Painting - A to Z

[Ritter]

Hello All.

A small essay on a current painting project of mine.

The subject: A company of the early war Russian T-26 Tank.

I will be posting progress pictures on this thread for you all to peruse. By doing this, I hope to provide some tips and help to the novices and intermediates alike.

I started by removing all the flash ans mold lines fromn the models with a new x-acto. The models were then mounted on 3" roofing nails and sprayed with a THIN coat of matt white primer (see below).


This was allowed to dry overnight or forthe impatient, 20 minutes in the oven will do the trick. I then chose a new color that closly matches my research into the T-26's color, TestorsModel Master Med. Field Green 1786.

More on this later...

I thinned to a slightly watery consistancy with turpentine and covered the models completely.

Everything going good so far. I baked this on and moved onto the wash stage. This is were the problems began. The testors paint just dont have the bite of Humbrols and washes off with the application of the wash. I tried to protect the base coat by a coat of dulcote but it still washed off I then removed all the Testors with a toothbrush and a little thinner. It all came off and left behind the slightly green tinged primer.

What to do...There is no Humbrol color that matches the T-26 color references. I began by custom mixing a few different types of Humbrols and came up with 117 and 102 in a 50/50 ratio. They were a pretty close match for the color.


I re-painted the models and set aside to dry.


This brings us up to the current state of the models. Tomorrow the wash in detail...

Troy

[pmskaar]

Hi Troy

It appears there is still a problem with the Testors paints. I discovered this same problem several years ago with the turpentine wash taking away the paint. Nice color range for the Testors but I don't like the properties of their enamels. For me they had a worse smell than the Humbrol paints. I have been using Humbrols for years with good results and no problem of the wash eating the paint away - I let mine dry for 24 hours at least before doing this. My only problem with Humbrol is that they seem to be shrinking their line: at least the paints I use a lot of such as #114 Russian Green which I thought was a great color, the Track Color, now Brown Bess and #111 Field Gray also gone from the line. They also did a French Artillery Green that was really good as well, I believe it was #179. I tried the X-tra Color Russian Green which was a really excellent color b ut the color wore off with the blackwash so I abandoned that one as well. I am interested to see your final results of the #117 and #102 together. Recently I've been using #86 with a touch of white and it looks okay. Humbrols do seem to wear quite well over time which is another plus.

Pete - Binpicker, Out!

[fullmetaljacket]

I personally have been using Vallejo paints all acrylics. really have not had any problems at all with the paints. Vallejo makes a russian green that is a very nice color. Mater of fact i just painted up a batallion of Ruissian T-34/76's. ONly thing i have noticed is from time to time if you let the paint sit to long they tend to dry up to quickly and you have a blob of paint. I also paint with humbrol in larger scales. I like their line of paints but a lot of times i have to put more than one coat on. on the other hand though humbrol paints do not leave paint brush strokes, due to the fact i dont have an airbrush yet still paint all by hand.

Which brings up a good questions what airbrush do you all recomend? After all xmas is coming.

Also what type of compressor due you all recomend? As long as it has a regulator on it will any compressor work?

But back to the paints for ease i like acrylic's especially vallejo's line of paints. Most of the FOW paints are really good representations of actual WW2 paint schemes and color plates. Any way just my observations from a realtively new modeler and painter no thanks to JB who got me hooked and painting. I only hope one day i can be as good at it as he is. I alos speak for personal experience JB's models are all micro they are not trick pictures of larger scales.

FMJ

[Extra Crispy]

When using Vallejos it is a good idea to use a wet pallette. You can mke your own by simply putting a piece of wax paper on top of a fairly damp spnge. This will keep your paint from drying out.

[Ritter]

Pmskaar read my mind when he said:

Hi Troy

My only problem with Humbrol is that they seem to be shrinking their line: at least the paints I use a lot of such as #114 Russian Green which I thought was a great color, the Track Color, now Brown Bess and #111 Field Gray also gone from the line. They also did a French Artillery Green that was really good as well, I believe it was #179. I tried the X-tra Color Russian Green which was a really excellent color b ut the color wore off with the blackwash so I abandoned that one as well. I am interested to see your final results of the #117 and #102 together. Recently I've been using #86 with a touch of white and it looks okay. Humbrols do seem to wear quite well over time which is another plus.

Hello Pete:

I couldnt agree with you more - 111 is gone, 179 gone too...these should be some of their best sellers Whats next, 117?
Humbrols line is indeed shrinking and with that, the best enamel paint line in history may be not here much longer. Its too bad as there are no paints with the durability, cover or finely ground pigment anywhere.

X-tra color I tried too - same result...tossed em.

Humbrol 86 has been my stable russian mid to late color as well and I only changed it up for the T-26s as pictues I have seen of interiors and covered areas (away from sunlight) show a richer green. For comparison, the picture below shows a vehicle with Humbrol 86 before and after the wash, and a T-26 with the 50/50 mix of 102 and 117.


THE WASH:

I use a wash made up of a 50/50 mixture of black Matt Humbrol 33 and Testors 1149 Flat Black. This gives it a nice dark black with the ability of wearing off during the wash process. Testors alone would come off too esily and Humbrol wont come off at all! Here is the finished model with the wash added:

The wash is not added everywhere but is instead touched off in the recesses and corners; around hatches and tools, etc. Allow this to dry for 2-3 minutes.

Troy

[Ritter]

WASH STEP 2

The models are then brushed in a side to side fashion with a square-cut brush (see photo) that has been dipped into thinner and wiped on a rag.

Done right, this will clean up the wash a bit, moving it off the broader surfaces and into the cracks. Not too much thinner as this will remove all the wash. Too little will begin to remove the underlying base paint.


Next: Highlighting


Troy

[CountRingworm]

troy-

this is appreciated! i've been using your methods on the models i've been painting, albeit with vallejo acrylics and the appropriate changes.

the pictures really help. thanks for the tutorial!

[cbovill]

Ritter,

You truly are one of the masters of this art and I appreciate you're putting this out here step by step like this. I recently tried your wash technique using Tamiya acrylics and when I used Isopropyl alcohol to remove the excess wash it took the Tamiya paint right off with it, and this was on a very expensive aircraft carrier. I should never have tried a new technique on such a piece, should have practiced first on some old thing. I'd hate to have to switch to another line of paint - especially if they are decreasing their line.

But I'm eagerly awaiting your next installment - good stuff!

Chris

[starbird]

I recently tried your wash technique using Tamiya acrylics and when I used Isopropyl alcohol to remove the excess wash it took the Tamiya paint right off with it, and this was on a very expensive aircraft carrier.

For Tamiya paints, I make a wash by putting thinner in a jar, then the color for the wash (usually black). Just enough color paint to get a runny colored ink.

Then I load a brush with this ink, and dab it on the spot I want to apply the wash. The trick is to not move the brush. The thinned paint will run into the crevices itself. I never tried wiping it off. Doing that will just remove paint, as you have discovered.

[pmskaar]

Troy

Looks great so far! Once again excellent work.

Pete - Binpicker, Out!

[jb]

111 is gone, 179 gone too...these should be some of their best sellers Whats next, 117?
Humbrols line is indeed shrinking and with that, the best enamel paint line in history may be not here much longer. Its too bad as there are no paints with the durability, cover or finely ground pigment anywhere...Troy

...yes,I used to use Humbrol exclusively for years. Then it seems like they slowly disappeared. They used to have the most extensive line of colors that really never needed mixing to attain a scheme. The paints are durable,too. I still have some subjects that were painted 30 years ago,without primer. They are standing the test of time. Those days (of getting Humbrol) are gone,I'm afraid.
Well,now its Poly-s,Valejoe,and Model Masters...

[BattlerBritain]

111 is gone, 179 gone too...these should be some of their best sellers Whats next, 117?
Humbrols line is indeed shrinking and with that, the best enamel paint line in history may be not here much longer. Its too bad as there are no paints with the durability, cover or finely ground pigment anywhere...Troy

...yes,I used to use Humbrol exclusively for years. Then it seems like they slowly disappeared. They used to have the most extensive line of colors that really never needed mixing to attain a scheme. The paints are durable,too. I still have some subjects that were painted 30 years ago,without primer. They are standing the test of time. Those days (of getting Humbrol) are gone,I'm afraid.
Well,now its Poly-s,Valejoe,and Model Masters...

Indeed - and now that Airfix have gone bust and that means that Humbrol have too, it means that whatever Humbrol paints are left in the shops are likely to be the last ones ever.

Both Hornby and Revell have been in dicussions about taking over Humbrol but so far nothing has come of it.

So get your Humbrol paints whilst stocks last.

[Xveers]

Hallo,
just a little question. I want to do my paint jobs with Vallejo.
Which colours can you recommend for :

german sandyellow
german redbrown
german " tarngrün"

russian green
and allied olive

Cheers

I use, in order of your list:
882
826
979

and for the russians 894 (oddly enough called russian green)

I don't do western front, but I think 887 (US Olive Drab) does a decent job.