[Serpiko]

One of the things that I like about scale modeling is that experience constantly improves your skills: the more models you build and paint, the better you make them look.
Another one is that, in most cases, the results you get are related to the effort you put into it, so that a long and patient job is rewarded with greater satisfaction.

Of course, "pro" builders get their wonderful models not only by skill and patience, but also by using advanced tools and techniques, such as airbrushes, hand scribing, oil washings, aftermarket details, and so on.

This may discourage beginners, making them think they cannot make a nice model without a ton of dedicated equipment.

Well, that's NOT true!

This topic is intended to be a sort of "tutorial" for amateur model builders who'd like to add a little more detail to their creations, WITHOUT the need of the above-mentioned advanced tools.

Here, I'm showing how I paint and weather my models by using simple hand brushes, with the help of a few little "tricks" and inexpensive items; anybody wanting to share hints (or alternative methods) in this sense is welcome.

Anyway, no "scale modeling for dummies": let's assume that the reader is already able to assemble the pieces of an airplane kit into something that resembles an airplane, and to safely handle a brush without hurting him(her)self or nearby people.


Revell's 1/72 B-17G "Little Miss Mischief" (on the workbench at the time I'm typing) is an excellent example model, since it allows me to show the different steps required to paint either camouflaged (but worn out) surfaces or bare metal ones.




1) If you want bare aluminuim surfaces to show some differently shaded panels, you may consider "pre-shading". Choose the panels you want to highlight (also think about which ones are more likely to have been replaced, i.e. gun bays or maintenance doors) and paint them with either lighter or darker grey than the surrounding plastic. You can use black and white at your own risk, since they may later cause an excessive difference.



2) Then, You can paint the base color layer on both metal and camouflaged surfaces. Choosing among "silver", "aluminium" or "steel" for metal surfaces is up to you, but I suggest using a light tint, since later steps will already add darker shades. Depending on the thickness of the paint, you may need one or more layers to get the job done; just be careful not to exceed, or you may vanify the pre-shading job and, even worse, partially delete the engraved details.

Now, a disadvantage in painting with hand brushes is that large surfaces will more or less show the "trails" left by brush strokes. There's no way to fully neutralize this issue, but you can effectively "hide" it (or even use it to your advantage) with a simple trick: while painting, apply brush strokes according to the direction of the airflow on the real plane in flight. If you plan to apply multiple layers, you can try painting them with crossed stroke patterns, but the final layer should follow this rule for better results.



3) You may want your model to show some scratches and paint chipping. Somebody achieves this by actually scraping off bits of paint, but I prefer to simply draw the scratched areas with silver/aluminium paint. In this case, instead of using a brush, you can apply the paint with a toothpick for greater accuracy. When doing the job, consider the areas that are logically more subject to wear out; i.e. leading edges, boarding steps, panel joints, bay doors and refuelling/rearming hatches. Obviously, there's no point in doing this on surfaces that are supposed to be bare metal.



4) If you're not satisfied with how the shading of bare metal areas turned out, don't worry! Here's another way to darken some panels: use a cutter to scrape off the tip of a pencil (a light one, I used a 2H) so that you get some powder from it; then mask out the desired panels with tape and brush the powder on them as long as you are happy with the "darkening" effect. IMPORTANT: use a DRY brush, because if the powder gets wet, it will draw neat stripes instead of shading. Anyway, don't be afraid to mess up, since any excess or undesired mark can be easily removed with moist paper.



5) Here you can see how the aluminium surface may look like at this stage (the actual look depends on the lighting and it's not easy to fully catch it in a picture).



6) It's now time to highlight panel lines. With a soft-point eyeliner pencil (you may also try an oil pastel) "fill" the engraved lines and details, then remove the excess with soft dry paper. It is important to fully remove all the remaining "grease", so a second wiping is recommended; unfortunately I'm not sure how to traslate into English the product I use, it's something like "cleaning rubber" (third stage in the pic) and it's perfect for the job. (in this pic, a test piece was used)



7) Now, in order to add some shading to panel lines, you can use the same "dry brushing" technique as with metal panels. But this time, let's scratch the powder from a charcoal pencil instead: it is darker and more suitable to "dirt up" surfaces. Use a thin point brush and apply the powder along panel lines at will. Again, don't be afraid to overdo: not only are "dirty" lines easy to clean out by dry or wet wiping, they're also going to attenuate as you manipulate the model (until the final coat will "seal" them down).

Don't focus too much on the single line/panel: what matters is the overall look. While doing the job, take a break from time to time and look at the whole thing from a slightly greater distance. This way, you can judge if the shading is being evenly applied or not.



8 ) Again, the picture may not render the actual look, but you should be able to notice the difference between the shaded wing and the yet-to-shade one. Is this subtle difference worth the extra work? Try and judge!

The charcoal brushing technique will prove to be useful again, when it's time to draw smoke and exhausts stains. But we'll see that later.

So much for now. Next step will be post-decals weathering, exhaust stains (for which the charcoal brushing technique will prove to be useful again), "sealing" coat and final bits... but only when I've finished that on my model!