TheMongoose

I like the overall look, especially the red. Boy that was tough to look at before the top coat lol had to be hard for you not to want to cover it all up at 1st? 
was reading about your experiences so far. I wonder if it's the Vallejo that's making it hard to cover, some disappearing in spots and the like? I find it hard to paint those on in thin layers that have some transparency.

 

Hi Mongoose,

Thanks! I am glad that you find it interesting. Appreciated!

You are right, it looks very odd before the base coat is applied. The first time it did anyway. I am getting used to it slowly, haha.

As for Vallejo, I don't know, I sometimes find them unpredictable. I've had much better results with Tamiya and Gunze so far, but it might be that I am doing something wrong. Still using Vallejo though and getting better I think. I definitely need more mileage in model making. :)

Best,

Nikola

Hi gents,

First pass of post shading done. I used a 50/50 mix of Tamiya Flat Black and Purple. This time I did Complementary Post Shading for the first time.  

I like the richer shades of gray in the post shaded areas produced by a mixture of purple and yellow tones (I don't know how well my phone camera has captured this).

We'll see how it looks after weathering is complete. Might have to do a bit more post shading afterwards.

Thanks for looking guys.

Best,

Nikola 

Yeah definitely hard to pick out the shades on the pic. I can see the streaking going back down the wings but the phone pic seems to just show shades of black. 

TheMongoose

Yeah definitely hard to pick out the shades on the pic. I can see the streaking going back down the wings but the phone pic seems to just show shades of black. 

 

I thought so. My phone camera is pretty s#!t, although it hides f'ups very well. 

Best,

Nikola

Almost there...

Here it is visible (I hope  ) how the purple Complementary Pre/Post-Shading created an interesting and subtle, as Mike Brindos put it, tonal shift. Again, apologies for bad phone camera pics.

This is under a gloss coat before final weathering touches.

I am very satisfied, but still a long way until mastering the method.

Thanks for looking!

Best,

Nikola

And here is the end result (as best as my camera and my photography skills could pick it up)...  

Thanks for looking guys!

Best,

Nikola

I have used pre-shading on the base coat for alluminum alclad.  Rather than a uniform gloss black, I have done some panels in alternate colors, and alternate sheens.

Don Stauffer

Rather than a uniform gloss black, I have done some panels in alternate colors, and alternate sheens.

 

 

Hi Don,

What was the outcome? I ask this because I am currently working on my first NMF build (about to prime) and I have read on Man vs Kit blog that Tom did not find that it makes much difference.

The goal of my method which I am exploring is to achive more vibrancy, richer grays and shades by using specifically complementary colours to the base colours. As I mentioned, I borrowed this from painting as good painters almost never tint or shade with pure white and black because it dulls the colors.

It's more of an artistic approach though, but I  always prefer aesthetics over rivet counting. :)

Best,

Nikola

Nikola,

It definitely looks like your technique worked...that looks amazing!  The best shots that show the effects are the ones you got from above the model.  Nice to see someone else using complementary colors for pre-shading and highlighting.  It adds so much more depth and randomness to the finish and makes it look more like the real thing.  Depending on camo patterns, I've been using all kinds of different shades of greens, browns, and greys...with some chromate green and aluminum thrown in here and there to get the mottled, worn look.

Eaglecash867

Nikola,

It definitely looks like your technique worked...that looks amazing!  The best shots that show the effects are the ones you got from above the model.  Nice to see someone else using complementary colors for pre-shading and highlighting.  It adds so much more depth and randomness to the finish and makes it look more like the real thing.  Depending on camo patterns, I've been using all kinds of different shades of greens, browns, and greys...with some chromate green and aluminum thrown in here and there to get the mottled, worn look.

 

Thanks Eaglecash! Appreciated! Glad you like it.

Yeah, colours are such a wonderful thing. We have to play with them. :)

Again, I am more of an aesthetics over rivet counting guy, and I love to experiment, so it's just my approach. :) 

Best, 

Nikola

The current build - Revell's 1/32 P51D.

I try to keep the initial effect very subtle and then modify with post shading later.

My phone camera and the dining room light bulb just can't capture the subtle differences and tonal variations that well, but they are there, trust me. 

Best,

Nikola

Hmmmm, this one i question a little bit. It looks like I can see the red through the olive drab. What's that look like in person? Sometimes with these it's really hard to tell some of the subtle elements with the picture. 
How hard was it to cover the red without puttting too many coats of the primary color on it?
this is a cool thread. Glad you keep it alive.

TheMongoose

Hmmmm, this one i question a little bit. It looks like I can see the red through the olive drab. What's that look like in person? Sometimes with these it's really hard to tell some of the subtle elements with the picture. 
How hard was it to cover the red without puttting too many coats of the primary color on it?
this is a cool thread. Glad you keep it alive.

 

Hi Mongoose,

Thank you very much for your input and comments. Appreciated.

That's the hardest part for me now - judging how much to cover initially knowing that weathering and subsequent coats will affect it. It's just like regular pre-shading only more difficult because if it is with black, no risk of too much of it showing through since it only gives a darker tone of the base color with no hue modulation. Still long way to go until I master this one.

In reality, the red is more subtle but it's very hard to get it right with phone camera and regular room lighting conditions so you guys can see it properly. I'll keep trying to take better shots without all the fancy setup. :)

Best,

Nikola

TheMongoose

Hmmmm, this one i question a little bit. It looks like I can see the red through the olive drab. What's that look like in person? Sometimes with these it's really hard to tell some of the subtle elements with the picture. 
How hard was it to cover the red without puttting too many coats of the primary color on it?
this is a cool thread. Glad you keep it alive.

 

This is I think as close to reality as I could get with phone camera. I guess we'll have to wait until proper photos in the end. :)

Hey Nikola love your work! Guess I should check down here more often, I didn't see this post till today. 

Just two questions if I may: 

1). Just wondering what you using for your complimentary pre-shading on the underside of your P-51? Is there a complimentary colour for neutral grey? I thought maybe a 'cool' darker grey with some blue added since it's in shadow?  

2). I'm hoping to start on a USN F4U Corsair before the end of the year. The colour wheel shows the complimentary colour to the dark navy blue as orange. Not sure how it's going to show under dark blue. I was thinking maybe a dark orange-brown colour for the pre-shading??? 

Gamera

Hey Nikola love your work! Guess I should check down here more often, I didn't see this post till today. 

Just two questions if I may: 

1). Just wondering what you using for your complimentary pre-shading on the underside of your P-51? Is there a complimentary colour for neutral grey? I thought maybe a 'cool' darker grey with some blue added since it's in shadow?  

2). I'm hoping to start on a USN F4U Corsair before the end of the year. The colour wheel shows the complimentary colour to the dark navy blue as orange. Not sure how it's going to show under dark blue. I was thinking maybe a dark orange-brown colour for the pre-shading??? 

 

Thanks Gamera. I am very glad that you find this ongoing experiment interesting. :)

1) As for the underside, I tried with blue. There is no actual complementary colour of gray so that one is a little bit tricky. I guess it comes to personal preference and the subtle tone shift you want to set.

2) I have found that it works best with lighter to mid values. With darker values it is a bit trickier so some post-shading will probably be necessary. Since you have a dark blue hue on your Corsair and since complementary to blue is orange, as you said, maybe you could go with brown hues because brown is actually a very dark orange.

Hope this helps.

Share your progress. I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Best,

Nikola

Thanks Nikola!

I like how the blue looks under the grey on the P-51. Next time I build a green over grey USAAF bird I'm going to give that a try rather than the dark grey pre-shading I normally do.

I'll give a rusty brown a go on the Corsair. I mean if I don't like it I can always just paint over it right? I'll post some photos if I don't get in a rush and forget about it.

Actually I like the phone camera for stuff like this. I'd have to pull the regular camera out but the phone is just lying there all the time so I'm less likely to forget it!

Hi gents,

Here is the end result:

https://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/p/191201/2202514.aspx#2202514

Best,

Nikola

Nikola!

    Now that is KickB%^&t shading. Luv it!

Hi gents,

White primer done. 

Again, I continue to experiment with my complementary pre/post-shading method.

For the blue belly, I chose to go with brown and orange, since the complementary to blue is orange. Also, brown is nothing else but a very dark orange so it fits the bill.

For the top sand yellow, which is actually some kind of orange again, I did the opposite, using blue as it's complementary.

We'll soon see what we get... 

Best,

Nikola

And this is the result (as best as my phone camera can reproduce). You be the judges...

Personally, I like the subtle rich grayish tones and tonal shift which it produced. We'll see how much of this is lost to further filters, clear coats and weathering.

Best,

Nikola