Personal Project No. 2 - Structures

[disturbman]

Before starting my PP No.3 (you will read about it quite soon I think), I decided to take on a more easy one. One that is easy as building a GreenMax Structure Kit.

For me it's kind of a bing thing since I didn't put up together a complete plastic model since 10 years or more. So I will take it slowly and will documented all the steps (more or less) for me, and you if you are interested.

So first let me introduce the kit. It's a very simple and easy GreenMax Structure Kit of a Signal Box.
- http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10007585

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As you can see it's fairly simple. Not many parts but very nicely detailed. You can in fact see the wood knots in the plastic cast of the walls... A bit of painting (I will need I think two or three different colors), gluing and weathering and it should be down. If I didn't want to add a floor on the first level, some characters and some LEDs. But that will for later on.

[lbriand_fr]

Yes, very simple, and a really nice kit.
However, the stairs and the fence have to be replaced 
Don't forget to wash it before painting, the parts are quite greasy.

[disturbman]

Yes, very simple, and a really nice kit.

You seem to know this kit, did you make it too?

However, the stairs and the fence have to be replaced  

Yeah, I do think I'm going to separate myself from the fence. It's really ugl... sturdy. A bit too much indeed.

Don't forget to wash it before painting, the parts are quite greasy.

I thought about it but decided to try without washing the parts. And then, I'm wondering: what the problem with painting on an unwashed part? Is the grease going to mess up the paint?

Anyway, I just painted a part of the walls. Allmost everything that was in "wood" since I have found (yeah I've too equiped myself from nothing) a nice color. Very deep and vibrant "dark brown" from Marabu's Decormatt line.

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After that I can't say that I know what I'm going to use as a color for the roof. I'm toying with the idea of going anthracite (or a first a coat of grey and then black) but I'm not quite sure it's really prototypical. The same goes for what I recognize as being concrete... I don't really know wich color would match a Japanese prototype. If anyone has tips, infos or suggestion on this one...

[Tenorikuma]

For a utility building like this, I think black (dark grey) roof tiles would be the most typical.

[disturbman]

Thanks, that was also my pick. I'm going to try different mix of colors and see what happen. Same goes for the "concrete" color. In any case I'm pretty sure that the color to use are writen on the box but since I don't understand any Japanese... 

[disturbman]

So I did a lot of work today on the model. I finished painting inside out the roof and walls and although the color I created for the roof give me entirely satisfaction I'm really not convinced by the grey I produced for the upper part of tow of the walls. I tried different colors, some sand brown, some grey, a mix of both and at the end I'm not totally happy with the results. I'm thinking that maybe I should paint the walls only one color, the dark brown I've used until now but I still wonder, is this going to be prototypical or not?

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[Bernard]

I wanted to ask, are you using a brush or airbrush for the paint. I personally think your results are coming out great, a very smooth paint job.

[disturbman]

Thanks, I do too find my paint job quite smooth. Exept at the limit between the grey and the brown. My eyesight is not good enough for positioning correctly the masking tape.  

For applying the paint I'm using a small, normal brush. I thought about using an airbrush but decided against it, too much of an assle. Anyway I do think my result are as good because of the paint I'm using. I'm not sure I will have that kind of results with normal oil paint. In fact I just check an old trial with oil paints and the paint job is really bad.

[Tenorikuma]

Looks pretty good to me. One more note on colors: if this building is made with traditional wood construction methods, the panelling will be stained very dark, almost black (a black wash should do it), while the window framing might be a slightly lighter wood than what you have now.

[disturbman]

I will then have to make some research, I don't know at all how to apply a black wash even if I'm guessing it might be fairly simple, and some test before going crazy on it. I really don't ruin this work.

[lbriand_fr]

Black wash is what we call "lavis" in french.
You can find some info here: http://www.military-kits.com/sections.php?op=listarticles&secid=31
To go fast and in french:
Un peu de peinture, beaucoup de diluant, on applique, et on essuie vite fait. C'est mieux de varier un peu les couleurs.

[disturbman]

Thanks for the explanation.

I ran some test on some spare parts I had left from an unfished airplane model and, well, the results were not there. I guess I forget to do something or maybe I should have vernish the paint before.

So question:
- Do I really need to vernish the paint before trying to wash it with another color?
- Do I need to vernish the model anyway?
- Does the wash works with water based paint?

The only step forward I completed after testing was to cut a floor in a pizza packaging and painted it the same color as the walls.

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[Martijn Meerts]

should work without varnishing, in fact, I believe it should stick better before varnishing..

What I tend to do is mix up a bunch of the stuff, 1 part flat black paint, 10 parts water and a drop of dishwashing liquid (the dishwashing liquid shouldn't be necessary on parts you've already painted, but it does help).

You might not notice much of a difference after 1 wash because of the mixing ratio, but it's better to have too much water than not enough. Eventually, you should see black pigment starting to gather in the cracks on the plastic, which adds a rather nice effect.

In a way, just a wash is enough to make buildings look more like they belong inside the scene you place them, but you can of course also add small details like darker lines below the windows and roof, maybe some spots with a bit more dirt, or streaks of rust along bits where metal touches the walls. Depends on how detailed you want it really =)

[disturbman]

Thanks, I think I will wait a bit on this one. Run some new tests and see what happen. I'm worried that the wash really washes the first coat of paint off.

[lbriand_fr]

Just wait until the first layer is completely dry.

As I use acrylic paints, for the dilution I use a mixture of demineralized water and "product to wash the windows" (don't know the english name), at 50:50.
Don't hesitate to use several colors .

[Tenorikuma]

Just wait until the first layer is completely dry.

As I use acrylic paints, for the dilution I use a mixture of demineralized water and "product to wash the windows" (don't know the english name), at 50:50.
Don't hesitate to use several colors .

The brand usually used in North America is "Windex", and I believe it's mostly isopropyl alcohol, which is ideal for thinning some hobby paints and also dries quickly.

[lbriand_fr]

The brand usually used in North America is "Windex", and I believe it's mostly isopropyl alcohol, which is ideal for thinning some hobby paints and also dries quickly.

In france it's "Ajax Vitre", and yes, it's mostly isopropyl alcohol.
But I use 90° ethyl alcohol to clean the brush and the airbrush.

[lbriand_fr]

http://www.military-kits.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=13
It's not exactly about "black" wash, but it's a technique among others.