Hi All,
As I mentioned earlier, I'm working on my
first-honest-to-God-painted fleet. :) Brigade AmRep ships. I pulled
out
the airbrush the other night and base-coated 32 ships. :)
I've decided that i want to a splinter camo pattern on them. Bascially,
large blocks of color - only two for this fleet. The blocks will need
to have clean, straight edges. Cleaner than I want to try for with a brush.
So, I got me an idea. I bought some Pactra 1/2 inch modelers masking
tape, and cut out irregular blocks to stick all over the ships. Once on, I
figured I'd get out the second color, air brush them, and then all I'd
ahve to do is highlight and wash, then pick out any details, decal, and I'm
ready to go.
The masking tape won't stick. It's low tac so that you can use it on models
and a) get it off and b) not lift off paint. But it won't stick.
The models have too many small details (all of those squarish bumps), and the
tape won't cleanly stick over them, nor around corners (and I did use a
plastic burnishing tool to burnish it down!).
So that's not going to work.
Anyone have any ideas, or am I pretty much gonna have to pull out my brushes?
Thanks,
J
Cut shapes out on a 3x5 card and hold it over the figure and paint it template
style.
I have seen it done once on a space shuttle model where they made a wire
mesh shape and sprayed through it to get the look of the heat shield tiles. GW
did a similar article where they covered a tank in a mesh bag and sprayed
that. the bag when removed left mesh panels of the under colour.
I tried the wire mesh idea but it didn't work because the model was too
curved.
If you really want to do this you need to apply liquid masking agent to mark
out the shape or cut the pieces of tape so that they stick flat to each
surface.
You could use a compromise where you use flat tape panels over the easy parts
of the model and then fill in the lumpy parts with liquid masking compound.
John
[quoted original message omitted]
I did some NAC ships this way, cut thin lines in a sheet of card then sprayed
through it, came out good, the edges wont all be sharp though, if your after
sharp edges between colour try using the paint on masking stuff from an art
shop.
Paul Owen GT Network Solutions Ltd M:07980 823765 T:01476 514687
> -----Original Message-----
Use silly putty as a mask-material.
It ruins it for letting kids play with it, but lasts a long time if you're
careful to not use thick coats.
Be mindful of the fact that the solvents in spraypaint will melt the silly
putty, making it tacky and a mess to clean off if you get too much solvent on
it.
If you can spray-on acrylic paints, say with an airbrush or get those
foam-friendly spraypaints, go for it. Still be careful about soaking
the putty with solvents.
_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@lists.csua.berkeley.edu
http://lists.csua.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lWell, one option
would be to paint one of the colors all over, then cover with a water soluble
glue like elmer's white glue where you don't want the second color, then paint
with your second color. I have seen another
product a few years back which was just a putty/clay like substance you
could use to cover areas.
> On 7/26/06, John K Lerchey <lerchey@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote:
Bascially,
> large blocks of color - only two for this fleet. The blocks will need
And a little brush work around the edges could sharpen these up...
A Pigma pen line around the edge can do the same thing, and a black strip can
add to the image.
However, has anyone tried small pieces of damp tissue paper as friskets? I'd
think they'd stick fine, and you could gently tap them into surface detail
with a brush.
Them that can, do, them that can't, come up with weird a** ideas.
The_Beast
Paul wrote on 07/27/2006 04:37:44 AM:
> I did some NAC ships this way, cut thin lines in a sheet
***snippage***
> > Cut shapes out on a 3x5 card and hold it over the figure and
All,
Thank you for the various painting ideas. Just to clarify (but not to offend!)
I'm rejecting a few out of hand.:)
Paining on liquid mask - If I wanted to paint on liquid mask, I'd just
paint on the paint.:)
Airbrushing the edges to sharpen them. Um... I don't what kind of airbrush you
use, but my Badger with it's finest tip is NOT going to make
a clean edge on a ship that's 1/2 inch long and 1/4 inch wide.
Pices of tissue. Neat idea, but I'm worried about getting them back off
once I've airbrushed over them.
Pieces of tape. That's essentially what I was using. I was actually using a
thin masking tape made for doing this kind of work on models. It didn't work
because the ships are ALL covered in small panels and such (makes for nice
models, but makes for difficult painting of clean lines).
Silly Putty. Now there's an idea! Happily, I'm using Testors Model Masters
acrylics through my airbrush, so I don't think I need to worry about solvent.
And there is a store nearby that has silly putty. I think that the hardest
part will, again, be making straight enough edges (eg, I
don't want rounded blobs - I want irregular polygons), but it's worth a
shot, and if it doesn't work, I can let my kids have it (yes, I'll know if
it's going to work BEFORE I paint the stuff!).
Templates. Yeah, this could easily work, but I am concerned about fuzzy
edges. I've used micro pens on some of my tanks to do edging, and found
that I'm actually better at it with a brush.
In the end, I *may* end up doing the camo with a brush. I just don't relish
doing this over and over again on an entire fleet. For reasons that I'll never
figure out, I almost never come up with ideas that I like for painting my
minis that are *easy*.:)
Thanks again! There are some good ideas in there - if not for this
project, certainly for others down the road!
J
Mr. Lerchey wrote on 07/27/2006 09:49:08 AM:
> All,
Certainly not offended...
> Airbrushing the edges to sharpen them. Um... I don't what kind of
Running the airbrush along the edge of a template has this effect, but you're
right about it being a fiddly size to make this work.
> Pices of tissue. Neat idea, but I'm worried about getting
Just to be clear, I'm talking tissue paper sometimes used for wrapping, not
TP/Kleenex, and I thought keeping the friskets damp would keep the paint
from being sucked in. However, unless you're very sparing with the airbrushed
layers, could well be 'glued' to the surface. We'll wait for a
crazed individual to give it a go. ;->=
> Silly Putty. Now there's an idea!
Just remember you may have to clean some 'invisible' residue if you wish to
coat afterwards. Least, places where Silly Putty touched sometimes felt greasy
to me.
> I've used micro pens on some of my tanks to do
Wow, I'm impressed; prolly should ignore ANYTHING I say about painting, if
you're that good with a brush.
> For reasons
Better than the ideas that I get, and that clean scare me off from trying them
at all.
Good luck!
The_Beast
Shot in the dark here, but could you wrap the mini in plastic wrap, and cut
out the areas you wish to paint?
> On Thu, 27 Jul 2006, Doug Evans wrote:
> Pices of tissue. Neat idea, but I'm worried about getting
Ah. Now I get it. THAT kind of tissue paper. Ok, that's worth a shot.
:)
> I've used micro pens on some of my tanks to do
I was painting OGREs at the time. Somehow a small brush (I think it was a
5/0 - 10/0s don't hold enough ink or paint) worked better and faster.
I'm not saying I'm good with a brush, but I can be accurate.:)
> For reasons
I have a Brigade Models Cronus mecha. Similar in design to a Destroid
Monster, in 1/300 scale. I rebuilt the "top" guns, and added a dual
gatling gun under the chin. I have it mostly built and primered, and have a
really good idea of what kind of paint job I want to do on it. I've been
scared to paint it for over 2 years now for fear of screwing it up.
Go figure.:)
> Good luck!
Thanks!
J
Heh. Cool idea. Might work on some models. Go to www.brigademodels.com, select
"space ships", then select AmRep. Look at the Newman, New Jersey, Hunter, and
Baltimore. You want to wrap them in plastic wrap?;)
Seriously Mike, cool idea, scares me.
:)
J
John K. Lerchey Assistant Director for Incident Response Information Security
Office Carnegie Mellon University
> On Thu, 27 Jul 2006, Hudak, Michael wrote:
> Shot in the dark here, but could you wrap the mini in plastic wrap,
_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@lists.csua.berkeley.edu
http://lists.csua.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lIf the issue is
that the mask doesn't contact the model cleanly, so that the paint is allowed
to spread outwards and lose definition of the edge line, then you should use a
material that conforms to the surface a little better
- perhaps thin sheets of neoprene or other foam that can be pressed more
tightly to the model surface, but still have enough give that small fiddly
bits don't keep the mask off the surface.
You'd need to check that the foam doesn't melt with the paints that you are
using, but if you're using acrylics, it should be ok.
I don't know of a good source of such foam, but think that small children's
foam shapes or thin foam used for padding floors might be appropriate.
--Binhan
On 7/27/06, gzg-l-request@lists.csua.berkeley.edu
> <gzg-l-request@lists.csua.berkeley.edu> wrote:
> Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 10:49:08 -0400 (EDT)
> Paining on liquid mask - If I wanted to paint on liquid mask, I'd just
This isn't really a reply to John's post. I just wanted to point out a use for
a liquid mask. I've heard a lot of people say that liquid mask is pretty
useless as you still have to paint it on. However, it allows you to paint over
an area you've already painted so that you could then airbrush over the whole
area.
Just thought I'd point that out.
> Pieces of tape. That's essentially what I was using. I was actually
It
> didn't work because the ships are ALL covered in small panels and such
One problem people complain about with tape is that there's always some bleed
under the tape, making it less than crisp. I saw a solution to this on one of
those TLC channel home improvement shows.
Step 1: Paint the base colour.
Step 2: Tape the area you want to mask off.
Step 3: Paint over the edge of the tape with the base colour. This forms a
paint seal on the edge of the tape, and the bleed under the tape is the same
colour as the base coat.
Step 4: Paint the unmasked area. It can't bleed under the tape because of the
seal you made in step 3.
Now, I've seen it done with walls with laytex paint. I don't know how well it
will work with acrylics on miniatures.
Very cool tip.
For my next trick, I went out at lunchtime and bought a sheet of Badger
Frisket paper. Basically a light acetate film, lightly tacky on side. I pulled
a sheet out of an open pack and it's a) pretty darned thin and b)
designed for masking for airbrush projects. Now, that said, the tape I tried
to use was desgined for use by modelers too, so I'm not all that hopeful.
Tonight I'll try making some patterns and see if they work any better than the
tape ones. If not, I'll move on to either silly putty or make a template and
live with the fuzziness. Or get out my paint brushes. Or something.:)
J
John K. Lerchey Assistant Director for Incident Response Information Security
Office Carnegie Mellon University
> On Thu, 27 Jul 2006, Allan Goodall wrote:
> On 7/27/06, gzg-l-request@lists.csua.berkeley.edu
It
> didn't work because the ships are ALL covered in small panels and
_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@lists.csua.berkeley.edu
http://lists.csua.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lIt's been a while
since I've done much airbrush work (used to do 1/72 airplanes), but the
fuzziness of the edge with the template method varies directly with the
distance between the templace and the work. If you put the template
right up to the model, fuzziness should be minimized--and if you're
careful with the angle of the airbrush, you might be able to eliminate it by
shooting from "outside" the edge of the template you're using as a mask (brush
tip outside the "hole," shooting across the edge and back into the hole). I
wish I could sketch it for you.
Best of luck,
Ken
> John K Lerchey <lerchey@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote:
Very cool tip.
For my next trick, I went out at lunchtime and bought a sheet of Badger
Frisket paper. Basically a light acetate film, lightly tacky on side. I pulled
a sheet out of an open pack and it's a) pretty darned thin and b)
designed for masking for airbrush projects. Now, that said, the tape I tried
to use was desgined for use by modelers too, so I'm not all that hopeful.
Tonight I'll try making some patterns and see if they work any better than the
tape ones. If not, I'll move on to either silly putty or
make a template and live with the fuzziness. Or get out my paint brushes. Or
something.:)
J
John K. Lerchey Assistant Director for Incident Response Information Security
Office Carnegie Mellon University
> On Thu, 27 Jul 2006, Allan Goodall wrote:
> On 7/27/06, gzg-l-request@lists.csua.berkeley.edu
It
> didn't work because the ships are ALL covered in small panels and
> On Thu, 27 Jul 2006, Ken Hall wrote:
> It's been a while since I've done much airbrush work (used to do 1/72
Ken,
No need to illustrate. I get this completely. Good tip. If I use a template,
I'll see if I can pull it off.
Thanks!