I don’t know about anyone else but all this modelling jargon, the sheer volume of techniques and the plethora of products that are in the market place are both baffling and intimidating in equal measure. Who knew that your model required so much surface attention just to get it looking right, what is wrong with just building and painting the thing?. Now we have modulation, (whatever that is), primer, base coat, pre-shading, post shading, filters, pin washes, washes, chips and scratches, dust, streaking, pigments…. it seems like a never ending list and I keep asking myself the question, is it all really necessary. There is no doubt about it, a model does not look finished until you have applied those weathering techniques however are all these necessary and aren’t some of them just the same but in a different guise. I have been watching videos on You tube of late checking out all these finishing techniques and I will admit that it is a fascinating watch seeing this rather drab and dreary looking tank blossom into a truly battle field worn vehicle that really does look like it has been through the mill. I can’t help but marvel as each technique is shown and how it develops one step at a time yet I cannot help think that in a time where our leisure time is being slowly eroded by just about everything from work to family time, shopping to DIY not forgetting the need to cut the grass more often thanks to the weather, do we really have time to put our models through all of this just for us to stick it on a shelf or in a display case never to be seen by anyone except ourselves.
In this time of social media and before that internet forums, I fully understand that it’s not all just about finishing the model and shutting it away there is the added bonus of showing it off to your chosen audience if you feel like it, which to be honest is a mixed bag and can go one of several ways, you either get all the positives and encouragement, loads of negatives and nay sayers or you get loads of pictures of models built by other people something that I have to admit I find a bit weird but hey ho it is what it is. Returning to my point in question, we have all these products, most of which are aimed specifically at the modeller yet I have to admit I find them all a bit baffling and intimidating, firstly there is far too much choice that in itself is a headache, then there is the sheer amount of products on the market many of which do the same job, it’s a bit like having a tool box full of hammers, they may look different and made by different people but they will all do the same job. First things first though where do you start, I have walked round many a model show over the last 20 or so years and see the amount of different paints availably to use multiply. Long gone are the days where you could only get Humbrol enamels and Tamiya acrylics with the odd tinlet by Airfix or Revell thrown in and now there are so many, I feel that less was better, it is the same with so many things in this modern life, there is just far too much choice.
All this just rubber stamps my point in a roundabout way, if I go to a show, or have look at any of the online model shops I browse on a daily basis there are just so many products vying for my money, if you remove kits, tools books and magazines from the equation and just concentrate on paints and finishing products there are so many my brain just can’t take it. We have got oils, lacquer, enamels, acrylics and inks, then of course we have filters, washes, pin washes, pigments, all different kind of dust mud and rust fluids, streaking grime in many colours, glazes and recently I have seen deep shades…. it is never ending. To add to all that, a few years back we had oil brushers, streaking brushers, weathering pencils and more recently we have seen the birth of the marker pen aimed specifically at us modellers, now I know these have been around for many years in different guises and for different areas of modelling like Gundam and radio control however there just seems to be a never ending list of things you either paint, finish, or weather with and there is even washable white paint on the market which I have used quite recently and it is not too bad. It is brain scrambling for even the most seasoned modellers amongst us, it must seem like a complete minefield for anyone coming into the hobby, not only are there all these products available to us modellers there are many books guides and magazines specifically geared to help us master all these weird and wonderful techniques.
With all this in mind and as we approach Scale Model World 2024 I am attempting to change my approach to the finishing of my models and take on board the different finishing techniques which is where I got the inspiration for this blog post, I am pondering the need and requirement for all these different techniques and that is what drove me to watch some videos on you tube to kind of guide me. So I have got my kits built, primed, base coated, details painted, tracks painted, models glossed, decaled then glossed again and having watched my videos I have reached the point where I have started the slow weathering process and with all my products to hand, those that have not dried out that is and the models have had filters applied as a start and I will be honest not really sure what the filter brings to the party however as they were available to me I thought I would use them. A couple of my kits have suffered the indignity of a winter whitewash, that is where the washable white came in handy although I did also use a chipping medium which does go on quite nicely through the airbrush, can’t say the same for the white however that was more user error than anything else. I do like a pre Telford mishap so during the vigorous removal of the whitewash the decals on one model decided to remove themselves so they were put back on after a fashion and a nice gloss coat to keep them all nice and safe. So now I am ready for the next phase, this weekend will be pin washes and washes, I don’t really know if all this is really necessary however I am fully invested now and with a few more products and techniques to go we will just have to sit back hope for the best and see how these all work out and with a bit of luck I will have learned something. Until next time.
The Average Modeller October 2024.
The Average Modeller 