weathering plaster base

[lawman56]

Hello all, in response to the interest in weathering, I thought I'd post a few pictures of a technique I use that has brought me good results. First the "disclaimer", if you will. This is my first how to type of article, so any feedback would be great. There is no right or wrong way to weather something. The goal here is to simulate and trick the eye into believing what it sees to be real, if possible, take what I show and experiment yourself. There is no greater teacher than practice. Trust me, I have done things wrong much more often than right. Research, research, research! I can't stress this enough. Everything from books, tv programs, internet to asking others. Lastly, my motto is, if you can't laugh at yourself, you don't deserve to laugh at others, so have fun with it!

Although the subject is off topic, (a 120mm Verlinden Roman Legionaire), it came with a well detailed pre-cast plaster base, so in an effort to make things easier for us all, I thought I'd demonstrate how I achieve a bit of realism from stark white plaster.

This is the base. Well detailed, but very white.

First I painted a basecoat of Floquil Cement. I've found it adheres well to plaster, yet soaks in enough to give a porous look.


Next came a drybrushing of Model Master Camouflage Gray. This brings out the high spots in the stone nicely. Try to stay away from white, as they tend to look to bright. Light shades of gray are best.


Next came a light wash with Vallejo Sepia acrylic. The stones of the area I wish to represent have a slight tan look in places, so this was perfect.


Lastly, for now, I overwashed everything with a semi heavy coat of Vallejo Black acrylic. It fills all the low spots nicely and helps add depth. Besides, the Romans had a tendancy to burn as the conquered, which allowed them to rebuild to their standards. Rocks get very sooty when this happens.


After this, I lightly sprayed the whole base with Testors Dullcoat. This seals the acrylics and will tone the shine down quite dramatically.

My next post will include using pigments and chalk to achieve the final look I want.

  Thanks for reading.

[lawman56]

Ok. Part 2.

After I let everything sit overnight, I started this morning by gathering up my powders.

From left to right, Mig pigments Dark Earth, Mig Pigments Europe Dust, and Aim Weathering Products Black chalk powder.


First a layer of black chalk. I pretty much just put it everywhere. To include the bench, floor, my arms, etc...


Then the Mig Europe Dust to act as just that. Dust.


After that, the Mig Dark Earth. I try to stay in the rubble piles with that to give them a little more depth.


Don't be afraid to blend them together on the base. There should be a very slight, practically unnoticeable transition between the colors. Lastly, seal it all with another coat of Dullcoat. Now it's ready to be handled. Tomorrow I'll post a picture of the finished base, with a personal touch I added, as I like to title all my model dioramas.

Eventually, (soon I hope), I'll show how to make a basic wall that, depending on the size, can be used for trench re-enforcement or a small building on an airfield. If there's enough interest, once I start working on my Albatros base, I'll post that as well.

No matter what, have fun and learn!

[Des]

Thanks very much Joe for your indepth look at weathering the base, it certainlt turned out well and looks very realistic. Just one question, what type of brushes do you use to apply the pigments?

Des.

[lawman56]

Thanks Des, as for the pigment and chalk brushes, I tend to use a stiff or semi stiff bristled brush, no more than a quarter inch wide, (forgive my non metric brain), that's been cut down to a small nub. The brush should have the same effect on your material as a shoe brush would on a shoe. Same resistance, if you will. I'll post pics of the brushes I used tomorrow.

Word of caution though, make sure you keep like with like. For example, never use a brush used for black on anything light colored. Trust me, it may LOOK clean enough, but it's not.  I have around 5 or 6 different brushes and mark them with different colored paint bands. Black band on the black brush, brown band on the brown brush, etc...

I've found the best brushes to be cheap, synthetic ones you might find in the arts and crafts aisle of your local chain store.

As for the washes, any soft brush that will allow the wash to flow smoothly without shedding bristles is fine. 

[stefanbuss]

Have you ever experienced that all your pastels seem to disappear as soon as you apply a clear coat to protect them?

Stefan

[michael]

fantstic tutorial Joe  and what brilliant work on the base 

you make it look so simple

looking forward to the next instalment!

cheers

michael

[lawman56]

Have you ever experienced that all your pastels seem to disappear as soon as you apply a clear coat to protect them?

Stefan

Yes, Stefan, pastel chalk has a nasty habit of looking great until you seal it. The 2 most popular techniques are to either not seal them, which means never touching the model again, (not an option for me), or putting it on slightly heavier than you want.

One of the reasons I switched to pigments is they adhere well enough not to disappear under dullcoat. Pigments can also be "fixed" by mixing with a small amount of rubbing alcohol as well. They are more costly, but I really like the results and ease at which they can be used.

As for pastels, I'll only use them to "flood" an area, as I did with my black. I've heard you can "fix" chalks as well, but I've never tried it. Hopefully somone who has will chime in and I can learn something new.

[Des]

Thanks Joe for the run down on the brushes, I have taken all this onboard.

As far a pastels go, i tried using them once to weather one of my aeroplanes, it looked fantastic after it was applied but as soon as i applied the clear coat it virtually disappeared, this to me was a waste of time so I don't bother any more. Using pigments is probably the better way to go as you seem to achieve excellent results, this is another technique I will have to try.

Des.

[kornbeef]

A lesson or two learned for me. having suffered the vanishing pastels effect myself too.

Thanks for enlightening me 

Keith

[GAJouette]

  Guys,
I've found over the years that using pastels for weathering you have two options when applying them. Either lay them on a little heavy then seal with a very light coat of future to preserve the weathering. Or apply the pastel as normal,seal then reapply the pastels to your weathering taste and reseal again. Awhile back I discovered the joys of oil pigment for my weathering which as worked well. I've even airbrushed highly thinned oils through my spare (old) airbrush with good results.
Just my half cent after taxes of course.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[lawman56]

So here is the finished base. Using a dental pick, I carved the name "O Fortuna". I like giving my dioramas and displays a name that relates to what you see. Since this will be a Roman Legionaire, Latin seemed appropriate.


I also thought I'd show what type of brushes I use to apply my pigments. Notice, they're cut pretty short.

[Des]

Thanks very much for the tutorial Joe, I have picked up a few good pointers, and thanks for the picture of the brushes.

Des.

[michael]

i love the carving job - great stuff Joe 

michael