How to make a metal plate

Step Four:

In this step we will be adding some high lights to the edges of the cardboard/steel plates to accentuate the look of steel. In other words we will simply be dry-brushing around the edges. Citadel's Leadbelcher this is a steel metallic color, but again, you can use any brand you prefer. I just like Citadel colors for brush painting. Just remember to use one that is not too shiny. More of a 'p encil dull look’ is what you want. Or simply put; you can just as well use a pencil with similar results. Although, I do prefer the paint method.

1. Take your Wide/medium flat brush and dip it into the pot. When you remove it make sure you have a kitchen towel ready, as you will be removing much of the excess paint off until there is almost nothing left to remove.

Wide Brush (click to expand)

The brush with the paint loaded (click to expand)

Brush off the excess paint off the brush unto the towel, until there is almost nothing left on the tip (click to expand)

The tip of the brush almost wiped clean off before application (click to expand)

2. Then take the brush and randomly brush the edges of the cardboard until you see the paint rubbing off unto the edges. Do this all around the edges until you cover the entire piece. Remember, it has to look subtle and not heavy handed. You just want a bit of the shine to give the illusion of steel.

Applying the metallic with a wide brush (click to expand)

The photos below show how it looks after applying the metallic color to the edges:

Notice the very subtle effect you achieve (click to expand)

Another close-up view. See how it makes a difference, although small (click to expand)

In this photo you can see the difference with and without the metallic edges. The edge on the left does not have any metallic paint. The edge at the top has a metallic paint applied. (click to expand)

When you are satisfied with the look then stand back and admire your handy work. This tutorial may not appeal to most but I received a pretty modest reaction to the results when I first showed it. So, there you have it folks. Steel plates or slabs without using any styrene or metal. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I have tried to make this tutorial simple as possible and very direct to follow.

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About Charles King (ti)
FROM: DALARNAS, SWEDEN

Charles King hails from Sweden. He has been interested in modeling since he was 12; though there was other interest that took priority at the time, he would eventually fall into the modeling soon enough. Not until recent,in 2002 that his interest was rekindled. While browsing the Internet, he ca...

Biggles2

Is there any advantage to using cardboard, or is it just because it is cheaper?

JUL 24, 2019 - 11:11 AM

Thank you kindly. Glad it can be of use to some.

JUL 24, 2019 - 08:50 PM

Hi Eddy. My pleasure. Glad you approve.

JUL 24, 2019 - 08:50 PM

I can think of a some: 1. Cheap to come by. AKA, easily available. 2. light weight 3. Easy to work with, in terms of application. 4. Does not need a lot of tooling

JUL 24, 2019 - 08:53 PM

pod3105

Excellent, easy to follow tutorial. Thank you Charles.

JUL 24, 2019 - 09:36 PM

Appreciate it.

JUL 24, 2019 - 09:57 PM

11Bravo_C2

Simple yet effective. Will be using this in the future. Thanks!!

JUL 28, 2019 - 05:30 AM

Thank you kindly. Glad you found it useful.

JUL 28, 2019 - 09:57 PM

JQuinn66

The markings you see could be hand written in usually white or yellow paint stick, and may be the plate identity or tracking number, a heat number, order number, grade of steel, and maybe the gauge/thickness and also length x width. Some places may line mark that information down the length of the plate, with what is essentially an inkjet printer (or some places use a set of stencils on a wheel - that’s old school) Or there might also be a printed tag/sticker attached to an end with ID/Heat/grade and probably some bar code. Not all plates would be scaled up and rusty. Stainless steel or other specialty metal plates like nickel or titanium alloys would be pickled clean, and would be somewhat shiny, or even ground and would be very shiny and clean. If it’s regular carbon steel and fresh off the rolling mill, I think the metal with have a more blue/gray coloration from the mill scale/oxide. If they sit out for a long time the oxide/rust will grow and it becomes the red/brown. And plated unless they are belt ground are rarely totally smooth. There will be some pits (would be small in most models), there could be some firecrack pattern from the rolls that may repeat - many other things get transferred from the rolls or vacuum lifters etc.

AUG 14, 2019 - 01:52 PM

Appreciate the extra info. Thank you kindly.

AUG 15, 2019 - 01:52 AM

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Copyright ©2021 by Charles King. Images and/or videos also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. The views and opinions expressed herein are solely the views and opinions of the authors and/or contributors to this Web site and do not necessarily represent the views and/or opinions of Armorama, KitMaker Network, or Silver Star Enterrpises. All rights reserved. Originally published on: 2019-07-24 16:57:22. Unique Reads: 16478

How to make a metal plate

Step Four:

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