Some of you have been Asking How I have Weatherd my models. The Answer is, Coloured Artist's Pencils and an F Grade Pencil. And once the pencil work is finished. you need to Spray your models with Mat lacquer. You can use your Airbrush....if you have one. or you can do it strait out of the can....Spray can or " rattle can" as some like to say.
it's easy, and its Fun
The reason I use Pencils is simple. I wanted to get the fine streaking you get from the elements. Rust, Salt deposits, and the dirt and grime of war !
Water and Salt.....the Worst combination for Steel. But great for Model Makers to Weather up all those lovley Rust Streak's ! But how do you do it on a model small enough to fit into your hand. that is where Artist's Pencils come into the mix. I use Artists Pencils Because they are of a Better grade and pigment. such as Caran D'arne, Swiss made. Or Staedtler of Germany. If you go to an Art shop. Most will actually sell coloured pencils Seperatly. Here are a range of colours I use when Doing Life Study Sketch's, perfect for the shading of ship decks and drawing on the rust streaks on to the Hulls of ships.
One thing you will be doing a lot is.....Sharpening ! you have to keep those pencils Sharp to keep the streaks and shading very fine....and to scale. I also have a small container on my desk "this one being a tin of Tuna " so you can keep it close to hand as half of the job is keeping the pencils pin point sharp!
Here is My HMS Nelson model. I needed some extra detail on the side, but as i didnt want to sculpt or drill the portholes, and keep things in scale. I drew them on with an F Grade STAEDTLER Graphite Pencil. " you dont have to use Staedtler, But I do suggest you use a good quality Pencil " I use Pencils in my Design work. and these are an industry standard. The grades in pencils define how light or dark, hard or soft the lead " or graphite " is. your Standard HB is middle of the spectrum, 8H is very light. 9B is very dark. The F grade is a Harder graphite, and a darker tone than a standard HB. This allows you to some very fine work with the pencil, such as the port Holes......
Panel lines can also be done this way, use your finger and thumb as a guide, then go down the Hull in one motion to get the centre line. from that you can draw panel lines and armour belts......
Main Bridge Windows can also be drawn on in this way. the good thing about the Graphite Pencil is its colour. it isnt jet black, so doesnt "shout" stand out from the model to much, if you were to use a fine liner ink pen for instance. the black ink would look to strong and ruin the scale. Pencil works perfectly.....
And if you do happen to make a mistake. then just Rub it out with an Eraser, and start again. A tip.....cut a point into the Eraser with a sharp Hobby knife. that way you will be more acurate with your rubbing out
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Keeping the pencils very Sharp, you can get right in to the nooks and crannys and "cheat" with your Shading ! Fading the pencil as you come away from an edge...lighter strokes will give that fade......
You can then use a lighter shade for further fades and drawing in the panels on the decks......
And then bring in the highlights on the deck with a white pencil....
The white is also perfect for picking out extra highlights such as the Motor Boats up on deck....
You can also draw on any lettering such as the overhead Identity Markings on Nelsons 3rd turret.....
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One thing I like to do, is a very fine white line around the entire hull and deck edge. it breaks up the two areas and adds a highlight to the deck outer edge.
take the pencil and place the tip sideways to the edge of the model. then go round the entire model on the side of pencil tip. this will do two things, the colour will stay constant all round. and the line will be the same thickness if you keep the same angle all round the model. its easy to do, just apply the same pressure all round.....the pencil will do the rest ! once done. lightly rub over with the tip of your finger to knock it back slightly, as will be a very strong white line once done. shading it in with your finger will allow it to just highlight.
Now for the really fun bit.....RUST :8)
Once you have the right shade of Red/Brown colour pencil. you can Draw around areas where the rust would sit on the decks, Portholes, anchor's and chains. you must keep sharpening your pencil as you dont want thick, out of scale shading and streaks.....
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Here you can see a side view of a ship hull Before the Highlighting and Rust......
and now here you can see the highlight around the hull edge, and the rust streaks around the portholes and anchor. you can also use the white to do small paint chips and paint fading on the hull sides.....
Why use Pencils ? Because you can Draw on areas that would not be easy with a small paint brush. you can control how strong the shade or colour is with fading and rubbing, or just drawing on lightly. and if you make a mistake......Just Rub it out, and start again !
Now you need to seal the Pencil work in, if you handle the models to much after using pencils. you fingers will eventully rub of your art work !
Matt lacquer is the Answer. and there are a few options. you can use Tamiya Matt Clear through your airbrush.
you can use a spray can like the one I use. here in the UK I can get this Hobby Paint Humbrol Matt Clear. it works perfectly. and doesnt react with waterbased paints.
its Perfect for protecting the pencil work. and gives a really nice matt finish. "WORD OF WARNING" Dont spray inside, this stuff has a nasty kick, will take your breath away and wont do your lungs and Liver any favours ! where a mask :lol: and dont spray when its cold. spray paint particles wont work very well in cold temp, they can haze and plume, and ruin your work. a trick I use is too fill up the sink or a bucket with hot water from the Tap. and a touch of cold water, then dunk in the can for 5 minutes. dont worry....it wont explode ! tap water doesnt excede 55 degrees, add cold to make it warm your kettle on the other hand is trebble that......that would be to hot....and messy ! the warm water will help the resin in the paint to settle properly. and not plume over white and misty. it will stay clear and matt.
I have been dunking spray cans in buckets of warm water for years, works every time
Well thats it Fella's.
Hope that Helps you out and gives you another idea to try. its just another method that you can use to get certain desired effects.
Enjoy playing with your pencils :8)
All the best.
Barry.
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And Hello to you Dan. Ahhhh yes Paint FX. I have been using many methods on my models for years now. so here are a few more for you. see if these will help you out with regards to Pastel and Powder paint effects.
On the Subject of Pencils, your Derwent Pencils should do the job perfectly. I have a set of them and they work well, However I find these work better, swiss made CARAN D'ACHE. I have been using these since I was at Art College "few years ago now" every time I use a pencil up, I just replace it as you can also buy them separate from most good Art Shops. the Grade of "lead in the pencil".....although they are not lead,is of excellent quality. the colour pigment is a more wax base than the black graphite you refur to. But these pencils are great because they are of a high grade pigment. and there are no "grainy bits" you sometimes get in cheaper brands. so you get a perfect application of colour. as for leaving a wax sheen on the surface, thats where the Matt clear paint comes in. spray can or airbrush with tamiya matt clear
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Dan, you mentioned Powder effect. there are two that I use, Pastels and Childs Poster Paint.
Normal Artists Pastels, then take a Scalpel and scrape it until you get a small dust pile........
Then take a 4/0 or 3/0 "3 000 or 4 0000" Paint brush and cut the bristles down so they are only 2 to 3 mm in lenth. making a small Stubby brush. this way you can pick up the pastel dust in the brush, and Scrub it into Panel Lines and recess areas, and fade the dust by just using less pressure. and you get that great weathered effect for rust grime and sand.
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