Painting/Weathering of 1:200 scaled models

[shipmodeler]

Your advises will be very appreciated!!! I'd like to try the Nagato kit at the 1:200 scale, which is much bigger than the 1:350 scale that I am familiar with. I feel there is some difference in the painting and weathering procedure in this scale change. In particular, I don't really know how to weather such a large hull to make it realistic as well as interesting-looking. I would not want to ruin such a nice and expensive kit.

So I need your tips about painting and weathering at the larger scale. Thank you very much in advance!

[William J]

Painting and Weathering is real 'trial by error' stuff. With the bigger kits you need to try and be more precise with the paint and weathering as any mistakes will show up more than with the smaller kits. Don't over indulge with the weathering as you could ruin the look. Similarly, if you have an idea as to how you want to weather a particular area (eg: rust around the anchor), experiment first with the technique on a spare bit of sprue or on the underside of a part that won't show on the final build. If you do this, you can see how much wash or pastel chalk you may need to achieve the look you want. Can I also suggest that a good paint for simulating oil slicks, etc is Tamiya 'Smoke' X-19. You can use this over anchor chains as well if you want to simulate grease, etc. Because it is an acrylic, it lends itself well to washes.

Hope this is helpful.

Good luck.

Bill