Ok, I found a pretty good description about using filters somewhere online (don't recall where now) but I have a question before I do it. The first is do I put the filter on before other weathering? and 2 is should there be a slight pol in the center of the panel being painted or is it better to paint a small area, let it dry then paint a larger area etc until the whole panel is painted, so the first area may be 3 or more layers thick while the very edges are only 1 layer?

Any other tips are welcome, I tried this on the KV 2 I did for Barbarosa but wasn't particularly thrilled which my result, I think I put it on too heavy at a time and it basically turned into a wash instead of a filter.

Hi AaronW

I still haven't got my head around the difference beween a wash and a filter ... so I'm looking forward learning some stuff from the answers here. :-)

All the best

Rowan

Aaron

Usually a filter is a different tone applied on a small area wich gives the Basecoat a small variation in Color wich is quite natural when done correct.
I use a Method I like to call Striping. It works like this: You dilute a variant of the basecolour (darker or lighter is up to you) dilute it really thin. Now take a small brush and make streaks on smaller areas on your model. Streak vertical. Now take a bigger brush ( a dry one) and stroke over your streaks in the same direction as you applied them. When dry you will see a nice variation in the basecoat. Do this trick with more variations and you`ll get nice natural coloration. between this you can do a drybrush every now and then.
Here are two vehicles I did this way:



Nice thing of this "striping" technique is that it`s also a good way of simulating rainstreaks.

Merlin
In my Eyes the big difference between a wash and a filter is that a wash is usually for bigger areas and filters are more of an artistic kind of wash for smaller areas. because they are on smaller areas and mostly they overlap each other wich causes to more color variation

If I understand a filter correctly, it is to change the tone of the underlaying color. Is this not what a wash does also? I have tried using fliters as thin almost clear coats of paint. Much, much less flowing than a 'wash'. I have had up to eight coats of filters on a model( 3 different colors applied in sequence). About the only advantage I see using filters is the ability to have much finer control over the warmth or coolness of a color. Yet washes can also affect the temperature of a color. I guess I really feel that they are both terms that name a technique that in art circles would be called 'glazing'. Numerous very thin coats of color. I have read the articles that MIG has ( I do not remeber what site) and reread them. They still come out to being really close to the same thing. So, I will still call the stuff I do a wash or a glaze. As long as the effect is what I want I am happy.
capnjock

Perhaps this would help:

filters

Here's what MIG has to say on various weathering techniques... It is a good read: MIGs rarities

Mario M.

I was also somewhat confused about the merits of using a filter. That is until I read Military Modelling from a couple of issues back. That issue had an artilce on a Panther that MIG had done, abandoned on its side. I found that this article explained the merits of the filter more that the rarities article at Missing-lynx.

The filter in the Panther scenario was used to blend and subdue the 'hardish' edges created when the camo was applied. The filter did seem to turn the camo pattern into a more monotone appearence, blending with the basecoat. This is obviously what would be found on a vehicle that has been in heavy service.
A wash was applied AFTER the filters and incidently some chipping, merely to show the grime build up and accentuate the hard edges, footplates, rivets etc.

The Panther article IMHO was a great concise article covering all the basic painting and weathering techniques. I can't remember the issue number at present, but its lying around somewhere.