NickInTheValley
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Since I’m returning to the hobby and new to airbrushing, all of it. What to paint and when. Shading. When to seal layers. Etc.
Tamiya M4A3E8 - Korean War
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SteveT
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That's exactly my problem too.
I'm looking forward to seeing this tank come together, great work so far.
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Then start simple: just spray this tank olive drab, aiming for an even coverage. Don’t bother with things like pre-shading, post-shading, in-the-middle-shading or whatever yet, but instead focus on getting a feel for the airbrush, how it works and how it responds when you do things like pull back the trigger some more or a bit less, or vary the air pressure.
Shading and highlighting also doesn’t need to be complicated: take a colour of paint that’s darker than what’s on your model (for an olive drab tank, a dark brown works well), take some of it onto a palette and thin it so it flows like water to create a wash, and brush that all over the model. If it covers too well, brush more water over it before it dries. You’ll probably have to mix up some more of the wash every now and then, as it’ll be easier to make just a little bit at a time than enough for the whole model in one go.
Then let the wash dry, but take care that you wick away drops that form, tide lines (where a whole line of the wash descends down the side of the model), etc. before they can dry. If you don’t, they will remain visible forever (unless you touch them up, of course).
Once dry, take a paint that’s lighter than the base colour, dip a fairly large brush into it, wipe most of the paint off on a rag or a piece of tissue, and drybrush the model. The paint will stick on the higher parts, highlighting the model. Do note that not all paints are very suitable for drybrushing — Tamiya acrylics are fairly difficult to do this with, especially once the paint in a given bottle starts getting older. Things like Vallejo Model Colour, Revell Aqua Color, or any enamel paint, though, usually drybrush quite well.
As for varnishing, I don’t usually at all. A good example of why is actually the Churchill tank that SteveT just finished:
I dread this sort of thing happening every time I spray varnish onto a model, and though some people swear by it, I most certainly don’t
Generally speaking, I only see a need to varnish wargames models, not ones that won’t be handled. The main exception is if I need the finish to change, such as if the model is currently matt but needs to be glossy. And even then I don’t like it due to the risk of something like this happening, as well as for the way the model will become darker when you varnish it.
Shading and highlighting also doesn’t need to be complicated: take a colour of paint that’s darker than what’s on your model (for an olive drab tank, a dark brown works well), take some of it onto a palette and thin it so it flows like water to create a wash, and brush that all over the model. If it covers too well, brush more water over it before it dries. You’ll probably have to mix up some more of the wash every now and then, as it’ll be easier to make just a little bit at a time than enough for the whole model in one go.
Then let the wash dry, but take care that you wick away drops that form, tide lines (where a whole line of the wash descends down the side of the model), etc. before they can dry. If you don’t, they will remain visible forever (unless you touch them up, of course).
Once dry, take a paint that’s lighter than the base colour, dip a fairly large brush into it, wipe most of the paint off on a rag or a piece of tissue, and drybrush the model. The paint will stick on the higher parts, highlighting the model. Do note that not all paints are very suitable for drybrushing — Tamiya acrylics are fairly difficult to do this with, especially once the paint in a given bottle starts getting older. Things like Vallejo Model Colour, Revell Aqua Color, or any enamel paint, though, usually drybrush quite well.
As for varnishing, I don’t usually at all. A good example of why is actually the Churchill tank that SteveT just finished:
I dread this sort of thing happening every time I spray varnish onto a model, and though some people swear by it, I most certainly don’t
Generally speaking, I only see a need to varnish wargames models, not ones that won’t be handled. The main exception is if I need the finish to change, such as if the model is currently matt but needs to be glossy. And even then I don’t like it due to the risk of something like this happening, as well as for the way the model will become darker when you varnish it.
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NickInTheValley
SMF Supporter
Thanks! That’s helpful on many fronts. My inner perfectionist needs to hear it’s ok to not be perfect.
Question on priming. Do you use a spray can primer or an airbrushed primer? I feel like the airbrushed primer would allow for better coverage without overspray.
Question on priming. Do you use a spray can primer or an airbrushed primer? I feel like the airbrushed primer would allow for better coverage without overspray.
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It’s most certainly OK to not be perfect The only person you have to please when building models is yourself,¹ but be realistic — if you set your standards too high, you’re probably not going to be pleased with the end result, and then your enjoyment of the hobby will eventually end up down the drain. In retrospect, everybody’s first model looked crap compared to what they built later on, but that’s only to be expected if you’re realistic about it.
BTW, something I see I forgot to mention in my previous post, despite intending to when I was writing it: a very good place to try out washes, drybrushing, and many other things, is the underside of the model. Spray that along with the top, and when you’ve made up a wash, paint a bit of it on the underside, preferably in a place where there’s raised detail. Just a small area will do, so you can judge if the wash is thin enough (or too thin), if the colour looks right, etc. Same with drybrushing for highlights, if you do this on some raised detail on the underside first, you’ll be able to tell if the colour is right or not.
Also, with both washes and drybrushing, it’s better to start off with too little than with too much. A wash that’s too strong is much harder to correct than one that’s not strong enough — for the latter, just apply another once the first one has dried, for example. Same with drybrushing: if you do it too strongly it’s hard to take it back, while if it’s too lightly done (as in: not very strong, rather than too light in colour), you can always go over it again to build up the effect.
As for priming, I don’t normally do that either, at least not on plastic models I prefer spraying the base colour with Tamiya or Mr. Hobby Aqueous paints, neither of which needs a primer coat underneath to adhere well to plastic parts. I do, however, prime metal and resin parts first, and generally do that with a spraying can. I also use a primer coat first when the base colour will be a water-based acrylic, such as Vallejo, Ammo, etc. because those usually don’t stick well to bare plastic. On the other hand, Revell and Italeri water-based acrylics do seem to adhere fine. As with so many things in modelling, though, it’s really a matter of experience and personal preference.
¹ Unless you intend to enter the model in a competition, of course.
The only person you have to please when building models is yourself,¹ but be realistic — if you set your standards too high, you’re probably not going to be pleased with the end result, and then your enjoyment of the hobby will eventually end up down the drain. In retrospect, everybody’s first model looked crap compared to what they built later on, but that’s only to be expected if you’re realistic about it.BTW, something I see I forgot to mention in my previous post, despite intending to when I was writing it: a very good place to try out washes, drybrushing, and many other things, is the underside of the model. Spray that along with the top, and when you’ve made up a wash, paint a bit of it on the underside, preferably in a place where there’s raised detail. Just a small area will do, so you can judge if the wash is thin enough (or too thin), if the colour looks right, etc. Same with drybrushing for highlights, if you do this on some raised detail on the underside first, you’ll be able to tell if the colour is right or not.
Also, with both washes and drybrushing, it’s better to start off with too little than with too much. A wash that’s too strong is much harder to correct than one that’s not strong enough — for the latter, just apply another once the first one has dried, for example. Same with drybrushing: if you do it too strongly it’s hard to take it back, while if it’s too lightly done (as in: not very strong, rather than too light in colour), you can always go over it again to build up the effect.
As for priming, I don’t normally do that either, at least not on plastic models
I prefer spraying the base colour with Tamiya or Mr. Hobby Aqueous paints, neither of which needs a primer coat underneath to adhere well to plastic parts. I do, however, prime metal and resin parts first, and generally do that with a spraying can. I also use a primer coat first when the base colour will be a water-based acrylic, such as Vallejo, Ammo, etc. because those usually don’t stick well to bare plastic. On the other hand, Revell and Italeri water-based acrylics do seem to adhere fine. As with so many things in modelling, though, it’s really a matter of experience and personal preference.¹ Unless you intend to enter the model in a competition, of course.
NickInTheValley
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A lot of people find them hard to brush-paint with, but I can do that well enough. I do find them hard to drybrush with, but I can’t put my finger on why that is. The paint just seems to disappear from the brush very much faster than many other brands do.
NickInTheValley
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All great advice. I appreciate it.
I wonder if that's because it's alcohol based.
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