| PAINTING AND DRY BRUSHING THE AIRPLANE MODEL |
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DRY BRUSHING
The art of dry brushing is an extraordinary technique
that creates realistic looking airplane model kits,
especially in the cockpit.
You will need paint and a good quality paintbrush. I
dry brush almost all the cockpits with Flat White (e.g.
Enamel or Acrylic). Dip your brush into the bottle and
then remove about 95% of the paint with a Kleenex. Careful!
Too much paint and you may have to repaint the whole
thing to the original colour. Next, take your brush
and wipe down (back and forth motion) the areas where
you think is most adequate (e.g. instrumental panels,
sidewalls, bottoms, edges, etc.). You want to add depth
to your cockpit especially around dark areas and raised
detailed areas. Follow these steps and enjoy the effects. |
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PAINTING THE PANEL LINES
Once you have completed painting your airplane model
kit, the panel lines become the most important task.
Panel lines are designed to add realism and detail to
the exterior of the airplane model. Only attempt to
do the panel lines once the paint has dried completely
and a clear coat has been applied. Pre-shade all the
panel lines first (this is done before you apply the
colour scheme) as this will add depth and a more realistic
look on your airplane model.
You will need to acquire Varsol (which can be purchased
at any local hardware store) and some artist oils. Most
modellers use raw umber and iron oxide black. These
colours can be mixed or used individually. You will
have to mix the artist oil with 90% Varsol to obtain
a very thin paint. This allows it to flow into panel
lines, joins and corners. Load a brush with the wash
and just wet down the entire part of the airplane model
that you want to enhance. You will find that the wash
will accumulate in the corners and around protruding
details as it moves away from flat surfaces. When dry,
the illusion of shadows is perfect. But don’t
let the wash assemble in thick puds, or you may risk
covering up the underlying paintwork.
Don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t work
the first time, I had to attempt this many times before
I could do it correctly. If some of the thin wash should
happen to run outside the panel lines, wait until the
wash is almost dry. Then, using a slightly moist rag,
or moist Q-tip, wipe away the excess wash. Make sure
that you wipe in the direction from the nose of the
airplane model, towards the end to attain a very neat
and subtle ‘worn’ look. |
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