Hello People,

I've had this question for some time and kept forgetting to ask:

How do you paint shells. I means if you just take bronse or copper paint from the bottle it looks horrible, I never get this live like shine on it.

Something like this:


Thanks,

Pascal

I may be wrong, but those look like turned brass rounds dipped in Blacken-It, then rubbed clean in some areas.

Here's what I do: Base paint in Tamiya gold (spray can;Floquil's railroad line also has a nice brass paint that I will use when I'm not too lazy to load up the airbrush), apply a light coat or two of Tamiya clear orange and/or Tamiya clear smoke (with a brush, no real need to thin the clear paints). I will vary how many coats of each I apply, just play around until you get a finish you like. Then, to replicate the effects seen on spent shells, I will use pastels or weathering powders for the soot, discoloration, etc. These also help in dulling the shine that may be a bit over-the-top. Drybrushing in a dark grayish/blue also works if you want a more dramatic discoloration, as seen in the picture you posted.

Steve, thanks for the reply, I'll try that.

And John, I think you're right that these are turned shells, but I'm after reproducing this effect with paint so it doesn't really matter, it was the first picture I found as an example.

Cheers,

Pascal