Hi everyone!
What is the technique you use to paint without leaving brush strokes? I use Vallejo acrylic paints.
Thanks for your help!
Stéphan
I see You are using Vallejo ''Model Air'' in a bottle for your Printing Co.'s window frames. Vallejo ''Model Air'' gold label is thiner (for Air Brushing) then Vallejo ''Model Color'' white label. What type of brush are you using? Just now I tried both type of paints (MA an MC) with two different brushes, one cheap and narrow brisseled and one (sabel) flat brisseled on flat work. Don't brush back and forth over work, one brush stroke and keep moving. Have enough, but not too much paint on the brush to cover on the first pass.
Thin coats of Vallejo paint dryes fast, in like 15 seconds.
What kind of surface are you painting. Maybe those flat "cement" walls on the Printing Co. or maybe the white flat walls on the Gas Station?
I'm not at all familiar with Vallejo paints, but have had decent results using some Polly S paints (not all of their colours worked well, though, as far as hiding brush strokes was concerned) and even better results using Pollyscale paints.The quality of the paint job depends on both the paint and the brush used, along with the technique of the painter. Of course, the consistency of the paint can be varied, too, but I think that a good quality brush is important if you wish to get good results.
Before I learned to use an airbrush, brush painting was all I knew, as I never liked (nor did well) with rattle cans.
I still brush-paint smaller items, especially those which require multiple colours.
(A click on the photos will give a larger view if anybody wants to look for brush marks)
...and a couple of brush-painted locomotives, the first two of about three dozen similar ones...
...after those, another three dozen were done with an airbrush. It's difficult to tell them apart.
Wayne
I am finding those around me that were weened on Floquil-Polly S "Railroad Colors" (solvent base, red label made in Amsterdam, NY.) then moved on to Floquil-Polly S ''Polly S (water base, brown label made in Amsterdam, NY.) then Floquil-Polly S "Polly S'' (water base, gold label made in Amsterdam, NY) and I guess the last of the Floquil-Polly S "Polly Scale" (water base, red label made in Weston, Ontario) paints are now finding it hard to find a paint that lays down nice once and done out of the bottle on a flat surface. I guess there is a learning curve to the Acrylics.
xploringrailroadsWhat is the technique you use to paint without leaving brush strokes? I use Vallejo acrylic paints.
Almost all I use anymore are Vallejo Acrylics. They simply work very well.
You need three things:
1: Thinner
2: Good Brushes
3: Practice
1) Vallejo makes an excellent thinner. I started using this about a year ago when I finally ran out of my stash of Delta Ceramcoat Thinner.
2) I only use Winsor & Newton Pure Kolinksi Sable Series 7 brushes. You don't need a brush that good, but you should at least get pure sable.
3) Practice is the only way to get there. Layer your paints on in several layers and thin the paints more with each layer. I also lighten each shade as I layer it up.
Feel free to ask me any more detailed questions.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Many shun rattle can spray paints, but unless you invest in an air brush, they are a pretty good alternative, although certainly not as precise. I use hardware store paints for most large surfaces, although I'll go to a hobby shop for specific railroad colors or if I'm painting an engine or rolling stock.
I do a lot of masking with tape before spraying, and I do fine details with a brush. I also make my own decals. Between masking and decalling, I get very good results with my big-cardboard-box paint booth.
Model railroading is a very big hobby. It's got so many facets and options that no one can be a master of all of them. We must allocate our time. Some run beautifully detailed trains on the Plywood Central. Some run train set quality trains with horn hooks through spectacular hand-built forests and canyons. Neither is right or wrong, just a different approach and different preferences.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
SeeYou190Feel free to ask me any more detailed questions.
A war triceratops?
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BigDaddyA war triceratops?
They call it a "Stegadon", but it has features of several different dinosaurs. And of course the Howdah on top for the giant bow.
I don't brush paint model trains, so I need to reach into the wargaming file for brush painting example pictures.
She is one of a pair. The boy stegadon is blue. People called them "Ricky and Lucy" at events. I never liked those names, but they stuck.
I have found f ew drops of water mixed in the white label Vallejo works well to solve the brush problem. Slows the evaporation rate. Just enough to slightly loosen the viscosity but not thin it out. vallejo makes a retarder to add to thier paint. Haven't tried it yet.
Shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
NVSRRvallejo makes a retarder to add to thier paint. Haven't tried it yet.
The Vallejo Retarder is great for blending colors together. It slows the drying time by a lot, and I can get a nice color transition using it.
I use a Masterson Wet Pallette for general brush painting to keep paint from drying out too quickly on the pallette. It works great.
As with "proto" painting projects, cheap brushes will yield lesser good results.
To avoid brush marks, you need a proper brush - and one appropriate for the job (i.e. bristle material, bristle length, shape of brush, etc.). With experience, picking the right brush for the job will be second nature.
The paint itself is another issue. Often it needs to be thinned a bit to allow smooth strokes w/o paint "piling up". But also, some paints may need a bit of retarder added. Yes, thinner kind of does the same thing, but sometimes its not enough.
And lastly there is the painter him/her self. Again, this is where experience comes into play, knowing where to start painting, direction of strokes, quantity of paint on the brush, etc. etc.
I've found the best test for painting skills is model car kits (1/25 or so). To me, they are much more difficult to properly paint with a brush than the HO structures I have done. Again, there is no substitute for experience.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Wow! Amazon sells a set of 16 Valljo acrylic paint bottles for $50! Is that the going rate? Call me cheap, but I've had success with inexpensive craft paint for structures and figures.
To paint them without brush strokes, I add two coats. The first has strokes. Fine.They get covered up with the 2nd layer.