Hey all,
I read about this technique in a book about Tigers. Spray the whole tank black, and then paint the base coat and camo in light layers over that. The idea is to leave shadow in the recesses. Has anybody tried this method before? If so, how did it turn out? I’m trying it for the first time now, and I have my doubts.
Chris
I haven’t tried it, but agree with you. I don’t see how the primer will leave dark areas when you cover it completely with the final color. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t think it works. I’ll stick to washes to get dark recesses.
I have tried preshading and it does work. The most important thing to remember is to use light layers of paint when you put on the base coat. I didn’t have much luck when I tried to do a complicated camo scheme (ambush pattern) but it looks very good when you have one color of paint on the vehicle (such as dunkelgelb or olive drab). Other people may have had good results on camo schemes. It does take some practice to get good results. Just be sure to lightly spray the panel lines and other details that you want to show off. That’s where the effect is really noticeable. HTH
I know I’m in the wrong forum, but I just tried it with my AH-64A and it worked beautifully.
I primed it in black and then shot it with light coats of Helo Drab. Finished with a dry brush of light gray over the rivet lines and it looks awesome!
It does work but requires some fine tuning to really get it right. Single-color schemes seem to work better than multi-color camo, at least from my experience, and the Flat Black works well particularly with darker colors like OD or Panzer Gray. For lighter colors like Dunkelgelb I will prime with MM Rust. I generally will apply the primer coat at high pressure and then the follow-on basecoats at a much lower pressure and with detail nozzles to allow the full benefit to come through.
Over time I developed a hybrid pre- and post-shading technique that works well for me…pre-shading with the primer also reveals any “surprises” that might be lurking in the form of missed seams, gaps, etc. I then will usually use pastels and other weathering approaches to achieve the post-shading blend.
It’s good to see you trying out different things. That’s the best way to find what works for your particularly approach. [;)]
thanks all for the input. Originally I was going to do a try color green/brown/black camo, but I’m thinking maybe a desert sand sceme would work better for this effect.
I use it all the time on most of my armor , it works great , creates a bit of a shadow effect if you don’t try to completely cover the recesses , seams , bolts, holes etc . I did my last project in red oxide , but i think I prefer the black to that so I am going back to it this time .
I do this now to even out everything (repairs, patches, etc) before painting the base coat. I use Tamiya’s flat black lacquer in a can. When thin coats of the final color (i.e. dark yellow) are sprayed (careful --its easy to overdo), you get a nice depth with shadows in the crevices and the undercarriage of a tank. I then use a lighter shade of yellow on all of the sun-exposed flat parts to give the illusion of fading. I still follow up with all of the usual weathering techniques such as washing, drybrushing, and pastels. Seemed to turn out great on my first go of it. Hope this helps.
Jim [:)]
I find the best way to do pre-shading is to thin the colour that is being sprayed over the top ie. 60% thinner with 40% paint this way you apply light coats which are less opaque and gives your more control over the shading that you want. Camouflage can be done as will by applying a few light coats of the base colour so that it is still dark with the black under coat and then applying you camouflage in light coats until you reach the effect your looking for . You then touch up the base colour until you reach the desired effect giving evenly preshaded colours trhouout the whole model. I have used this technique succesfully on some of my tanks and it looks great especially after applying some pastel weathering over the top.
this how it’s going so far. I’ve decided to go with the try color camo. Here’s how it looks with Nato Green over it. I still have to add Brown and Black (which I’m sure black won’t ruin the effect). The Tamiya paint is dilited somewhere near 60/40 or 50/50, I don’t really know. I may have overdone it at points, but I’m pleased with the louvers on the back deck of the hull.
oh yeah, this is my first project with my new Badger 155 Anthem. It’s a whole lot different than the Aztek. What do ya’ll think About the shading effect?
Thats exactly the effect you are looking for , well done ![8D]
thank you spector, darn you reply quick
I went to another post for less than a minute
Looks like you’ve captured it well! It’s a great technique to pair up with the usual weathering process. [tup]
That looks great! - It is just the way my StuG turned out - that was my first attempt with this method. You have some really nice shadows in the deep recesses and sharp angles. How does the undercarriage look?
Jim [:)]
Many modelling books list that as a succesful tecvhnique. I don’t use it myself…
Looks great. Semper Fi, mike
Copterguy, the undercarrage doesn’t look good, but that’s not the paint’s fault. It’s a seams fault. I got sick of messing with it and continued with the build. I’d take a picture but the kit is packed up right now. I’m taking it with me when I go on LEAVE tomorrow, wooohooo.
Thank ya’ll for the encouragement. I have a long drive tomorrow, but I’ll be adding more paint on Wednesday or Thursday.
new guy again yes I always primer black makes shading much easier and highlights also.
How do you like the Anthem? I’ve been thinking of getting one. Nice affects.
Welcome Bret to the forums. Hope you have alot of fun here.