So, being “relatively” new to the hobby, I know a lot of skills, but there are far more that I have no familiarity with. It seems that every article and how to skips past basic skills to more specific things. I understand this is great for those who know all the basics, but, “I drybrushed this area…” and "I just used pastels and artist oils… " etc do not help me since I don’t have any idea what these techniques actually are. Is there a website or article or something somewhere that can break down some of these things to the basic, basic, basic, beginner’s level? Thanks.
You are already in the right place to get your answers. Just post your ??? here in “Gen. Discussion”, or “tips and techniques”. Be specific on what exactly you wanna know, you sould get an answer pretty quick.
Drybrushing, is dipping you brush in paint, wiping most of it off on a rag, then rubbing the brush over the area that you are “drybrushing”. This is used in weathering and also to highlight details.
Pastels, are like a colored chalk stick (the ones I use anyway), I rub the stick on a piece of sandpaper to make a powder. I use a brush to just touch the powder then brush it onto the model. I bought a set of 12 colors for only a few bucks and got more colors than I’ll ever need. Blacks and browns seem to get the most use.
Thanks for that. So right now I’m trying to finish up an RA5 Viglante, and I want to give it a used, slightly faded but not worn look. I’ve heard filters can be used for this, but those are another thing I know very little about. Any thoughts?
Ditto what Fermis said about being in the right place…I’ve learned a Bunch by hanging around here, and built up a lot of great reference links in the bargain.
There’s a fantastic tutorial on filters on the aircraft site; look at ChuckW’s build, page 31. For general modeling skills info, our hosts publish excellent reference books on basic and advanced techniques.
Happy Modeling!
mike
Most people use a lighter color to highlight the area that they drybrush to give it a worn appearance.
I have also found Youtube a useful place for such things - it’s loaded with video tutorials from the very basic to the advanced.
How did you paint your Vigilante? With a brush or airbrush? While you’re learning, I might wait a while on filters, they can be a bit complicated. It’s a tank article, but here is a tutorial on weathering that includes filtering from doog, who is a true master!
/forums/p/84424/824087.aspx#824087
Drybrushing after a very light wash will give you a nice efffect. For a faded look, a little pastel chalk with a very fine airbrush overspray works nicely too. Just add a bit of white to your original paint color, and spray from about a foot away, applying a light mist.
Hope this helps, keep asking questions!
Chris
Kalmbach (FSMs publisher) has quite a few modelling books, some are general skills and some very focused like Weathering Armor. I picked up 2 or 3 of interest to me when I got back into the hobby about 10 years ago. While there was lot in them I already knew, I did find them helpful and found there were some skills I thought I knew but still found I had more to learn.
As mentioned asking about techniques works well. I’ve also found watching some of the builds here and asking questions about techniques you are interested in is also a good wayto learn, since you are actually seeing the results of the persons technique.
I just started too and I found this forum to be the best place to pick up techniques, and YouTube is a good resource too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls_J0oUel7o
That series of videos really helped me understand and pick up some basic skills. I think there are 11ish clips.
Yes, those videos have some good techniques. I also recommend getting in touch with your local IPMS chapter. You’ll meet modelers of all ability levels, and have a chance to make some new friends. Our chapter has build nights, demos, guest speakers, etc.
That’s the link for the Spokane chapter.
Chris
“Is there a website or article or something somewhere that can break down some of these things to the basic, basic, basic, beginner’s level?”
There’s two books availible from Kalmbach Publishing that I personally would insist be in the “Beginning Modeler’s Library”…
“Modeling Tanks and Military Vehicles” and “How to Build Dioramas” (First or Second Editions), both by Shepard Paine…
The second one, “HTBD”, especially covers those areas you ask about, and have plenty of basic “how to” stuff on weathering, drybrushing, washes, pastels, figure painting and modifying, simple scratchbuilding, and painting with enamels, oils, etc… It’s done clearly, step-by-step and you won’t get bombarded with stuff about dot filters, hairspray weathering. and the plethora of fads that are in the hobby these days… Just the basic, nitty-gritty info that will improve your skills tremendously in one place rather than hunting all over the net…
Both should be available on Amazon.com as well, and there’s nothing wrong with used copies, either…