Weathering tips with Laurence Farrugia

Transcription

1 Weathering tips with Laurence Farrugia Some notes taken during (and checked by) Laurence Farrugia weathering demonstration Disclaimer from Laurence This is not the technique, it is a technique I have used over the years. Use whatever technique makes you comfortable and gives you the results you are after References and Context We often get inspiration from a picture or a description we have read. We do our research, and match what we can from the picture. Look beyond the picture and think about what the picture and environment around it is trying to tell us. For example, an Israeli Kfir (a variant of the Mirage jet) is often quickly turned around from landing to take off during combat (refuel, rearm, back to battle), it is under harsh sun, and the priority is to keep it flying and fighting. The Israeli Kfir, showing the subtle weathering of faded panels, grime build up and lack of polish for parade Conversely, during the Falklands war, the Argentinean Daggers (also a Mirage variant) had long over ocean flights to the combat zone, a short combat sortie, then a long flight back, mostly over ocean. Once returned to base, these planes were washed off from salt water, as this is quite destructive to aluminium airframes. These planes also had a series of temporary tactical identification bands

2 applied to the wings. These were done first in a yellow, then a blue house paint. So it was fresh, but peeled along the leading edges quickly. An earlier example would be a Messerschmitt 109 during the Battle of Brittan. They spent time cruising over the English Channel, then went to high power for combat, then cruised back to base. So the exhaust smut was quite light. The high altitude interceptors, doing battle with allied bombers over Germany spent almost their full time at full throttle, so the exhaust staining almost went all the down the fuselage (again, check your references) Vehicles, ships, even people will have a context and a place, so keep that in mind. Weathering logic Any vehicle comes out of the factory, spray shed or workshop fresh, markings done, and in good to great condition. Dirt, dust, exhaust and staining then starts to build up on the vehicle, sunlight and moisture affect the paint, plus knocks, bumps and scrapes from crew getting in and out, servicing and so on. Oil may come up from under the paint, depending on the vehicle. Fading The Sun tends to fade paint evenly, and paint will fade across the surfaces evenly. It won t consistently fade the centre of a panel and leave the edges the base colour. (Again, this is a personal preference)

3 Exhaust staining where there are multiple exhaust nozzles (like on an WW2 aircraft) the first nozzle will be soot free, the second will be slightly blackened from the first, the third a bit blacker from the exhausts of the first two, and so.. again check your references. Dirt and dust will build up behind hinges on wings, rivets, on panel lines, while on vehicles it will build up in the nooks and crannies that are less prone to traffic. For example, the US Navy Pibber (Patrol Boat Riverine, aka PBR, a small, fibreglass boat armed with machine guns fore and aft) had high foot traffic as the crew shuffled along the edge of the boat, which only had a narrow plank way. The rear crew area, the dust and grime built up in the corners where the crew rarely moved about (similar to wear patterns in carpets in a building heavy near the doors, very light near the corners of the walls) Mud and dust The PBR note grime in corners, paint chips and flakes Not every tank or vehicle will have mud up to the roof. It depends on the track/ wheel layout, fenders and in the case of wheeled vehicles, which ones do the turning. Turning wheels will flick more mud and dust onto the vehicle, while the wheels that don t turn, any dirt and mud will be within the track of movement on the body. Dust being lighter, will travel further than mud. Knocks and Bumps, paint chips too Areas that received chipping, knocks and bumps need attention to the underlying structure and what it is made out of!

4 The Pibber, when it is knocked, shows a white/grey structure underneath, and being fibreglass, didn t rust. Likewise, wood trim goes a lighter colour, then weathers back to warm grey colour over time. A German U-Boat (submarine) when the paint gets chipped, the edges show a lighter shade of the colour, and rust then starts to appear. Rust A German U-Boat, displaying the paint chipping, and the warm tomes of rust. Note also the light paint chips on the dark grey portions of the hull. Rust comes in shades from a light yellow (for light rust) to orange (fresh rust) and to dark brown (old, long term rust). It also follows gravity, and water flows. Check your references. A desert vehicle will barely rust, while a vehicle in a damp humid environment will rust more heavily. Laurence s weathering mix, and application Now onto the mix and its application!! Laurence uses a mixture of 1 part Tamiya red brown, 1 part Tamiya black, and approximately 98 parts methylated spirits. It is more tinted thinner than a thinned down paint.he only uses this once the model he is painting is fully painted, decaled, and sealed. He will also seal over the top of the weathering mix, to prevent any fingerprints or rubbing off as the model is handled.

5 The top coat of sealing will pull back the weathering effects, so experience will let you know how much to weather it, and to what degree. The method The model is completed, decaled and sealed, and all dry. Then the weathering mix is applied, very gradually over many, many layers, with an airbrush. The airbrush pressure he doesn t measure, he just goes by the effect observed on a piece of scrap plastic or an old junker of a kit. Because the mix is so thin, a lower pressure is best used. So thin layers, which give greater control of how much the effect is applied. This is much better than laying down a thick layer of paint, as that may causing overspray and spider web effects. (And blotching!!) An occasional side effect is occasional white spots from the methylated spirits that can occur from a slightly heavy application not to worry! Just lightly apply a bit more of the weathering mix. This also applies to lightened base colours as well Likewise, if you do go a bit overboard with the weathering effect, just apply some more of the base colour. Because it has that red-brown-black effect, it has the similar effects of brake dust, general grime, exhaust smuts, it s a good, general all round weathering mix.

6 With practice you ll learn the best ways to apply this to all kinds of models and render many more effects desired. It is one tool amongst many. Practice and experimentation will be your best friends for this method.