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Advanced Painting and Weathering of Details with Kevin O'Neill.
Kevin O'Neill was an incredible modeler and a great friend. One of Kevin's main loves
in the hobby was working on detail parts. He loved to spend hours on one simple casting
turning each one into something great.
Before Kevin passed he had started a thread explaining some of his work and the methods
he used. Unfortunately he never finished the thread but the information that he did share
has been moved here for us all to enjoy and learn from.
The following posts are directly copied from Kevin's thread in his own words.
in the hobby was working on detail parts. He loved to spend hours on one simple casting
turning each one into something great.
Before Kevin passed he had started a thread explaining some of his work and the methods
he used. Unfortunately he never finished the thread but the information that he did share
has been moved here for us all to enjoy and learn from.
The following posts are directly copied from Kevin's thread in his own words.
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Posted - 04/26/2011 : 6:09:43 PM By Kevin.
Hey guys
I've been asked a number of times to do a thread describing the techniques I use to paint, weather and detail castings so for better or worse here it is.
The castings I'll be working with are O scale but there is no reason why most, if not all of the techniques I describe can't be used for HO as well. Let's get started right away with some pics and I'll list materials and tools as well as give you some of my modeling philosophy as we go along.
This casting is the el shaped bench from the SierraWest Wood Cutters Shack kit #305. SW puts out the best castings available to us in the hobby and they don't need very much clean-up if any. I do a few things to them however that help with the techniques I use. They don't have to be primed but I like the tooth that I get when I do prime resin castings and to me it's essential with the techniques I use. The bench has a very light coat of Floquil earth from a spray can. With the edge of a #11 blade I lightly shave any sharp edges along the length of the boards. I define the nail holes a bit more with a pin. With a dull #11 I define the spaces between the boards and lightly notch the board ends. That is all that has been done in the first pic.
The next step is the application of chalk.
Brett Gallant introduced the use of chalks to color and weather castings (as well as stripwood) I guess almost twenty years ago and it's one of his best and most innovative contributions to the hobby. The chalks I use are high quality Rembrandt (soft pastels). They are really not that soft but it does say that on each stick. I simply scrape along a stick with a #11 blade until I have a nice little pile to work with. I used two colors on the bench Gold ochre #231.3 and Raw umber #408.5. The primary color is the Gold ochre and I use a worn out brush to brush and stab it on over all the benchtop surfaces. I'll dip into the darker Raw umber and work that into the nailholes and spaces between the boards and also along the side boards and ends. Note: I highly advise against the use of the "weathering powders" as they are just too sticky and do not work well with the methods I describe here'
All I do now is blow of the excess and I'm ready for the next step. This chalk was applied dry (no alcohol, spirits or anything wet).
Next is the application of a few A&I solutions. I use regular A&I, Dr.PH Martins Van Dyke brown ink #9 and alcohol, and PH Martins #10 Sepia and alcohol. PH Martins is avaiable at most art supply stores. With a very fine brush I just barely touch the nailholes with the #9 Van Dyke brown as it has a slight rust color to it. With a fine brush and regular A&I I first touch all the ends of the boards and you will see how the A&I naturally wicks up the boards because of the chalk we applied earlier. Take whats left in the brush and lightly trace between the boards to make them look even more distinct and individual. Don't load the brush too much!! Do these steps a few times for more definition and go around the cast on details as well. If it looks like you've used too much A&I take some of your chalk and blend it out some.
You can see (I hope) the nice defintion between boards and that the top has a nice wood tone to it. This is one of Bretts new castings where a lot of details will be added later so much of this will be covered but to me it's important to model even what you might not see to give a depth and richness to the casting.
The light is a little dark in the last couple of pics but they do show the depth and richness of tone and color I like. I did paint the c-clamp but we will go into that next time.
Other than the very light coat of primer I haven't used any paint on the main bench. With just some dry chalk and A&I I think we have a very convincing wood work bench. Also note I haven't flooded the surface with A&I it's only been used for hi-lighting with a few applications.
This will be the most fun if you guys jump right in and try these methods as we go and post your results so we can talk and learn together. I hope this get's us off to a good start.
Kevin
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 7:16:50 PM By Kevin.
Hi guys
I just got home from playing golf and I'm very happy with the enthusiastic response to this thread.
Elliott, thanks for jumping right in the fire. I like the overall color and tone of the bench. I might try to feather in the effects on the board ends of the short section and blend in the effects between a couple of boards on the long section. I'm sorry you made such a long drive to the art store. Another thing I sometimes do with the nail holes is to lightly dust across a row of them with some Rembrandt Burnt Sienna #411.3 chalk. Just the tiniest bit will settle in the nail hole and I brush the rest away. When I apply the chalk to the casting (the gold ochre and raw umber) I scrub it in with a little pressure but nothing dramatic and more sticks than it might appear. From looking at your casting you did just fine with the chalk application.
Mike, I use 91% Isopropyl (rubbing alcohol) which is basically what your Dr. rubbed on your arm before he gave you a shot. 70% can also be used but won't dry as fast. I have no experience with anything else.
Vilius, If you google "Rembrandt soft pastels" you will find many, many sources of supply besides Dick Blick. I use many different colors and I will list them at the end of this post. In regards to the PH Martin inks, I have a few different colors and I use them but they are not so crucial that you can't do without them. I will talk more about them as we go along.
Dan, you touched on my main modeling philosophy when I'm working with these castings. To me each one is a model unto itself and if I stay true to that approach and detail and model even things that will barely be seen the overall picture will have considerably more depth and richness of detail.
Here is a list of the Rembrandt chalks I use most.
#411.3 Burnt Sienna
#408.5 Raw Umber
#231.3 Gold Ochre
#235.3 Orange
#411.5 Burnt Sienna
#408.10 Raw Umber
#700.5 Black
#100.5 White
#704.7 Grey
Dee Dee is an artist and works in many mediums with pastels being one of them so I have access to just about the whole range of colors. These are the basics however and the ones I use most. Tomorrow I promise I won't skip out and play golf so we will get on with detailing the work bench. Thanks again for the very great response to this thread.
Kevin
Posted - 04/27/2011 : 8:14:44 PM By Kevin.
When the casting comes out of the mold sometimes the edges can be just a little sharp but really nothing that is that crucial to worry about. Think of it this way. You have a piece of 1x4 that you want to use as a leg for a work table. You might want to lightly round over the edges just so there are no splinters. Run a piece of fine sandpaper along the board edges on the casting and that's all I mean.
Speaking of primer drying time. I've sprayed a casting with Floquil primer and worked with it after no more than 15 minutes or so of drying time. I might help it along with the hair dryer for 30 seconds and that's it. With a light coat and the fact your only putting chalk on it there is just no reason for long overnite drying times.
Kevin
Posted - 04/28/2011 : 4:51:23 PM By Kevin.
Hey guys
I did a little more work on the benchtop, I painted the barrel, the crate and blackened one of the white metal c-clamps.
I've been using the Vallejo paints for a little while now so first let's talk about them. Here's a list of some of the basic colors I use. Vallejo has a few different lines of paint. I use "Model colors" and "Panzer Aces".
Model colors:
#962 flat blue
#70970 deep green
#70909 vermillion (just to have a red)
#70851 bright orange
#70820 off white
#70950 black
#70955 flat flesh
#70865 oily steel
Panzer Aces colors
#310 old wood
#311 new wood
#302 dark rust
#301 light rust
Reaper Miniatures Master series (suggested by Dallas M)
#09206 tarnished steel
#09196 aged pewter
#09205 blackened steel
#09197 old bronze
I got the Vallejo at the Warstorehttp://www.thewarstore.com/VALLEJOPAINTS.html
The model colors are 2.59 and the Panzer aces colors are 2.99
I fmy source for the Reaper series so maybe Dallas will let us know.
You don't have to run out and get these paints as the Polly-s line is fine but to me these paints are superior. The pigment is very fine and the colors are rich and intense. They can be thinned quite a bit and still retain their opacity and cover very well. They can be mis-used. I have found if you overwork them they will take on a sheen. As far as craft paints go for me personally I will only use them to color wood. I just think they are too heavy.
Let's get to some detailing. The open crate was first given a wash or what I call a slurry of alcohol and Raw umber #408.5 in the inside of the crate only. This is just to give it a dirty look and to do something other than the usual flooding of A&I. I put a few good drops of clear alcohol (Isopropyl 91%) in a small tin and scrape some chalk into it. I mix it up with an old brush and slather it in. It dries immediately and leaves a nice grimy residue.
For the outside of the crate I "painted" on a much pastier mix of chalk and alcohol. I used raw umber #408.9 which is very grey so the crate would stand out from the brown colored bench top. I then do my thing with a very fine brush and A&I between some boards and on the ends. I also used a very light dusting of Burnt sienna #411.3 on the corners to suggest nail hole rusting. This effect should be very subtle however almost to the point of not seeing it. I know that sounds crazy but hopefully you get what I mean. I also dusted on my trusty Gold ochre #231.3 just to tone it down some. It also has a very light drybrushing of Vallejo flat flesh #70955 (a Dave Revelia technique).
The barrel was given a light even coat of Panzer aces new wood #311. I went between the staves with A&I but with a very fine brush with hardly anything in it. I went over the bands with Windsor-Newton raw umber water mixable oil (another D Rev idea). I then dusted on some burnt sienna chalk #411.3. It adheres to the oil very nicely. A dry brushing with the flat flesh and that's it.
The cast on c-clamp was done with a mix of #302 dark rust and Reaper #09206 tarnished steel. I went back and forth between the two paints until I had a nice rusty/steel mix. I also went over a few edges with a lead pencil but with no more pressure other than the weight of the pencil itself. The other clamp on top is a separate white metal casting that I dunked in the blacken-it. As of these pics that's all I've done to it. Pretty close to the other one I'd say.
I wanted to show some of the brushes I use. If you look at the top one and look at the very end that is the only part of that brush that I use to apply A&I to board spaces and nail holes.
The next one I used to paint the barrel but it was loaded and then worked to a chisel edge.
The angled brush is what I used to paint the bands on the barrel with, also loaded and worked to a chisel edge. You might be surprised at the size of the brushes I'm using to paint such small details and to get into tight spaces. The key is good quality brushes and loading them properly.
A nice chiseled edge.
Way too much paint!
Loading the brush to paint the c-clamp.
Also just a quick coat of off white on the paper stack to start. I hope this isn't too much stuff in one post and if somethings not clear please ask away.
Kevin
Posted - 04/30/2011 : 6:31:08 PM By Kevin.
Hey Guys
This is getting lively, that's great. Again regarding the craft paints and it's just my opinion but to me you can't compare the two. The makers of craft paints, I can almost guarantee, did not sit down and say "these will be great for painting metal and resin castings with very fine detail". They're for painting all that stuff in "craft stores". They are however very well suited for painting stripwood, siding, some drybrushing, getting peeling paint effects etc., just not castings.
You also don't have to spend a fortune on them as a handful of basic colors, a few specialty colors and a color wheel is more than enough to get you started with them. I have some Vallejo thinner and some retarder but I mostly just thin them with regular water.
Back to details. I spent a little time giving the other c-clamp (the cast metal one) a little different look. Can anyone guess what I did to it? Also we don't have to be totally linear here so I started doing a metal garbage can. I sprayed it with Armory grey primer (wargamers use this stuff I think) and then I dusted it with some grey chalk and lightly misted it with Dullcote. This is just the start and to tell you the truth I'm not sure yet what I will do next. I know you can go to Home Depot and come home with a shiny metal garbage can but to me that just does not scale down and I always try to avoid "bright and shiny". That's one reason why you will never see me paint anything with silver paint.
Kevin
Posted - 05/02/2011 : 4:50:05 PM By Kevin.
Hey guys
All I did was buff/polish it with a very short bristle worn out old brush. I very lightly hit some edges and high spots with some worn out 400 grit paper. Use very light pressure with the sandpaper so you don't remove too much of the blacken-it.
I just worked on the garbage can for about 20 minutes and I came up with a nice beat up old can with some good rusting. You can still see a hint of galvinized but nothing shiny.
I gave the can a very very thin wash of the Reaper tarnished steel.
Next I took Rust-all and just touched a brushful at the very bottom edge of the can and along the rim of the can and let whatever wicked up and down stay as is. I gave it a quick shot with the hairdryer. It actually takes a couple of brushfuls as you go all the way around the bottom and then the top of the can.
Now I use the Windsor-Newton water mixable raw umber and add some rust to the can. I like to go along the bottom and some on the lip and some random spots here and there. You can lightly dry brush some along the ribs of the can as well. Start with a little and add more as you go. No blotchy spots, this stuff is very easy to blend and feather. A real good idea is to take some scrap corrugated and etch it or paint it and practice on that. I had a few spots that I didn't like so I went over them with some grey chalk and they blended right in.
Next I take a small soft brush and dust on some burnt sienna #411.3 over the W-N oil. Just lightly blend it over the oil. I also use an equal mix of Rembrandt orange #235.3 and burnt sienna #411.5 as a lighter more orangy color rust. I have these two powdered and mixed together. I only use a hint of this mix but for those of you who like the lighter color rust this is a good way to go.
As a final step I gave the whole can the very lightest dry brushing of the tarnished steel just to bring back a litte more galvanized look. The use of the W-N water mixable oil is an idea I got from a Dave Revelia DVD.
The thing to do is to take these materials and techniques and experiment with them. Use less of one thing or more of another, change up the sequence. You can't be afraid to make a mistake. As Brian Nolan said on many occassions, if you don't like it try it again.
I'll get back to the bench tomorrow. Hope you guys are enjoying this as much a I am.
Kevin
Posted - 05/03/2011 : 1:04:34 PM By Kevin.
Hey guys
I laid out the details on the bench and it's pretty much the way I had them for the pilot model I did for Brett.
I worked on some of the metal details first. They all were dunked in the blacken-it and of course make sure you work in the B-It with a small old brush into the little spaces and air pockets.
Again, all I did with the small c-clamp and the wrenches is buff/polish then with a worn out old brush, hit some high spots very lightly with the 400 grit paper and rubbed them between my fingers. If you choose you could give them a very thin wash of a rust color but I like the way they look just as is. The wrenches look like they have been well used by someone with dirty oily hands and they have a nice natural patina. Remember, no silver paint!
The wheels and gears were done with techniques I learned from looking at Chuck Doans Fokti album. You can first blacken the parts as I did or give them a coat of Floquil roof brown. Next comes a coat of Dullcote that is allowed to dry for a few minutes. Brush on some alcohol (91% isopropyl is what I use). This gives you that Dullcote/alcohol reaction of some splotchy whitening which is a technique that has been around for awhile and I think first used by George Sellios. Next dab on some rust color chalks and maybe some of the dark raw umber #408.5 and blow off the excess. I put each casting on a toothpick. Take your Dullcote and spray it and pass the casting through the mist of Dullcote that is about arms length from the can. You don't want to spray the casting directly, you just want a fine mist which will gice the chalks a nice mottled effect. Again, thanks to Chuck Doan.
I used a worn #11 blade on the file and cross hatched it in two directions to give the appearance of the marks in a real file. The oil bottle at the end of the bench is something all of us baby boomers remember seeing at "service stations" when we were kids. Again, the screw on metal top/spout is not silver. I blackened it and buffed it the same as the wrenches to give it that nice dirty/oily appearance but you still know it's metal. Making resin or metal look like glass is tough to do. I gave the bottle a coat of yellow then dirtied it up just by rubbing it in my fingers. I then gave it a very light coat of glaze just to give it a little sheen. The glaze is an old Floquil product that I've had forever but you can use any clear semigloss type finish you might have. I think guys are using future floor wax or something similar to also get this effect.
The wood crates and boxes are next.
Kevin
Posted - 05/06/2011 : 2:10:22 PM By Kevin.
Hey guys
These boxes are the simplest little castings and you could just paint them a few different colors and glue them on the bench and that would be that. Not so fast boys! ha ha
With not that much extra time we can improve the look, make them distinguisable from each other and make the overall bench top scene that much better.
I primed some of them grey and some of them earth.
I drill a little hole in the bottom of each one and stick a toothpick in them for handling (be careful and don't drill through the top).
Dust/scrub on your chalk making sure to get down in the spaces between boards and blow off the excess. You can vary your colors from box to box using your light and dark browns and grey as well. On one of the grey primed long boxes I used black chalk but I went easy so it would not be too dark. On one earth primed box I used burnt sienna 411.3 which is the color I use for dark rust.
Now comes the A&I and because the boxes are small you can go over all the surfaces but just don't dunk them in the A&I. I go back over the spaces between boards with just the tip of the very fine brush I showed earlier in the thread. I dip the brush then wipe most of the A&I off on a paper towel and kind of roll the bristles on the towel to form a very fine tip. With practice you will find that you can apply just the right amount between the boards so it hi-lights only between the boards and looks very natural.
There are some nailholes visible on the corners so you can, very lightly, hit these with the burnt sienna.
Finally I drybrush all around with the Vallejo flat flesh. Any off whit color will do as well.
Go easy with the dry brushing and if you overdo it just go over it with some chalk.
I used my PH Martins inks on some of the boxes but if you don't have these the regular A&I is just fine.
It takes me way less time to complete the boxes then it does to type out the explanation and I feel the little bit of extra attention to detail makes a huge difference in the overall look of the bench.
Kevin
Posted - 05/11/2011 : 2:08:01 PM By Kevin.
Hey guys
I did a pair of the acetylene tanks and I honestly don't know if the fat one should be red and the skinny one green or vice versa. For the tutorial it doesn't matter.
They both were dunked in the blacken-it, dried off and then given a coat of hairspray. This acts as a "resist" so acrylic paint won't fully adhere and that makes it easy to remove paint for effect. The blacken-it itself acts as a resist but I still like to hit it with the hairspray (unscented Aquanet).
I used vermillion #70909 (two coats with just a couple of minutes between) and deep green #70970 (only one coat was needed over the blacken-it) brushed on vertically.
Hit it with the hairdryer and you will feel that the paint is still soft which actually makes it easier to remove it. The red can is full and "in stock" so it's been moved around some and just has minor scratches, it's a little dirty from being stored outside but it's not rusty. The green can is empty and has been lying around for quite awhile and has plenty of scratches and some rust.
I used two tools to make the scratches. A sharpened toothpick and a wire brush (one of the small wooden handle ones that we all have).
On the red can I laid it on it's side and gave it some sharp hits with the wire brush. Don't overdo it. I then brush on some blacken-it and this re-blackens where the paint was chipped off and also dulls down the brite red color. We are done with the red can so put it back in stock.
On the green can I used the wire brush but also did some scraping here and there with the toothpick. Re-blacken it and dry it off. I used my Windsor-Newton water mixable oil (raw umber) and hit a few random areas with it. I then dabbed on some burnt sienna #411.3 and finally dusted off the can with a large soft brush to blend things a bit.
Kevin
I wanted to show you acouple of pics of the brushes I use to scrub on dry chalk to stripwood and to castings and also I use them to polish out blackened metal. Some of those started out a really nice Floquil brushes that I've had forever and as you can see they are all just about at the end of the line.
Posted - 05/13/2011 : 12:45:56 PM By Kevin.
Hey guys
I am pretty sure I used the Panzer aces color New Wood on the hammer handle then rubbed it between my fingers to dirty it up some.
I started on the cabinet (Jerry) and basically it's the same techniques as described for the bench. I used a couple of stiff bristle worn out brushes to lightly scrub on the chalk. I first used burnt sienna #411.3 to go over all the cabinet surfaces. I used some raw umber #408.5 to go between the boards. Finally I lightly dusted on some #231.3 gold ochre to tone down the red color of the burnt sienna.
Now it's just a matter of using your A&I to hi-light the spaces between the boards and the board ends. This casting has a very nice grain in the boards so this can be gone over with your fine brush and the A&I. The key is to go over all the details numerous times with very light coats. You can't just flood it on in one pass. If you look at the three boards on the front you can see where I've traced over some of the grain to hilight it. It takes a little patience and you have to use a very fine brush with just the slightest bit of A&I in the tip. Once you get the hang of it it's really easy to do and I think it makes a big difference in detailing these castings. I also used a wash of alcohol and chalk (raw umber 408.5) to color the inside of the cabinet. It doesn't matter if you get this on any details as paint will cover it later. I don't usually do it but I think I'm going to dry brush this cabinet. We'll see out it turns out tomorrow.
Kevin
Posted - 05/21/2011 : 1:04:35 PM By Kevin.
Hey guys
This post will sound like a bash fest on KP and Chris but if I'm going to do this thread I have to point out stuff that I think can be improved.
First of all it's just not possible to make a resin or metal bottle casting look like it's glass.
Everything on Chris' bench looks great but the shiny green bottles which look like they are made out of candy really detract from what is a very well detailed casting. I would use a much darker green and if you want to give them just a hint of a sheen use some floor wax or something like that. Just don't give them a heavy coat of gloss. I know we see a lot of shiny bright stuff in the real world but it just doesn't scale down very well.
KP, the work on the boards is great but when I look at the picture you posted all I see is 3 orange things, 2 yellow things, a shiny grey thing and a shiny green thing.
The first thing is the hinges which might have been brass, steel, iron or whatever but I just don't see them as ever attaining that color. This is not just you KP as I know a lot of modelers just routinely paint these things the same way. Anyway, I think it's almost better to try and hide some of these details rather then having them jump out at you. On the hinges I did I first hit then with the W-N oil, dusted on some burnt sienna, drybrushed them with Old bronze and then basically covered most of the bronze with some black chalk.
I wasn't crazy about the two big knotholes so I tried to hide them rather then accentuate them.
I would like to know what paint you used on the grey can and how you applied it.
The bright green bottle is something everyone gets wrong. I remember these bottles from when I was a kid in the late fifties-early sixties.
They were CLEAR glass bottles with a screw on metal top/spout. They were filled with motor oil. On a resin casting the top can be done with tarnished steel and then maybe a tiny bit of oily black. On a metal casting after usng blacken-it you can just buff back the top part and it looks very natural. In both cases again we are trying to do the impossible which is to make resin or metal look like clear glass. The best we can do with these is to try and recreate the look of motor oil. I'm still trying to find a good look for that so I'll keep you posted. The one on top of the cabinet is too yellow looking.
I did the saw blade with a mix of tarnished steel and dark rust. The handle is old wood drybrushed wiith a little flat flesh.
Here is a link to show you what those old bottles looked like.
http://www.oilnspeed.com/albums/main.php?g2_itemId=22
http://www.hydroponicsonline.com/store/Vintage-Motor-Oil-Bottles-Bottle-Spouts-Sunoco-Holder_220779716825.html
Time to get out in the sunshine while it lasts.
Kevin
Hey Guys
As many of you know I'm battling some health issues so I'd like to report that the Dr's are very happy with the results they see after my second round of chemo-embolization. The weather has finally been really nice here in Mamaroneck, NY so even though I am pretty fatiqued from the teatments I can't resist the sun and my many outdoor activities. I've been playing golf, kayaking, and have even managed a couple of games of softball. Needless to say I've been sleeping like a baby every night. So all that cuts into my time at the work bench but I do have a little something to contribute and some comments on some on your contributions.
Thanks for the continuing contributions to this thread.
Kevin
Hey guys
Nothing dramatic here but some simple ways to paint those ubiquitous 55 gal. drums (or whatever size they are).
The first one is the basic green and white bands with a white top. I used off white #70820 and deep green #70970 both brushed on full strength. The white gets two coats and the green only needs one. The barrell has been primed with Floquil Roof brown spray. These dried overnite but an hour would be fine as the coat is light and you are going over it with acrylics. I also hit it with some unscented hairspray to act as a resist, so the paint doesn't bond to the primer and can be peeled easier.
You can see the size brush I use and if you look at the green and white on the post-it paper you can see how I draw out the paint so just the tip is loaded. This is a simple but important thing to do so you don't put too heavy a coat of paint on the casting.
The Vallejo dries very quickly and if you have a hairdryer handy and you use it to dry the paint you will find that it is very easy to pick off paint. I use a sharpened toothpick or a dull #11 to pick off the paint here and there. You can do as much or as little as you like.
I've loaded this angled brush to a chiseled edge with the Windsor-Newton water mixable oil.
With the brush loaded like this you can pretty accurately go over the places where you chipped paint. I use this because the rust colored chalks that come next adhere to it very nicely.
I use a small brush like this to apply the chalk to the areas I just applied the W-N oil to. I get just a little in the end of the brush and lightly dab it on. You can see in the tin the basic colors I use for rust. The brush is over the Burnt sienna #411.3, directly across is the mix of Orange #235.3 and Burnt sienna #411.5, thats black in the middle and some of the darker Raw umbers up top. Just using these basic few chalks you can get some very nice subtle rust effects.
I used the W-N oil on top around the fill for oil spillage and a little black chalk over this to give it a dirty grimy look.
I also it for drips down the side of the barrell. Another neat thing you can do with the W-N oil is to make very subtle rust streaks. Take a tiny dot on the end of a toothpick and apply it to the end of a rusty scratch that we did earlier. With a very small brush and just a tiny bit of water in it draw it downwards from the dot of oil to create a very natural looking rust streak.
The barrell on the left was done with Chuck Doans technique for rusting old metal that can be seen in his Fotki album.
1. Prime with Floquil roof brown spray. let dry
2. Brush with plain alcohol to get that mottled effect first described by George Sellios.
3. Apply you various rust colors and blow off excess.
4. Spritz your Dullcote and pass the casting through the mist at the end of the spray pattern. I do this a couple of times.
You get a nice rusty barrel ready to be planted in the weeds. This would be a great way to do one of those multi barrell castings in no time flat. Tony Burgess if you are reading this, this would be a great way to start the casting you did.
The last two pics look similar to the Chuck D one but were done in a different way.
I powdered some of my rust colors and a little raw umber on to a paper towel. I dunked a primed barrell in plain alcohol and rolled it in the pile of chalk and made sure I hit the top as well. I used a soft brush to remove any too heavy build up and that's it.
As I said, nothing dramatic but I hope you try out some of these techniques.
Kevin
I'm grateful that he was able to share so much with us and that his work will continue to
inspire others through his posts. Kevin would have been thrilled.
Kevin was a great modeler and a great friend who will be missed by many of us.
Karl.A