Hi, my name is Jay I have 2 questions for anyone who would like to answer. One is this, my 1/72 scale tank spokes. Where the holes are or where they should be are covered over by this tougher film plastic and my exacto knife isn't really doing the greatest job I was hoping for a technique on how to overcome this feat while making the spokes look as good as possible. Second I have just recently learned of Mig pigments and wanted to try them out. I am a first time user of Mig and would like to ask all of you who do use these to recount when you first started using them give me some do's and dont's and give me advice on what works for you. I'm using dry mud for a Soviet T-80B tank scale of 1/72 and I would also like to know what other favorite Mig types you use for a tank and where to apply the dry mud and how to make dry mud into "wet" mud. If anyone has a picture on how they did their Mig pigments on a tank please show me. Thanks for your help and please get back to me on this.

Jay,

To answer your first question: cutting the flash (that thick film made of excess plastic squeezed between the mold halves) from inside curves with the X-acto knife is best done using only the very tip of the blade. It can be done, but try using a fresh blade and like I said, just the tip.

The more blade you get inside the curve (i.e. the wider the cord of the blade at the point of the cutting edge) the harder it is to move the blade to follow the curve. On an outside curve, you can compensate by taking a sucession of short cuts away from the surface. But on inside curves, you are cutting into the curve, so must use only the tip (or as close to it as you can manage) and reduce the width of the blade at the point of the cutting edge.

An easier solution would be to use small files to get the edges smooth after cutting away most of the flash with the knife. Here are a couple of small file sets that would probably work for you:

http://www.micromark.com/12-PIECE-MICRO-FILE-SET,7847.html

http://www.micromark.com/12-PIECE-MICRO-SIZE-FILE-SET-WITH-HANDLE,8382.html

Either set would probably make a good addition to your tool set. I have several different size sets of files and they are indispensible for cleaning up small openings, uniform folds, etc, etc...

For your second question: The MIG Pigments have excellent, very high color saturation, so my first advice would be to use less than you think you might need. A little will go a long way, especially on a 1/72 scale model.

After that, I'd say to surf around, especially on YouTube for some how-to videos. Use "Weathering Pigments; MIG Pigments; Pigments and ScaleModel Medic" as your search criteria. You'll find some very informative how-to videos that should get you started.

If you can't find any good ones, post another question or send me a PM and I'll dig some up.

HTH,
Mike

Jay,

To get you started on your pigment weathering, here's one of John Hayward's "Scale Model Medic" videos on YouTube. There are lots of others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgWpEQ9JSs4

Good luck!

Mike

See, someone has already answered your question.

Jay,

I just sent you a reply to your PM, but one thing I forgot to mention is that you should use the pigments in combination with other weathering techniques. They work best that way, and seldom look good when used only by themselves.

As for myself, I usually apply the pigments and pastels last and over other effects. Often, I use several "layers" of pigment applications, too. Real-world weathering is a process that happens over time, and each layer adds some "time" to the model's presented existance. At least, this is the end result that I'm trying to achieve. Other modelers have other approaches and goals.

I guess though, using pigments alone would work if you're trying to show a factory-fresh vehicle rolling off the assembly line and through a mud puddle on the way to the railroad loading dock for shippment... It really all depends on the final result you're trying to achieve.

If you work from start to finish with the final result in mind, you can combine and sequence your finishing methods towards that goal. So, always start with the end in mind.

Mike

Have you tried :

www.migproductions.com they give some info on how to use their products,plus their forum answers some questions.