W.I.P. pics of new projects....

[Rick Lowe]

Add all the PE you want and correct all the perceived inaccuracies and you still won't have scale thickness glass or sheet metal.

I second Kit's comment about restraint.

I suspect that the reason you see heavily weathered models entered in shows is the way the judging works.  If there are points for paint, points for accuracy, points for weathering etc then the modeller may feel that if they don't weather their model then they will lose points.  And if you're thinking like that then more weathering = more points.


Matrixone

And the judging has a part to play also - if the current trend is for overweathering and a model isn't, then it's going to get passed over in favour of something that looks like it should be in the boneyard.

...I still say its just as much fun building a kit SFTB and concentrate on the finish and weathering instead of throwing all the aftermarket goodies you can buy at it.


Correct.  Especially if it's a good fit with no PSR required.

Nothing wrong with OOB, either - just remember to fix the seams and you'll be fine (we were judging the Junior's efforts last night...)

Cheers

[matrixone]

I don't know or care what might please a judge regarding weathering but I know what I like and weather my models accordingly. The safest and IMHO best way to add weathering to a model is to look at photographs of the full size machines and try and copy that...with what-ifs its difficult as often there are no photographs to look at but by looking at photographs of RW machines that perform a similar mission as the what-if you can get a good idea how to add a little weathering to it.

Below are some snaps of my current model on the bench and these images show a super easy way to add some subtle weathering to a paint job.

The wings and tail planes have been given a thin base coat of RLM 75 and here you can see some highlights of white paint have been added here and there...its important in this step to not have any sort of pattern.


To add a bit of pre-shading I used RLM 75 darkened by adding some black to it to provide some contrast, also some small mottles was used on some of the panels to give a hint of texture to the paint job. Yes it looks like it went through a bad hailstorm but that will change soon.


The final step is spraying on some highly thinned RLM 75 to tone down the highlights and pre-shading, the effect of the painting I did before is just barely seen here in the image below but it does look better in person.


This Bf 109G-10 will get RLM 74 dark gray sprayed on to complete the camouflage pattern but the same weathering of the paint will be done just as I did with the RLM 75.

Matrixone

[Modelling_Mushi]

Thanks for the tip matrixone. Im going to try that approach on my next build.
Ciao

[matrixone]

Thanks again Modelling_Mushi!

There should be some new pictures of the RLM 74 dark gray being painted on the model posted later today...right now I am taking a break from painting and will get some pictures.


Matrixone

[matrixone]

Painting of the RLM 74 on the wings and tail planes is finished, like I did when the RLM 75 was painted on I did some pre-shading and added highlights with light colored paint.

Before...


...and after.


The fuselage will be getting its paint soon.

Matrixone

[zenrat]

It's a paint technique which is diametrically opposite that used for painting model cars where the aim is to get a constant  coverage of paint with nothing showing through from beneath.
I shall have to adjust my mindset if trying this.  Although it may be a bit fiddley on a 1/72 build.

[PR19_Kit]

I've seen a couple of 1/24 scale car kits done with pre-shading to emphasise the door/trunk/hood panel shut lines in the last couple of years.

To my mind they looked JUST like models that had the door/trunk/hood panel shut lines emphasised by pre-shading rather than small versions of the real thing. 

[zenrat]

IMO one should do something with the panel lines but usually a pin wash with thinned acrylic paint is sufficient.  Not too dark that it looks like a cartoon but enough to show they are there.  Vary the colour used according to the colour of the car and use Smoke on white cars.

[matrixone]

Can't imagine the need to do the pre-shade thing on car models...unless its a model of an old car with badly faded paint.

For most wartime military aircraft models its best to avoid pure black paint as a panel line wash, I find its best to use a darker shade of the color the wash is going into, you would want the panel line to stand out a little bit but not look too unnatural like is often seen on models that had the black panel line treatment.
Maybe aircraft models that had black used as a panel line wash is a way to get a judges attention at a model contest but if that is the case IMHO it ceases to be a model contest anymore and is closer to a fine arts competition.

Matrixone

[Dizzyfugu]

I've seen a couple of 1/24 scale car kits done with pre-shading to emphasise the door/trunk/hood panel shut lines in the last couple of years.

To my mind they looked JUST like models that had the door/trunk/hood panel shut lines emphasised by pre-shading rather than small versions of the real thing. 

IMHO, pre-shading is a bane to modeling - unless sou use it wisely (like any drug...) and with a purpose. 
All too often I personally find the panel lines to be much too pronounced on aircraft. I can hardly imagine any sensible use on a car, even on a military vehicle. Even on figures it can look almost comical. Why apply it when it does make no sense, except for showing "I did pre-shading on this thing. Looks goofy, but I havea ana irbrush and must use it, anyway."?

The Bf 109 looks beautiful - I do not see much need for pointless extra effects? Maybe a wash for the engravings and a weathered look of the paint, but even that is IMHO not necessary?

[matrixone]

I like to age and fade the paint the way I do because when done with restraint it adds to the other weathering effects but does not overshadow them.
Below is a Me 410 I built a couple years back and in this shot the subtle paint fading and wear marks on the wing roots were done in stages similar to the Hasegawa 109 I am now painting, the look I was after was the paint being worn off over a period of time and the best way to do this IMHO is to paint on the weathering effects in layers.


Most models I see that have weathering done on them have the usual exhaust stains, panel line wash, and paint chipping on them but many times these weathering effects don't have a natural look to them...in most cases full size machines don't weather like what one can see on the average model. I have had a lot of exposure to plant equipment and RR rolling stock and have seen how they weather and many times the equipment will weather unevenly especially the paint on the top of plant equipment.

Models because of their small size already look toy like to most people and I believe even adding just a small amount of weathering to them can reduce the toy look and make them like more like true miniatures which they are.

Matrixone

[matrixone]

I finished with the camouflage scheme on the G-10, in this first image a color profile of the aircraft I am trying to model can be seen in the background.

Below is a better picture that shows the weathering of the paint I did.


A few small details still need to be sprayed on but after that the model can get its first coat of Future.

Matrixone

[matrixone]

More painting done on the Hasegawa Bf 109G-10...the rubber seal on the rear of the engine cowl was masked and painted with 'rubber' paint and the same was done on the area behind the leading edge slats and the front of the flaps which were painted RLM 02.

While I had the airbrush out I went ahead and corrected some minor errors in the camouflage scheme, mostly on the fuselage cross where more RLM 74 needed to be sprayed above where the arms of the cross will be.


I will be trying a new weathering technique on the wing roots of this model, I hope to have pictures of the results of the experiment in a day or two.

Matrixone

[Ifor]

Sorry if you've been asked this before, when doing a 1/72 or 1/48 aircraft do you always rub down raised panel lines and rescore them. I know it might seem a silly question.

[matrixone]

No matter the scale I will score the panel lines a little deeper near where the parts will be joined, this way when I sand down or fill the seam line the panel line will not be completely lost and can easily be restored.

Matrixone