I am relatively new to modeling and still do not know any advanced painting or weathering methods

All i use are my brushes and revell enamel paints
Any suggestions on how to improve using what i have without buying more as i am in a monetary crisis at the moment
Cheers


















Any advice on simple weathering techniques without having to buy new equipment would be thankede considerably
Cheers guys

Well Jack I think your figures and tanks are pretty good for a brush and some enamels. Not sure about the red-coats and the Challenger though- fairly sure thats not historically accurate !

You say you are in monetary crisis- that sucks- do you have any funds to spend? There is some cheap equipment out there that could lead to a marked improvment in your finishes without too much cost.

If you haven't got the funds to spare then some pointers (apologies if some if this seems condescening- I'm not sure of your skill/experience so I'm just writing some basic, relevant things) :

1. Thin your paints nicely before applying them- if this is done sufficiently then the visible brushstrokes in the paint is lessened. Be sure to mix them up thoroughly aswell before using them.

2. Make sure the thinner your using isn't too dirty- if you have it in a pot to clean the brushes change it out before it gets too dirty.

3. Don't mash your brushes off the bottom of a cup etc when you wash them of paint- rapidly swirl them about- this keeps the brush better for longer.

4. You can achieve a few different weathering techniques with enamels, however remember that since your base paints are enamel you will need to varnish your model to protect this layer of paint before you beging any of these techniques with enamel paints:

Filter- very heavily thinned paint (try a brown or earthy color) paint applied in stages all over the model. This should subtly alter the color of the vehicle and bring camo schemes together nicely. Try 5 parts thinner to 1 part paint.

Wash- This is thinned about 2 parts thinner to one part paint. Try darker colors like black or dark brown. You can apply this around seam lines and detail (like rivets etc) for a pin-wash which accentuates the detail or a general wash which is applied all over the model to give a dirty, well used look.

Drybrushing- This will represent general wear and tear on the vehicle. If you have a green color on your vehicle then your drybrushing color should be a lighter shade. Put paint on the brush but take nearly all of it off on a piece of cloth/kitchen paper and then run the brush over areas of detail.

Chipping- To represent areas where the paint has flaked or scraped off then you use small dabs of color in random pattersn around areas of likely high-use- like a hatch opening. Best colors for this are dark greys and dark browns for rust. To add another dimension you can also use a lighter color of your base to add a large chip and then, to represent deep scratches/chips, use a dark brown color inside the lighter color.

If it was me I would do these things in this order:

Drybrushing
Chipping
Filter
Wash

Well I hope this helps a bit Jack. Welcome to the site and keep us posted on your projects!

at the moment i have no money coming in as i have just finished college and do not yet have a job :L

Your tips are extremely helpful
just wanna ask what sort of varnish i should apply before i commence with the weathering.
Once i have obtained some i will experiment with weathering on the challenger

Thanks again your tips are very helpful and i recommend them to any Newbies (like me )

A matt varnish would be your best bet. Try and get a spray-can though, as it is easier than painting it on. Most hobby stores should carry a spray can matt varnish.
Also watch it on glazed areas- it will turn them all cloudy.

Good luck with the techniques- take a look around the features and articles on the sight- there's some great stuff in them. Keep posting your progress too, its easier for people to give advice if they have a good idea of what you are up to!

I've been reading about figure painting, and I can suggest you not paint the whites of the eyes, or only the tiniest of dots on either side if you must.
Also, make a palate for yourself (I use a plastic container lid), and place a dollop of your "flesh" color, then a little tan, brown, and white. Allow the paints to run into each other and mix just a little, so you can pick out lighter and darker shades. Use lighter shades on the upper portions of the eyebrow, nose, cheeks, and chin, and darker shades on the lower portions under the chin and cheekbones, nose, bottom lip, and eyebrows. Also use these darker shades between the fingers and places like that. I'm no expert yet, but I'm practicing these techniques.
thanks,
Sean H.

i'm of to hobby craft today to get some matt varnish
Fortunatly there dose'nt appear to be any glazed areas on the challenger
once i have experimented with it if i like the the results i will move on to the considerably more expensive Chi ha and try that

Would i be able to use the filter technique on my US marines helmets so the colours look more blended and worn/bleached?

Oh and on the topic of faces
You have some very good tips there and i will try to implement them onto my next batch of US marines , If it comes out well on them i will track back and redo all the faces of all my figures busy times ahead

thanks for the help guys

I definetly agree with Sean about the faces. The technique I use is to add a small dot of dark brown or black grey where the eyes are and then block it in with the flesh color. Once thats done I add highlights and shadows around the eyes (shadows underneath the eyes and under the brow and highlights on the brow and high cheek bones) to make it look more natural.

As for the US Marines helmets- best bet here is to drybrush them with a lighter color, maybe two different lighter colors to suggest a lot of wear and tear. Then, if you want, add a wash to suggest dirt. Filters are best used on vehicles.

Good luck!

Although I agree with most of the great tips that Karl offers, the above is not necessarily true. It will depend on your curing time and the thinner you use. I use Humbrol enamels and never use a varnish between base paints and weathering.
I strongly recommend Humbrols enamel thinner ... perfect for washes and thinning paints but mild enough to not lift the enamels, if they have had time to cure .... at least 24 hours. Its a bit more expensive that other thinners per volume, but if you only use it for weathering, it should still last a long time. Use your normal thinner for base painting as normal.



An easy way to paint eyes is to use the following method.
1) Paint over the eyes area with an off-white colour (mix in some cream to the white)
2) Draw a black line though the eye. If your right handed, do the left eye first so you can keep them lined up. Always draw the line more to one side ... never striaght in the middle.
3) Draw a line of blue or green through this to add the iris colour
4) Draw a dot in the middle for the pupil
5) Using a dark flesh colour give the eyes shape, keeping equal white lengths on both eyes at each side ... but not too much either. Its better with none rather than too much
6) Highlight and shadow using the moulded detail as a guide.

Brush size is not as important as a good tip ... keep a good quality brush just for eyes. This is probably the single most important step in a figure ... get the eyes wrong, and the figure will never look right, no matter how good you paint it. Thats why I start here and when Im happy, I proceed. Not happy ... use some thinner and remove the last step until I get it right (or at least acceptable). Worst case scenario ... just draw a black line through the eyes .. its enough for most figures at this scale. Painting the eyes after the flesh often gives the lunatic effect with that 1000 yard stare.
See some Tristar figures below, that had quite slanty eyes and it was not really possible to get the whites in.

I bought some Humbrol Matt varnish for enamel Paints
and some Humbrol Enamel thinner

Should i appl a coat of varnish and let it dry or do i have to proceed weathering whilst its wet?

A few simple washes or filters will do your model wonders. Use mid tone browns for areas that would be directly exposed to the sun, and darker browns, even mixed with black for shadow areas. A Pin wash of black to highlight recessed areas will really help to pop those details out. Then some careful dry brushing will make a big difference. Use different colors for different effects.

Seal everything with a few coats of Matt. Since you don't have an airgun, use a rattle can.

Ok as an expirement i have applied 2 coats of Matt enamel Varnish onto the challenger and so far it looks pretty good
once the varnish has dried i will see what i can do about weathering

Ok i have applied the filter consisting of enamel thinner and Revell leather brown and after drying i like the results so far so tommorow i will try the wash technique

I had a go at Dry brushing using a lighter enamel green but it gave little or no results so i have decided to attempt drybrushing again after wash

I have also painted a few grey chips around the drivers hatch so looking forward to seeing it after the wash

Drybrushing can sometimes be tricky to get right. If the color is too similar to the base paint then it will barely show. Sometimes you've got to go much lighter and use restraint to get results.
The best place to practice a bit of drybrushing and to experiment with colors is on the base of your model- it will likely never be seen hence its a good place to see what works.

I used Revell colour 69 (beige) for my wash and now the Challenger has an overall dusty look too it.
I increased the amount of wash i applied to areas like the wheels and lower hull and didn't apply as much to the top and i really like the results

i will try to get a picture uploaded soon soyou guys can help me decide if it needs more.

But as a test point of view i am really pleased with the results
all i need to do now is master figure painting and ill be a master modeller ( i hope)











Sorry for the poorly lighted pictures

I think thats turned out very well Jack- looks suitably dirty and dusty !

As for photos- have you got one of those bendy-neck lights around? They are very useful for photographing stuff as you can position them easily to light a particular area.

yes i do infact
i will take some better pictures tommorow

I am also going to use some of my life savings to treat myself to some new kits and paints until i find work

it was all thanks to your brilliant tips
i will definitly apply the same sort of finish to the Chi Ha so it is ready for my saipan Diorama
cheers for all the help

If you can, you should consider directing some of those life savings towards an airbrush, thats the one thing that will make the biggest difference to your paint-work.

Good luck mate.

unfortunatly i do not have the space to use an airbrush

so i will have to continue with brushes
i weathered the chi ha today and it looks ok
i think i may have overdone it a bit but ill see what i think later
ill get round to pictures but at the moment camera is outta batteries

after giving it a bit of thought i have decided that i am happy with the chi ha being as saipan was probably very dusty at times and it may have been stationed there for quite a while

i have just kicked off with building an m10 achilles from italeri
Got a nice little pile of kits to make until employement is found

Good luck with the M10 mate- you could start a build log so people can follow along?

pretty much finished the m10 already
still have no camera batteries so cant really do a build log yet

i will consider it when i have batteries and start the next kit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d0Wy2JgmBE

got some pictures of everything so far
just painted the name on the side of my first sherman and extremely chuffed with it might have to start a vote on deciding the name of the second one

Will give the build log a shot on the T 54 not to sure what to do though

Hey Jack, nice video of your stuff. Sherman and M10 really look good and the Marines are nice too.

Pity about the paint on the Raptor. I wouldn't worry about it too much- we all goof sometimes.

As for the T-54 that would make a great build log. All you really have to do is start a new thread and when you do there is a list at the top in a drop-down style- click on it and one of the options is for 'build log'- click on that and it gives your thread the build logo so people know its a log. Then just add pictures as you build. Simple!

sounds like fun
i bought a pack of AA batteries today so i will make a build log of the T-54
and i figure that i might have to stick to tanks in terms of building
i messed up the landing gear so currently one of the wheels is held on by a spare piece of Chi Ha suspension so unfortunatly the Raptor dosen't sit level

AS90 Braveheart BIG barrel !
I'm building one of these at the moment but with the normal smaller gun, your weathering is coming on great. I joined this site fairly recently and have learnt tons of stuff and bought a cheapy airbrush about six months ago and it's made a huge difference though it's going to take a lot of practice to get the best from it.
keep it up.