Modelling Technics - Painting

The modelling technics of painting I follow are coming from years of testing on my table and exchange of ideas and experience with many other modellers.

My first painting technics consisted in the easy application of colors following the paint scheme of the kit instructions or found in modelling magazines.

First of all I'd been looking for all the colors necessary to paint the model following the international paint standard (RAL, Federal Standard, etc.).

Once having got all the colors, I'd been used to spread the most clear color of the camuflage on the overall surface in order to highlight the minor surface flaws.

Once having corrected all said surface flaws by means of very fine sanding paper, I'd been proceeding to spread the other colors on the model.

The colors I'd been using were normally acrylic (Gunze Sangyo or Tamiya) thinned at 50 - 70%; all the parts were painted by airbrush, while brush was used just give the wearing effects and dry-brushing.

In order to simulate the shaded effect between closer colors on the camuflage, I'd been using drawing paper masks positioned at different distances from the model surface, in function of the shade width.

The metal colors were done using synthetic paint (Humbrol and Molak) adding them lower percentages of browns, black and blues in order to get the right effect.

The wearing effect on the surface (oil leakages, grease residuals, crew walking marks, etc.) were done by means of brown and black pastel powder  applied by means of smaller brushes.

The engraved panel lines on the model surface were filled with thinned oil colors spreaded by means of fine round brush along the lines; the residual and color excess were removed, some one day later, by means of cotton or soft paper towels.

All the inner details as bays (cockpit, avionics, undercarriage wells, engine, etc.) were painted following the same technics.

In short, the technic I was used to adopt previousely to paint my models consisted to apply the colors with the maximum attention to the right base paint as per RAL or FS standards, without taking care to any other "artistic" consideration.

So that models were good looking but a bit "flat" and not always "real"; furthermore, being used in the recent past to put together all the details and then to paint the overall assembly with a final touch of dry-brushing, the details appeared to be nice but a little bit rough.

Following this philosophy I've built the most of my models with exception of S3B Viking, built with a newer modelling technic.

In this page are shown some of the pictures taken on models I've built to test new building and painting technics.

During many Modelling Competitions I had opportunity to admire the excellent and very high level of painting adopted by figures modellers.

Also they need to comply with some stricted paint schemes as per specific documentation, but they adopt additional painting technics to simulate and to  amplify the light effects on the model surface.

Being required to give a real aspect to their figures, they play with light and shadow in order to give depht to the model.

In detail, they spread a white layer by air brush on the overall surface of the figure, and then many very thinned (10 - 30%) layer of color from the shadow direction.

This means that the more an area is supposed to be in the shadow, the bigger will be the thickness of paint; viceversa, an area supposed to be directly exposed to the light will be painted as a thin layer of color under which a white base could be seen.

Indeed, the surface of an aircraft is more flat then the one of a figure but this painting philosophy could be followed on the aircfrafts as well with unbelievable results!

Following this new philosophy, I painted my S3B Viking.

I begun with a first layer of Gunze Sangyo acrylic white and a long series of very thinned Gunze Sangyo acrylic grey layers.

During the painting of this thinned layers, the painting pressure need to be regulated quite low because of the higher liquid consistency of the paint.

In order to give to the model more depth an in order to "help" the light effects, I've spreaded more thinned grey layers on the areas in the shadow and less on direct light areas (upper surfaces, wing and tail leading edges, etc.).

By means of drawing paper and fine plasticard masks, I gave the "color patches" effect to the model due to the frequent repainting on the real aircraft.

All the inner details and bays (cockpit, ejection seat, undercarriage wells, avionics, etc.) have been painted with the same technic but beginning with a first layer of acrylic black followed by many layers of final color leaving some dark shadows visible into the corners; a final touch of lightened color has been applied in order to give light to the most exposed sharped edges.

The dry-brushing technics has been minimized.

The wearing effects on the surfaces have been simulated by oil colors following the same technic previousely written.

In short, the idea of my new painting technic philosophy is to think about every single piece as a model itself which, for instance, we could imagine to be shown on its own stand.

In this way we will be required to pay a lot of attention to every minor things and, meanwhile, to spend the most of our time to get a better result.

TBF1C Avenger 1/48^th interiors painted with acrylic colors and lightened with light green and light grey dry-brushing

F16A 1/48^th cockpit painted with a first layer of acrylic black and successive thinned layers of acrylic grey FS36231, leaving the black base visible on the inner corners; at the end, final lightening of the more visible edges by means of thinned increasingly light layers of grey.

Dark grey oil color has been applied into the inner and smaller corners.

Side consolles panels have been painted in black ink and lightened with a light dry-brushing in medium grey; switches and button have been fixed after the painting works.

F16A 1/48^th upper surfaces painted with a first layer of acrylic white and successive very thinned layers of acrylic grey FS36118 insisting on panel lines.

Note the color differences on the overall surface avoiding the "flat" effect to the model.

Wearing and oil leakages have been painted with browns, black, blue-grey oil colors thinned by synthetic thinner.