I've been away from this hobby for too long and the last time I out pait to plastic the only techniques I was really aware of were washes and drybrushing. So can someone give me a basic run down on the following:

Filters
Pin washes
Dot wash/filter
Colour Modulation.

I kind of get the Dot technique in that it can be used to achive streaks and general weathering. I also see that oils are the best for this. I'm not affraid to give this ago but the others I'm not to sure about.

In the latest copy of AFV modeler one of the artists working on a T62, before adding oil washes "moistens" the area to be weatherd with thiners. Why is this done and does it not affect the paint already inplace?

Also, and this worries me more than anything I always thought that enamels will go over the top of acrilics but the same can't be done in reverse. The last thing I want to do is ruin what ever paint work I've done because the paints weren't compatible.

Sorry for these very basic questions but reading the various magazines and articles makes me feel like I've never been involved in the hobby at all as I don't understand the techniques everyone seems to be using.

Hi Chris, Filters, lots of thinners just a touch of paint,they can change the feeling of the paint making it look cold or warm go to missing Lynks website look for modelling rarities the man who started all this has some articles on it.
Pin wash is thinners with a bit more paint they are used for going around rivets and nuts and bolts and other details giving a shadow they have more paint than ordinary washes.Colour Modulation Go to you tube type in colour modulation theres a video on there shows you how to do it, also articles on this site,be honest with you I dont understand it myself.
Now you can learn the Salt and Hairspray methods

Chris,
I am fairly new as well and I don't know what the magazines say but I know what I have learned from the internet. Everybody will give you great advice but you must be in your comfort zone and use what makes economical sense for your budget. Im not comfortable with working with oils so I use acrylics I also find that the pigments cost more than I want to spend, I'm cheap, so I use plaster of paris with paint added for color

Chris,
I hope I can help. It is not bad really, a couple of models and you will be up to speed for sure. I would suggest using an inexpensive kit or and old kit to work and practice on and you will be fine. You are asking all the correct questions.
*Color Modulation: is a way of adding highlights and shadows to your base coat of paint. To keep it basic, you would apply the darker shades of your base color to the lower, resessed areas- the middle shade to the remaining areas- the lightest shades to the high points and leading edges. This will give diversity to your base coat. I would suggest searching the web for the articles that Mike Rinaldi has writen as they are extremely comprehensive.
*Filters: 10% color + 90% thinner. This will look like lightly colored thinner. This is brushed over your base color to slightly alter the shade. This works very well to tie camo patterns together and begin the weathering process. If you use oils for your filter, it will help with chipping using acrylics as the to do not mix and this helps keep an edge to each chip.
*Dot Filter: this was invented by the Spanish artists. Basically, you apply a series of dots with various colored oil paints. Darker colors where you would like some natural shadow effects. Next a brush that is humid with white spirit is used to pull the dots from top to botom and left to right. cleaning the brush often to avoid making a puddle of paint on the surface. The effect is similar to a filter and also gives the appearance of fading or dusting.
I highly recommend watching the A.K. Interactive DVD "Washes, Fading, & Oils" This DVD is highly informative and educational and inexpencive! Mig Jimenez walks you through
Filters
Washes
Fading
Streaking Grime
Streaking Rust
Splashed wet & dry mud
Rainmarks
Oil & Grease
You can read reviews of the DVD here on armorama and pick up a copy at www.ak-interactive-usa.com . This DVD will teach you months worth of trial and error in an hour!

Chris,

One way to look at the techniques that you listed is that they all have in common the use of thinned paint added over the base coat colors. The differences are mainly in how much the paint is thinned and how large or small an area that thinned paint is applied to.

So, you could consider them as representing two continums. One being the thinner to paint ratio and the other being small areas to large areas.

Filters are highly thinned paint applied to very large areas. The old, traditional "general wash" technique is a form of "filter wash" intended to darken and emphasize the shadow areas on your model. And the traditional "dry-brushing" is generally used to emphasize the highlights. Together they preform the same function as figure painters adding painted shadows and highlights. They're a combination of methods to over come the "scale lighting effect" and show some weathering.

The more contemporary "filter" technique is used to alter the tone and tint of the base paint colors to achieve a more "candid," varied and less toy-like look to the base colors. Here the paint is highly thinned and applied to larger areas, but not allowed to pool around details or interior corners. It's mainly intended to change the color of the base coat, not to emphasize shadows.

(BTW, the term "filter" is used to show the relation with color changes. In theater and photograpy, colored filters are used over light or camera lenses to change the viewer's perception of the true color of the subject.)

Pin washes are moderately thinned paint applied selectively to areas to furthur emphasize shadows or replicate dirt, oil, water stains, etc. They're sort of a transition technique between weathering and working with scale lighting.

Oil-dot / color modulation is a technique used similarly to filters but in smaller, selective areas. The objective is to vary the tint and tone of the base paint colors, but in smaller, more "random" (modulated) areas than is done with filters. However, highly skilled model builders don't actually use this technique "randomly," but rather in a very planned and controlled manner to emphasize and highlight model surfaces to achieve specific effects - sun bleached paint, zenithal lighting, directional lighting, color-based mood, etc. The end result looks "random" at first glance, but really contributes more to the model display's overall look than that.

In the end, all of these techniques are variations of the same theme - thinned paint applied in more or less transparent layers over the base coat colors. No mystery at all.

Your concern about paint compatability is valid, but if you allow your paint layers to dry completely, most enamels will airbrush / hand-brush over acrylics with no problems as will most acrylics do the same over enamels without problems. There are some potential issues, and you can ask here about specific paint brands and thinner combinations to see if anyone else has had issues.

Generally, mineral spirit thinners used for washes for oils and enamels won't harm dried acrylics. Water-based, alcohol-type thinners used as thinners for acrylic washes generally won't harm any kind of completely dried under coats. However, sometimes mineral spirit thinners will lift underlying enamel paints. (If the enamels are hard dry, though, they're usually very resistant to mineral spirit thinners, and the thinners will usually dry before doing any harm)

In just about all cases, laquer thinner and acetone used as thinners for washes will harm any kind of underlying paint coats, and sometimes the plastic itself. (On the other hand, laquer thinners and acetone when used to thin or reduce paint for airbrushing don't normally hurt any kind of underlying paint if that paint has first dried completely.)

Finally, to your question about why a modeler "moistened" the area with thinners before applying the washes. When washes or filters dry, sometimes they leave "tide" markes around their edges. These marks are usually caused by the colorless binders in the paint (binders are the "glue" which holds the pigment particles to the surface after the thinner or carrier has dried out). Washes generally dry from their outter edges (where there is less wash) towards their interior. As this happens, the most of the pigments float towards the interior, but the binders and some pigments are deposited around the edges as the thinners dry. This leaves the tide marks. By pre-wetting the surface with straight thinners, the modeler is encouraging the wash to dry more evenly. The pre-wetting is just another way to modulate the amount of thinners and paint in the process.

A work around to this problem is to make washes out of nothing but thinner and pigment. Dry, powder pigments can be mixed with mineral spirits or water / alcohol and applied as washes. But that takes this into a discussion about the use of pigments - Something for another time.

HTH,
Mike

Wow thanks for the reply guys. Certainly some great advice there. I check out the Youtube link and certainly place an order for the DVD.

The reason asked about the acrylic/enamel mix is I buy acrylic/synthetic paints by the litre to use for antique restoration and helmet re-sprays. However as I will be combinig several mediums for my model building I will have to double check what the thinners are based on that I thin these paints down with. I know there is no problem with enamel going over the top of the base colours as I use as I did a 1/16 scale tiger earlier this year and used Humbrol Matt laqure from a can to matt the whole thing down. However that was before I knew about filters and the like. I will maybe experiment on this one before moving onto the one I am upgrading. If all goes pear shaped the kids can play with it.

Once again thanks for the advice guys. It makes the hobby so much more accesible having the internet and forums. Shame there aren't more hours in the day though.