Molotow Liquid Chrome

I have a new favourite thing in my modelmaking toolkit. I can't be the only modeller to have spent years searching for the holy grail of a convincing chrome effect that can be applied by hand, and I've tried all sorts of different things but never been satisfied with the results. Until now that is - the Molotow Liquid Chrome paint pens seem to be the answer to my prayers and I was so impressed I just had to share my feelings.

The magic silver bullet

I don't know why but silver is a very difficult colour to get right. I've given up on Humbrol as a lost cause - I have a very old tin of no.11 silver acquired second-hand that gives a fairly shiny finish, but the modern equivalent is an oily dull grey with a few metallic flecks. Other brands of paint are not easy to obtain as I don't have a local model shop and postal restrictions on solvents mean I can't get them by mail order without paying extortionate carriage charges. There are chrome-effect aerosols from the likes of Halfords, which give a good finish but have to be applied quite thickly so they can obscure details, and of course these sprays are no good for detail work.

I tried those silver metallic marker pens you can get from craft shops, and while the finish is shiny enough it just has no durability and quickly rubs off with any handling. Then there are various adhesive chrome foils. I know some people have achieved excellent results with these but I've never got on very well with them as it's just too fiddly to accurately cut such awkward small shapes and press them over the contours of the model without tearing.

New and old Humbrol 11. The difference is clear and Molotow knocks them both into a cocked hat.

In the days of white metal kits, it was possible to scrape the paint off the raised mouldings and polish the bare metal underneath, but that's no longer an option with resin or plastic. Some modellers have developed a technique of spraying the whole model silver and then brush-painting the livery around the chrome trim, which is more durable than a silver brush paint but still not very shiny. An added complication for me is that my main coach fleet uses a silver livery, so simply painting the trim silver isn't an option and I had never yet found anything that made the chromework look obviously different from the silver bodywork.

Enter the Molotow pens. I haven't seen any mention of these in bus modelling circles but encouraged by positive reviews from modellers in other areas I decided to buy one and see what all the fuss was about. I'm glad I did as it really is so much better than anything else I've ever tried. A typical 1970s coach has several hundred scale feet of thin chrome strips so something quick and easy to apply is vital and the Molotow pens are perfect for this usually tedious job. They come with 1mm, 2mm or 4mm nibs and I chose the smallest one for my small-scale work.

Looks nothing special but you'd be surprised

Like the metallic markers mentioned above, the Molotow is a pump pen so you have to press the nib against a hard surface a few times to get the paint flowing. Once you've done that it's really easy to use and flows well. Just draw it onto the model and it will cover even dark colours with only one coat, far quicker and more accurate than messing around with paint on a tiny brush or cocktail stick. With the fine nib it's easy to keep the paint in the right place, but if you do make a mistake it can be rubbed out with a cocktail stick dipped in white spirit.

I don't know what is in the Molotow pen and whether it should be classed as paint or ink but it's far more than just a silver pigment, a proper reflective mirror-finish chrome effect unlike anything I've ever seen before. Most impressively, even on a silver-painted model you can see a very obvious difference between the paint and the chrome trim that nothing else has managed to achieve. Just as an experiment, I even tried touching in a few oxidised spots on the Maxi's bumper with the pen. While it won't work on large areas and I doubt it's durable enough to stand up to the weather, you'd be hard pushed to notice it isn't real chrome plating on those small spots, that's how convincing the finish is.

The chrome trim really stands out, even against silver paint

The paint is touch dry in a couple of hours but I would recommend leaving it overnight to fully harden. If you're careful not to touch the wet areas, it's possible to complete the chrome trim on a typical bus or coach in just an hour or so. It dries to a very robust finish, far more so than any silver enamel, as I have been rubbing my finger quite firmly over my test pieces with no sign of any paint coming off. That's without any form of protective layer on top - lacquer or varnish is not advised as it will damage the shiny surface.

After a few smaller tests with impressive results, I decided to give the Molotow pen a real challenge by redoing the trim on my Little Bus Company Alexander M-type, a resin kit of a coach absolutely covered in chromework. I had spent several days painstakingly painting this and still wasn't happy with the dull results, but an hour with the Molotow has transformed it - the acres of highly-reflective trim look absolutely superb and now it really captures the shiny chrome-laden appearance of the real thing glinting in the sunlight.

Look at the shine on that

Molotow pens aren't especially cheap, but neither will they break the bank and they're well worth the money as nothing else comes close to the quality of finish. Mine cost £6.20 posted from an eBay seller and simply searching for "Molotow Liquid Chrome" will find plenty of both suppliers and reviews. Less than 24 hours after it arrived, my Molotow pen has already become my go-to solution for chrome trim - it really is a revelation that has left me seriously impressed and comes very highly recommended.

At this juncture I should point out that I have no connection with the Molotow company and I'm just a very satisfied customer whose prayers for a decent chrome paint have finally been answered. Anybody who paints chrome trim on models really must have one or more of these pens in their armoury. If you haven't bought one yet, why not?