I’m in the process of building a Hasegawa Macross YF-19… and I want this to look slightly weathered. I have seen some wonderful examples done to some models, but I don’t have any idea how the weathering was accomplished. I have a few questions that I listed below:
Pre shading - How do you do this? Is it just spraying black paint on the major panel lines prior to a white (or light color) coat? How thick should the lines be?
Rust - How do you get the effect of rust on a plastic model?
Drybrushing - I think I have this handled.
Off-colored panels - Is this something that people suggest? Is this just masking a panel and painting it a slightly different shade?
Using pencils and/or chalk - I don’t even know where to start with using these items for weathering.
Any other weathering ideas you have would be GREATLY appreciated.
Mud
Pre-shading is pretty much just that - prime the model, spray flat black onto the panel lines and recessed detail. When you paint the color coat, thin the paint a bit more than usual and mist it over the model. You’ll fins that the preshaded areas will be a little darker than the middle of the panels.
Rust is harder. Some use thickened paint - red/brown with a black wash can look good. Some people use a bit of talcum powder in the paint to give the area the lumpy/flaky look of rust.
Off colored panels are just that - mask off a panel and paint it a slightly lightened or darkened shade of the original base color.
Pastels are great to use. Make sure you get the dry type - not the oil based type, cuz you’ll need to rub the pastel onto rough wood sandpaper to create little piles of dust. Black, brown, red, gray, green and white are very helpful to blend into about any color scheme you need. You need to apply the pastel dust to FLAT paint (it’ll just fall off gloss paint) and kinda brush/rub the pastel into the paint. Black, brown and gray are great for exhaust on WWII aircraft.
Kalmbach have a number of books that have heaps of different types of techniques for adding realism. Also, comsider subscribing to FSM - it really is a good mag - very instructional. I’ve been subscribing since 1982 and haven’t regretted it for a moment.
Just experiment a bit and have fun. Don’t try to make every model a contest winner - that takes the fun out of it and only frustrates you in the end. Like I said, experiment and have fun.
Cheers,
Lee Tree
MUD,
Painting and Weathering Railroad Models has three chapters on
weathering . Each has color photographs illustrating the techniques being
used. It’s published by Kalmbach/ Model Railroader and can be ordered
from them or a hobby shop.
fuzzy
For rust, I use Floquil Rust paint - its in the model railroad section of the hobby shop (also available through different mail order places). I either drybrush it, or “streak” it depending on the look I’m going for.
Mud,
Rerefence using pastels for weathering. This is my prefered method and applied after you’ve finished the overall paint scheme. Mix black and brown (maybe a little gray) patels together on a piece of cardboard. It comes in a chalk stick form and should be scraped off with your Exacto into a pile then mix it up. Take a Q-tip or dry paint brush and apply it to the areas you want weathered in a rearward “streaking” motion (simulating flight pattern), such as, exhaust, machine gun smoke, and especially panel lines. If you don’t like it or made a mistake, you can always use a damp towl, wipe it off, and start over. Once applied to your satisfaction, add a top coat (like dull) to “seal it” in place.
I recently completed a P-47 Thunderbolt with “heavy” European Theater dirt. I used stricly pastels and the results were fantastic. It takes trial and error and eventually you’ll find a technique that’s comfortable for you. This is (in my opinion) the easiest way to add realistic weathering to an aircraft.
Always remember, they will resist. Resistance is futile!!!