Airbrushing an acrylic wash??

Assume you haven't rigged her yet.

I'd have two minor reservations. First if you don't like the results you are really up the proverbial fjord. Is there an advantage?

Second, isn't it a bright ship with lots of different colors? I 'd probably prefer to go slow with a fine brush and just bring out the shade and shadow here and there.

Just my

You should give oils a try. The acrylics will act as a barrier and the oil wash will be easily removed if you don't like the effects.

No, she's not rigged yet...in fact, I haven't started any assembly yet.  I've just painted the hull and transom castles....the gun deck has to go in before fixing the hull halves, so I thought I would get the wash done first, so I don't have to worry about bumping any of the cannon barrels while they're sticking out of the doors.

And it's true, the Wasa does have a colorful paint scheme, but without a wash, all the carvings look very one-dimensional and fake...I almost feel like I should wash it for depth, and then touch it up afterward to bring the brightness back out....I guess spraying it on was just an idea, but it does seem like it could be dangerous!

I'll just go the old fashioned way!

I have considered using oils for the wash, I understand they will flow better against the acrylic paint...maybe I should pick up a few enamel wash colors and some thinner...I got away from oil-based a while back, because I found it to be messy, smelly, and unforgiving...although the color of the paints was much richer, if I recall correctly!

Thanks!

David

Piggybacking onto Bondo's concerns,   there may be problems when you apply a wash onto a flat (i.e. lusterless - not physically flat) surface.    Flat paints have additives which result in a microscopically rough surface.  This disrupts the light reflection making a flat finish.  In the olden days we used to make our  own flat paints by mixing talc into gloss paint.  

If you were to apply a broad wash, either using an airbrush or a hand brush, the wash color may stain the base color, throwing all your finely balanced colors off kilter.    This staining will also likely be permenant.  This will happen if you use alcohol & water colors or turpentine & oil paint.

Applying a wash over a glossy surface has three benefits:  1)  staining is minimized,  B) the gloss surface improves flow, and last)  the gloss surface allows clean up of mistakes better.

Before you commit your model to a possibly damaging and new (to you) process you should prepare a test piece to experiment  on your methodology

Thanks for the advice! 

I went ahead and bought some wood and flat black enamels, and some thinner...mixed them up and slathered it on.  I avoided the majority of the decorative painting to preserve the finish, but I mostly just wanted to wash over the *planking* of the hull, because it looked so "one-piece"...the enamels did a much better job of flowing (despite being applied over a flat surface), and it seems to be drying uniformly and sticking into the recesses.

It did, however, incorporate over the base coat.  I don't actually mind that so much, because now it has a little darker sheen to it, and kind of adds character to the *wood*.  Once it's fully dry, I'll go over it with a dry-brush of the original base coat for highlights...hopefully that will bring the texture up even more.

You know, I've read the posts about washes, and it seems like a lot of steps.  Let me see if I understand it correctly:
If the base coat is flat, then it should be coated with a clear gloss (like Future floor polish?  Does the application of Future call for being shot through an airbrush?  Full strength?  Or brushed on?)

Then a wash of the opposite type (oil for an acrylic base coat, or vice versa?) is applied with a brush.

Then a spray of flat clear (like Testors Dullcote enamel spray can?)

If this is the commonplace technique for washing over flats, then I guess I should try it.  I'm certain there will be times when I want to avoid staining my base color with the wash...

Still have much to learn, but at least it's fun along the way!  And luckily, the hull wash looks okay this time!

Thanks a bunch!

And by the way, my version of the Wasa has red for the hull upperworks (not blue) and I have mostly used gold paint for the decorations, I started painting the figures and carvings with the colors from museum photos, but it looked very corny and cartoony, so I went more simply, and I'm happy with the results!

David

You have the basic steps above. Like mentioned, you can wash over a flat surface but then the wash color will tend to stain the whole surface instead if just bring out the detail. It "grabs" onto the rough surface of the flat paint. I did this on a 1/144 hornet and it came out pretty well. it was just an experiment to see what happened. The thing I liked was that it dirtied up the surface which is more consistent with naval aircraft. In most situations I will coat with future and let dry overnight if possible. Lots of people brush it on since it's so thin and does tend to level well on its own. Most of this time I do airbrush it for larger areas. The texture can be a little rough so I dilute a little with Windex or ammonia before spraying to get it a little smoother. If you brush it then there us usually no problem.

I appreciate the info!

I'll definitely get some Future and a spray can of Dullcote for my next kit!  For now, the wash worked out pretty well....I know the Wasa didn't get any Wear n Tear, since she sank so soon, but I don't really like the look of the hull with such clean lines....the wash gives it a much more *realistic* look...

I still need to go over everything with a drybrush for highlights (never done that before either, so I guess I'll be learning something new tonigth!), and then I can begin assembly....should get the gun decks, the main deck, and transom all together by Saturday!  I consider that the "first leg of building a kit"....

Thanks again!  I can't say how much it means to have advice from experienced shipbuilders to help me on my journey!!

David

Learned to drybrush from an armor builder.   His recommendation included wiping the brush on a paper towel, and when you thought you had all the paint off - wipe it a few more times.   It is easy to add more paint,  but it becomes much harder to add less.

Once again the recommendation to experiment on a practice piece before committing your model to a new technique.

Thanks!  I did some drybrushing last night, with decent results.  It actually doesn't seem to be a very dramatic difference....maybe I need to try adjusting the color of the highlight?

Anyway, I got the deck and hull assembled last night....looks pretty good!  A little touch up and maybe some more highlights, and I'll be headlong into main assembly!  I already decided I'm going to ditch the shrouds/ratlines that came with the kit (inj. molded) and just rig them up myself.....might just do the shrouds, though...but we'll see!

Funny thing is, I'm already starting to look ahead to consdier what ship I might want to do next!  :)

Absolutely just do the shrouds. Much much better than the kit parts. If you ever feel so inclined, go back and try the foot ropes, but I will say that to take that on in the general sequence of the build will stop you dead and you will end up shelving the kit.

Conventional wisdom is to do the standing rigging first of course, and you probably wouldn't have a great deal of luck working your hands back in there for the footropes, but I really wouldn't worry about it.

I'm no great gift to modeling, for sure, but my poor little Emden is stalled because I don't feel like rigging her, and imagine, that's a "modern" ship.

Really looking forward to some pictures, hint hint...

Thanks, Bondoman!

I think I will skip the footropes for now....you're probably right, I think I would get discouraged and *shelf* it!

I changed my avatar pic to a shot of the Wasa hull that I took last night, but I don't actually know how to poast pics on here....I'm still new to the forum....but it's funny, looking now I see a button that will elt me post a link...

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150652386816312.389965.582946311&type=3

I also have been keeping build photo albums on my Facebook page, all those pics are open to public view...Dave Kump

Wow! First of all, brilliant model! But also, linking to your website or facebook album is really the way to go and someone needs to show ME how to do that.

Although it's now Old School I see, posting pictures here is a matter of following steps you can learn by going to the forum tips thread. It's a matter of posting a link to an image that you have stored on a third party album site. Most people here use "photobucket".

I like your idea better. Twenty pictures all at once...great!