John3M
A long time ago when I was much younger my brother and I would get a kit we broke off the necessary parts slapped on some glue and paint, and we were done. however a lot has changed. now days It feels like a lot is going on with all sorts of detail changes. With that said I'm learning those things on my test car but what i need help with is how others deal with the really fine detail painting in those tight areas or fine boundaries that have borders with differing colors. Because I have been painting on othe hobbies I have a large assortment of fine paintbrushes. But even with my best fine brush when adding a little paint, it tends to glop on the end of the brush. I then will thin the paint to make it easier, but I would like to hear what others do.
Thanks
What type of paints are you using? That has an impact on the technique.
For example, are you using enamels? Water-based acrylics? Alcohol-based acrylics? Some other type?
If you're using enamels, you can get by with a brush with a small head and a fine point, because the paint won't dry too fast. You can pick up a small amount of paint and deliver it to the piece, before it dries out.
If you're using an acrylic, though, you actually want a larger brush with a fine point. It's counter-intuitive, but because acrylics have such a short drying time, you need a larger brush.
For example, I paint 54mm, 1/32 and 1/48 scale figures with water-based acrylics, like Vallejo Model Color, Andrea, Lifecolor. They thin with water, and they dry relatively quickly. I use 0 and 01 rounds for most of my work. The brush works like a fountain pen does. The head of the brush holds the thinned paint, and the fine point is the nib. The amount of paint in the brush head is sufficient to keep it from drying out from the time I pick up the color from my palette to the time I apply it to the piece. If I used a small brush, the small amount of paint would dry before I ever got it close to the piece.
I use Tamiya acrylics, too, the X/XF series, but the principle is the same. I just use Tamiya's proprietary thinner, instead of water.
You can use a retarder with the paint, which slows the drying time a little. Many of the brands have their own retarder, and I recommend using a brand's retarder with its own paint. But it's still best to get a brush with a full head and that can hold a fine point.
Also, depending on the subject, you might do better masking and airbrushing. If it's a pinstripe on a car, for example.
Also, with my water-based acrylics, I use a wet palette. I don't know if you're familiar with a wet palette, but it's basically a water- and airtight container, a sponge, and a piece of permeable paper as the actual palette. You wet the sponge and paper, and then put dabs of your colors on it. The palette ensures a consistent thinness to your colors, and you can save a batch of colors from one session to the next. There are some very good commerical products; Masterson is one brand, that has been around for a long time. Redgrass Games is another, that is relatively newer, but their product is excellent. I have their smaller model. You can make your own, too-I made my own, when I first wanted to get used to using one. A take-out container, a kitchen sponge, and brown packaging paper for the membrane. It worked well, though the container eventually wore out and cracked, the sponge got musty, even though I cleaned it and microwaved it, and the packaging paper tended to shed fibers with use. But I developed my process using that one, then bought the Redgrass Games palette.
But all directed to getting paint from the palette to the figure. A 0 or 01 brush, good-sized head that holds a reservoir of thinned paint, and keeps a fine point for painting fine details.
That's my experience, in any case. Hope that helps!