Model Forum / General / Models / January 2006

Weathering is an art, not a science. You need to play around and find out
what works for you and what effects you want to show. How beaten-up do you
want it to look? You can do everything from putting an undercoat of silver
down first and then chipping the top-coats off to using washes, pastels,
ink, airbrushing and drybrushing over the final paint job. It's merely a
matter of personal taste.

You can simulate exhaust stains with thinned paint, charcoal, pastel,
graphite shavings, or clean out the tailpipe of your car, grind the soot
small and rub it in. Exhaust stains are more prominent nearest the
exhaust pipe(s). A solid black exhaust stain with the same intensity and
thickness all the way along just looks wrong. They should start out narrow
and fade out wider as the stain gets farther away. Exhaust stains are more
greyish than black. They often follow the curves of the local airflow,
especially over (or under) the wing roots. The older the airplane, the
longer the stain, but they should never be too long. Exhaust cools
rapidly, so it stops damaging the paint when it gets a few feet away
from the pipes. You can highlight the panel lines and surface detail by
running washes or ink into the lines, or airbrushing or drybrushing along
them. Don't be too stark. Much can be accomplished by subtly tinting the
paints. Remember that however much you beat up the outside, the
cockpits should show a similar amount of wear so plan the amount of
waethering you want to apply while you can still get at the inside bits.

Paint fades when exposed to sunlight, so if it's going to be a desert
bird, mix white in with your final colour and randomly lighten the top
surfaces. If it's not from the desert, just use less white. Fabric control
surfaces very often look a little lighter or darker than the adjacent
metal, and any patches or damage repair will have fresher (darker) paint
on them.

Stuka wheels liked to collect lots of mud so if you decide it was muddy
out there should be some splatter on the spats and under the wings
in line behind the struts. You may also wish to put muddy footprints on
the wing-walk areas to show where the crew stepped while working on it.

The propeller wash threw up little bits of gravel and garbage which would
chip the leading edges of the stabilisers. If you do this, don't go
overboard; the gravel was tiny. If it was muddy out, there would be tiny
bits of mud overtop the chipping on the stabilisers. The further back from
the propeller, the smaller and more spread out the mud speckles should be.

Oil leaks can be shown by applying a tiny drop of thinned paint where the
leak started and blowing or wiping it backwards in the direction of the
airflow with a Q-tip or similar implement. Remember oil is slightly shiny
so you could easily use gloss paint for this. Don't go overboard on oil
leaks, because serviceable airplanes just aren't allowed leak that much
(unless they're Skyraiders, but that won't apply to your Stuka). Keep the
leaks small.

Keep the level of your weathering consistent. You don't want tons of exhaust
staining on an otherwise factory-fresh paint job. You want to show use
without making it look like it came out of the scrapheap (unless you want
your model to look as though it's on the scrapheap, but that's a whole other
story). Let the weathering tell the story of how the aircraft was used, and
remember that aircraft only got dirty and chipped, not filthy.

Remember that you can get caught up in applying the weathering and go too
far which makes your model look like a toy. Stop often and take a break.
When you come back, look at it from all angles and see what needs to be
added (it's always easier to add weathering then to take it off). Stop just
before you think you've done enough (which is a trick and a half. Use a test
model to practise on before you go to town on your masterpiece).

Last of all, have fun : )

Try here:  http://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/2/ShowForum.aspx

Lots of good info.

My most basic weathering technique is to mix up some paint-chalk color,
the top surface color plus white or very light grey. I mix about half
and half.

Then, I airbrush it VERY lightly, more on horizontal surfaces than
vertical ones.  This dulls the decals and "chalks" the paint, as paint
looks when exposed to much sunlight.

I do this before I add things like exhaust, oil, paint chipping, etc.
which are each worth a discussion by itself.

Many have pointed out the different mediums to use,
be they chalk/pastels, enamels, oils, acrylics, water-colors,
etc., and how it is really up to what woks, and what is most
comfortable, for *you*; as there is no "correct way" to
do this (nor any other part of modeling.

As was pointed out by Jessie, weathering is an "art"
(actually, so is *all* model building), so learn, and take
inspiration, from the works of artists.  Examine the
paintings of your favorite (canvas) artist; and see how
they achieved what they did, in two-dimensions.  Study
their color palete.  Apply this to your "art" that is
in three-dimensions.

Note that "weathering" (as also shading and highlighting)
is not just to represent dirt/grime, the effects of heavy
use, etc...it is also used to help replicate the effects
that natural lighting has as it falls on the real 1:1
scale subject.  Shading a model does not just simulate
dirt or staining; it also helps replicate the areas on
the real subject which may fall under shadowed areas.  
And highlighting represents the effect that natural light
has on the upper and/or exposed surfaces...*not* just
faded paint.  Natural sunlight falling upon a "real"
life-size object...is totally different from artificial
(EGADS! fluorescent!) light falling upon a miniature
representation.

Go back to the aforementioned paintings.  Note that the
artists probably do *not* put as much detail into them
as you *think* you saw at first.  Instead, their
carefully planned color selection, as well as their
added shading and highlighting, make your eye and brain
*think* the detail is there.  *All* art relies on such
"tricks".