Painting the model with an airbrush with enamel paints. Coloring models for beginners

30.06.2016

Painting models with an airbrush can be both auxiliary in the form of base blowing, and detailing without using a brush. It is also possible to apply primer and varnish without excessive dust and dirt with an "air brush", this frees from smudges and irregularities of paint application, overspending of material, and also makes the work much thinner and easier. Perhaps the main advantage of airbrushing is the creation of smooth color transitions.

If an advanced modeler goes further and does not stop at the level of blowing out the base with an airbrush, all chiaroscuro, highlights, dots and small details can be drawn with an airbrush. However, the accuracy of the instrument in this case should be higher. As well as the skillfulness of the author.

Preparing the model for painting

As with any work with plastic or metal, the surface must first be prepared before painting:

• matting - the formation of adhesion due to the application of the smallest sanding with abrasives with a grain value of 1500 or 2000;
• degreasing - before applying the pattern, it is required to degrease the surface using a universalanti-silicone cleaner and special tissue for degreasing since touching the surface with your hands or other ways of getting fat on it;
• priming - applied after the surface acquires an even matte shade without irregularities, possibly even in several layers.

Airbrushing Models - Base Application

The base is applied over the primer in repetitive strokes in layers with a thin spray. That is, you need to press the trigger of the airbrush down with each wave of your hand, opening the way for the air flow and pressing the air valve, and then pulling the lever towards you, giving out the paint.

If you just press the trigger down and back once and drive back and forth near the surface, the paint will fall down with air bubbles and bumps, forming a "shagreen". Therefore, when applying the base layer, you should not rush, it is better to work thinly and in layers. You can immediately place accents in light and shade, based on the logic of where the light comes from, where the tone will be denser and darker.

Those areas that need to be painted in a different color and protected from possible dusting can be covered with masking tape or very thin vinyl contour tape.

Features of working with acrylic paints

When painting models with an airbrush, the quality of the paint, its hiding power, dispersion and other properties matter. Among the paints for modeling, enamels and paints on a water-acrylic basis stand out. Enamels have a number of advantages:

• metallics look more realistic;
• transparent enamels are able to create a candy effect, like on real cars, if the task requires it;
• all enamels lay down and are fixed to the surface better than acrylic.

Painting models with acrylic paints is overwhelming due to the fact that all the advantages of enamel are usually crossed out at home by a rather pungent smell. With a wide palette of rulers, the water-acrylic ruler can cause breeding problems for newcomers to modeling. Especially with a shallow trigger stroke, acrylic particles quickly freeze on the needle and quickly clog the nozzle, so it is better to dilute the paint to the state of "milk". As a thinner, you can use vodka or a proprietary thinner from the manufacturer (airbrush thinner). If, after liquefaction, the paint continues to clog fine nozzles with a diameter of 0.15-0.2 mm, a retarder medium can help.

When choosing the right airbrush, you can rely on the following rule:

• 0.15-0.3 mm - airbrushing camouflage and other subtleties using the "free" hand method;
• 0.35-0.5 mm - application of the base coat, priming and varnishing of the model. Because with an airbrush with a narrower nozzle, it is extremely inconvenient to dilute soils and varnishes, which are always thicker in consistency.

The problem of density and possible sticking to the needle is especially relevant when painting models with acrylic paints. And when breeding, they can lose their originally inherent qualities. Also, the soil can be coarse, form a difficult-to-wash film on a thin diameter.

After painting the models with an airbrush and completing work with acrylic rulers, it is imperative to thoroughly rinse the instrument with the same vodka or alcohol, if the case is already running and old particles of dried paint remain, the flushing liquid will help to soak and wash them clean.

If, after the stage of painting the models, the airbrush is clogged, parsing and assembling video to the last bolt will save you from possible damage to spare parts. Although it is better not to bring to a major blockage and blow out the tool immediately after work with alcohol or rinsing.

We paint a tank with an airbrush

It is almost impossible to get a uniformly painted surface of the model with a brush or sponge, the level accurately for such work can go off scale. For a number of paints, it is possible to apply exclusively with an airbrush. Camouflage stripes on the tank are drawn at a slight distance from 1.2 to 1.4 bar. The thinner you need to create a line, the less you need to squeeze the trigger of the airbrush and draw closer to the surface, with a hair thickness you can even remove the protective cap of the needle from the airbrush, making the drawing using the "open" needle method. It is better to hold the airbrush nozzle normal to the surface so that the edges of the camouflage are not created too blurry. When painting a model of a tank with an airbrush, the tool cannot be kept in one place near the surface; it is better to make movements along the contour of the model.

As a rule, the model annotation lists the exact colors with paint numbers for each manufacturer. You can rely on this, choosing the right colors, or simply pick up similar analogs and colorize.

The law of aerial perspective - based on the scaling of the model: rather far-away objects are, as it were, lightened by the thickness of the air, as if they are under a blue filter. We multiply the number of meters through which we observe the model and see it as a whole by the scale. Lighten all the colors by the obtained%.

Washes, special effects, decals and other modeling tricks

You can show additional volume with the help of the correct toning of the model, i.e. emphasizing the relief and surface texture by darkening the recesses and highlighting the highlights of the upper parts. Washes - These are liquid diluted paints with a reduced pigment content, which flow into depressions and cracks. When the wash dries up, remove the excess with a cotton pad. It is important to pay attention to the chemical composition of the remover, which may contain solvents and affect the acrylic painted surface layer.

Dry brush method- Light pigment or slow drying paint is rubbed into the basecoat in the lightest areas. The brush should have a minimum of coloring effect, so it should be wiped dry initially.

Decals- the technique of applying decals, most often used to transfer symbols or attributes in various branches of the military in modeling. The decal may look whitened due to traces of air bubbles accumulating between the decal and the model. Most often this occurs when the model is blown with a matte varnish. Therefore, there is a reason to cover the places reserved for decals separately with a glossy varnish. General leveling can be done by blowing out the surface with a final coat of matt varnish.

Dirt and drip effects

The tank, being part of military equipment, is subject to the effect of corrosion, is constantly in mud and oil leaks. Over time, the effect of "weathering" of the paint from the surface occurs.

Painting a model of a tank with an airbrush in stages:

• covering the tank model with the main color;
• highlighting the most rubbing surfaces of the model with paint several tones lighter than the base one;
• in life, after a short period of operation, a dark film of dirt and smudges forms on the tank's parts around the most prominent points, which accumulates in all the recesses of the model. It is necessary to realistically reproduce these moments, which will help the black wash. Also, with the help of it, it will be possible to level out dark and light transitions. The black wash highlights the small details of the tank - welds, bolts and rivets, etc.;
• glossing the surface - the gloss makes the protruding parts even more protruding and makes the surface look like painted steel instead of plastic. You can add glossy varnish to the mixture to the paint, or blow it over the paint;
• The lower part of the tank hull can be covered with a simulated earth effect.

Weathering -an effect that gives any military equipment more realism. When done correctly, it helps to hide the "kosyachki" coloring, with inept handling or overdoing it spoils the appearance of the work and negates the result of the first stages of coloring. Weathering also focuses on small details of the model. To make the weathering realistic, the modeler must reproduce for himself the conditions in which the equipment was located (climatic and natural corrosion, historical and military).

Weathering stages:

• imitation of scratches and chips on the surface -manual application of wear with a piece of sprue with a slight bend at the tip. Then paint is applied to all the edges and corners of the models, preferably oil-based. The number and depth of scratches and chips depends on the background of the tank model, based on the historical context or a personally invented topic. However, the fenders should be much more scratched than the top of the hull and turret of the tank. For greater realism, in addition to the edges, you can scratch lightly, like a continuation of the tracks, and the surface next to it. It is better not to forget about the scratches applied along the hull, fenders, which appear from the passage of the tank over obstacles and debris. At the end of this stage, after thorough drying, you can go over the center of the scratches and cracks with a black slate pencil, however selectively, and not over all.
• imitation of dirt and dust -many modelers usually just take filtered earth, moss and water-acrylic paints with earth tones, mix in PVA and water and apply to the model. This is followed by a day-long drying. It is most logical to apply dirt to the bottom of the hull and track elements. The main thing is not to overdo it.
• wash -the wash applied in several layers helps to achieve a more realistic effect. The model is covered with a wash-off brush with a thin layer. The movements of the brush go in one direction: on vertical and oblique - from top to bottom, on horizontal - from the center to the edge. After applying the first layer of wash, you can take a wider brush and work on flat surfaces, and not just flow it into depressions and depressions. After a short drying time of 10-15 minutes, you can remove excess wash with a brush. You can also finish this step with a third layer on the bottom of the case.
• ov haze e- brush bristles with a value of No. 00 trimmed, then light earth-colored paint is applied to it, then wiped off with a napkin. And using the "dry" brush method, go over the lower part of the body.
• fresh dirt and track installation.
  
  

You can paint models of various techniques with a brush or an airbrush. Novice modelers usually use the first method. Therefore, here we will talk about how to paint models with brushes. Painting is carried out after final assembly, when absolutely all parts are installed. This process includes several stages.

Degreasing

In order to degrease the model, it is best to use gasoline or alcohol. Moisten cotton wool with one of these substances and wipe the model with it. You can also degrease the model with liquid soap or dish detergent. After degreasing, all traces of the used grease solvent must be removed. Moreover, if you used a soap solution, you need to rinse it off with a jet of water and leave to dry. There is no need to rinse off alcohol or gasoline - they will evaporate on their own after a while. After that, you must not touch the model with your hands.

Primary priming

The primer holds the dried paint on the model surface. First, check if you need a primer on this model. Apply a primer to the sprue part and let it dry. Then apply the paint over the primer and at the same time on the other part of the sprue that is not covered with the primer. After the paint is dry, try scratching it with your fingernail. If there is no difference, no primer is needed.

Cover the transparent areas with a protective cover. For this, masking tape is used. Remove it either after applying the last coat of paint, or after varnishing (if you do not want to varnish the transparent parts).

Now brush the primer evenly over the entire model. If you have planted a drop or primer drips, do not try to remove this defect. Wait for it to dry and move on to the next step.

Intermediate grinding

This step is needed to correct the roughness of the primary priming. Sanding is carried out with very fine sandpaper. Now you can remove all streaks and "blots". In this case, it is possible that in some places you will completely erase the primer. This can be corrected in the next step.

Final priming

Now use the brush to achieve the most even distribution of the primer over the surface of the model. If you find that there was a defect in the sanding process, or if you made a mistake in the final priming, steps 3 and 4 should be repeated. People who understand how to paint models correctly sometimes go through several cycles before they achieve the perfect surface.

Applying the main tone

Attention! Model paints should not be nitro-enamel. They can eat away at the plastic from which the model is made. Paints that are soluble in water or alcohol are best suited.

Examine the paint scheme for the model. The main tone will be the color that occupies the largest area. Moreover, if the main tone is light - silver, red, yellow, blue, etc., then for a start it would be better to paint the entire model with white paint. This will allow the main tone to appear brighter.

The main tone is applied in several thin layers. If you have used acrylic paints for the models, then after finishing applying the basic tone, you should cover the model with clear varnish.

At this stage, sanding defects (rough marks) may appear that were not visible after priming. They are still removable: sanding and, if necessary, priming can be repeated. Then you need to use the paint again.

Camouflage application

At this stage, any mistake can completely ruin the appearance of the entire model. Therefore, it requires the most careful approach. There are several ways to apply camouflage. All of them are based on the use of different masks. Most often, paper and tape are used as masks. Experienced modelers, who know how to paint models correctly, use their imagination to create masks. So, some of them use plasticine and other improvised means.

If the camouflage is multi-colored, light tones are applied first, then dark ones. In this case, each tone, as in the previous case, is applied in separate thin layers. When painting with acrylic paints, after completing the application of each of the tones, the treated area is covered with a colorless varnish.

Application of decals

To make them look realistic, you need to both paint the models and apply decals (transfer stickers) to them. Wet decals look most natural. Most of the difficulties are connected with their application. First, cut out the desired area of ​​the decal, avoiding unnecessary margins and sharp corners. For this, nail scissors are used. A blade and a scalpel act as auxiliary means. In some cases (letters, numbers) it is impossible to cut a borderless decal.

The cut area should be immersed in water for a few seconds. After that, you need to hold it in the air for some time to soften the glue. While the glue is softening, cover the place where the decal will be installed with a layer of water. Place the decal backing on water and use a brush to distill the film off the backing. You will have enough time to use a brush, match or tweezers to place the decal in the right place. The main thing is that there is always a layer of water under the film during positioning. After the final installation, wipe off excess water and press down on the decal with a dry cloth.

Sometimes it is more convenient to cut large decals into parts and alternately dock these parts with each other on the surface of the model.

On some surfaces (for example, on the ribbed armor of German tanks) "wet" decal can only be applied by a skilled watchmaker or jeweler. If you are having difficulty, you may want to use a dry decal or apply the image with a thin brush.

Final varnishing

Apply a final coat of varnish over the paint and decals. You may want to remove the protective coating from the transparent areas before doing this. If you don't want to cover them with varnish, remove the protection after it dries.

The model can now be handled. Sometimes it can be placed under running water from the tap to get rid of the dust.

In some models, the parts are already painted, but in most cases the parts in the set have a solid gray color, which you need to add picturesque to yourself.
It is worth noting that painting a prefabricated model is a rather painstaking business. But do difficulties frighten us? Then let's get started!

What is required to paint prefabricated models 1 Paint Choosing a paint for modeling is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Water-soluble acrylic paints are excellent and can be applied with a brush or sprayed with an airbrush. Modeling paints are conveniently sold in sets specially selected according to the color of a particular type of equipment, for example, "Military equipment", "Ships", "Aviation", etc. There are also nitro paints, but this is an option for professional modelers, behind whose shoulders there is already more than one painted model. In addition, it is worth considering that such paints have a very pungent odor. Attention.

2 Brushes Any brushes will suit your taste, as long as the bristle is soft and does not leave marks. Although in some cases, such traces can give a realistic texture to the model. For example, to convey the texture of wood on the planks of a ship, you can use small diameter bristles. You can use an airbrush instead of a brush, but this is a tool more for professionals.

In practice, you can achieve excellent results with a brush. Choose brushes of several sizes, round and flat, so that you can easily paint large surfaces and small details. 3 Primer When painting models with acrylic paints, a primer is required, otherwise the paint will simply "roll" off the surface without painting it. In addition, with a primer it is easier to identify unexpected irregularities on the surface, so that later they can be putty, cleaned and primed again. It is not necessary to prime models for nitro paint, but nevertheless it will not be superfluous to identify and eliminate irregularities. Be sure to choose a primer that is suitable for polystyrene so as not to damage the model!

4 Varnish Varnish is an excellent protection of the finished model from all external factors. The model can not only be wiped from dust, but even completely "bathed" under the tap, without fear of rubbing off the paint or damaging something. For nitro paints, both nitro and acrylic varnish are suitable. But for acrylic paints, only acrylic varnish should be used! Otherwise, the paint layer may swell.

7 Thinner Whenever you work with acrylic, keep your acrylic thinner with you. It will help keep brushes in their original form and erase random drops of paint.

For the model itself, you will need a model knife or paper cutter, nippers, sandpaper of various grain sizes, and a file will not be superfluous. You may need a one-component, designed for modeling, putty, flat spatula for applying putty on irregularities, and for very small models you can take a flat screwdriver instead of a spatula.

A large number of varnishes, paints and primers are sold in aerosol cans. The paints do not need to be thinned, in general, this option is well suited for large models.

Preparation for work

Having prepared and protected the work surface and furniture around, you can start assembling the model. Carefully detach the parts from the sprues and carefully sand the cuts to smooth them out.
Carefully study the instructions and see which places you can paint over after gluing and which not. Based on this, some parts of the model can be immediately connected to each other. Apply the glue pointwise with the very tip of a brush or a regular sewing needle, then press the glued parts tightly against each other and leave for a few minutes. The glue will dry completely in about a day.
If the model contains transparent parts, it is better to cover them with masking tape.

Do this in any convenient way, for example, dampen a cotton pad or lint-free cloth in a degreaser. Do not touch the part with your hands! Degreasers, such as alcohol and gasoline, evaporate on their own, and dishwashing detergents must be rinsed off under running water, after which the parts must dry thoroughly.

Let's start painting

First you need to decide on the base color of the model. See what color the finished product should be the most - and take this color as a basis. It may need to be applied in several coats.

It's important to know!
When painting models of military and other equipment, do not use solid colors. Even if the color seems saturated and uniform, try adding a little black, white, or sandy yellow to it. Feel free to experiment with the palette and the result will be very natural. For example, if a part looks black, try painting it dark brown and darkening some areas with black.

Having covered the details of the model with the main color and waiting for it to dry, you can start toning. To do this, you can use the same paints from the set, only diluting them strongly with water. You can apply darkening or imitate dried dirt in color. It is better to combine different toning colors, so the model will be "livelier". There are so-called "filters", which slightly change the shade of the main color, make it picturesque. To do this, you can use oil paints with any thinner for oil paints, for example, with white spirit. The paint is diluted very thinly and should be more like a watercolor, we cover the entire model with the obtained tinted liquid.

A brown, gray filter, ocher will do, or you can apply several filters one after the other. After applying the filter, leave the model to dry for at least a day.
You can make the model even more realistic. For example, the image of adhering dirt is good with a sponge, and splashes are easy to depict if you put paint on a toothbrush and run your finger over it, spraying the paint on the desired surface. You can achieve texture, for example, adhering lumps of earth, by mixing the paint with PVA glue and putty. Rubbing paint in with a dry brush will also give interesting effects. And if you slightly blur some areas on the model with thinner, you get an imitation of paint fading in the sun.

That's all. Now you can show your friends a real miniature model, not only assembled, but also painted with your own hands!

If this article was helpful to you, please rate it (at the top of the page). Thanks!

Visitors to this page most often choose in the online store:

Generally, the first model is usually not painted, so we go straight to the second step in the development of the modeler - to the moment when he first thought about the fact that the heap of "naked" plastic, decorated with "decals" is somehow not very beautiful ...

Part 1. Essentials

The very first thing a modeler needs to start trimming models is money. Much money. So much money. Regardless of what and in what ways you will paint, you need the following things:

1. Actually, the paints themselves (or enamels)

Paint is something that cannot then be dissolved or washed off with something just like that. The ceilings in the apartment, for example, are painted with water-based paints, diluted with water, and after drying you will wipe them off. Enamels - they can be washed off, and easily, with their own solvent. Example - watercolors, dissolve with water, and then wash off with water. Models are painted with both, you can not get hung up on this for now; later on in the article they will be, both, simply "paints", but if necessary, they will be highlighted.

On various forums, you can find fierce disputes "which colors are better", strong arguments are given, sometimes it will come to a fight ... Do not get involved in such discussions - firstly, if you have not worked with this, then your subjective opinion is only " will add fuel to the fire ", and secondly," every cricket praises his pole ", and every modeler works with those paints and varnishes that he could get and to which he had time to get used to.

So which paint should you choose?

If you have a small child in your family, then nitro paints will not work for you - they have a very pungent smell. In this case, you should pay attention to a number of water-based or acrylic paints. If you see the words "Diluted with water" or "Diluted with alcohol" on a bottle with paint - you should know that these are your paints. If you have an extractor hood and everyone is calm about the smell of the solvent, then you can choose nitro paints - they are easier to use, but they are worse washed off the hands. It is also easy to "burn through" transparent parts with nitro paints and spoil the plastic. Both are worth about the same.

Almost all models require the following paints:

• White
• Black
• Silver

The rest of the paints required for a particular model can be purchased gradually, as needed. Remember, under no circumstances mix paints from different manufacturers or paints on a different basis (nitro and water, for example) to obtain the desired color, the paints may deteriorate!

As a rule, one jar is enough for 2-3 models (if painted with an airbrush) and 1 model for painting with a brush, or 8-10 sets of soldiers. The model is average, such as an aircraft at a scale of 1:72, or a tank or soldiers at a scale of 1:35. There are also special paints for an airbrush, very liquid, but it is better not to buy them for now - they are not suitable for a brush; in cans, the paint is universal. Hence the difference in paint consumption - when using an airbrush, the paint is diluted, it "becomes more" and is enough for more models.

2. Ground

This is a liquid applied to the model that prevents the paint from falling off the model after drying. For nitro and water-based paints, the primers are different and cannot be changed.

There is one more nuance. If, when painting with a brush, you put nitro paint on plastic, then it slightly dissolves this plastic, "gnaws", and the primer is not really needed; then when painting with water-soluble paints, the primer is always necessary - the water does not dissolve the plastic, and the paint will collect in droplets on the surface. This phenomenon is called "adhesion", i.e. simplified "wettability", or the ability of something to spread evenly over any surface. If you don’t believe, then try to “paint the plastic” evenly with plain water. When painting with an airbrush, the primer is always necessary, regardless of the type of paint - the paint lays on the surface already "at the end" in small portions, and it simply does not have the strength to normally "eat" the plastic and "stick" to it.

3. Varnish

Varnish is necessary so that your model will delight your eyes for a long time, and you could calmly, for example, after a holiday and a prelude display of your achievements, go and wash the model under the tap, without fear of ruining the decals (decals) and paint. Varnishes are also nitro- and water-soluble. If you painted with nitro paints, then the varnish can be nitro or acrylic (water or alcohol soluble); if you painted with water-soluble paints, then nitro varnish can ruin everything, the surface will "swell" and "rise". In addition, when using water-soluble acrylic paints, almost every layer should be varnished - these paints are extremely delicate. Usually firms that produce water-based paints also produce varnishes for these paints, so be sure to buy.

Primer, varnish and paint are also sold in aerosol cans. You can buy for both models and cars - if only the color fits. They do not need a solvent, they are already diluted. But this is for extreme lovers with a big wallet - the consumption of paints and varnishes is large, and in the apartment, in addition to the model, you will paint everything that is "in the line of fire" of the spray can.

4. Solvent

Everything is simple here - take what is written on the paint. At the initial stage, this will save you unnecessary hassle. Then, when you have experience and a bunch of unnecessary paint cans, you can start experimenting, buy "third-party" solvents, etc. As well as for varnishes, manufacturing firms must also produce a solvent (sometimes called a thinner) for their paints. If it says "Diluted with water", then you can safely dilute it with boiled, or better distilled, if you get it. It is not recommended to dilute raw from a tap or a spring, after all, there is a lot of all kinds of salts, minerals, etc.

5. Flushing

Unlike the wash used by the modellers in the sense of "aging the model", the technical wash is a liquid used to wash brushes, tools, hands, furniture, etc. etc. after painting. As a remover, you can use the same solvent with which you diluted the paint, or you can buy a special one. If you painted with enamels, then you can wash it off with a solvent, and if with paints, then it is better to use a special remover. It is better to wash the tool immediately after the end of the work, otherwise then you will be tortured to clean the dried paint.

6. Container

As a rule, the colors in the jar are thick, and these jars are sold filled to capacity. To work with a brush, paint can be dripped into caps from beer or vodka, solvent can also be dripped there, mixed and painted with this. After painting, you do not need to throw away the cap - firstly, over time you will accumulate a palette, according to which you can select the desired shade for a particular model.

Secondly, in this lid, you can dilute the same paint again (if you try to dilute another, they may mix and get a different shade), and thirdly, if you painted with enamel and you have an accidental scratch on the old model and paints no, you can try to dilute what is left in the lid and "cover up" it. I also recommend going to the pharmacy or walking around your house and ask old women for glass medicine bottles. Rest assured, they will be immensely happy if you offer them a cash reward for each bubble. You, who buys paint (and one jar costs at least two loaves of bread), it will not be expensive at all, and they, in the modern world, will really need it. If you are shy, then go to the pharmacy and buy the cheapest medicines in the required container. At the moment, for the price of one can of paint, you can buy a dozen bottles of "Naphtizin".

Part 2. Choosing a painting method

The overwhelming number of modelers can be divided into two opposing camps - those who paint with a brush, and those who paint with an airbrush. We will not go into such heated discussions about who is stronger - an elephant or a whale, but let's try to figure out how they differ and what we need.

Now it is not important for us how we will paint - the main thing for us is to get a beautiful model, so that next time we will not be told “You are doing daubs again”. For the first time, buy a model that practically does not need to be painted - the set includes multi-colored plastic. Manufacturers who produce models of cars and ships especially like to indulge in this. If you see a large, beautiful, non-Russian box with a typewriter or sailing boat, then most likely there is multi-colored plastic, although it is better to consult with the seller. You just have to glue it together and tint it a little with a brush to heighten the effect. But you can say "I painted!" and continue their hard way in further improving the finishing of models.

Made? Got the consent of your family (moms, dads, wives, children, etc.) to continue the experiments? Moving on - we buy a model that needs to be painted ALL. FROM and TO.

When painting large surfaces, you should already think about - paint with a brush or airbrush? The first method is cheaper and more affordable; but the second is prettier, faster and more expensive. When painting with brushes, you only need the brushes, and when painting with an airbrush, you need an airbrush and also a compressor. Take a sheet of glass and try to paint it with a brush so that it is even, without bumps and streaks. Happened? Then you don't need an airbrush, keep up the good work. If it doesn't work, try again. Doesn't it work even after the tenth time? You are hopeless, you will have to buy an airbrush ... Or aerosol cans, for the first time.

Have you chosen what to paint with? If with a brush, then buy brushes, all sorts of different, tasty and sweet, squirrel and kolinsky, large and small, round and flat ... If with a spray, buy the colors you need. If an airbrush, then an airbrush and a compressor. In the last two cases, you will also need an extractor hood. Although the prices of both the latter methods will become equal by the end of the first year, and in the future the airbrush will begin to fall in price.

Part 3. Assembling the model for painting

First, we carefully review the assembly instructions. As a rule, it is designed in such a way that the model remains unfinished after assembly. How? Very simple - after gluing the last part, you can no longer paint in most places.

Therefore, we CAREFULLY study every detail and evaluate where we can climb after gluing, and where we cannot. If we can, then we glue, if not, then we paint first, and then we glue it.
For figures, you can glue everything except weapons, for armored vehicles - everything except wheels, tracks, boxes, shovels, crowbars, etc.; also first we glue and paint the cabin. As a rule, after gluing the body, it is no longer possible to reach the steering wheel, seats and pedals with a brush. For aircraft models, you do not need to glue weapons, landing gear, antennas - they are painted separately from the fuselage, wings, etc. Choose the time for painting the cab as far as you can: you can paint it separately and carefully insert it - paint it separately.

Each model is individual, so be guided by your experience, ingenuity and luck - you can always tear it off and remake it, there can be no unequivocal recommendations. But if you are afraid to ruin everything, it is better to buy two identical models, train at the first, and do the second, focusing on the mistakes of the first.

Part 4. Finishing the model.

There is a certain sequence to follow if you want to get a beautiful model.

1. Surface preparation

It is generally known that paint adheres better to a rough surface than a polished one. However, a rough surface on a small model will significantly impair its appearance. Therefore, before applying the first layer of paint and varnish material, the model should be made as slick as possible, and we will achieve the reliability of the coating in another tricky way, which we will talk about below.

Most modelers use sandpaper to smooth the model. If you will not buy skin in model stores, then take the M40 and smaller. If in model stores, then they will offer you a ready-made set of skins, it is more expensive, but also less headache. Take the skin, soak it in water and third model until you have rubbed off the glue seams and glue-stained parts to such an extent that they are not noticeable to the touch.

The skin should be changed from time to time to a finer one until you sand the model with the smallest one you have. If the model has a lot of protruding small parts, such as rivets, imitation of the joints of the sheathing sheets, etc., then you will suffer for a long time. This is not scary - do not hesitate to admit that you smoked one model for six months. Firstly, it will emphasize your patience, and secondly, it will emphasize the fact that you are thinking about modeling thoughtfully, and not a blooper. In the future, you will find a lot of good things in yourself, and your household will be immensely happy that you don’t waste your salary, don’t hang around at night, don’t cheat on your wife or just your girlfriend (once it’s simple), and your golden hands are growing. Well, or at least pretend ...

After you have sanded everything, the parts of the model must be planted somewhere (usually called a mandrel) so as not to paint your hands, and after painting, do not keep the parts until dry. Very rarely, model sprues are designed in such a way that parts can be painted without cutting them off the sprues, so everything that the eye fell on can be used - toothpicks, the same model sprues, ice cream sticks, etc. It is necessary to glue the part to these mandrels in the place with which it will then be glued to the model. After that, the mandrel must be stuck somewhere so that the part does not touch anything. For the first time, the mandrel can be put on the edge of the table and pressed with a book, and in the future you can come up with a board with a bunch of holes into which you will insert the mandrels, like pencils in a glass of a desktop writing instrument.

Planted? That's it, you can't touch the details with your hands anymore.

2. Degreasing

In order for the paints and varnishes to hold better, the model must be degreased. You can use everything that comes to hand - soap, fairies, gasoline ... Anything that dissolves fat. It is best, of course, to degrease with a thin layer of alcohol, but where can you get so much of it? Not sure how to degrease with alcohol? Take a sip, breathe on the cotton wool, and wipe the model with this cotton wool, in a thin layer. Yes, it's a pity that the alcohol ran out quickly, and the model is not even half fat-free ...

Well, after degreasing, you need to remove all traces of the degreaser - if alcohol or gasoline, it will dry itself, and if soap, fairies or some other kitchen chemicals, then you need to rinse the model under running water and put it to dry. The main thing is not to touch the model with your hands. If you see a speck or hair, brush it off with a degreased brush.

3. Primary priming

Actually, it has already been said about the need for priming, but it is better to repeat: "A primer is such a liquid applied to a model, which prevents the paint from falling off this model after drying." If you don’t want to primer, please don’t. Just carry out an experiment - apply primer on a piece of the sprue from this model, let it dry, and then paint the sprue and uncoated sprue at the same time. Let the paint dry, then try scratching it off with your fingernail. If there is a difference, then do what is best. If there is no difference, then it may be true that the primer on this model, for this paint, with this method of applying paint and varnish material, is superfluous.

Apply a protective coat to the transparent parts. As a rule, masking tape is suitable for this. The protective coating will be removed after the final varnishing (or the last coat of paint if you do not want to varnish it). Then apply the primer evenly to the model. If you planted a drop with soil, do not wash it, but wait until it dries and go to the next step.

4. Intermediate grinding

If you are not satisfied with the smoothness of the surface after priming, intermediate sanding is your chance to fix it. Take the finest skin you have and sand the soil. At this stage, the shortcomings made in the preparation of the surface for the application of the primer are already becoming noticeable. If you are dripping from the ground- we also grind it off. If you get carried away, and sanded the soil to plastic, then the priming operation in this place will have to be repeated.

5. Final priming

If you used intermediate grinding, then you just need to perform this operation. Firstly, with its help, you finally cover the entire surface, and secondly, you finally make sure that the evenness of the surface satisfies you (at this stage, you seem to imitate the application of paint). If the surface does not suit you (you can see the risks from the sandpaper), then either you sanded with a very coarse sandpaper, or you missed something during intermediate sanding. Troubleshooting solutions - Repeat steps 4 and 5 again, decreasing the grain size of the skin and increasing the duration of the sanding treatment.

6. Applying the main tone

Look carefully at the color scheme and figure out which color zones are larger (by area). This will be the main tone. The exception is light colors - yellow, silver, red, blue, light gray, etc. If the main tone is light, then the whole model is best painted with white paint (on it, light colors look brighter), and only then apply the main tone. The basic tone can be used to paint the entire model, provided that it is not red. It is not worth blowing out the model with one go, it is better to apply several thin layers. If you work with water-soluble acrylic paints, then after applying the last layer, you should cover the model with a colorless varnish.

At this stage, the risks from the skin become even more noticeable. If you don’t want to see them, repeat steps 4 and 6. If, at the same time, you again sand the paint and primer to the plastic, then you must complete steps 4, 5, 6; at the same time, point 5 is not performed on the entire model, but only in those places where you have reached the plastic.

7. Application of camouflage

Careless movement of a brush or airbrush can ruin the entire appearance of the model, so be careful about this operation. In fact, every modeler applies camouflage in his own favorite way, but there are a few rules that everyone adheres to. Here they are: first, light tones are applied, then dark ones; non-working (not painted) areas are covered with masks (anything you like - from a piece of paper and scotch tape to any special liquids). Also, as with applying the main tone, it is not worth painting the model at one go, it is better to apply several thin layers. If you work with water-soluble acrylic paints, then after applying the last layer, you should cover the model with a colorless varnish. If the camouflage is multi-colored, then varnish should be applied after each color application.

8. Final finishing

Here you can do whatever you want - assemble the model, apply decals, age, wash off ... There are no strict recommendations at this stage - everyone for himself, everyone builds what he wants and how he can. Sometimes it is more convenient to apply decals and then glue, and sometimes glue and then apply decals. But it's best to age afterwards - to age both the model and the decal at the same time.

The main thing is that if you apply varnish after all this, then do not remove the masks (protective coating) from the transparent parts. Otherwise, transparency may be lost from varnish, especially if it is nitro varnish. Although matte lacquer on glass is also not good enough ...

Part 5. Conclusion

If you have read the entire article carefully - you can do modeling! The most important thing is patience, and the rest will follow. Modeling - it is so, it takes a lot of time ...

In contact with

For some time now, I have not come across prefabricated models of the Tiger tank. But I always wanted to assemble a hybrid of this car - something similar to the appearance of a real car at the very end of the war. The tank, which is described in this article, is an early version of the "Tiger", which has undergone some modifications over a long service life and passed through the hands of marching repair crews.

I used an early Tamiya build of the early Tamiya as a base. Also, some parts from a later modification of this Skybow machine were required for rework. A few more elements used in the assembly came from the ABER photo-etched kit.

If the subject of the project is a well-known vehicle like Tiger or Panther tanks, I try to find an interesting and unusual camouflage pattern for this model. The following photos detail the step-by-step creation of my paint option. Particular attention in this model is paid to simulate various effects - weather, rust, dirt, pigmentation and other “vesaring”.

1) As usual, painting started with priming the surface of the model (we also recommend another article on primers). For this, Mr. Surfacer 1200.

2) Then a base coat of paint was applied. Since the subsequent work on applying the effects will noticeably drown out this color, I tried to use the brightest and thickest paint possible.

3) Now it's the turn of the camouflage. First, I mixed the green with the base color in a 3 to 1 ratio.

4) Now the turn of the brown stripes on the camouflage is the same ratio as above.

5) The commander's cupola received a completely different camouflage markings. The turret could have been changed by repairmen during the long service life of this Tiger tank. The same applies to the radio operator's hatch cover.

6) To confuse things even more, I decided to paint the barrel and the area where the small storage box is usually located in the usual gray color of German tanks - Dunkelgrau.

7) Before starting work to simulate the effects, a transparent protective layer of glossy varnish was applied to the surface of the machine. But right after that I realized that I had completely forgotten about decals.

8) After placing the decals in their places, I again applied a layer of glossy varnish.

9) Now I have applied the filter.

10) After letting the filter dry, at this time I painted the tracks. Vallejo paints came in handy for this.

11) Let's move on to mixing different oil paints. In principle, this is the same technique as applying the wash, but different paints are used here. I also tried to get the surface highlighting effect.

12) The next step is painting the parts. Tools and spare tracks are coated with acrylic paints.

13) Now we turn to the imitation of chips. For this I used Vallejo paints (Model Air Color) and a good 10/0 brush.

14) Enlarged photo - notice the chipping effects.

15) Then I applied another filter. The goal is to thin out the chips slightly. Filters of various types were used for the barrel, commander's cupola and cover.

16) At this stage, I again took up tools. Now they are covered with oil paints.

17) The next step is to paint the spare tracks with rust-like pigments.

18) Here I applied a few more light washes, as it was necessary to soften the brightness of the camouflage a little more.

19) Now I started applying weather effects with varnish. This technique was inspired by Adam Wilder. A very interesting way to enhance the contrast between different parts of the model. Note the matt surface of the commander's cupola cover compared to the glossy turret base.

20) Move on to applying the base to simulate the dust effect.

21) I applied several MIG pigments to the surface, mixing them with a thinner before that. Then I applied a little more spray.

22) Looking at the preliminary result, I realized that the model was missing a little more rust. In this case, oil-based paints were also used.

23) I sprayed with a spray of air from an airbrush aimed at a brush with a mixture of pigments and matte varnish.

24) We turn to the front surface of the steel wheels.