Hi!
I took a break from MR model building to put together a Sherman M4 tank like the one my Dad commandered in the WWII Pacific campaigns.
The kit is a Dragon Models #6441 Sherman, in 1/35 scale, with a plethora of detail parts - likely more than any model I've built in the last 65 years.
I'm slowly getting the kit together (great parts, difficult picture instructions, no verbiage) and am using Tamiya olive drab in spray and jar form. While some of the details will be painted in other colors (black, rubber, rust, etc.), the majority of the model will end up the olive drab.
A problem may arise in that much of the details will be "hidden" by the use of the same color paint. My proposed solution is giving it a very LIGHT overspray of flat white or beige to hopefully bring out contrast and weather at the same time.
Of course the danger is I may make a mess of the thing.
So my question is, what have you done for situations like this?
Thank you!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Good morning Mobileman44, I just Googled miliatry modelers, and there is tons of info out there, along with forums and many groups. Images reveals some fantastic modeling. If I were doing this, I would definitely be checking out some of the sites and groups.
One of the local hobby shops in Milwaukee, Greenfield News and Hobbies, now long gone, always had a display area for military modelers, and some of their work was nothing short of fantastic.
I would think that the same dry brushing techniques that we use on our HO scale models would work for bringing out details.
Mike.
My You Tube
mbinsewi I would think that the same dry brushing techniques that we use on our HO scale models would work for bringing out details.
Rich
Alton Junction
I found this video of a German tank that may give you some ideas. To knock down the "new" color of freight cars, I airbrush a 1:10 spray of reefer gray.
I'm assuming you want a weathered look. A wash of black or grimy black will settle in the crevices and highlight the details. Any of the techniques we use can be used on military models. However, just because you watch a video, doesn't make you an expert. My "rust" techniques still aren't very good. Practice on something other than the tank.
Dry brushing is simply wiping most of the paint off the paint brush on a towel, or piece of cardboard and then using the brush to create a sublte effect. There shouldn't be so much paint that it fills in all the crevices in what you are painting. Too little paint and nothing really happens.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Rich, what I'm talking about is a brush with very little amount of what ever color your using, and brushing the area, until the color starts to show up.
I'm no expert, but everything in this picture, the buildings, the hoppers, the loco, I used dry brushing for weathering and as your doing it, little details in the casting begin to stand out.
I've never built a military model, except the model ships, when I was a kid, and some planes, but I have looked at, and talked to a couple of modelers that do military models, and they seem to share some of the same weathering techniques that we use with our HO scale models.
As I mentioned in my first post, if I were doing this, I would be checking into some of the military modelers forums to get some ideas.
Did my picture show up? I don't see it.
Mobilman44,
I have a little too much on My plate right now to get involved in a new thread, of which I do have a lot of experience with. Military Modeling is another of My vices, but mainly German WWII Armor. Mikes advice on looking through the forums on Military Modeling is a good one......also....Fine Scale Modeling is another site to view.....Just click on the Armor threads for tons of info.....some step by step. You may even notice My avatar.......I am a member of the community, but Have not posted in awhile.
Here is a link to a Battle of the Bulge Sherman, which is a how to link which you could use to get some tips on how you may go about getting the desired effects you may want/painting and such:
https://www.amps-armor.org/SiteReviews/ShowReview.aspx?id=3962&tf=4&sf=2&mf=-1&rf=-1&nf=Sherman%20M4A3&df=1:35&p=1&s=-4
BTW: Tamiya 1/35 WWII kits are one of the best out there.
One of these days, I'll get around to finishing the weathering on this 1/35 German Africa corp. tank destroyer/artillery track. Camouflage paint was air brushed, free hand:
Good Luck!
Frank
mbinsewi Did my picture show up? I don't see it. Mike.
Kind of a neat build of a Sherman M4, goes through it all, with painting and weathering, in about 5 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZlnHE5Aj98
Hi again!
Thanks for the input and suggestions.
I've used most of the typical weathering techniques and I don't believe I want to weather this model "per se" - but do something to just highlight the details.
When I painted the backdrops for the layout (about 36x3ft), I wanted to give it some softening and depth. So I got some good flat white spray (cans) and misted the walls from about 3 feet away. That really made an improvement and I highly recommend it for backdrops.
So that is one of the ideas I had for the model, and was wondering if anyone had done something like that.
Yes, I had already seen the YouTube videos and while helpful for some of the assembly (the kit's instructions leave much to be desired), whatever painting was shown was not helpful for what I wanted to do.
Thanks again!
Although the Tamiya spray cans produce a finer spray than most other spray cans, it's still not as fine as you would need for weathering (which is what you're doing, even if you don't think of it as such). I suspect it would end up looking like a tank with a dusting of snow - hardly prototypical for the Pacific theater!
Weathering will bring out the details, not hide them. If you don't want to try dry-brushing, try using chalk / weathering powders. For example, brush on a coat of black (chalk, or powdered charcoal) and then take a soft paper towel and carefully rub it over the model to remove most of what you just put on. The black will remain in cracks and crevices and such, and really make those details stand out. Other parts could get a light touch of rusty red - just a little is needed.
Here's an example on a green boxcar:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/m/mrr-layouts/2289595.aspx
(Sorry, not sure why link isn't working....)
wjstix Here's an example on a green boxcar: http://cs.trains.com/mrr/m/mrr-layouts/2289595.aspx (Sorry, not sure why link isn't working....)
mbinsewi Good morning Mobileman44, I just Googled miliatry modelers, and there is tons of info out there, along with forums and many groups. Images reveals some fantastic modeling. If I were doing this, I would definitely be checking out some of the sites and groups. One of the local hobby shops in Milwaukee, Greenfield News and Hobbies, now long gone, always had a display area for military modelers, and some of their work was nothing short of fantastic. I would think that the same dry brushing techniques that we use on our HO scale models would work for bringing out details. Mike.
One could go to Kalmbach's Finescale Modeler forum, too. They have a section on Armor. And an announcement on how to work around an IT problem (logging in, in my case on my laptop) that I'll try.
Jeff
Just use a wash (I use Citalels) and then the tiniest amount of drybrushing (just bought paint markers to try for this but have brused in the past.
Sometimes I think people think of "weathering" as "making everything filthy". I think of it more like make-up...if you see a picture of a pretty girl and think "wow, her make-up is really done well" then she probably has too much make-up on. If you see the picture and just see a pretty girl and don't notice that she's wearing make-up, then the make-up was "just right". It's the same with model trains and trucks and tanks. A light overall weathering can bring out highlights and detail without making you aware that it's been weathered - it just looks "natural", like a piece of equipment that's been outside in the elements for a while, while a bright shiny piece of equipment looks artificial in comparison.
For a single color armored vehicle, like most Shermans, nothing works as well to highlight and weather as "dot filtering" using oil paints.
.
Look at YouTube videos on the process. It reallly does work well.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Whoa, Not that I am late to the party....I wasn't allowed IN the party!! Today is the first day in a week my log-in worked. Reading the posts all week and eagerly awaiting the break through.
Anyway, there are lots of videos on youtube. Ammo of Mig, Scale War Machines, AK Interactive have TONS of videos showing how to do these types of techniques and the multitude of products that are out there. Lots that can also be used in model railroading.
Terry
Inspired by Addiction
See more on my YouTube Channel