This is a commision that I'm doing for a member of another forum. This has taken me away from my X-wing build, but this is what I do to pay the bills now. I copied, and pasted this from www.studioscalemodelers.com
This is a project that I'm doing for Coffee Addict. This is the T-800 Terminator build that I was consigned to do. Right now this is only in primer,and the special paint to emulate leather. THIS IS NOT REGULAR PAINT! This is specially formulated to look like leather,but it's very difficult to achieve, as this requires a lot of finesse to make it look realistic. I had to buy special rubbing compound to use on this before the paint cured so that it doesn't polish it to a gloss finish. This is a very special finish that required a thicker paint to make this effect,and make it look convincing. This is supposed to wrinkle,but it only does this in thick layers. I wanted it to have the uneven,but supple appearance of leather,and not shiny gloss, or flat black as many models like this I've seen so far have been painted in the pictures on their boxes.
This is,and the next two photos are of this in the primer stage. This has been masked in preparation for paint.
This is after being freshly sprayed with the leather paint. It stays tacky for two hours after being applied,and this finish stays bright, and glossy like this when dry. I still had to dull this down at this time.
This is after the first treatment of rubbing compound to give it this look.
Forgive the blurriness, I was trying to show that this is more leather-like after the second treatment. If you rub too hard it starts to polish the paint instead of dulling it.
The sunlight makes this look shinier than it really is in person.
Being all black prevents me from actully taking good photos of the details this has.
What I used to create this effect. It's formulated to wrinkle with successive coats,but I'm using it for another purpose. I'll get shots of this will the wrinkle effect when I get more photos of this figure. I just needed a paint that was thick enough for me to spray in a thin layer,and still be durable enough to rub on without going through to the plastic under the primer. This was very difficult to do. It's thick binder is what allowed me to do this finish.
Arnold with primer and lightly weathered jacket. I like this look,as this is what classic biker jackets looked like back in the 50s' - smooth feel without a lot of vein lines all over it. The gray isn't nearly as intense in person as it is in the photos. I have a friend that used to ride all the time,and this is what his jacket looked like after riding for a week,or two.
The pants look a little too shiny in person,so I'll have to dull them down a little more around the thighs. I want the true leather look,and not vinyl.
The back of the legs look really shiny,but in artificial,and natural light, they look correct,and not bright and glaring.
One more shot from the front. The gray powdery substance is only rubbing compound that I didn't wash completely off. It's very difficult to remove this without polishing the surrounding paint. Remember people, he was riding around the desert of California, and the sewer drainage ditches,as well as the steel mill before buying it in the smelter. Steel mills are very dirty places with the slag,and metal contaminants flying through the air all the time. I might remove a little more of this,then take a picture to see how the two differences compare. Whichever one looks more realistic is the one I'll go with. I feel that this weathering gives it a more realistic, and used look,especially since the Terminator robots don't do laundry,or dry cleaning.
Thanks for looking!
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