Takom King Tiger w. Henschel Tur. 505 zimmerit & interior 1/35

[Jens Andrée]

Still not decided if painting or sleeping - but here's another video that explains the difference between working with mig and other paints.

With a bit of luck others can learn from my mistake.
Mistakes is still by far the best method to learn something - but it can be a really annoying method for learning...

Now it's time to hug the pillow!

 

[Jens Andrée]

Got some sleep and some more thinking and I've now - by the book - attempted to use mig paint like it's supposed to be used. No thinner, just low air pressure and several thin, almost misted, layers until coverage was achieved. Drying each layer with the air from the airbrush as per instruction.

It sort of worked-ish. Primer still clogs the airbrush so that's about to go into the bin. Some paints worked better than others but I only tried four of them.
Giving up feels wrong so I will carefully continue to use these mig paints for my King Tiger - but I really doubt I'll ever use them again when you compare this ordeal with my Tamiya + thinner solution that works flawlessly and takes very little time and effort to clean. Cleaning the airbrush after each colour takes minutes. That's not feasible since I wan't to use more than one colour during the same session.

If you have experience with these mig paints and can assist in any way, shape or form, I'd appreciate if you could write a couple of lines here!

I can salvage the fan cover of the engine so nothing's lost, and the build can continue, but I'm priming with Tamiya paint - that's for sure!

p.s. My conclusion so far is that AMMO of mig is a vinyl acrylic paint, hence its inability to mix with everything I've thrown at it - water included.

 

[Airfix Modeller Freak]

Firstly, my suggestion is this.
If you have an H and S Ultra, It does not have cellulose resistant o rings. Do not use extensive cellulose thinner, otherwise it will decrease the life of your airbrush.
If you want the detail back, strip the paint back with this-
http://ak-interactive.com/v2/product-category/ak-weathering-products/ak-paint-stripper/

I personally use Gunze Mr Hobby Aqueous and MR Color lacquer paints, their color matching is known to be the best in the hobby and their spraying properties are brilliant. MIG is owned/backed by Vallejo, so that might give you a clue as to why your complications has happened. Also, do not mix this with any other type of paint. MIG AMMO paints are very individualised and do not spray well with other paints. In other words, if using Tamiya paints as well, clean out your airbrush VERY well as the paint remnants can react.
Also, what primer are you using? Mr Hobby 1000 and 1500 is very very good. Lacquer primers are extremely good.
Cheers, John

 

[Jens Andrée]

Firstly, my suggestion is this.
If you have an H and S Ultra, It does not have cellulose resistant o rings. Do not use extensive cellulose thinner, otherwise it will decrease the life of your airbrush.
If you want the detail back, strip the paint back with this-
http://ak-interactive.com/v2/product-category/ak-weathering-products/ak-paint-stripper/

I personally use Gunze Mr Hobby Aqueous and MR Color lacquer paints, their color matching is known to be the best in the hobby and their spraying properties are brilliant. MIG is owned/backed by Vallejo, so that might give you a clue as to why your complications has happened. Also, do not mix this with any other type of paint. MIG AMMO paints are very individualised and do not spray well with other paints. In other words, if using Tamiya paints as well, clean out your airbrush VERY well as the paint remnants can react.
Also, what primer are you using? Mr Hobby 1000 and 1500 is very very good. Lacquer primers are extremely good.
Cheers, John

Hi John and a big thank you for your reply!

The incompatibility of AMMO by Mig and other thinners/paints/whatever was learned the hard way last night, but since I've read up on the subject and now know why, where and when I fudged it up. Won't happen again and I've gained some experience
I sat for quite a while earlier today and just practised with AMMO paint on a couple of PET bottles and I've now got a working process that gives me an acceptable finish. Not as good as I get with Tamiya + cellulose thinner, but acceptable. I had planned to do some detailed brushwork on the model too but currently I don't know how to go about doing that so more practise is required. This because you must apply AMMO paint in very thin layers, otherwise it'll split/separate and look horrible.

I will finish this project with the AMMO paint I've bought, but I doubt I'll use them again. To get some self-confidence back after yesterdays fiasco I painted a Tiger I tonight with Tamiya paints and it was the best paint job I've done so far! All the careful practising to make the AMMO paint work had a positive effect on my over-all skills in the paint department!

Regarding the o-rings that I didn't know. Huge thanks!!!
I shall replace them with others that work with cellulose thinner, but in the long run I'm going to stop using that as thinner and instead try isopropanol.
I suspect iso can/will eat o-rings as well so I might have to replace them regardless?
The fantastic quality and fast drying is worth the hassle so far I think.

Learn by doing is a fantastic way to learn new skills, but I'd prefer if it'd happened on a practise kit and not this one...

Anyhow, I've got a technique that works now with AMMO paint, and I've just placed an order for their own thinner because without it the paint dries in the nozzle quickly and then you're in for a 10 minute cleaning session of the airbrush.

For primer I decided to try AMMOs One Shot primer for this build but I have to admit that that bottle is currently resting on the bottom of the dustbin right now!
Normally I'm using normal Tamiya black + 25% thinner and it works fantastically well! I only wish I could get hold of bigger bottles than the usual 10 ml Tamiya jars from my supplier... They are not easy to pour from.

Tonight I'm going to try to get some sleep instead of fudging paints, but tomorrow I'm going at it again!

Cheers and thanks a bunch for the help!!!

 

[Airfix Modeller Freak]

Hi John and a big thank you for your reply!

The incompatibility of AMMO by Mig and other thinners/paints/whatever was learned the hard way last night, but since I've read up on the subject and now know why, where and when I fudged it up. Won't happen again and I've gained some experience
I sat for quite a while earlier today and just practised with AMMO paint on a couple of PET bottles and I've now got a working process that gives me an acceptable finish. Not as good as I get with Tamiya + cellulose thinner, but acceptable. I had planned to do some detailed brushwork on the model too but currently I don't know how to go about doing that so more practise is required. This because you must apply AMMO paint in very thin layers, otherwise it'll split/separate and look horrible.

I will finish this project with the AMMO paint I've bought, but I doubt I'll use them again. To get some self-confidence back after yesterdays fiasco I painted a Tiger I tonight with Tamiya paints and it was the best paint job I've done so far! All the careful practising to make the AMMO paint work had a positive effect on my over-all skills in the paint department!

Regarding the o-rings that I didn't know. Huge thanks!!!
I shall replace them with others that work with cellulose thinner, but in the long run I'm going to stop using that as thinner and instead try isopropanol.
I suspect iso can/will eat o-rings as well so I might have to replace them regardless?
The fantastic quality and fast drying is worth the hassle so far I think.

Learn by doing is a fantastic way to learn new skills, but I'd prefer if it'd happened on a practise kit and not this one...

Anyhow, I've got a technique that works now with AMMO paint, and I've just placed an order for their own thinner because without it the paint dries in the nozzle quickly and then you're in for a 10 minute cleaning session of the airbrush.

For primer I decided to try AMMOs One Shot primer for this build but I have to admit that that bottle is currently resting on the bottom of the dustbin right now!
Normally I'm using normal Tamiya black + 25% thinner and it works fantastically well! I only wish I could get hold of bigger bottles than the usual 10 ml Tamiya jars from my supplier... They are not easy to pour from.

Tonight I'm going to try to get some sleep instead of fudging paints, but tomorrow I'm going at it again!

Cheers and thanks a bunch for the help!!!

No problems at all.
iso does not eat the o rings mate- The Gunze Acqueous thinner is the stuff to use for me. It is based on iso. It also thins tamiya acrylic paints as well. But yeah, I am of the opinion that as good as the AMMO paints are, they are just not compatible enough with other paints in the hobby. Hopefully they will fix their formula up to be more user friendly in the future.
Maybe in the future, when you replace the ultra, (which you probably will, by the rate you are enjoying the hobby) look into Iwata's range, or the H and S evolution and infinity. All of Iwata's Japanese made range is resistant to cellulose thinner. I use the Iwata HP CH HI Line and it is a brilliant tool which fulfills all of my modelling needs
Cheers, John

 

[Jens Andrée]

No problems at all.
iso does not eat the o rings mate- The Gunze Acqueous thinner is the stuff to use for me. It is based on iso. It also thins tamiya acrylic paints as well. But yeah, I am of the opinion that as good as the AMMO paints are, they are just not compatible enough with other paints in the hobby. Hopefully they will fix their formula up to be more user friendly in the future.
Maybe in the future, when you replace the ultra, (which you probably will, by the rate you are enjoying the hobby) look into Iwata's range, or the H and S evolution and infinity. All of Iwata's Japanese made range is resistant to cellulose thinner. I use the Iwata HP CH HI Line and it is a brilliant tool which fulfills all of my modelling needs
Cheers, John

Isopropanol is for some reason not easily available up here in Sweden. Why I don't know? I buy mine in aerosol cans right now for cleaning flux on circuit boards - but it's rather expensive...
There are so many chemicals that have been banned the last 10-15 years or so for no apparent reason. Try buying acids for deep etching metals, or just bog standard garden fertiliser and they just look funny at you... sigh. I can understand to a certain extent that peroxides, acids etc have to be regulated - but hobby sized bottles makes no bombs imho.
I'll do as I normally do and resort to uncle eBay for things hard to find

I've still got an awful lot to learn about airbrushing but I've discovered that if you don't rush it and plan ahead, then the Ultra works ok. It's a bit crude and basic but easy to use. Very small bowl for paint though.
A better compressor would probably be the first thing to upgrade since I'm using the cheapest of cheap entry level plastic membrane ones right now. It was supplied by H & S so it must've passed some verification, but it certainly lacks in the airflow department! (It's however working really well with my thinned Tamiya paints)
I thought about bringing in my proper compressor (with two tanks) from the workshop in the barn, but it's just too damn noisy and would require a 2:nd stage reducer or something to ensure you don't accidentally blow a hole in your precious scale model when painting! :D

This'll have to work for now - but I do see an upgrade in the not to far distance, and having two airbrushes will be very handy too, especially when using paint of different properties, and/or the need for different nozzle sizes?! Compressor I should be able to find a better one 2:nd hand with a bit of luck.

The Iwata line seems very nice! I can really see how accurate adjustment is a nice feature to have instead of constantly relying on a finger, that can - and will - slip sometimes.
I'm old enough to know that cheap tools are almost always more expensive in the long run, unless you only need it once.

Thinking back to the horrible glues and paints we had 30+ years ago compared to what I've got here right next to me now is exciting, and the sole reason why I'm so happy to have found this hobby again! Now I can finally realise what I couldn't do back in the days, and having access to such detailed scale models! I was going to build a car, or perhaps a boat, when I was finished with the big house I bought to restore - but an accident put a stop to that. House will have to be finished somehow anyway, but scale models have filled a big creative gap and so far it's the best form of therapy I've come across!

The biggest lesson learned from this unfortunate event is to don't assume two similar things are the same, and to thoroughly test the thing before using it for real.
I've just seen people painting plastic spoons to test their paint and it's not a bad idea actually. I'm using spare parts to practise, but plastic spoons can be bought in big bags for cheap.

Many thanks for you valuable help and input!!!

Cheers

 

[Jens Andrée]

After the fudge with my (lack of) paint skills I realised I needed to practise a lot more on all the other steps than the assembly itself to not write another chapter in the King Tiger fudge book, so last night practising painting on the sibling, and one of the trainer tanks, the Tiger I, I gave it a clear coat earlier today and half an hour ago I placed the first decals on a model in over 30 years!

I've bought both Vallejo matt varnish and a spray can of the same stuff. Same as in name, not contents...?
Anyhow, it sprayed well but damn it was way too glossy so now I know I won't use that again on my models. I did sort of expect this result but that's why I'm building all the trainer tanks too

The decals went much better than expected! I put one at a time in the water so it took some time, but who's in a rush...
I've seen people use decal softener so I bought some with my first tanks but it's just been sitting their until now. Sadly I wasn't too impressed by it. It didn't work anything like the Tamiya decal product I've seen on YouTube. The place I'm buying all my models and supplies from didn't have Tamiya decal stuff, but he had Vallejo Decal Medium - supposedly a softener. I applied it both before and after the decal had been placed in the correct spot, and during drying I've been applying the same decal medium another two times, but perfect it ain't.
Should I try to get hold of the Tamiya stuff elsewhere or shall I continue to experiment until it works? I've used a soft, flat, brush to apply the decal medium in order to "stretch" it outwards but no joy.
It only shows if you're right up against the decal so I'm not too worried at this stage, but the King Tiger has zimmerit all over and will require a stronger decal softener I think? More experiments to follow apparently.

The paint fudge has forced me to take a short break with the King Tiger and to focus on the other earlier ones, and that was a good idea because now I'm painting like never before and I'm getting more and more confident.

The Tamiya German Gray XF-63 is much darker than expected, and I even sprayed all flat surfaces with white highlights prior, but it is what it is. It looked better before varnish so tomorrow I'm going to give it another coat of varnish, but this time the Vallejo matt stuff and hope the reflections will stop and thus hopefully make it look better?
This tank was built to test how it was going to be painting when everything was assembled (apart from tools) instead of everything loose and separate painting.
I think I prefer painting cables, road wheels etc separate but unless you try you won't know!

This means I get to play with some weathering tomorrow as well! Exciting but also scary because this is certainly an area where I'm totally green.

I also want to mention paintbrushes. I first bought a set of Humbrol Palpo brush pack but they felt "cheap" when trying to paint details on figures etc. Last order I bough one other paintbrush, a Rotmarder-Kolinsky "Springer-Pinsel" and what a difference! It's pointed and sharp and feels great to use. Perhaps you get what you pay for...

T(h)anks for all you kind comments!!!

 

[grumpa]

Great work so far Jens, am watching..............Jim

 

[Jens Andrée]

You shouldn't put decals on clear coat and then use decal fix/softener I presume?
The Vallejo decal softener I used yesterday wasn't exactly friendly to my clear coat and I realised soon thereafter that I should've perhaps put the decals on before coating the thing...
Another lesson learned I guess

This could become a great thread for future beginners on what not to do! :D

Back to practising my AMMO painting technique. Non-toxic and environmentally friendly perhaps, but user friendly it ain't...

Quick question before I end this off-topic post: I painted my trainer Tiger I with Tamiya German Grey XF-63 and it's too dark imho. Almost black in direct sunlight.
Is the colour accurate and my perception of "German Grey" is wrong, or should I mix in some white before using it on a grey tank next time?
All the reference photos I have are black & white and heavily weathered.

 

[Airfix Modeller Freak]

You shouldn't put decals on clear coat and then use decal fix/softener I presume?
The Vallejo decal softener I used yesterday wasn't exactly friendly to my clear coat and I realised soon thereafter that I should've perhaps put the decals on before coating the thing...
Another lesson learned I guess

This could become a great thread for future beginners on what not to do! :D

Back to practising my AMMO painting technique. Non-toxic and environmentally friendly perhaps, but user friendly it ain't...

Quick question before I end this off-topic post: I painted my trainer Tiger I with Tamiya German Grey XF-63 and it's too dark imho. Almost black in direct sunlight.
Is the colour accurate and my perception of "German Grey" is wrong, or should I mix in some white before using it on a grey tank next time?
All the reference photos I have are black & white and heavily weathered.

perhaps try the Aircraft color RLM 66. That was called German Cockpit black-grey

 

[Jens Andrée]

perhaps try the Aircraft color RLM 66. That was called German Cockpit black-grey

Will check that colour! Thanks!

 

[col68]

Jens you have done it right I usually apply 2 coats of gloss clear coat allowing plenty of curing time 24 hours minimum. Before adding decals then I'll apply a further two coats of gloss.
I have used Vallejo decal fix before without any problem's. Although I know of a few people who have had issues with it but IMHO I think they hadn't allowed the gloss coat to dry fully
HTH.

 

[Jens Andrée]

Still in practise mode and painting is perhaps even more therapeutic than the building phase!
Also my new paintbrush has improved my accuracy, and given me a huge confidence booster.
The first figure I painted a couple of weeks ago looked really ugly and I was totally lost on the face and it didn't matter what I did because every attempt looked like a dogs breakfast...

Here is my second figure ever and although it's nowhere close to something you'd put on/in a model for display - I'm still proud of it and it's a huge improvement I think!
It's a bit shiny due to the brown panel line accent colour I used, but a spray of dullcoat as the last step might fix that issue?
There's a lot of room for improvement on the face and the uniform needs some highlights, but it's a step in the right direction.

Paint retarder could also be useful when doing figures because the paint dries too quickly and it's easy to make it look like a skin disease rather than some subtle highlights when the paint starts to solidify whilst brushing...

My "close to black" trainer Tiger I is what it is. It's too late to change the colour at this stage so I'm going to try to add some "light" with subtle weathering. Try is the keyword.

It's the first model I've painted in more than 30 years so it's also what it is, but I think I managed to do a half descent basic paint job?
Again the panel line has caused an unwanted effect, but this time it's because it reacted with my rattle can of primer. I tried to fix it with a filter wash but no joy.
Weathering to the rescue I hope...

...and talking about weathering. Chipping on my "close to black" model is going to be hard to do with a darker colour so I was thinking about using something like the red-brown German primer as a chipping medium, but I'm going to try it on a piece of scrap first to see how it works. The rest will either be weathered with "dust" or some form of dirt. The tank is meant to be new-ish so there's not going to be any battle scars etc, but I also don't want to use it as yet another total trainer and completely cover it in layers of weathering and hide it in a drawer for the rest of my life...
I've still got my "long-nosed" Panther to go mad on so there's plenty of room to get practise on before I start painting my King Tiger for real!

Tomorrow I will start painting the lower hull and interior so I can continue building. Exciting!!!

Cheers!

 

[Jens Andrée]

Jens you have done it right I usually apply 2 coats of gloss clear coat allowing plenty of curing time 24 hours minimum. Before adding decals then I'll apply a further two coats of gloss.
I have used Vallejo decal fix before without any problem's. Although I know of a few people who have had issues with it but IMHO I think they hadn't allowed the gloss coat to dry fully
HTH.

Thanks for that info Colin!
I've not yet tried my Vallejo matt varnish and the one that was playing up was from a rattle can type varnish. It makes sense that Vallejos decal medium should work with their varnish.
I'm still stuck in lacquer-mode and solvents and haven't yet realised that the rest of the world has transitioned to water based paints and products, and the two aren't really working together...
It's like the big house/estate I'm restoring and I only used period (1870-1880) material to do it - paint included! It's been hard to source paint because solvent based oil paints were banned altogether in Sweden, but I don't want to mix the two because modern paints doesn't look right next to 100 year old paint. There's a reason why some things are still holding up after more than 130 years and it's spelled quality.
Automotive and hobby paints are a different breed I think and I just have to accept that solvent based stuff isn't the best any longer. Acrylics are here to win so I have to align my brain to that tune

I'm just happy I do the mistakes on my trainer models rather than my King Tiger. Not that it's that much more expensive but because I'm putting a lot of hours into it and I have a wish/hope that it'll come out as something I'd really love to have on a display at home!

Yet again, thanks so much for all the input!

 

[col68]

Another tip Jens to get rid of the sheen on the tanker is to use fine pigments either ground art pastels or branded weathering powders applied over dry dullcoat then sealed with a 2nd coat.
I must say for a modeller who is just getting back into the hobby your doing very well.

 

[Jens Andrée]

Another tip Jens to get rid of the sheen on the tanker is to use fine pigments either ground art pastels or branded weathering powders applied over dry dullcoat then sealed with a 2nd coat.
I must say for a modeller who is just getting back into the hobby your doing very well.

Thank you!
I can't really call myself a "modeller" yet because back in the days I never produced anything that was even bearable - but I had high hopes that I could never realise. Now all these years later I'm making a new attempt and it's going much better this time. With time I hope to become a modeller who can be proud of what I can cobble together, and It's until then I'm about to make many mistakes - but this thread is about my King Tiger and I'd be heartbroken if I fudge it... It's going to take quite a few weeks to reach the end and I have more than a few practice tanks to (hopefully) work out the issues with prior to the King Tiger. That's the plan anyway but I've already made a huge error thinking "acrylics" were all the same and loaded my airbrush with AMMO by Mig and sprayed it like Tamiya paint...
I was able to salvage it but it's the reason why I'm asking so many general questions right now, and showing examples of non King Tiger, so I don't make another major mistake like that again!

The plan was to use wash + pigments to give it a dusty/dirty appearance, but I hadn't planned to dullcoat it afterwards so that's the new plan then!

Big thanks for your help!!!

 

[col68]

Been there and done that mate. When I first swapped to acrylics I made the mistake of mixing Vallejo model air and Tamiya together it took me ages to clean the resulting gloop from my airbrush.
Mr muscle multi surface window cleaner removes dried acrylics if you want to strip a model so you can keep practicing on the same kits

 

[Jens Andrée]

Still in practise-mode and tonight I did the first weathering in my life, and more specifically - chipping.
I looked at a couple of videos on YouTube to get some inspiration but to say that I knew what I was doing when I started is a big lie...

Since my trainer Tiger I is painted in German Grey chipping wasn't as easy with regards to chipping colour, but I decided to use with German Grey lightened with white, and then to put some red-ish colour inside the largest chips afterwards. Like it had gone through all the paint layers on the big scratches and chips.
The chipping colours works pretty well I think and I've come to like German Grey. I've spent quite a lot of time researching my previous question whether the real German Grey was lighter, but it wasn't.

The first bits I did looked nothing like chipping and my confidence, which was already rather low, now went straight to rock bottom. But since this is a trainer I pushed on and after a while some of it started to look like real chipping!

I sadly did more than I'd plan to and it looks a bit "overdone" if you ask me, but it looks worn now for sure.
First I didn't want to show any pictures here since it looked so bad, but a learner I am and I will make many mistakes before I learn so what the h...

(Don't mind the wheels. I was testing colours on them and they will be repainted anyway.)

I tried some parallel scratches on the rear of the turret to simulate scratches accumulated when rotating. Not great but with a bit of practise it might work?

Prior to chipping I used Vallejo dullcoat for the very first time and it worked well in my airbrush, with Vallejo thinner.
After the chipping had dried I gave it another dullcoat to prepare it for streaking grime etc.

Sadly this is where things went bad.

I'm still using my cellulose thinner for cleaning my brushes and airbrush, and I'm also using it to thin my Tamiya paints and as a general "thinner".
The instructions said to use thinner on the surface before applying the streaking effects - but the damn cellulose thinner ate through the Vallejo varnish

I have sourced a supplier of cheap-ish 99.5% isopropanol in Sweden so within shortly I will replace my cellulose thinner.

I might've salvaged it by using a soft brush before packing up for the night, but happy I'm not. I'll have to see the results tomorrow.
I've started a spreadsheet in Excel with a compatible-table where I mix various products with all my different thinners and see how it reacts, and write it down.
I don't want any more unwanted fudge when I continue with my King Tiger if I can help it.

I will take a picture tomorrow when it's dried and I hope it's not too ugly...?

Weathering looks really easy when you watch someone skilled doing it, but in reality it's damn hard because you have to know what to do when, and importantly know when to stop!
You also need to know how to undo something. And knowledge about mixing products. And to NOT use pigments whilst modelling in bed...

The trainer Tiger I is scheduled to receive both some buff and dust, and there will be some light (hopefully) mud/dirt effect on the road wheels and tracks so some of the mistakes might be fixable, but apart from that it's going to have to be what it is. It's the first tank I've ever weathered so it wasn't going to turn out great anyway, but one can always hope.

Luckily my mistakes only affect my confidence and not my happiness for the hobby, and confidence is fixed by practise until it works!
Also I hope by sharing my embarrassing failures I might help a future learner.

Cheers!

 

[Airfix Modeller Freak]

Since I am an aircraft modeller, I can't really offer any advice on armor weathering, but based on what I have seen, look into AK interactive and AMMO MIG's weathering range. If anything, you will find that their weathering stuff are very very good. They should not give you the sae amount of problems their paint has. Perhaps a good starting point is using mud and rust pigments from AK Interactive, oil brushers from MIG and some enamel washes for fuel stains. I primarily use AK interactive as they are more geared towards aircraft in my opinion, but they produce some really good stuff for armour as well.
A good starting point would be this-AK-087 AK Interactive and ak 711
Cheers, John

 

[Jens Andrée]

Since I am an aircraft modeller, I can't really offer any advice on armor weathering, but based on what I have seen, look into AK interactive and AMMO MIG's weathering range. If anything, you will find that their weathering stuff are very very good. They should not give you the sae amount of problems their paint has. Perhaps a good starting point is using mud and rust pigments from AK Interactive, oil brushers from MIG and some enamel washes for fuel stains. I primarily use AK interactive as they are more geared towards aircraft in my opinion, but they produce some really good stuff for armour as well.
A good starting point would be this-AK-087 AK Interactive and ak 711
Cheers, John

My main problem, I think, is me rather than my selection of paints and weathering effects...
I've got a descent selection of weathering products from both AMMO and Vallejo, but that's not the same as knowing when to use what, and where?!

I'm starting to get the hang of how to use pigments (which you can clearly see on my sheets now as well since last night... :p ) but I badly lack skills on how to apply the other products - and which products that are compatible with each other when wet, hence why I'm trying to make an excel sheet to check this.
My thinner eating through the dullcoat yesterday was unexpected and unnecessary.
Practise makes perfect they say and I'm just going to have to prime some plastic jars and boxes so I can practise until it looks right.

Heavy weathering is something I can attempt when I know what I'm doing, but until then I will try to focus on what I think is realistic weathering.

Cheers and many thanks for your tips John!!!