Hello!
I have a “Just Plane Stuff” resin Luftwaffe Hardstand for an Fw190D-9 I want to display–I’m not quite finished, and need some help on simulating dirty, weathered wooden planks with oil stains, tire marks, etc. The ground is alternating, uneven airbrushed Pollyscale Dirt, Pollyscale Mud, and Tamiya acrylic Flat Earth. I plan also to apply a mixture of various shades of Woodland Scenics coarse turf. The wooden planks are, so far, a mixture of ModelMaster enamels: Wood, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, a little RLM02 Lichtgrau, and a little Flat Black, applied unevenly with a brush. It just doesn’t look right yet–I am thinking of a nice wash with brown and umber oil paints, perhaps, with some Gunze oil stains., and some static grass growing up through the planks. How is the wood color? I know there isn’t enough contrast. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Paint some planks in a shade lighter than the present color and some in a darker shade. Do this randomly. It will give you some variations. I may go for a dark brown wash to emphasize the joints and the wood grain. A light drybrush using a lighter shade will also help bring out the wood texture.
Alright, I did some work on the resin hardstand–gave the planks a wash of burnt umber and lamp black oil paint, applied various weathering powders and pastels (dirt, dust, soot, etc.), applied some streaking with dark gray pastels to represent tire marks, added some drips and stains with Gunze Sangyo “oil” acrylic (great stuff!), and, well, just generally weathered the heck out of it. I still plan on adding various shades of mixed Woodland Scenic coarse turf to the earthen areas. It is supposed to be Germany in the spring, so the climate is likely to be damp. How does it look? Critique is more than welcome!
While I can’t say whether it is specifically accurate to Germany in spring, I can definitely say that you have effectively captured the basic weathered look of the bare wood shingles on my family home in RI. Good work!.
I find that the best colour to start with is a light grey, not shades of brown. New wood is in various brown shades, but IMHO wood on an aircraft stand would very quickly weather to pale grey… If you are seeking to represent a well-used stand, I would start with grey and then try thin washes of other grey shades with just a little hint of pale brown in them. Perhaps a little dry brushing of pale brown over the edges and joins would show where the edges have been chipped by feet or equipment. Hope this is of value to you.
