I originally posted this in the Technique Forum, but it went unanswered. I was just wondering about preshading when your top coat is a dark color. The top color is going to be a navy dark sea blue. I know I should hightlight the center of the panels with either white or at least a lightened shade of the blue, but how about the panel lines? Should they be black like when preshading for a lighter color, or something else?
Also, if I preshade the panel lines, should I still do an oil wash afterwards, or does the preshade preclude the need for an oil wash?
I’m the new guy on the block but i’ll throw in my 2 cents…
I personally am not a big proponent of preshading because of the amount of work involved and the very toyish look if done wrong. Its just as effective to post shade and more controlable IMHO But I digress…
I belive the common idea is that preshading isn’t necessary on dark colors simply because you are starting with a dark color… the base camo color IS the preshade… As you said, if you’re going to “fade” the centers of the panels then that will give you the same effect as preshading with a dark color then spraying the normal base color…
To answer your question about the panel lines… If your color is dark navy blue then about any wash you put in other than maybe strait black will be nearly invisible when dry… I’d concentrate on getting your panel line contrast with the “fading” of the centers of the panels.
On my Do 335 I didn’t pre shade at all… I just sprayed the camo. Then I airbrushed on a faint post shade of brownish black oil paint. The paint mix was about 80% thinner 20% paint airbrushed at like 8 psi… It takes several passes to build up but seems to be more predictable than preshading and a heck of a lot faster to paint… For the panel washes I put in a fairly thick wash of umber oils (I think you A/C guys call it a sludge wash) Let that sit for 5-10 minutes while the thinner evaporates (it looks dry but isn’t) Then I took a soft cloth damp with paint thinner and gently wiped in the direction of the airflow. That adds the subtle streaks and haze around the panels …
I hope all of this rambling make sense… he he he… The main thing is to just experiment and play around. Find out what works for you and looks good… Don’t try to stick on one style or set of instructions to strictly, it’ll drive you nuts…
I personally think that post-shading in this instance is a much better idea than pre-shading. It’s easier to control and you don’t need to worry about how you paint the upper surfaces. There’s nothing worse then spending all that time pre-shading only to cover it all up with a too-thick topcoat.
Just my thoughts.
Also, postshading doesn’t need to be airbrushed. I use ground up pencil graphite, and it works for me just fine.
I once listened to a fellow armor modeler brag about spending 6 hours putting the base color on over the preshade black which was honestly all but erased… [sigh] Its a stretch for me to spend 6 total hours on the whole paint job including weathering…
This is one area that seems to divide modelers into two groups. The ones that believe the mutlitone preshaded look is the only way to go and the others that think it makes the model look like a mutlicolored wonder. I do not posses the talent or the attention span to preshade a model. I have seen some that look great and I have seen some that there is just to much contrast in color for my taste. Was’nt there a big to do about preshading thread here recently that got real ugly? I like to post shade personally because it is within my talent ability. I also like to use washes to change the tone of panels and add color variation. I have also found spraying Testors Acrly Dullcoat straight from the bottle can give you a subtle fadded effect for aircraft upper surfaces. Of coarse this is all just one mans opinion. I say what ever looks good to your eye. It if pleases your eye than it does not matter what anyone else thinks. Just keep on building em that’s what really counts!
Gigatron, I’ve preshaded a couple things, and I’ve got to say you really can’t do it on dark colors. I built a F4U-1D and after preshading and imminent failure, I lightened the colors where the paint would fade, shown here-
Then I used a wash to post shade-
The wash shows up, but it doesnt punch you in the face so to speak. So, if you lighten the colors, you can use a wash. Or, you can lighten the center of panels. That works too. I haven’t attempted that yet, but I’m going to try on my P-38.
