Hi All'
Anyone have an alternative to drybrushing on vehicles. No matter how I go about it I never seem to get the desired (In my mind) effect.
Also is it really accurate? or is there a different technique I could experiment with.
TIA
Tom

It's 'not so much accuracy as an artistic technique. What drybrushing attempts to do is increase the feeling of depth on your model by emphasizing the play of light on highpoints of the vehicle/equipment/ uniform. If you were to look at an od tank in the sunlight, your mind would interpret "Overall OD" though your eyes would see varying shades of od, especially if the light is from an obliquie angle. Look at someone wearing a colored shirt in strong light. There will be spots where even black will appear almost white and midtone colors will appear almost black.

In a scale kit, you will get some of this with just the base color but it will tend to look flat, not lusterless, but two dimensional rather than three dimensional. Drybrushing accentualtes the 3 dimensional aspect of out models.

What you want to aim for is lighter shades of the base color by adding about 25, 50 and 75% lightening agent, white or a complimentary color. After getting the first mixture, dab a relatively wide brush into it and wipe the paint off on a rag. When you see virtually no color coming of, lightly rub this across the areas where there are projectiosn and angles. Repeat with the lighter mixtures using less paint and pressure in each set of passes.

Thanks AJ,
Guess I'll just keep plodding on until I find the effect that says GOT IT!
Cheers
Tom