1/700 Amagi diorama

[blacman]

Fantastic. But stop cheating and write the truth that for weathering you used 1/200 scale model!!

Seriously - that�s going to be piece of art in small world of 1/700.

[SilverGhost]

Fantastic weathering!

[marijn van gils]

Many thanks Greg and Andrew!

[marijn van gils]

Hello guys,

I have been active, but the next step in painting always takes me a lot of time: lining the shadows.
I painted the shadows around the details, lining hem with a fine brush with a mixture of black Humbrol and Raw Umber 502 Abteilung oil paint, and blending any harsh edges with a clean brush. The effect is like a pin-wash, but the technique gives more control (but is alas much more time-consuming!).




This was done on all parts of the model. It is easy to see why this step alone took me many hours�


After that, I did some reverse drybrushing. This means that instead of drybrushing with a lighter colour, a darker colour is used. This can be a darker tone of the base colour (like a dark green here) to make textures more prominent, or for heavier wear effect a dark brown. I used both.
Before:


After:


Before:


After:


Before:


And after:


The same effect is also used to bring out sharp corners. Now the darker colour is not really drybrushed, but painted with the side of a small brush. It is a bit the same effect as the well-known technique of bringing out corners with a pencil, but I feel I have more control using paint. I can also make it look a bit more like the edges are (partly) abraded and paint has worn by expanding the dark edge into some light chipping. Also, I like to avoid flatcoating my models, and unlike pencil the paint is matt.
Before:


After:


Before:


And after:


The island received the same treatments:






In between, I also painted the superb searchlights by Shelf Oddity:


And Shelf Oddities� tiny and amazingly finely detailed optical instruments and binoculars:


Next, I will tackle those dirty tide-marks around the ship!

Cheers,

Marijn

[Daniele]

I can look at this picture all day long
i am trying to figure out all the whole diorama when it will came together and i can't wait to actually see it .
Amazing detail Amazing job .
Daniele

[Koppalakki]

The ammount of fine painting! And in 1/700! Doing this in 1/350 is a chore at times but...

Damn

[johndon]

Stunning...

John

[JIM BAUMANN]

very very effective and very controlled!



JIM B

[Joe Simon]

Unbelievable Marijn. I have no other words.

[ADavies]

Marijn,

First, it was an absolute treat to see you and your work at SMC. I will say, that as good as your photos are, and they are very good, they do not do this or your Lexington diorama Justice.

To the others on this forum, I would recommend that if you get the chance to see these models in real life, jump at the chance.

Best,

Adrian.

[Spot]

Very impressive.

[J. Soca]

holy mackerel! what a beautiful weathering job



Jose

[marijn van gils]

Many thanks everyone!

Marijn,

First, it was an absolute treat to see you and your work at SMC. I will say, that as good as your photos are, and they are very good, they do not do this or your Lexington diorama Justice.

To the others on this forum, I would recommend that if you get the chance to see these models in real life, jump at the chance.

Best,

Adrian.

Thanks a lot Adrian! It was a real pleasure to meet you too!

Some modeler focus on making their models look as good as possible on photograph (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that). But I prefer to keep the model itself as my 'medium' and therefore focus on making the model look as good as possible in real life. Some elements like the shading for example make a big difference to the model in the flesh, but don't photograph very well. Also, on photograph one tends to loose the feeling of the scale and it becomes hard to judge the finesse of the work. So, I feel they look better in real life too, and there is even a reason behind it!

Cheers, and hope to see you at another show some time soon!

Marijn

[EJFoeth]

Adding shadow lines really pulled the model together; looks great! I can image the time spent on the deck, knowing how small that part it. The reverse drybrush also gives an interesting effect, less suffocating than a dark wash and a nice indication of paint wear

[Miguel]

Truly impressive Marijn ,as all of your works, man this weathering is unbelievable ,You are the Man

[Benva]

Amazing!!!

[marijn van gils]

Many thanks guys!

A quick update:

I couldn�t stop myself from finishing the island. So I:
- reduced the contrast of the chain railings by painting a lighter shade to the top of the �chains�;
- filled the windows with Kristal Klear;
- added a couple of dark streaks, and a bit of pencil �metal� to the dismounted gun and director positions;
- painted the lamps;
- installed the searchlights and binoculars. There will be 8 more binoculars on the central part of the top of the bridge, but I need to be able to handle this area to glue the island to the deck, so they will follow later.







And with my thumbnail for scale:


Cheers,

Marijn

[Noel Paris, Malta]

Outstanding ... very crisp and realistic modelling!!!!

[medicmike]

Holy mackerel! There are no words

[Kometa]

What a great envy I have to see this model.
Impressive !