With Adam Brown
3 HD VIDEO DEMOS!
Note from Geoff…
In this addition to your Techniques Bank Adam shows you how to create realistic subtle dirt streaking like the type you often see streaking back from panel lines on aircraft and other subjects – typically vertical streaking down the sides of AFVs and so on.
Acrylic base – You’ll see here that Adam is using the excellent Eduard 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf109 as a test-bed – this is a fantastic kit and for the purposes of this TB entry he’s camouflaged the wings and fuselage but not yet applied a gloss coat and decals – this is deliberate (for his demo) and so this sequence of videos is just to show you how to create the effect. As ever, practice is the name of the game here and as you’ll see you can work with this technique for quite a while and if you don’t like how it’s turning out, simply wipe away the excess and spray the base colour again and try again.
Enamel, solvent-based weathering product called Streaking Grime from AK Interactive is being used. Remember, this is one of the safest ways to avoid any problems like getting an unwanted reaction between products and paint finish – use one (like acrylic) for the paint finish (as Adam’s doing here) and the other – solvent based enamel product for the weathering and vice versa.
Sure, you may use a different method like applying a ‘barrier’ layer of varnish between the surface and weathering product (for example to create a gloss finish for your decal application) but I want to keep this entry simple and straightforward, not go into and probably confuse many by giving all the variations on a theme – simple and straightforward is good in my world if it does the job!
What you’ll need – tools and materials:
- your model painted in acrylic paint, left to thoroughly dry (a couple of days to be safe)
- your chosen weathering product – AMMO of Mig Jimenez does some great sets – many themed for different subjects and colour finishes and is well worth a look. Many other manufacturers also produce their own brands with more coming along all the time, like the new Hog Washes from Alclad2 (these are a bit like the Mig washes, designed for acrylic paint finishes, interestingly NOT their own metallic lacquers and other enamel paint finishes).
You can of course use simple oil paints thinned with white spirit – your call.
- thinner – in this case, Adam is using Mig’s Odourless enamel thinner
- flat, broad paint brush for working in and blending the weathering product
- tissue paper to remove excess thinner
- hair dryer/blower to speed up the drying time for the Streaking Grime after applying it to the surface and before blending