I have a somewhat unusual request, but hey…if you don’t ask, you’ll never recieve answeres.
I have watched this forum for a long time and the work I’ve seen a lot of you do on your aircraft is simply amazing with attention to detail that by viewing the photos you almost can’t tell that it’s a model they look so realistic. Hence my question. I’ve been an active modeler for many years and always will be, but my work is “Very Good,” not the 'WOW!!" I’ve seen here. What methods do all of you use to get such realistic paint schemes? I am good with “factory Fresh” painting, but how do you get such realistic paint fading? Is there any books or links that can give insight on ways to get models out of the “toy plane” look and advance into the contest quality representation? This may be a broad question, but I look at it this way, when you recieve a new combination lock, you’ll never get it open until somebody gives you the combination, then through practice you can open it with ease. Some aspects of modeling is the same thing for me, some of the methods you use may not be difficult to do, but until you explain how you do it, your methods remain a majical mystery.
a lot of answers will come to this post if you have an airbrush,your half way there also try to learn about washes,chippingand pastels,with the AB you can pre-post fade,shadow,highlight and do realistic camo patterns most of this is just practice to be perfect and a lot of looking at references to be accurate,remember…the devil is in the details
My advice would be to do what I am about to do. That is, post some pics and ask for honest comments and suggestions. I just have learned to use my digital camera and hope to improve my skills by using this forum.
Buy several, say 6, inexpensive 1/48th or 1/32nd scale models to use for practice and experimentation. Build them “out of the box”, or with a little experimental details added. Experiment with applying a “wash”, that is a thinned dark or light paint applied to run into the details of the model and highlight those details, such as the details of the landing gear wells, or the engraved panel lines. Also try highlighting raised detail, such as the cockpit instruments and dials and switches, with the “dry brush” process. You dip a brush in paint and wipe off most of the paint, and then run the brush lightly over the raised details. This should leave a hint of the lighter color, say white, light gray, or silver, on the raised details of the part, such as the instrument panels.
The overall finish is one of the most important parts of the “look” of the finished model. So, practice with your airbrush. Pay attention to what you are doing, such as how thin you made the paint, how far away you held the airbrush, etc. Practice, practice, practice. Each finished model should look better that the last one. Finish every model you start and make mental note of what did not work too well. Try something different the next time if a particular method did not give you the results you expected, example thin the paint a little more or a little less, use a lighter color for the wash, etc.
You should also consider a model magazine or books that give you ideas and “how to” articles on “detailing” methods. Again, practice, practice, practice. The best way to learn is by doing it.
Lastly, if you ever do build the perfect model QUIT. I am joking, but the idea is that each model should be a little better than the last one. Do not be affraid to experiment.
Skipper, I’m in the same boat as you, regarding level. One suggestion that was a quick change for the better on ANY aircaft I;ve build (disclaimer: must be a matte scheme) is to use Polyscale’s “Flat Clear”. And yes, it has to be Polyscale’s. For some reason, it just gives any topcoat a very realistic finish.
I forgot to mention that this is an acrylic paint, so I’m not sure how it works (if at all) on enamels.
Check out this website if you want to be wowed! There are tutorials and tons of pics. The english translation is not the best, but you will like this site.
Hi there!!! the key to archive those paint jobs, (as any other modeling technique) is practice, practice and practice… the magazine is a very good tool to lear some finishing techniques, also the forum here is a good point. when you see something you like ask how wass done, most of the people here (myself included) will be happy to share their tips and techniques.
here is a link toi an exelent article… I try this things on the same model (a tamiya gekko) and the results are very impresive…
Books: Scratchbuild! and Master scratchbuilders by john Alcorn (even if you don’t want to scratch build, these are very inspering books with tons of techniques)