An introduction to AK Interactive
AK Interactive is a new company brought to us by the folks at Vallejo and Mig Studios (Mig Jimenez). Their initial offerings include weathering products, a how-to video by Mig on enamel weathering techniques, a book on Diorama building by Justo Mira, and several wood bases.
Washes, Fading and Oils - The DVD
The DVD by Mig Jimenez is 60 minutes in length and formatted as a PAL DVD. What this means is that unless you live in Europe you will probably have to use your computers DVD player to view it. It is broken down into the following chapters:
- Intro
- The Differences
- Filters
- Washes
- Fading
- Streaking Effects
- Mud with Enamels
- Oil Effects
There is also a 6 page insert included with the video that outlines many of the techniques that are covered in the DVD.
Video Quality
This video is very well produced and editing. I would say that the quality is excellent with the possible exception being it seemed to be limited in overall resolution. I am guessing since it was formatted for PAL DVD systems that it was 720 x 596 pixels in resolution. This was notably less clear when looking at it on my PC monitor with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. Since many of the places this video would be used do not use PAL (or would view it on their computers in any case), I would recommend to companies putting out these DVD’s that they utilize a higher resolution. When dealing with subjects talking about details in scale modeling, etc. it would benefit them greatly to deliver the best video images possible. That said, the video on the DVD was typical for traditional DVD (pre-bluray). And the editing of the video is done in a manner very easy to follow from each technique to the next. The audio narration on this video is in English and very easy to understand (no accent). There is also sub-titled text in traditional Spanish (Castellano) as well. The insert pages also include both English and Castellano text.
The Techniques
As noted above this video covers a range of techniques and methods of creating washes and paint mixtures. While the video obviously attempts to promote the use of their product line, Mig also mentions how to mix your own washes, filters, and stains. He goes over the best proportions for the mixtures and why some work better than others. His technique for doing mud is very clever. Perhaps he has shared it elsewhere but that technique alone will probably make most modelers happy to own the video. I won’t mention it here as a professional modeler’s techniques are like trade secrets. He obviously shares them in this video, but it would be unfair of me to disclose them without his permission.
Each technique is covered in good detail. But simply enough that any modeler could follow along themselves while running the video. Certainly none of the tricks demonstrated on the DVD looked ‘too complicated’ for the average modeler. Most are done with a brush alone. Some required the aid of an airbrush.
Conclusions
This is a very well made and information packed DVD. Experienced modelers may find some of the techniques similar to those they already use, or they may find a better way to do weathering. At a cost of 13 euros this video in their library will probably be welcomed by most modelers. I did note that AK Interactive’s web site seemed to have a potential malware issue (or at least Google thinks there is a problem). Hopefully this is something they can resolve soon as AK products are not yet widely available internationally. I will certainly be putting this video in a convenient location so I can start trying some of these tricks in future.
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