StarDestroyer.Net BBS

So I recently decided I was going to start building models. Don't know why, it just sort of happened. Anyway, I've built two since mid-January, and I thought I'd share. Feel free to comment, criticize, whatever.

My first one, a 1/700 scale version of BB-61, USS Iowa




A front view of the same




Close up of the bridge (this picture came out pretty poorly)




Aaaand here's the turrets




My latest one (just finished today); a 1/35 size M1A1 Abrams MBT



As you can see, I am not a big fan of painting




Grrr! Tank smash puny humans



And lastly, my favorite shot of it


Anyway, as I said, comments and stuff are cool. I'd like to hear what some other people think of these.

They look very well put together, but now it is time do delve into detail my friend.

Thanks. What kind of detail were you thinking of?

Real life wear and tear. Rust around bolts mud on the treads dirt, scuffing. It will give your models a more realistic look and you will like them even more.
I'm sure there are sites that can give you pointers on proper techniques. I don't really know any that would be helpful, since all I ever built were car models.

havokeff wrote:Real life wear and tear. Rust around bolts mud on the treads dirt, scuffing. It will give your models a more realistic look and you will like them even more.
I'm sure there are sites that can give you pointers on proper techniques. I don't really know any that would be helpful, since all I ever built were car models.

indeed, my uncle got into making those dioramas after starting to make his models more "real" and true to life. Little things like, he took some black paint and put it in a syringe (no needle) and then squirted it on a plane he was working on to simulate an oil leak, it looked like an oil leak would too.

The wear and tear stuff is ridiculously easy to do - find either an old, beat up brush or an ox-hair brush (DO NOT use a good horse-hair brush!) and get some appropriate paint on like normal - rusty metallics are ideal for rust, obviously, through browns work for dirt, black for scarring and so on - and then simply wipe all the paint off of the brush onto a newspaper or whatever. Then attack the desired portion of the model with the "dry brush" (hence the name of the technique) with just about complete impunity, and like magic the area will take on a pseudo-relief look as the paint will stick only in faint patches to raised area of the models.

It's an excellent way to fake detail (a necessary skill in model painting) and simulate metapaint (i.e., you're painting an object which would have been painted) as well as the wear and tear stuff.

Jeez, that sounds complicated. Maybe I'll give it a shot on the next one.

A wash is also good. They make them premixed, but for a quick and dirty one, get some black paint. Thin it down to the consistency of water (free tip, use weak thinner) and just paint over the whole model. Mop up the stuff that pools on raised areas, and you'll leave recessed areas and panels darker and highlighted.

If you don't want to dry brush, ground up chalk is also good. It can be applied by the same brushing method mentioned above, just make sure you seal it with some dullcoat when you're done.

Otherwise, assembly looks good. Which kits are you using?

Quick edit: Also, if you're going to get serious in this, you need an airbrush. The paint looks much better with one.

Thag wrote:A wash is also good. They make them premixed, but for a quick and dirty one, get some black paint. Thin it down to the consistency of water (free tip, use weak thinner) and just paint over the whole model. Mop up the stuff that pools on raised areas, and you'll leave recessed areas and panels darker and highlighted.

If you don't want to dry brush, ground up chalk is also good. It can be applied by the same brushing method mentioned above, just make sure you seal it with some dullcoat when you're done.

Otherwise, assembly looks good. Which kits are you using?

The problem with details like that (besides my immense laziness ) is that I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, so I like the models to look immaculate. Which is not to say I won't do it, and I thank you for the advice, I just haven't decided yet one way or the other. Anyway, I'm not sure of the name of the company. None of the markings on the box were in English. All I can tell you is that they're Korean kits.