Need some basecoat help!!!

I usually paint it in the base color lightened appropriately for the scale, usually 10-20%. Then I use a dark wash of burnt umber heavily thinned so it will flow, then let it dry a couple of days then if I like it I seal it with dullcoat then after a couple of days then I start drybushing. I start with the base color then I go lighter each time I start again and I also use a less agressive brush stroke each time I start a new coat.

Cplchilly is politically correct, however I don't lighten my basecoat and I think from what I heard few others do also. Not to say his is wrong, I'm just lazy and don't think the average person would know any better. I would go with Tamiya's Dark Yellow which is a close match for Dunelgelb. Then follow Cpls. weathering techniques. I'd also do a tri-color pattern of Dark Green Tamiya XF61 and Red Brown XF64. Many members use future before applying decals than weather followed by a dull coat.

i am one of the few that lightens the base coat first.
i feel it gives me a bit more leeway to use an overall wash w/o darkening the kit too much.
i don't think i am 'right' it's just what i am comfortable w/.
you will find your own favorite way too.

i am w/ the guys on the washes - but a word of warning!
if you are not familiar w/ washes - search the forum on the topic as it comes up quite a bit.
the thing to make sure of is that you use a was that is a different TYPE from your base coat.
so you can use an oil wash over acrylics, or an acrylic wash over enamel, or a water
thinned wash over most anything.
but you don't want to put a wash that is 95% Tamiya Acrylic thinner down over Tamiya Acrylic paint!
the results are somewhat predictable! hello bare plastic!

there are some who say they 'do it all the time; just let the paint cure'
but not for me, thanks!
i use water-colors over my acrylics, a lot of guys use oils.
if you decide on water colors,
put in a drop of dish soap to break the water's surface tension and help flow.

I've never lightened my basecoat, but the one and only time I've used Tamiya OD, I wish I had, as it was ridiculously dark.
Anywhoo, I would just go with Tamiya Dark Yellow for your base coat straight out of the jar. If you want to add variance to the shades, you could try a technique called 'preshading'. Basically, spray all the crevices, panel lines, corners, edges, etc in flat black, so that you effectively spray just the 'frame' (for lack of a better term). Over this spray your basecoat, but in light layers, allowing the preshaded colour to show through slightly. If you've never done this before, I strongly suggest practicing a few times on scrap first.

i use water-colors over my acrylics, a lot of guys use oils.[/quote[ I use Grumbacher artist's water-colours. They work just great. Reply Anonymous Member since November 2005 Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, June 17, 2004 8:46 AM To add to Wildwilliam, I am a oil wash guy... I just like the fine grain of oils and the ease of use. He his dead right about using the same medium for wash as base paint. IF i am using a enamal (rare for me) base coat I will apply a heavy acrylic gloss and dull coat for the decals which acts as a barrier when it comes time to weather. Also some thinners are more potent than others... try a couple of different types. I sometimes preshade on German stuff but I find with the three color schemes the effect is lost by the time all the paint is on. It works quite well for a single color scheme though... Look in the Missing-Lynx Articles section under raraties... It has some magnificent weathering tips by Miguel Gimminez Good luck pal and keep us posted... Reply Edit wipw Member since January 2003 From: Utah - USA Posted by wipw on Thursday, June 17, 2004 12:56 PM Actually, some nice effects can be had using an oil wash over an enamel base and letting the wash strip a little of the base color off. I've gotten a few nice rust streaks this way. But you really have to be careful to not wind up with bare plastic, as was said. For most weathering, I do the oils over acrylics or acrylics over enamels method. It's safer. Bill ========================================================== DML M4A2 Red Army ========================================================== ========================================================== -- There is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness". (Author unknown) Reply JOIN OUR COMMUNITY! Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Login Register SEARCH FORUMS FREE NEWSLETTER SIGN UP By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy. FORUMS PRODUCT REVIEWS READER GALLERY HOW TO VIDEOS SHOP ABOUT US FREE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER SIGN UP By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy. More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy