by sargentx » Sun Dec 14, 2014 12:52 pm
Eric Bergerud wrote:I got another private message from a fine modeller who also insists on cotton. So cotton it will be. I've been futzing more and I think I was just using way too much of it. So I yanked most of it out and have found that some of the stuff pulled out has a little medium still in it, giving it a stringy consistency that actually makes it easier to tuck next to the hull - still got a little fluff to it. On Dec 26 I'm off to the St. Paul for a month (yup, Minnesota in January - maybe I might make a ship modeller) and I'd like to have this in the outbox.
Last questions: first, do I take it that you put the final sealing coat of gloss medium on after the cotton is in place? I assume that means you want to keep the stuff away from the cotton itself. Second, I'm thinking about the final sea color. (There's a pic of my humble Hobson in the preceding page - a fair effort according to my standards.) It spent most of the war in the Atlantic and even the North Sea (went on the Ranger raid in early 44). Service highlight was Normandy support. I was thinking of the your example of English waters - maybe platho green (blue shade) with some gray and whatever. That would heighten the contrast between the ship and the water. Measure 22 is basically all blue gray of differing shades and when I put it on an earlier sample of a platho blue/gray etc, it fit right in to the point of being a little indistinct. I suppose that's the idea of camouflage. But I see you've recommended matching the ship to the water. I'll probably make two anyway. Lastly, you've got pics of hand painting the ocean color on the surface chosen. Do you think the brush strokes add to the overall ocean effect? Normally I'd do everything with an airbrush.
BTW: I'm a sucker for molding pastes, gels, mediums etc, so this project has been good for Blick Arts. (Made in the USA - got to do my bit to help economic recovery.) I got some Golden gloss medium and it has a really sweet texture. I've always liked their products. Also bought something they call gloss "self-levelling" gel which does indeed lay down differently - probably just a little thinner. Maybe an intermediate step between sanding the foam and putting paper on it. Also trying out some molds and putting mediums and the Wood Scenics stuff in them - a technique I've seen on model railroad videos to make gentle waves and ripples. Also like the Golden High Flow paints a lot - they'll work perfectly with the fluids I already have. It's all great fun - do hope it works.
Eric
What cotton You use is obviously a preference. I've used cotton and rayon balls and find the rayon to be way easier to work with and find that they produce a far more realistic water effect. When I lay down my cotton, I kind of stamp it with a brush which causes it to string together and web-up. This look quite convincing. I find that some of the cotton balls out there to be plagued with seeds and bits which are obviously no good! As with all things, I advocate trying different things to find what works best for you. At 5 bucks a bag what's the harm in trying both? lol
The sea color is a personal choice. My seas are almost always a combination of black, thalo blue, and white. Blue plus white to lighten it, then black to kill the intensity a bit. A touch of yellow in the mix would green it up a bit. AGain, these are personal choices. While we could attempt to capture the look of a particular region of sea, it gets silly because ultimately, water is more or less the same worldwide and its look is distorted by weather, sunlight, plankton, depth etc. In general, water is a dark navy blue because water absorbs the other colors in the spectrum except blue. Again...it's personal, and less 'factual'. Try different colors, and do what you think looks the best. It's your baby and you have to love it. I'll mix a color, brush it around, see if I like it, re-mix, try again, etc.
[quote="Eric Bergerud"]I got another private message from a fine modeller who also insists on cotton. So cotton it will be. I've been futzing more and I think I was just using way too much of it. So I yanked most of it out and have found that some of the stuff pulled out has a little medium still in it, giving it a stringy consistency that actually makes it easier to tuck next to the hull - still got a little fluff to it. On Dec 26 I'm off to the St. Paul for a month (yup, Minnesota in January - maybe I might make a ship modeller) and I'd like to have this in the outbox.
Last questions: first, do I take it that you put the final sealing coat of gloss medium on after the cotton is in place? I assume that means you want to keep the stuff away from the cotton itself. Second, I'm thinking about the final sea color. (There's a pic of my humble Hobson in the preceding page - a fair effort according to my standards.) It spent most of the war in the Atlantic and even the North Sea (went on the Ranger raid in early 44). Service highlight was Normandy support. I was thinking of the your example of English waters - maybe platho green (blue shade) with some gray and whatever. That would heighten the contrast between the ship and the water. Measure 22 is basically all blue gray of differing shades and when I put it on an earlier sample of a platho blue/gray etc, it fit right in to the point of being a little indistinct. I suppose that's the idea of camouflage. But I see you've recommended matching the ship to the water. I'll probably make two anyway. Lastly, you've got pics of hand painting the ocean color on the surface chosen. Do you think the brush strokes add to the overall ocean effect? Normally I'd do everything with an airbrush.
BTW: I'm a sucker for molding pastes, gels, mediums etc, so this project has been good for Blick Arts. (Made in the USA - got to do my bit to help economic recovery.) I got some Golden gloss medium and it has a really sweet texture. I've always liked their products. Also bought something they call gloss "self-levelling" gel which does indeed lay down differently - probably just a little thinner. Maybe an intermediate step between sanding the foam and putting paper on it. Also trying out some molds and putting mediums and the Wood Scenics stuff in them - a technique I've seen on model railroad videos to make gentle waves and ripples. Also like the Golden High Flow paints a lot - they'll work perfectly with the fluids I already have. It's all great fun - do hope it works.
Eric[/quote]
What cotton You use is obviously a preference. I've used cotton and rayon balls and find the rayon to be way easier to work with and find that they produce a far more realistic water effect. When I lay down my cotton, I kind of stamp it with a brush which causes it to string together and web-up. This look quite convincing. I find that some of the cotton balls out there to be plagued with seeds and bits which are obviously no good! As with all things, I advocate trying different things to find what works best for you. At 5 bucks a bag what's the harm in trying both? lol
The sea color is a personal choice. My seas are almost always a combination of black, thalo blue, and white. Blue plus white to lighten it, then black to kill the intensity a bit. A touch of yellow in the mix would green it up a bit. AGain, these are personal choices. While we could attempt to capture the look of a particular region of sea, it gets silly because ultimately, water is more or less the same worldwide and its look is distorted by weather, sunlight, plankton, depth etc. In general, water is a dark navy blue because water absorbs the other colors in the spectrum except blue. Again...it's personal, and less 'factual'. Try different colors, and do what you think looks the best. It's your baby and you have to love it. I'll mix a color, brush it around, see if I like it, re-mix, try again, etc.