mitchell300 wrote:gtb -red wrote:just got off work. shaw ya tomorrow!
Me needs an answer!
I cant steer my ship whitout some explaining from black wash
What=blackwash?
Mitch
A black wash is where you thin out black paint, very thin, almost transparent, and you apply it over the model in a couple of coats. You are washing the model with this thinned out balck thnner. The thinned out "wash" will run into the various details and make them stand out. Armor model builders do this to get a "weathered" look. To do it properly you would also go back with your base color and highlight ( dry brush) raised details to give a highlighted appearance. The edges of everything on the ship get highlighted and the flat surfaces will look weathered. For example, you could wash the island with a black wash and take the base color and dry brush the island over the wash. It will color the edges and raised details and it looks very good. A lot of ship modelors do this to get the bridge windows to come out with out having to paint the windows. It is very easy to over do the affect. Go light at first and get the hang of it. It is tough to get a flight deck weathered unevenly like a real deck does with this method. The landing area gets a pretty good beating durring a deployment where other parts of the deck generally do not wear as much. The wash tends to run everywhere evenly.
Another way to get the affect you are looking for on carrier decks is to use a cotton ball/ cotton cloth and black chalk. I never got the results I was looking for with a "thinned wash" for the flight deck. I use pastel artist chalk. For better affects, I attach the Island after I complete this proccess, otherwise you will get black dust all over the island and make a mess.
1) Paint the deck, I have it glued onto the hull and all deck parts like elevators positioned where I will leave them. I use gunship gray for modern carriers
2) Gloss coat it to get a nice glossy finnish to get the decals to sit down on the deck. This will help avoid the dreaded "silvering" of decals.
3) Apply your decals
4) paint the cat tracks if you would like. I gennerally do not on a 700th scale ship but it would be a nice touch and I might do that on my next one. You could do a black wash and dry brush that I described above before you continue to weather the non flight deck surfaces and the entire ship if you want.
5) Dull coat the deck after everything is way dry!
6) Use a cotton ball or cotton cloth, apply the chalk, and rub it onto the deck.( a cloth is better; the cotton ball gets caught on the edges) I give the whole deck a wipe over and then I concentrate on the landing area. You want to get the white lines to gray/black out a bit. After I get the deck where I want it color wise, I wipe it along the length of the deck to give it a uniform appearance and smooth out any areas where I might have overdone it.
7) attach the Island and as of late, I have started rigging my ships with the stretch sprue method.
Do not use any spray over chalk!
It will screw up the whole thing and make you very angry.
Have anything you attach to the ship after doing this already dull coated and complete! You also have to be very careful handling the model because you will put your fingerprints all over it and everything else you touch! ( Black fingerprints on the refridgerator after working will anger the finance minister and jeopardize future projects!!
)
The first time you try this, you will probably make a mess of it. Just give it a try and you may want to start with a cheaper kit to practice on. Once you get the hang of it, you will love the results!
Good luck!
Mark
