Weathering the deck

Yeah, I do the same as rcboater. I brush on, but that's all I ever do. I work with 1:700, and 1:72 almost exclusively. My lone exception is about to become Revell's 1:232 USS Olympia.
These very small scales, IMO, do not need the aid of an airbrush. The only misstep here being I can't do sujects that require a "soft edge" multi-colored paint scheme.
You know what? I can live with that.
But I can tell you that from what I've read, many modelers DO airbrush Future onto their subjects. Supposedly, it works very well either way..... straight outta the bottle.
When doing small items like say, an aircraft canopy~ just pour the future into a wide mouth jar and dip the canopy into Future. WIck off excess by placing the canopy right side up onto a paper towel. Best~ Craig

I generally just brush the future on. The key is to brush slowly, so you don't put a lot of air bubbles in the future....

Thanks for the help, cfazekas. Do I need to spray the future or can I dip or brush?

QUOTE: Originally posted by Powder Monkey That sounds great. Do you need to stop at obvious points, or does it all blnd in together when its done?

Not sure what you're hitting at here..... It does have a nice finish and does blend well when finished. I suggest stopping and doing this in sections that can be managed in roughly half-hour intervals. Reason being, the longer the wash sits on the model, the harder it is to take off. Not THAT much harder..... but enough to make you want to work in sections. What you can take off in that amount of time is surprisingly large......
It won't show that you worked in sections, if that's your concern.
Don't scrimp on the dish soap- it's the key element in this technique. If anything, add more of it than less. It makes removal easier.
You can always correct with this method, too. Like I said, it's impossible to screw up.
Took too much off a small area with the Q-Tip? Go back and slap on more sludge!
Also- The Future acrylic will SLIGHTLY darken your deck. Very slightly. Even though you might not be using sludge in all areas, bear this in mind. It best to do the whole deck to avoid different shading due to the acrylic clear coat, for a uniform appearance.
Truly- this works on all modeling subjects. I did Dragon's 1:72 M2A2 Bradley. This had lots of details on it's exterior. Frankly, they were lost when I painted it that sand color used by Iraq coalition forces. Until I brough out the details using this method, that is. BIG DIFFERENCE!!
Regards- Craig

That sounds great. Do you need to stop at obvious points, or does it all blnd in together when its done?

I like to use a wash for this stuff. I firstly overcoat the surfaces with Future Acrylic floor polish. Let 're cure a minimum of 2 days, if not longer.
Make a wash using:
2 parts acrylic paint
2 parts water
3 parts dish soap
Put the wash on, and let it dry.
Only put on as much wash as you can take off in about a half-hour's time.
Remove wash with Q-tips. The wash will remain in recessed areas.
Dull coat to lock that sucker in once finished.
I use this whenever I need to highlight detail of any kind. I've used it on ships, tanks and wing-things. And it's impossible to screw up- really it is impossible. The key to the wash is the dish soap. It takes away the paint's ability to cling to it's subject.
The rest is up to you and a LOT of Q-Tips. You'll quickly get a feel for it.
Try this out, it's one of my favorite parts of doing kits- easy and very worthwhile!! Regards- Craig

PM-

The wash was sloshed over all the deck and yes it sits in the lines and darkens them nicely...

-Len

That's kind of what I am looking for. Did you darken the lines between the planks, or is that just the picture?

Anyone else have any ideas?

powder monkey-

I think a darker shade of tan will look nice. I did the same on a recently completed Cutty Sark- hope you can see the affect in this pic:



good luck...

Len