Recently, I was testing out a few new metallics, trying to sort out what exactly I want to use on the F-104. In that test, I came away rather impressed with Mr. Paint’s Super Fine Silver. This little revelation stirred conversation about the brand itself, how it paints etc…especially since many people have never heard…
Category: Painting and Airbrushing
Panel Lines: Do They Even Exist?
My recent rant against egregious panel line shading has drawn quite a hefty response. Plenty of voices of support…and of butthurt and defensiveness. A few who have mistaken the entire thing as some kind of condemnation of all pre-shading. And then there’s Tom, who left this comment earlier today. Good grief. Black basing, pre-shading, post-shading, it’s all…
The Problem with Panel Line Shading
So this is the post where I get to shit all over other people’s builds! Not really. Or at least, that is not my intent. My intent is to talk about shading panel lines (mainly pre-shading, but also post-shading), and why – if you’re pursuing a realistic or verisimilitudinous finish, it’s a terrible technique that should…
Painting Tamiya’s 1/32 F4U-1 Corsair
With each new build, I try to push myself outside of my comfort zone (RELATED: Where the Magic Happens) in at least one area. Test a technique. Try a new paint. Experiment a little. But every so often, a build comes along that’s more than that. That kicks me into an entirely new level of…
Technique: Multi-Layer Chipping
I’ll straight-up admit it. I’ve been procrastinating on my big Tamiya F4U-1 Corsair. Oh, sure, part of it’s been working on other builds, but a bigger part has been sheer anxiety over how I’m going to paint the thing. The problem is pretty basic, really. I have a pretty reliable painting process that puts a…
Tonal Crush
I’ve touched on the idea of tonal crush in a few posts here and there, but it occurs to me that I’ve never stopped to fully explain the concept – or its implications for modeling. Time to fix that! A Brief Explanation Tonal crush is, at its most basic, the apparent loss of tonal variation…
Technique: Black Basing
UPDATE: I’d recommend checking out the Black Basing video: I’ve never been a big fan of the standard pre-shading, where you trace panel lines in black and then try your damnedest to cover the gray primered areas without completely blowing away all that fine airbrush work that went into the preshade lines. It’s a very…
1/32 HK Models B-25J Mitchell – Part IV – Finish Out
Part I | Part II | Part III | PART IV The end is in sight! It’s amazing to think I first started this kit more than five months ago…and that it’s been back on the bench for more than two. So far, it’s been BUILT, PAINTED, and MARKED. Now comes the home stretch of weathering and seeing to all those…
1/32 HK Models B-25J Mitchell – Part III – Markings
Part I | Part II | PART III | Part IV In Part I it was built. In Part II, it was painted. Now, it’s time to give the B-25 its proper markings. The B-25 I’m building is “Bottoms Up II” of the 340th Bomb Group. There aren’t very many markings out there (yet) for the 1/32 B-25, but thankfully “Bottoms…
1/32 HK Models B-25J Mitchell – Part II – Paint
Part I | PART II | Part III | Part IV The big bomber build continues! In Part I, I picked up the pieces of a paused build and pushed through main assembly and paint prep. In Part II, it’s time to paint the beast!
Doogs Models 