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Start Here (for Beginners)
This forum is for younger modelers or people just starting out in the hobby.
Tips & Hints apreciated
jam2727
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Victoria, Australia
Joined: June 28, 2007
KitMaker: 171 posts
AeroScale: 113 posts
Posted: Tuesday, July 03, 2007 - 09:10 PM UTC
I have some other questions that have poped up too.
now i know this is the areoplane forums but this is also about paining.
today i got myself an issue of modelart australia, it has a full review on how to make a 1:72 revell Pz Kpfw III ausf. M which i happened to pick on ebyay about to weeks ago. it shows you how to assemle and paint, so i have a good idea on how to make it now. but some of the painting stuff is new to me.

He first went on about his fist stage of exterior detailing, he used a wash of diluted flat black enamel to go on all the lines, what in the heck is a wash of diluted enamel paint?

he then went on about he used a light wash of flat brown to coat the larger ares of the model, could someone please explain?

then what really got me is that he started saying he used a MIG production pigments plus some accrylic resin to add i dry affect to the lower hull. ok what is MIG pigments and accrylic resin?

What is this washing stuff used to put an effect on your model. the end result looks stunning from all this stuff he said and it seems like weathering. but could someone please explain it to me?

Thanks

PS if annyone wants to the the pages of the mag ill scan and send them to you

James
jam2727
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Victoria, Australia
Joined: June 28, 2007
KitMaker: 171 posts
AeroScale: 113 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 05:20 PM UTC
My MIG-21

This is my first/second day of making my mig.

here you can see the cockpit with its first coat of paint. ive painted it carmin red matt, grey and gun metal. i dont have the colour for normal mig cockpits.

in this picture i have just applied my putty for the 5 cracks in the undercarrige.

P.S the date i wrong cause i havent changed it back yet

James
goldstandard
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California, United States
Joined: March 29, 2007
KitMaker: 208 posts
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Posted: Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 05:52 PM UTC
Hmm, I hope you remembered to immediately remove the masking tape after applying the putty. If you leave it on too long the putty might crumble when removed.

A wash basically is meant to highlight panel lines by darkening them. Armor modelers sometimes use a wash to simulate stains, grime and dirt.

Check this out
jam2727
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Victoria, Australia
Joined: June 28, 2007
KitMaker: 171 posts
AeroScale: 113 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 04, 2007 - 09:42 PM UTC
Yeah dont worry i got rid of the masking tape right away.

I can now paint my MIG with an airbrush, i got an old gas can full of air and i used it up on a dodgy model i ahve made its a relly good A/B in my books.
goldstandard
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California, United States
Joined: March 29, 2007
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Posted: Thursday, July 05, 2007 - 05:45 PM UTC
Ah, nice. Keep those in progress pictures coming.
jam2727
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Victoria, Australia
Joined: June 28, 2007
KitMaker: 171 posts
AeroScale: 113 posts
Posted: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 10:07 PM UTC
Well im up to the last bits of my MIG.
But ive got a spaghetti bowl in my head. i am right now putting on my wheels to the plane. but now its to the weathering part. i did not pre-shade so i have used a pencil to colour in the lines with just a 2B grey led.but i reckon i should go for a wash instead. i dont want to use black because that would be too much, the next thing ive got is an enamel medium grey matt (HU.matt 106) and mix with a bit of matt black and thin that out with just natural thinners and do that instead. but should i do it? what do you think?

Oh and any other weathing tips that you reckon would look good on it tell me.

thanks
goldstandard
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California, United States
Joined: March 29, 2007
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Posted: Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 04:01 PM UTC
The most important thing in using a wash is to make sure that the paint scheme and decals are properly sealed from the wash. If this is not done properly you will make a big mess of your paint job. Another thing to do is make sure you apply only the minimum amount of wash necessary to fill in the panel lines. This makes wiping later on a far less laborious process. Also, do only a little bit at a time until you get the hang of it. Since you are using enamels I think you might be able to get away with wiping sooner than you would with traditional oil paints, as I have noticed that oils take forever to dry compared even to humbrol enamels.
goldstandard
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California, United States
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Posted: Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 04:02 PM UTC
Oh, one more thing, it is a good idea to wait until the very end after the weathering is done to put on the landing gear and other delicate bits. When you are wiping you don't want any antennas getting in your way.
jam2727
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Victoria, Australia
Joined: June 28, 2007
KitMaker: 171 posts
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Posted: Thursday, July 26, 2007 - 10:24 PM UTC
Ok thanks mate ill keep that in mind for my next model. I dont have any type of klear future yet but im going to get a similar item at bunnings for the closs coat, but before that do you have any tips for applying decals?

Thanks heaps
goldstandard
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California, United States
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Posted: Friday, July 27, 2007 - 06:07 AM UTC
With decals, just go slowly, soaking one at a time in water. For the water, I have found that slightly warm water works best for loosening the decal. Since this is Academy, your decals may be a bit harder to work with, but this seems to vary from model to model. Make sure you have a good decal setting solution and solvent before proceeding. I prefer Micro Set for the setting solution, and Micro Sol for the solvent. Whatever equivalent you find should work just as well.

What I do is first soak the decal for no fewer than five seconds and no more than ten. Once set aside on a dry paper towel, I use a flat brush to apply some setting solution to the surface. You don't need a lot, so don't go soaking the model in the stuff, as sometimes even when you use Future you may miss a spot in some little nook, and that is all the solution needs to get under your gloss coat and cause a nice crackle pattern in your paint job. (This is even more true for solvent )

After you have applied the setting solution, test the decal by nudging it a little, to see if it is loose yet. Try to avoid touching the backing, only touch the decal. From experience I have found that the adhesive on the backing can coat your skin if you touch it, and then it will stick you your finger instead of the plane. Some people prefer to use a brush to push the decal onto the model, and for small decals that is what I prefer too. But personally for the larger ones I prefer to just use my finger, slightly wet by dipping it in the water bowl. I have more control that way.

Once the decal is on the surface, you may need to tweak it just a bit. Micro Set is gentle enough that you can safely move it for a minute or two before it gets softened. If the decal is not moving easily enough, I will dab on a little bit of water to help lubricate the surface more. Once in place blot off the excess carefully with a paper towel, then allow it to dry for a few minutes. In the meantime you can start applying more decals.

After you have given the decal some time to dry, it should be softened by now too. Take a dampened paper towel and gently push the decal down into the recessed details of the surface. Always apply the pressure straight down, to prevent any distortion. It is important that the towel be damp, to prevent the decal from sticking to it and getting torn to shreds. This also helps work out some of the larger air bubbles as well.

To give the decal that "painted on" look, you will need to use the solvent now. With another brush (you don't want this hot stuff to contaminate the setting solution!) gently but quickly wet the surface of the decal completely with this stuff, being careful to avoid pooling or runs, for the reason stated before. Let this dry completely without anything touching it. After it is dry, inspect for air bubbles, and pop them with a knife or needle, then brush on some more solvent if needed. I allow this to dry overnight. After that, you can seal them in with more Future or its equivalent and you are ready for the wash!
Emeritus
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Uusimaa, Finland
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Posted: Friday, July 27, 2007 - 07:16 AM UTC
Well, there's nothing much to add to that guide, but make sure you have a proper gloss surface, as Academy's decals have the tendency to silver. To be sure, paint up piece of styrene, gloss coat it and test with an unneeded decal.
jam2727
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Victoria, Australia
Joined: June 28, 2007
KitMaker: 171 posts
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Posted: Friday, July 27, 2007 - 01:12 PM UTC
Wow thanks guys!
I just need a bit of help defining what you mean by using peice oof stryrine and use the dacal on that. could you explain that for a begginer?
So should i put on a coat of klear and then decals and then klear again?

Thanks
goldstandard
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California, United States
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KitMaker: 208 posts
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Posted: Friday, July 27, 2007 - 02:10 PM UTC
Styrene is the name of the plastic used to make model kits. You can also get it in plain plastic sheets that can be used to build stuff from scratch. The Klear makes the surface nice and smooth to minimize silvering, and the overcoat of Klear traps the decal on the surface so it won't peel off. It also helps level out the edges of the decal so it appears to be flush with the surface.
jam2727
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Victoria, Australia
Joined: June 28, 2007
KitMaker: 171 posts
AeroScale: 113 posts
Posted: Friday, July 27, 2007 - 02:54 PM UTC
Ok thanks mate.
Theres an item called pascoes long life down at my local hardware store so i might pop down and get it today or tomorow, supposedly a good variant of klear, but i also heard you have to be careful with the accrylics.
right now i am applting the rivots with a toothpick and tamiya semi gloss black to bring out some more life to the plane before the washes and the last weathering. in my opinon its a boaring plane so ive mate the darker panels really dark to what they normally were as well with the rivots.

Thanks any whay mate
jam2727
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Victoria, Australia
Joined: June 28, 2007
KitMaker: 171 posts
AeroScale: 113 posts
Posted: Friday, August 24, 2007 - 08:11 PM UTC
Hello everyone again.
Ive lost the plot with the washes and filter thing. For waterbased washes what ratio should i use to thin it out? and whats the ratio for oil paint? ive been practising a little bit and its ookay but i have forgotten what a filter is and i cant understand annyone who has explained it, someone please tell me what a filter is.

Thankyou
goldstandard
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California, United States
Joined: March 29, 2007
KitMaker: 208 posts
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Posted: Monday, August 27, 2007 - 04:46 PM UTC
There really aren't any hard and fast ratios for mixing washes. I just dab a small amount of paint into a dish and add thinner until it is the consistency I want. If you aren't sure it is the right amount, just dab a small amount onto the plane and see how it works. A lot of people talk about capillary action but in my experience I have to just carefully dab along the line with a fine brush. Just make sure when you use future to seal the paint from hot thinners that you work your way into the panel lines, because if you don't thinner can seep under your coat of future and eat the paint from underneath. This has happened to me more times than I would like to admit...

As for filters, I don't really know what they are either. Never used them in my work.
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