Ok Ok Ok, more detail on wash technique.

A few suggestions, if I may?
If you're going to use Acrylic wash, wash over un-clear coated Acyrlic painted surfaces. The water from the wash, even if the paint has cured for forever, will fade the paint just slightly, and randomly. This gives that"uneven" color that most modelers spend fortunes on airbrushes to try and recreate!
Also, for a wash, use Acrylic paint that you don't like, and that does not cover well. Also, it should preferably, when dry, be somewhat "rough". This is the best style, because when put into"wash mode", as I say, it does not like to stick to the model, so all but a somewhat translucent, uneven in depth wash effect will remain. This is more realistic, IMO. I mean really, when was the last time you saw a solid black line on an Aircraft panel?

Wow, that does it: I'm going to do a wash on my current model in progress too!

Andy,

That P47 is looking great already. Can't wait to see it when it's all completed.

Ray

nsclcctl

I have just done the wash on my Tamiya P47 take a look at:

http://rongeorge.com/modules/Gallery/aircraft/P47_001

Will be starting the weathering on it soon. I used the Water, Acrylic and dishwashing liquid in the ratio 3:5:1

Try it on one of the scrap parts in the box.

awesome, thank you!

ready for lesson 2?, okay here we go. Obviously, the skin of the aircraft needs opening hatches and panels to get at the mechanical bits inside, also the crew needs to get in. These panels may have latches & hinges, or may be held in place by scews. Go and look at a car, you will see that the doors etc have a black or at least, a dark, line around them, it's the same on an aircraft. these are the panels that should have a dark wash around them. The same, in general, goes for any moveable pieces of the 'skin', Airbrakes, elevator's, ailerons, rudder etc.
The colour used to show up the skin panels depends on the environment it operates in (I work in the desert, the skin panels have a line in or behind them that is a lighter shade of the skin paint, due to the dust) Around the front, especially under and just behind the engine, you get leaks, even on well maintained aircraft, this will be engine oil & hydraulic oil, so a dark wash will be good here. Almost any aircraft built after 1950, say, will have hydraulic flight controls, so expect a small amount of leakage onto the airbrake etc. This fluid is pale red, but attracts dirt like a magnet and ends up brown or even black. So, to sum up, Unless you're building a model of an aircraft that is straight off the production line, or unless you prefer models to look pristine, almost any of them can be & may need to be weathered to a certain degree. To take the P47 at the top of this query for example, It would probably operate from a grass/mud airfield, so a small amount of dirt/mud would be thrown up by the wheels & propwash underneath (don't forget to weather the tyres & undercarriage) Then there would be oil leaks from the engine, underneath & behind the cooling gills.
Have the guns been fired? has it been wiped down between missions? do you need exhaust stains? are the markings worn? (a light sanding on the decals) do you want some staining behind the supercharger exhaust? The list goes on & on. Best thing to do is find as many pictures of the real thing, in it's element ,(museum aircraft are not quite right for this) and see where it's dirty. Don't overdo it though, generally it's a matter of pride for groundcrews to keep 'em clean, the cleaner, the faster, & speed counts in combat!
good Luck.
Pete

Okay, back to basics, aircraft construction 101, as they say in the new world over the pond. An aircraft, (or most of them) is made of frames, stringers and panel's of metal. Imagine the inside of a rowing boat. The ribs, running from side to side are the same as an aircrafts frames, except the frames go right around to form a hoop. Stringers run the length of the aircraft and join the frames together. Then the panels are rivetted to the frames and stringers to form the 'skin' of the aircraft.
Still with me? On some aircraft, or in some places on certain aircraft, the panels of the skin are butted together over a frame, that is, they join edge to edge. Other places or aircraft, they overlap, rather like fish scales, the one at the back goes under the one nearer the front. This means that the air can flow smoothly over the skin and result in flight.
A panel wash on a model shows up the joins in the skin and adds depth to the model, giving a degree of realism to it. It is, however, very easy to overdo, with the result that the model looks like it's made of lego bricks. What the wash is supposed to do, is simulate the dirt and oils that can build up on the skin, and aircraft can get dirty pretty quickly, totally unlike a car, more like a builders truck for an easy reference. There are many different ways to do a wash, scroll through the techniques section, you'll find plenty of choice, and have a practice on old kits before you do it to something expensive, subtle is the watchword for weathering, soon you'll surprise yourself, and maybe win prizes1

Newbit alert question" - "panel lines" vas is das? I've seen "panels" being tossed about, but I've haven't been able to hone in on a definition. Please assist.

- Snacko

Working on an F14 I finished 2 weeks ago. But, I did nothing to it.

Can I now, clear coat it, wash it to bring out panel lines, then seal it? I would use a dull sealer I assume. The question is, the decals are already on.

Wash is not water +enamel! Water and ename (oil based paint) do not mix. For making washes with enamel paint you need something like turpentine. For paint to use with water, use Acrylic.

I don't apply the wash to the entire aircraft, I use a pointed brush and run it into the panel lines, then let it dry a bit, then clean off any excess. Coat the aircraft first with Future/Klear, this will protect the paint from the solvent.