Steve is right, you can shade with a brush.
Here is the basic method....
Remember to use lots of coats, it won't work with just a couple.
The paint has to be very well thinned..around ten to one
After priming, and using a 3 or 4mm flat head brush, paint the model in the base coat, but make it a slightly lighter shade.
When dry, paint the model, using the same brush as above, with a thinned coat of the correct base colour, where you consider there is less wear to the surfaces.(Such as fuselage sides) Slowly build up the painting at this stage until the right effect is achieved and the first coat is nicely showing through where required. Thus you get the subtle change in panel shading......
Finally, with a very fine, pointed brush (I use one called a 'rigger') carefully paint the panel lines ect. with a coat of well thinned base coat, slightly darker than the correct colour. An alternative to this is to use a sharp 2H pencil and scribe the panel lines.
It might be a bit slower than using an
airbrush, but a brush can produce equally satisfying results.
Patrick is right, we need to know what you are making, where it is and what time of year. As he points out, these factors will have a bearing on the type of weathering. Then we can, hopefully, offer further advise.
Finally, don't rush into buying an
airbrush.
With a bit of practice a brush can produce as good a job, and can do things that could well be impossible for an
airbrush.
Cheers,
Ron
