Introduction

When news came out that Adam Wilder was to release a series of books on modelling there was a lot of interest from members here and modellers in general. Now at last two books are with us to pour over and glean information, the second of these books looks at painting and finishing and that is the title I will be looking at in this review.

Contents

This book has a soft back cover and has 232 pages. The contents break down as follows;

Chapter 1
Introduction and acknowledgements

Chapter 2
How I approach painting an AFV

Chapter 3
Applying basecoats and camouflage

Chapter 4
Colour modulation

Chapter 5
Filters

Chapter 6
Applying markings and insignia

Chapter 7
Applying a winter white wash

Chapter 8
Washes

Chapter 9
Fading and adding shadows

Chapter 10
Paint chipping effects

Chapter 11
Painting exterior components and details

Chapter 12
Painting mild steel surfaces and rust

Chapter 13
Adding earth tones and effects

Chapter 14
Painting steel road wheels

Chapter 15
Simulating oil, grease and spilt fuel

Chapter 16
Exhaust and smoke effects

Chapter 17
Painting impacts

Chapter 18
Simulating worn painted steel

Review

I am not going to break this book down into sections during the review; my reason for this is that this is a title that should be taken as a whole rather than piece meal. That is not to say that you have to follow Adam’s techniques religiously, I get the distinct impression from this title that he wants you to take what he does and alter the methods to make them your own and work for you.

Some areas of painting models that I was especially pleased to see in this book have nothing to do with actually painting a model. Adam has taken the time to show some of the issues encountered by anyone who picks up an airbrush; he has identified the issues where paint, thinner, pressure and distance cause problems, he identifies the issue, what causes that issue and how to overcome it, it is good to see someone like Adam take the time to cover the basics in this manner. Another basic skill I was pleased to see covered is the cleaning of the airbrush. These sorts of skills are just assumed to be known by many, but anyone picking up an airbrush for the first time will become frustrated and give up. I know when I was given an airbrush for the first time, at the age of 12 or so, I was completely lost. Back then there was no internet to turn to and no-one for me to ask about the issues I was having, the result was that it was 4 years before I really started using an airbrush thanks to meeting someone who could help me.

This book having been written by Adam Wilder I am sure you will not be surprised that the paint modulation method is covered in good detail here, everything from a very basic colour modulation style through to much more advanced methods of using this style. Despite a very good feature on colour modulation submitted by Adam to Armorama some time ago, I still find this method a very interesting painting method that can be difficult to get a grip of, but results in some very pleasing finished models. The book does do a fair job of covering this method in words and images.

Having seen a good number of articles and videos from Mig, it was Adams approach to aging and weathering models that grabbed me and made me pay attention. Adams methods are very similar to many others out there, but he brings it altogether in a way that I find easy to understand and that this book provides clear information to allow a modeller to re-create at home. Covering everything from aging and weathering the finish on the model, and then through to adding dirt and grime to the models in natural way. This title does excel in the way that the various methods for making a model look like the real thing in various situations and degrees of dirt and attrition.

Other things I like about this title is that the modeller can quickly and easily find the section that they need, if you are looking at working on some tracks and want to age them, go straight to that section and take from it what you want. It really does do a good job of explaining things in a logical progression. The other thing I really appreciate with this book from Adam Wilder is that despite having his own line of products, he has not used this title to push only the products his company produces, and so it is likely that most modellers will have a selection of the many products used in this title. No need to rush out and buy a new set of products in an attempt to replicate the effects found in the book.

In the previous title from Adam that I reviewed, I was critical of the amount of space turned over to a gallery. It is this title that really needs that gallery and provides the most for the reader to gain from it. I find myself wondering if the publisher moved the gallery from this title to the other in an effort to balance the page count; I suppose that if you buy both titles that would work, but if you only buy one, you either get a book with no gallery where it would really benefit you, or a gallery in a title where its inclusion does not really make sense.

Conclusion

In this second book from Adam Wilder, he has done a very good job of explaining his methods for painting and weathering a model. I found the various sections easy to follow and I look forward to seeing how well I can replicate his approaches when I get to work on my new brigade of Chieftains. Adam does feel to me to have done an excellent job with the way this title has been presented. I did find a few places where the ‘auto correct’ made me stop and read a sentence for a second time, but a reader should not let this put them off as it does not detract from the information provided.