Hi guys,

Another airbrush question....

I'm looking at doing some fading work on my T-70, and I've seen it done with oils and pigments but I'd like to try it with my airbrush to see how it looks. The base colour is Tamiya NATO green, and I'm just wondering which colours and intensities you guys would reccomend to build up the fading effect. I really like the effect that this modeller achieved with his airbrush:



...and that on a Flames of War model! Impressed!! Any tips?

Will.

It's tough to say what he did here but I always lighten my color with something like tamiya buff or a similar light, light tan (depends on what brand paints you are using). I never use white to lighten the color. It almost looks like he actually sprayed a heavily thinned Tamiya Buff in the center of panels and not so much lightened the base color.

Nice, that sounds like it might work well! I'll try it on some scrap and see how it looks.

Will.

I agree with pcmodeler. The method I use (and, yes I did use Tamiya buff before), but my new method is to fade with a slightly lightened shade of the base color. Or, if you have it a lighter shade of green. This represents paint fading from exposure to the sun, rather than built up dirt and dust. I really depends on the type of "fading" you are trying to achieve. Just MHO.

Please don't forget: never lighten or fade od with white. It'll turn gray. Use dark yellow or other greens.

Yes I never lighten with [auto-censored]e unless I'm using a grey to begin with. I've got a few very light shafes that I'll try out and see whch looks best.

And yes, this is sun fading I'm trying to create .

Will.

an additional fading technique, though not as pronounced as the one pictured, is to lightly airbrush from straight overhead Tamiya Buff thinned 90%+ with rubbing alc or windshield washer fluid. Several thin misting coats will allow the color to slowly build up on the top surfaces.

I have not specifically tried to concentrate the effect in the centers of panels, but worked on the uppermost surfaces. This gives the effect of lightening the overall upper color(s) in a cammo scheme evenly.

A slightly more concentrated mix , applied in more coats, along the bottom edges will provide a road dust effect as well.

Thanks for all the help guys! I added some yellow to the dark green and thinned it down alot, then built up soft layers in the inside of all the panels. Then I gave it a filter of very thin Citadel Devlan Mud which muted the contrast a bit and now it looks great! For a first attempt I'm pretty pleased with it.

I think I might start a build thread, seeing as it's looking ok now.

Will.