Hi, I've always been of the opinion that you do the washes first on a vehicle and then the drybrushing, and in the last couple articles I've read or re-read here and there they talk about doing the drybrushing first and then adding washes.

Is there a specific time to do both or does it really matter and is all up to the modeler as to which way they prefer to go? And from you own personal experience which goes first for you with the best results?

Thanks and take care, Sgirty

For me, Mr. Sgirty, I will always do the wash first followed by an ironing out of the details by drybrushing. A wash will bring out the hidden lines where as the drybrush brings out the detail.......I wash my clothes before I iron!

Hi,

I was thinking what is "a wash" actually ?
making some layer on a model ? like a matt - or gloss cote ? or is it painting again with a lighter color than the base color to give it an used and weathered look ?
I know what drybrushing is no problem just using colors to detailt things and give it a blend to some parts also darken or lighten a bit but I can't get out this question.

Hi Ratticus,

The washing should be a darker tone (or black) very dilluted that will be applied near the detailed areas (hinges, panels, rivets), but it should be applied in a moderate fashion! When you drybrush, first with the same base colour and then with subtles lighter shades, all this details will pop-up and then you could really see them.

My advice is for you to try in some old model this techine, so that you don't feel sorry if the thing goes wrong....

My washes are:
- Diluted acrilics (I use alcool)
- Turpentine dilluted oils

If you'll need any more help, ask please!

Best regards,

Skipper

I always wash first, then dry brush

then i don't get the part what dry brushing is, why do you paint the model first with the right color and then go over it with drybrush with the same color ?
It's pretty hard to understand for me it seems :-(

When i paint a model i first put most parts together and paint them in parts (if there a cockpit or inside of a car i make sure thats already painted before i put it together when you cant reach parts with your brush then if you didnt do that.
Then I prime, mostly with humbrol primer 1 grey
or if it need dark colored i use dark grey or green
after that i put on the base color, sometimes 2-3 layers.
I also paint the parts what needs to be in other color.
when the model is normal painted as the manual says I go weathering and drybrush some dust and darker spots and lighter spot on it, also adding rust and exhaust black spots.
If the model is as I want i add a matt cote from humbrol over it (or gloss depending on the models function, a nice plane can be gloss, an armor needs to be matt, or maybe satin cote ?)
after that i add the decals (or canb i do that before I add the cote without damaging the decals ?

So I don't do wash or is the vernish matt cote the wash ?

Davy,

when you dry brush you use a lighter shade of the base color not the same color. This, in addition to the washing with a darker color helps to bring out the detail. Take a look at the Features section here at Armorama. There are a couple of articles that cover this.

Hi Ratticus (again)

Here are a few pics that demonstrates what I have explained:





As Frag so well mentioned you could see the articles on Features area.

in a simple maner the sequence would be this:
Built
Prime
Paint Base colour
Give Future Coat or Gloss coat
Decals (if appliable)
Another coat of Future
Washing
Dry Brushing Base Colour
Dry Brushing Lighter shade of base colour
Weather (rust, in my case)

Other types of models (armour) would have more weathering effects and techniques (mud, dust, rust, grass, etc) and some should be applied at different times...
I hope that I helped instead of making some confusion!

Skipper

oops...

as you can see on the first picture, it should be Darker Wash instead of lighter wash

Skipper

Oh ic i hope i got it right now :

so washes are to make it darker
drybrush to make it lighter ?

Lighter and noticeable

If you'll paint and entire model in the same colour, because the real one was that way, for instance an american submarine in the beggining of 1942, USS Gato, it would be painted completely BLACK.

If you dont make this kind of tricks, in my opinion, the model could be very well built but it will look.... Flat!

A little highlight here, a little rust there, some proper weathering will give life to the model.
But this is my way of doing things - if you'll ask ten modelers the solution for a problem, you'll get..... ten different answers

Skipper

Hehe thx for all the help m8, i really apreciate this






Just another question it would be offtopic but it would be a common problem

Everytime i need to paint something, even something very small, i need to open te can, take my toothpick en make sure the paint has been mixed witht he toothpick well, take my small brush and paint the part and then clean my brush in white spirit, take the toothpick out of the can witch is full of paint and drop it in the glass of white spirit.
the point is : you lose all that paint witch was on the toothpick. All that loss... how to prevent this ?

okay, this is off with what davy had to say about the toothpick(sorry i canmt help much, i jsut usualy try to get msot off befpre throwign my toothpick away

But forgive me... iam one slow learner(my dad says its all about my generation... were all alike lol) this is how i build my models:
build(paint interio parts that i wotn ab
prime
paint
futur(how many coats shoudl i apply with an ab?)
decals
futur again(how many coats???)
then i mix black paint tam acrylics with there thinner... but i dont how to apply it properly, so il need help on that)
and i havnt tried drybrushing becuase i have no clue how to do it! so help would be great
lol, am i a desperate case? or is it possible to help me!!! lol

Thanks guys, ive been trieng a lot but never got satisfieng results, shoudl i aply mroe than one layer of wash??? wait this isnt true, i have a figure that turned out good lol! but a little to dark, but i guess havign a lighter base color would fix everything... actualy 2 figures, but to tanks!!!!!

Frank

Hi Raticcus,

I'm not sure what you meant about the toothpick part but....

You can't prevent a tiny amount of paint that you loose when stirring. It always sticks to the toothpick. After you stir, scrape the toothpick at the mouth of the paint jar the discard.

This should help but that tiny amount of wasted paint is negligible.

Hi Francois,

About your Tamiya acrylic paint/thinner problems, what do you want to accomplish...just enough for brush painting or you want to achieve a wash?

For brush painting, you should have just enough thinner to make the hairs of your brush moist but not dripping.

For washes, it all depends but personally, I'm more into +/- 30% paint and +/- 70% thinner. I don't usually use acrylics for washes unless I want blotches on my models. I use enamels or oils mixed with turpentine or ordinary paint thinner that you find in the hardware. I usually apply 3 or 4 washes to get the desired effect. I don't do one heavy wash as this looks "out of scale."

Drybrushing, as what the other guys said above, is a technique to emphasize high points of models. It is also used for shading, metalizing and to show wear and tear.

To drybrush, mix a considerably lighter shade of the base color of the model. Put a little paint on your brush. Then, stroke the brush (as if you're hand brush painting) on a piece of cloth or cardboard (I prefer cloth). This will remove most of the paint, leaving the hairs of your brush almost out of paint.

When you can see that almost none of the paint streaks on the cloth anymore, lightly hand brush the high points of your model (i.e. edges, bolts, etc.). If you do this right, you will see that these areas are of lighter color than the base color. If the brush is too dry, you can't see this effect. If the brush is too wet, you will see streaks. It takes a bit of practice to have a "feel" of it.

The same technique can be used for rust streaks, paint chips, faded panels, etc.

Hope that helps.

Angela

hi, thx a lot for all the help I've got from you guys and girl (if there are )

thanks angela, thats a real help!

is it my christmas present by any chance?
Frank