Washes?

J

Jack10

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Right I'm halfway through painting some figures and I'm totally confused when it comes to washes, highlighting and weathering etc. Where do I apply it? What wash should I use? Do you use it when the figure is finished? Here is the figure in question IMG_1543.JPG
 
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colin
Hi jack nice work on the camo .
Normally I would apply my washes after the figure is assembled and the paint work has been sealed with a couple of coats of gloss varnish.as for washes I normally paint my figures with acrylics so I use citadel's agrex earth shades for shadows and creases then I highlight with the original base colours lightened with a drop of white paint.
HTH
 
J

Jack10

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Hi jack nice work on the camo .
Normally I would apply my washes after the figure is assembled and the paint work has been sealed with a couple of coats of gloss varnish.as for washes I normally paint my figures with acrylics so I use citadel's agrex earth shades for shadows and creases then I highlight with the original base colours lightened with a drop of white paint.
HTH
Thanks for the help col. didn't realise I should gloss them, will this not make them really shiny? Do you buy ready made washes or is it better to make your own? Been watching some YouTube vids going to practice on some old figures first don't want to ruin these ones. Thanks again
 
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The gloss varnish heips the washes run into small folds and creases and once the first wash has dried you will need to reseal with gloss until until all your washes are applied then you seal everything with matt varnish to flatten it all back
As for washes I tend to make mine from oil paints thinned with low odour artist thinners I prefer these as you can tinker with them. The only wash I actually buy is citadels agraex earth shade which I thin with water for creating shadow on clothing and canvas items
 
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Jack10

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Going to pop to the hobby shop today and invest in some washes and some gloss and Matt varnish and give it a go. Will hopefully turn out ok, thanks for the advice
 
J

Jack10

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The gloss varnish heips the washes run into small folds and creases and once the first wash has dried you will need to reseal with gloss until until all your washes are applied then you seal everything with matt varnish to flatten it all back
As for washes I tend to make mine from oil paints thinned with low odour artist thinners I prefer these as you can tinker with them. The only wash I actually buy is citadels agraex earth shade which I thin with water for creating shadow on clothing and canvas items

I have been to the shop but there wasn't any citadel paints I wasn't really sure what I was looking for so I've probably bought the wrong things?IMG_1560.JPGIMG_1561.JPG
Will these be any good for my figures or not?
 
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Ideally the colours you need is a dark brown for shadows artists raw umber thinned with odourless thinners would be a good wash
 
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Jack10

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How do you apply the weathering powder? I've never used any of these before. And yeah I thought I'd bought the wrong thing but I couldn't find a dark brown/dark earth shade, they had sold out. I'll have to try elsewhere next week
 
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Hi jack normally I apply a coat of matt varnish to the finished figure then I use a old soft brush to apply a weathering powder or crushed artist pastel which is a similar colour to the uniform to give the figures clothing a dull finish and seal it with matt.
Then a dusting with a sand or dirt then a final coat of matt on top.
 
J

Jack10

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Hi jack normally I apply a coat of matt varnish to the finished figure then I use a old soft brush to apply a weathering powder or crushed artist pastel which is a similar colour to the uniform to give the figures clothing a dull finish and seal it with matt.
Then a dusting with a sand or dirt then a final coat of matt on top.


Cheers, I promise I won't drain you with any more questions now I'm just going to crack on and give them a go and see how they turn out. A lot of trial and error for me at the moment
 
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Cheers, I promise I won't drain you with any more questions now I'm just going to crack on and give them a go and see how they turn out. A lot of trial and error for me at the moment

Jack its no problem mate ask away. That's the good thing about the guys on this forum. Whenever I've asked about things I wasn't sure of someone has steered me in the right direction. So I'm just repaying their kindness by passing what I've learned to you
 

grumpa

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Jack, I use water based craft paints that can be purchased cheaper than dirt, no smelly thinners, just h2o. I put my figures together, fill and sand, brush paint a couple of base coats then then hit them with several coats of a blackish-brown wash of just water thinned craft paint......done
upload_2017-8-11_15-11-23.jpeg
 
C

Conan

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Hello people. I'm a beginner in this, so I still learn the basics. I wanted to ask if someone can help me. which wash you use for WW2 US infantry? Thnx.
 
J

Jack10

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Hello people. I'm a beginner in this, so I still learn the basics. I wanted to ask if someone can help me. which wash you use for WW2 US infantry? Thnx.
I tend to just use the same wash on all my figures (citadel earth shade) it gives the uniform a dirty worn look.
 
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Conan

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I tend to just use the same wash on all my figures (citadel earth shade) it gives the uniform a dirty worn look.

Can I use 'Winsor & Newton' oil paints and do you know how to apply them?
 

dave

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I often you oils as a wash, just mix with thinners, I use Windsor and Newton odourless thinners, to the consistency you want. I tend to mix in old beer bottle tops as a disposable container. So far my consumption has kept pace with use.

Having said that I am using oils I bought 25 years ago before I had a modelling hiatus. These days I have started using some of the Ammo enamel washes for convenience. If you are starting from scratch it may be cheaper to go with the commercial washes given the price of oil paints.
 

AlanG

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So just to confirm about the thinners. For oils i should use white spirit and not turps (subsitute) right? I'm about to use an oil wash for the first time on my Beaufighter and i want to get it right.
 
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