Okay ladies and gents, I'm currently working on the original issue of the Klingon Bird Of Prey model. Now on the instructions it says to "wash" certain areas a certain color, IE: Rust or Black.
I have never really done a wash before, so how exactly do I go about doing it?
How to "wash" a certain color?
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Captain-Raveers
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I would actually recommend using charcoal. Grind down a charcoal pencil to get a nice powder. Brush it on, making sure to get it into all of the nooks and crannies. Then wipe off the excess with either a damp tissue (clean version) or a dry spongy makeup pad (dirty version). You can also use colored chalks as well, although I prefer the consistency of the charcoal pencil. The big upside of this method is that it is A LOT easier to remove if you mess up or don't like what you did. However, beware of fingerprints. Wipe down the surfaces with a damp cloth before starting to get rid of any oils from your fingers.
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Tankmodeler
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To make a general "wash" of any colour, simply dilute it by a factor of 15-25 to 1 of thinner to paint. Use a reasonably broad brush & gently brush over the entire surface allowing the liquid to accumulate in the crevases & low spots.
Don't overdo it.
Pick a paint & thinner for the wash that is incompatible with the base coat. I.e. if you paint with acrylics don't make up an acrylic & isopropyl wash. It will eat the base coat. If you use acrylic paints then use an enamel, artists watercolour or artists oilcolour wash, etc.
NEVER wash with laquer based washes as they eat _everything_!
You can do an overall wash to get a general effect but you can also do what is called a "pin wash" where a somewhat thicker wash solution is applied by a fine brush only around details that you specifically want to pick out.
Lastly, you can apply what is generally known as a "filter" but is really more like an old time artist's or decorator's "glaze". This ia 20-1 mix of paint and it is sprayed (and maybe brushed if you can control it well enough) over the whole model. The object here is not to build up the filter colour in the crevases, but to add a layer of colour over the main colour in order to blend in details & integrate the overall effect. A filter colour is a modified version of the base colour and is put over everything, even things not painted the base colour, in order to even out the total effect. Don't let a "filter" pool or it just ebcoes another wash. It is more useful for vehicles that are weathered as it tends to tone down the various contrasting weathering colours and give a more harmoneous whole, espeically when placed on a base and looked at from a distance.
HTH
Paul
Don't overdo it.
Pick a paint & thinner for the wash that is incompatible with the base coat. I.e. if you paint with acrylics don't make up an acrylic & isopropyl wash. It will eat the base coat. If you use acrylic paints then use an enamel, artists watercolour or artists oilcolour wash, etc.
NEVER wash with laquer based washes as they eat _everything_!
You can do an overall wash to get a general effect but you can also do what is called a "pin wash" where a somewhat thicker wash solution is applied by a fine brush only around details that you specifically want to pick out.
Lastly, you can apply what is generally known as a "filter" but is really more like an old time artist's or decorator's "glaze". This ia 20-1 mix of paint and it is sprayed (and maybe brushed if you can control it well enough) over the whole model. The object here is not to build up the filter colour in the crevases, but to add a layer of colour over the main colour in order to blend in details & integrate the overall effect. A filter colour is a modified version of the base colour and is put over everything, even things not painted the base colour, in order to even out the total effect. Don't let a "filter" pool or it just ebcoes another wash. It is more useful for vehicles that are weathered as it tends to tone down the various contrasting weathering colours and give a more harmoneous whole, espeically when placed on a base and looked at from a distance.
HTH
Paul
The future is in your hands. Build it!
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Mr. Badwrench
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There is a sticky on this subject in the finishing forum, four pages and counting:
http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/vie ... hp?t=15835
Read through that, then experiment like a mad man. Using washes is dangerous though. No, not because it'll ruin your model, (although you'll think it did the first time you try it). But because once you start using washes, pin washes, filters, and dot filters, you'll never be able to look at models the same way again.
http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/vie ... hp?t=15835
Read through that, then experiment like a mad man. Using washes is dangerous though. No, not because it'll ruin your model, (although you'll think it did the first time you try it). But because once you start using washes, pin washes, filters, and dot filters, you'll never be able to look at models the same way again.
I speak of the pompatous of plastic.