Hello pascalemod. First of all, thank you for the kind comment.
But please don't stop building your little gems, they are fantastic.
Okay, guys, pascalemod asked me about my process for painting ship hulls.
So I’ll try to show you how.
First, the primer. This one uses a fairly light product so that the subsequent pre-shading looks good.
I use Vallejo primers. They provide excellent coverage and create a very good surface for the subsequent painting process.
Next comes the preshading.
Since no picture of my hull in this state exists, I created the whole thing in Photoshop. You can see that I blackened out the recesses and protruding surface structures that would cast a drop shadow.
I do this with a black primer. However, you can also simply use black paint instead of the primer.
Now I paint the hull with the base color I want it to have. Be careful not to apply too many coats, otherwise you won’t be able to see much of the pre-shading.
If you’ve done everything correctly, the black will shimmer slightly through the paint, creating an initial sense of depth.
After that, I’ll focus on the fine structures that protrude from the hull. Using a fine brush and a lighter gray than the base color, I’ll highlight them. It’s advantageous to use an angled brush here. This makes applying the paint easier. If you use water-based acrylic paints like I do, you don’t have to worry about making a mistake. If you immediately remove the mistake with a little water on the brush, it will be done without leaving any residue. However, the prerequisite is always that the previous step is completely dry.
Once that’s done, you can continue to increase the contrast.
Next, filters are applied. Like washing, this is nothing more than heavily diluted paint. For my gray hulls, I usually use a blue,a light grey and white filter. For the underwater hull, I also use a green filter to represent the algae growth.
What does a filter do?
It breaks up evenly painted surfaces and makes them more vibrant, thus varying the base coat. It’s also used to add different shades of color to specific areas. For example, I use a green filter in the waterline area to depict algae growth. Finally, it’s also a wonderful way to lighten or darken surfaces.
You apply the filter by first applying a small amount to the area to be treated with a brush. Then, using a flat brush dipped in water and wiped on a paper towel, spread the filter over the surface. It’s similar to how you would when varnishing wood. Spread the color with up-and-down brush strokes and then partially pick it up again.
After the filter is thoroughly dry, you can move on to the wash. These are the same colors used for the filters. It’s important that the color of the wash must always be darker than the base color. You want to enhance the depth effect.
For gray surfaces, I use these.
Apply the paint to one edge of the hull. Due to capillary action, the paint will run along the edge. Remove any excess paint with a clean, damp brush.
The paint will then remain in the corners and grooves, and the darkening in these areas will create a further depth effect.
Moving on to dry brush painting.
I used to use oil paints for this. Now, however, the market offers products that are easier to use. I now use MIG drybrush paints, which I’m very happy with. However, they’re the only products I have that aren’t from Vallejo.
I don’t want to advertise this company here. Yes, I’m very happy with Vallejo, but it’s more about the compatibility of the individual paint products. That’s a given if you stick with one company. It’s not necessary, of course. But you should test beforehand to make sure there are no unwanted reactions between products from different companies.
Okay, so you need the paint, a piece of cardboard, and a flat brush.
Then, pick up a little paint with the brush. Then, wipe it off on the piece of cardboard until the brush no longer transfers any paint. Then it’s ready for dry brushing.
Now, take the brush and gently brush it over the component. The brush won’t transfer paint to smooth surfaces. It will, however, transfer paint to edges and protruding structures like rivet heads and the like. Like here on my guns.
Once that’s all dry, the chipping can begin.
I also use MIG’s drybrush paints for this. You’ll also need a sponge or foam pad, your finest brushes, and the cardboard you used earlier.
There are a thousand different approaches to chipping. You also have to consider the scale you’re doing it for. With my 1:200 boats, I proceed as follows.
First, I pick up a little paint with a sponge. I then dab it onto the cardboard until almost no more paint is visible. Then I dab it onto the hull of my boat. Proceed carefully; less is often more. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes here either. You can remove them with a brush soaked in water while the paint is still dry.
Note that you can do less on smooth areas than on edges and protrusions. Experience has shown that paint chips off the original more quickly here. Then continue with the fine brush, irregularly distributing small, differently sized dots across the surface. I also draw longer strokes along the hull, for example, where it may have scraped along the fenders in the harbor.
Finally, I add highlights with a very light gray. These are along the gray lines or dabs. Like here at the stern of the Mikasa.
As another example, let's take the armored command post of the Mikasa.
In the center, you can see a cluster of tiny gray spots. I then modify these with a brush. By dipping the brush in water, I remove spots that seem excessive, or I enlarge individual spots. I also extend some of the spots with a fine stroke, so they look like long scratches.
At edges and corners, I then apply more pronounced chipping, since the paint on the original flakes off more quickly in these areas.
In the second step, I use the light gray to create a highlight edge on some of the spots, especially on the longer and more intense areas, like the long scratch at the entrance to the control room. This gives the scratches a 3D effect. I pick up a tiny drop of paint with the brush and draw along the edge of the gray spot with the tip. If the line is too thick, I clean the brush and go over the line again to make it thinner.
After that, your hull could look like this…
Let’s move on to the final step: fading.
For this, I use Vallejo’s special environment colors. They’re available for all sorts of applications. I’m using the three shown below.
Now I add a little more paint to the smaller brush and draw a thin line downwards. Then I wet the slightly larger brush with water and draw it along the previously applied paint. This makes the line thinner and thinner as I go down, allowing me to adjust the direction again. See the green arrow.
This is how I gradually add streaks of dirt and rust to the hull. In the end, it looks like this on the anchor fairleads.
I hope I was able to give you a little insight into aging ship hulls. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Oh, one more thing.
I always create a color key for each model. This way, you won’t get confused later on when you wonder what filter I used at the beginning.
