wonwinglo

Hello Daemon,regarding your enquiry on washes,can I suggest that before you commit any weathering like this to your Hind you conduct some simple experiments first,get hold of one of your older models and use this as a 'Paint Hack' from this useful model you will learn how to apply the washes and get the idea of the general effects,but please do not fall into the trap of overdoing it ! remember if a real aeroplane was so dirty as some models that I have seen then they would be declared un-serviceable,the idea is to make a subtle effect whereby areas that are subjected to the effects of the atmosphere and oil and fuel spray the finish darkens slightly,get hold of a photograph of the Hind that shows the way the exhaust stains the finish,every aeroplane has a different way that it looks,take for example the Skyraider with its upswept exhaust stains,then we have the Hawker Fury with its sleeve valve engine which gives wisps of exhaust at the lower cowl area,you see what I mean ? every type is different.
So having got the pros and cons of weathering out of the way lets discuss the very basics of colour washes,firstly you will need a small tube of artists quality burnt umber,or vandyke brown oil colour,this comes in a thick paste and needs to be highly thinned down to almost like water,to do this use a lid of some sort and place a small amount of the oil colour into the lid,with this mix some Sansador ( obtainable also from art shops ) use a brush to do the mixing and just aim for a slight tinge of colour,you can always go over it again should you need and slowly build up the wash.
With a lint free cloth wrapped around your middle finger dab ino the mix,then apply a small amount to the area or areas that you need to render,if you need to emphasis panel lines ( but be careful ) rub a liitle into the etched lines,as the oil colour dries very slowly it will take some days to dry off ( place under a shoebox or similar to keep the dust off the model ) any surplus will need to be rubbed off with the lint free cloth,remember the old saying that little is more.
Another effective way of adding weathering is by the use of artists soft pastels,use the dust and stipple with a stiff artists bristle brush,this is a very effective way of simulating exhaust stains and general weathering,once applied the finish can be sealed with Johnsons Klear liquid polish.
The emphasis is on experimienting until you are confident in your own mind that the end result is what you want,so just a quick re-cap-
3/Obtain a model to experiment with.
2/Select a photograph of the actual machine to determine the weathering required.
3/Once happy and comfortable with the techniques,then is the time to apply them to your good model.

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'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
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