Hello Friends,
Well, practice makes perfect so.......I used a pallet model to practice some ways to enhance a winter white wash. The model has been spilt in half to give more surface area to experiment with different colors and finishes. The experiment was to test some finishes achieved by feeding A.K. Interactive weathering products through an airbrush. The results with the AK014 "Winter Streaking Grime" are an impresive way to add some richness to the otherwise bland finish!
This image shows a white wash over dunkelgelb. Tamiya White in various density.

Second image shows some chipping and washes.....

Aplication of AK014 "Winter Streaking Grime" to the lower edges....

The final result! The mist applied to the lower edges adds more texture and ties the washes and streaks together.

Let me know what you guys think of the effect.

Thumbs up!

Very nice, did you spray the AK Winter Streaking Grime straight from the pot or did you thin it out first?

Jeremy,
Good question. I thinned a very little bit....very, very, little bit. Then sprayed at 18-20psi. When you try this, load up your brush and practice on a piece of cardboard or scrap to be sure you have the mixture the way you will like.

Thanks Iain, I'll make sure to do that. I want to try this stuff out on a couple of whitewashed panzers I plan on starting soon. I'm not familiar with these products, is there a specific thinner I should be using?

Jeremy,
Go to www.ak-interactive-usa.com . I would recomend using AK Interactive "white spirit" as it is the perfect level of heat for our products. However, you can experiment with any thinner. Just practice on a piece of scrap to be sure you have the right mixture before puting paint to plastic.

Great, thanks Iain. Nice tutorial projects on the site. I'll start experimenting with thinners as soon as I get the chance to visit my lhs and get my hands on some of this stuff

You have caught my attention now - AK looks very promising. Nice work on the whitewash/chipping/streaking. The videos and MIG FAQ2 book should be popular.

I have tried winterising on a kv with barely passable results. I'll have to try ak on my next one. Some very good work.

Really nice results for you,I got the dvd,I need to get some of their stuff,thanks for the demo.

Very nice, this way you don't need hairspray

I use it with a brush, do you think that is gives a very different result with the airbrush?

Thanks, Joh

Thanks for all of the feedback guys.
Jon,
Feeding through an airbrush give very different results. If you look at the top edge of the side of the Panther hull, you will see a top to bottom streaking effect of dirt and grime carried by rain etc. down the side of the pannel. KNow take a look at the very botom of the pannel, this was done with an airbrush....more of a dusty look!

this is a great topic as i didn't know of such a product and seeing your progress seems to show me how promising this could be as winter schemes can be tricky.

one very subtle point of feedback i could add is the chipping and how you added the highlights. the chipping is really well done and the highlights are spot on but it is important, in my opinion, to put all the highlights on one side of the paint chip to ensure you maintain the illusion of depth.

on the second pic you have the highlights at the bottom of the chip but moving towards the rear of the side panel the highlights are put on the top edge of the chip. light coming downward from the sun onto a recess such as a paint chip would make a shadow on the top edge of the chip and a highlight at the bottom edge.

this is very subtle but i find it helps the technique to have all the chip details in the same direction. for top panels, i just choose a side and then do all the highlights for each chip on that same side. cheers, bd.

man that looks great , i just started playing with your AK stuff on the last couple of models and i gotta say its good stuff, easy to use and no messing round with pigments tho there is still a place for them too.

the only thing i have found is i use plain mineral turps since its hotter here in Aussie , the stuff u have is a tad hot LOL drys so quick ya dont get time to play with it if need be.

i've only done 1 winter job (just finished it) so im still getting to grips with the tricks but using that streaking and rust grime is lots more controlable i think.
hope that stuff is around for years i can see me using it all the time, it works great on aircarft too
cheers,
Graham

Graham,
Thanks for the feedback. I am excited to see the aircraft that you have used AK Interactive products on. Are images of the project posted anywhere?
Aslo, no worries, we at AK are not going anywhere. We are here to help modelers everywhere bring there skills to new heights without killing themselves in the process!

yeh man heres a link to my photobucket page for me TBF Avenger i did for a campain at aeroscale i used them like a wash to durty up the underside and a little fuel stains etc .
The King tiger im doing now for the winter warriors campaign here is next it'll get more as i get used to the products.
http://s756.photobucket.com/albums/xx202/Kiwi_Modeller/tbm/
cheers,
Graham

Thanks for sharing your build with us Graham, I was wondering how well the AK weathering products would apply to aircraft and they look real good on the belly of that TBF Avenger
I'm also going to be building up a winterized KT and am looking forward to trying out some of the AK washes on it