Welkley
"Your Phrendlee Hevy Phyzx T-chrr"

Definitely matte for me.

Mostly matte, but I did up a fleet of FA Centauri in a metallic purple with gold highlights. I got the metallic effect, which looks like the mettalics you see on Hot Wheels cars, by painting the ship silver and then going over it with a purple ink. I was inspired by Londo's wardrobe.

David S.

Mostly matte, but I do have a few fleets where I went with gloss (including a somewhat garish Centauri fleet) for specific reasons.

Matte, for certain – although I will probably try gloss or semi gloss finishes when I finally print out my 50's inspired 'Vic Valiant' rocketships.

Matt will keep light reflections from stars down.Rob

Both, using old Star Frontiers ships. Human ships matte (very mixed detail colors over tan base), Bug ships Gloss (red with yellow and green trim).

Matte, glossy looks toy-ish. An alternative though would be a Satin finish. I used it on some Tyranid carapaces and it looks really cool – it's more reflective but not glossy by a long shot.

I'd go for matte with the exception of slimy organics and 30's serial pulp, in which case a more glossy finish is more suitable.

Satin

Gloss with a matt finish on the base. Hey – someone has to vote for gloss.

@commandermp

Well, I DID say it was probably more accurate for space… ;->=

Doug

Matte

Damn you all, GLOSS!!! And hot pink!!!

Hmmmmm…ok….well geeky, how do you feel about poka dots?

Black on pink, or pink on black?

Any dayglo orange?

Doug

My 30 year old Aquarian fleet was done in a charming white gloss. Inspired by Star Wars and Space: 1999 shiny white starships. I think I even used gold and silver to highlight the gun mounts and a orange stripe on the hull. The Aquarians had STYLE….or thought they were in the coast guard.

For the most part all the Spaceships i've painted over the years have been a Matte/Flat paintjob.

Although i've painted up some Gamilon ships(from StarBlazers),with metallic colors to shake things up.

Captain Gideon

I can't wait for the new "Space Cruiser Yamato" movie this winter… Better be able to speak Japanese cause no dub ir sub for several months

OK… I was going to post a link to the new trailer for the Space Battleship Yamato movie, but this thread seems to have completely disappeared from my laptop's menu… Has anybody else had that problem before?

Oh! And the new trailer shows the Gamallon ships. They look pretty.