Making Details Pop on a Model Car and Perseverance in Modeling After 27 Years

[Kustom Steve]

Well after a long hiatus from building model cars I started building for fun again. I dug out a kit I started back I think in the summer of 1987... an AMT '61 Ford Falcon Ranchero. I bought my first airbrush then from a local discount / closeout chain called "Just Closeouts" It was a cheap knock off of a Badger 350. I prepped the paint which is Ditzler '68 Tahoe Turquoise my Dad had laying around. So I set up the airbrush and the adapter for the propellant broke, I went back to the store to get a replacement and the second one broke about 75% through the paint job. My Dad told me to take it back and get a refund and save up for a real one. So this model was shelved for about 27 years and I finally dug it out this fall and the paint to finish it.I have too many unfinished projects and I need to make the most of my time spent and finish something!

I was over a friends house on Black Friday and brought the kit and the paint and finished with the base color coat after so many years and we still had hit a few bumps along the way, my friend while helping me spilled the first batch of thinned paint on his bench and then when I started spraying it was too think and cobwebbed the model. But I fixed the mix and kept on going.

Now for the fun part. I have been doing a lot of modeling in other genre and I noticed that model cars look too clinically perfect and the colors look flat on the body. I know plane and armor builders pre-shade the models and some post shade. I experimented with some Games Workshop Acrylic washes called "Shades" on the dashboard and on one side of the model. I wanted the recesses to look deeper in scale. First off I did not use black. That would just kill the color on the body. I used a dark blue to accentuate the Tahoe Turquoise called Drachkenfeld Nightshade. It is a great almost Prussian blue color. I used it to great affect on my dashboard and onto one side of the car in the panel lines and the body sculpture.

I showed this to a few of my club members and one mentioned that Mr Gustavan will be doing an article on this. well I will at least get this idea up here now! The concept is to make the scale model have more visual impact. We are seeing the model in 1 tot 1 scale and the model is 1/25. The light can't be shrunk down but a modeler can make details look deeper by adding a darker tone to the recesses. This will add more volume to the vehicle and make the details punch out. I have some pictures below on what I did.

I also ditched the kits '70's era two piece plastic tires for the new AMT pad printed wide white front tires and wide white slicks for the back. I modified the chassis so the slicks could fit and lowered all four corners. I call it "T Boyding It" after Tim Boyd who has written so many model car builds over the year and always has been able to trim, tweak or hack up a kit to make just the right stance! I also dumped the Chevy and grabbed a proper Ford engine and I will be stuffing a 427 under the hood from an equally vintage '65 Ford Galaxie kit

[Custom Mike]

Welcome back to the car side Steve, heck of a way to make an entrance too! You've got to show how you do the shading prior to painting, because the end result is awesome! I'd love to see the process from start to finish so I can start doing it!

[Kustom Steve]

HI Mike,

I actually did post shading on this model.

1. I used Games Workshops' Drakenfelds Nightshade Shade Paint which is a type of a varnish, a pigment suspended in a varnish. Be forewarned that this paint is a semigloss, not a hi gloss finish.

2. I used a 00 brush for the detailpainting and I prefer using Windsor and Newton Kolinsky Fine Sable brushes (if you can still find them - there has been a ban on importing them recently)

3. I flowed the paint into the recesses like body panel lines and vents and I let capillary action do its job.

4. On the drivers side view I also hand brushed the varnish onto the recessed edges of the side body sculpture, door lines, gas lid cover, B pillar sculpture. Notice how this makes the detail pop in the photo versus the right hand side w/o the detail painting.

5. The dashboard really illustrates the painting process. I used the tone on the raised panel lines for the glove compartment and ash tray, on the underside of the dashboard top. I layered several coats of paint to make the tone deeper and I spread the paint out the widest on the first layer and applied narrower bands of paint to make it look deeper. I flowed the shaded around the instrument cluster as well as the radio, all buttons and knobs. This color works very well with Teal and chrome. The instruments are not painted with any type of black paint, just the shade. It is very dark w/o being black. The black paint is almost too stark and will kill the Tahoe Turquoise color. On the knobs I used an Acylic bone color and then hit the tops of the knobs with a very light cream color to make a highlight

I will be posting more picks as I get parts and sub assemblies done..

6. no more flat toned details and details that will pop!

[southpier]

I've never been a fan of shiney blobs of obscured detail paint jobs.

always wondered why military & railroading modelers' techniques were so far away from automotive modeling.

methinks you're on to something here as well as bringing the tribes closer together.

[hgbben]

That looks wonderful. Great work

Edited December 18, 2014 by hgbben

[Matt Bacon]

I completely agree. I use Citadel's washes, drybrushing and shading on all my interiors, engines and panel lines -- with a reasonably deep panel line,the effect is excellent. Because they have a full range of colours: red, purple, green, blue, orange (for yellow), plus four different shades from brown (for flesh) to true black, you can always find a colour that's appropriate for your paint job or engine bay. The blue, purple and brown washes are also really useful for "heat-staining" hot bits under the hood...

bestest,

M.

[mustang1989]

I completely agree. I use Citadel's washes, drybrushing and shading on all my interiors, engines and panel lines -- with a reasonably deep panel line,the effect is excellent. Because they have a full range of colours: red, purple, green, blue, orange (for yellow), plus four different shades from brown (for flesh) to true black, you can always find a colour that's appropriate for your paint job or engine bay. The blue, purple and brown washes are also really useful for "heat-staining" hot bits under the hood...

bestest,

M.

Note to self...."Use Citadel washes!" Thanks for that Matt and Steve!

[Jantrix]

For things like door seams, cowl vents and such, this is a great idea. But the way you used it inside the body lines doesn't look like a shadow or reflection, it looks like a painted pin stripe. A good gloss will give you the visual impact you are looking for in this case. However, your work on the dash makes a lot of sense and looks real good.

[johnbuzzed]

Some of the techniques (like tints and filters) used by military modelers would not translate well on many of our car models. Those techniques are used to represent well-used, quickly maintained vehicles, aircraft and vessels that have been exposed to the elements for long periods of time. In many cases, repairs in the form of patches are seen; sometimes, entire panels have been replaced, which does contribute to the multi-color effect. Unless the vehicle is never garaged, a beater or rat rod, a daily driver, a "work truck", etc, I wouldn't go too heavy with many of their weathering techniques. Pinwashes are another story- they do add a lot to any model. Washes are good for any model, when applied in the appropriate areas. A daily driver or weekend warrior/cruiser might be clean and shiny, but under the hood and chassis might be a different story.

I do highly recommend to all on this forum to read any of the military modeling magazines or soft-cover books available to learn more about these techniques. Can't hurt.

I will be trying the pre-shade and applying a pre-paint pinwash on my '68 Road Runner project, over the primer coat, particularly on the chassis and in panel lines and cowl vents. Pictures will be posted as I progress.

[John Goschke]

Dash looks great! This technique works well on the panel lines (door opening, cowl vents, etc.) but doe not work on body sculpturing like the side cove on the driver's side.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I'm with the skeptics on this one. I whole heartedly believe in washes for panel lines, cowl vents, grille & wheel back grounds, even interiors in certain circumstances. But unless you're going for a used or dirty affect, such as on engines or chassis, or even the body if you're going for a "laying in the back 40" affect, I don't believe it works on just your basic body crease. Shadows should be created by light, not paint. just like on the real car. Steve

[southpier]

.... Shadows should be created by light, not paint. just like on the real car. ...

but would you concede that display situations very seldom exhibit real world (outdoor) light conditions? and that panel shading can help create those effects which are lost to artificial light and scale ?

[mustang1989]

Some of the techniques (like tints and filters) used by military modelers would not translate well on many of our car models.

I agree with this to a point. I just recently dove into car modeling and build nothing but military stuff and have actually tried a really light application of wash/ tint not to make 'em look dirty but to give a slight shadow effect or to bring out detail in a subtle way. But then again you did say "some of the techniques".

[IceMan Collections]

Darkening panel lines is not anything new. There are many threads on this forum and others talking about this technique. Some prefer it and some opt for normal light.. Both have its advantages I think and should be used depending on the final setting of the build. While dark panel lines create a great sense of realism, both options need a bit of work whether it be deepening the lines or flowing washes into them. Either way, it seems to be a detail that lack attention on more than half of the builds that are shared. I personally tend to forget about it until I read another thread talking about it. My last 53 custom Ford pickup is one that worked well for me using capillary action example.

What I have learned from Custom Steve here is the shadows created on the dash. That is pretty inteesting, indeed. Thanks for sharing.

[ferrari87]

IMHO, i never bought into this technique in tanks and i dont for cars. Like Steve said, shadows should be created by light, not paint. By painting a shadow, or post shading, you fix the shadow so if the angle at which you are looking at the model changes, so too should the shadows created by a model. In essence, i always felt as if this technique captured a tank in a photograph, you are not modeling a vehicle, rather you are modeling what you 'percieve' and therefore, limit your audience to what you see.

The model looks great, I love the dash, but I never thought this worked on tanks and it sure doesnt work on cars.

Now preshading, yes there was and is a definite need for that, perhaps even in cars, i have not experimented with it on cars. For tanks and aircraft, absolutely necessary.

Edited December 18, 2014 by ferrari87

[Foxer]

IMHO, i never bought into this technique in tanks and i dont for cars. Like Steve said, shadows should be created by light, not paint. By painting a shadow, or post shading, you fix the shadow so if the angle at which you are looking at the model changes, so too should the shadows created by a model. In essence, i always felt as if this technique captured a tank in a photograph, you are not modeling a vehicle, rather you are modeling what you 'percieve' and therefore, limit your audience to what you see.

The model looks great, I love the dash, but I never thought this worked on tanks and it sure doesnt work on cars.

Now preshading, yes there was and is a definite need for that, perhaps even in cars, i have not experimented with it on cars. For tanks and aircraft, absolutely necessary.

I agree greatly with Justin, butt the real reason I can't see Color Modulation used a lot with automotive subjects is the great varity of colors we use painting bodies. For armor where most all are actually assembled before painting (!) and are .. lets see.. green! I know many shades of green, but when various greens are offered in 5 shades for color modulation it becomes easy. Now try to color modulate a '68 PLymouth Fury in Hawaiian Blue. We're lucky it iS possible to get this color, but not in lighter or darker shadings. I guess we can add white and black. I just don't see it as practical or realistic and it is for Armor modelers.

The principles behind Color Modulation ARE something good to know and I'm sure there places it can be put to use.

[62rebel]

i'm open to adapting techniques from military, rail, ANY kind of modeling when it allows the builder to portray details like that.... some colors could be darkened by shooting that contour in the color needed and letting it dry, then adding a coat, then adding a coat... slightly going beyond the edges of the preceding coat each time, then shooting the final color coat. the built up layers SHOULD appear darker/deeper than the surrounding area.... i do this with some builds to get multiple colors, rocker-to-roof....

[Kustom Steve]

Some of the techniques (like tints and filters) used by military modelers would not translate well on many of our car models. Those techniques are used to represent well-used, quickly maintained vehicles, aircraft and vessels that have been exposed to the elements for long periods of time. In many cases, repairs in the form of patches are seen; sometimes, entire panels have been replaced, which does contribute to the multi-color effect. Unless the vehicle is never garaged, a beater or rat rod, a daily driver, a "work truck", etc, I wouldn't go too heavy with many of their weathering techniques. Pinwashes are another story- they do add a lot to any model. Washes are good for any model, when applied in the appropriate areas. A daily driver or weekend warrior/cruiser might be clean and shiny, but under the hood and chassis might be a different story.

I do highly recommend to all on this forum to read any of the military modeling magazines or soft-cover books available to learn more about these techniques. Can't hurt.

I will be trying the pre-shade and applying a pre-paint pinwash on my '68 Road Runner project, over the primer coat, particularly on the chassis and in panel lines and cowl vents. Pictures will be posted as I progress.

Since I started this model back in 1987, pre-shading and post shading were not common even in most modeling circles. Since the body was 75% painted pre-shading was not an option now. I will be applying gloss coat over the holidays. I feel that my modeling in other areas has improved my skills and gave me new ideas to try out in car modeling. This is more of a "git 'er done" model with some experimenting along the way.

[StevenGuthmiller]

but would you concede that display situations very seldom exhibit real world (outdoor) light conditions? and that panel shading can help create those effects which are lost to artificial light and scale ?

I will concede that in certain display situations it may do what you intended it to do, but who's to say that there will be lighting consistency with the various places you may be displaying it. The lighting of different venues could vary greatly & in some circumstances might reverse your desired affect & make it look worse. Real cars are painted one shiny color & the body contours do the work of contrast. Military & figure models benefit from washes & high lighting because the are supposed to look used & dirty. Here are 2 pics of the same car, one indoors, & one out. There's plenty of shadow affect on both. I honestly don't see how shading the recessed areas would have helped. But, every one has their own techniques & no one should tell any one what they should do. If you like the affect it gives, go for it! Steve

[Kustom Steve]

Here is a basics of the color therory I am experimenting with:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/color/scale_effect.shtml

This details scale color and the color affect for distance. I am looking at more of a forced stage lighting effect. I feel it is odd to do the effect on one area and not attempt to do it on another (exterior of the car versus an interior)

[mustang1989]

You've got my interest here. I've read up on this before and while I don't tint my paint with the prescribed amount of white I do, add a drop or so of grey to my final clear flat coat on military stuff. I wouldn't think you'd have to add scale effect on a car though. Watching......

[southpier]

Here is a basics of the color therory I am experimenting with:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/color/scale_effect.shtml

This details scale color and the color affect for distance. I am looking at more of a forced stage lighting effect. I feel it is odd to do the effect on one area and not attempt to do it on another (exterior of the car versus an interior)

I agree the effects should be consistent. the author of the reference article pretty much sums it up here:

There is no one right answer to your modeling preferences.

[Snake45]

The "preshading" and "postshading" effect is used by aircraft modelers to add visual interest. Done correctly (which is VERY rare), it works and adds realism. But 95% of the time I've seen it overdone--too much and too uniform, and it looks like "makeup" on the model. Same thing for black washes in airplane panel lines. I've said many times, if the weathering or the panel lines are the very first thing you notice about a model, it's been way overdone.

That said, I'm going to try something along these lines on an upcoming build. The real car has a VERY subtle crease/line running the length of the body that isn't on the kit. Due to trim and emblems in the area, it would be nearly impossible to sand this line into the body or build it up, so I'm going to mask the line and airbrush a line of white on top of it and black on the underside as primer, the idea being to create a subtle shadow effect where this crease line is. Final color will be burgundy or maroon and the rest of the model will be primed with Model Master Rust. I think it'll work.

[Agent G]

Color modulation and mixing for "scale effect" are to me more of a "noble endeavor" than a true technique. While I have used modulation to good effect, that it turned out well was more of an accident than a display of talent. I will lighten paint on my military models, i.e. armor, as my style of weathering tends to darken the final finish. I don't want a black hole sitting on the shelf regardless of how good it looks.

I am not an aircraft modeler but have seen thousands over the years. Like Snake said when done right the look is superb. Most are not done right. Subtlety is key.

I spraybombed two recent builds, no weathering, no modulation, no washes, the BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH things look just fine.

G

[southpier]

Snake45, on 19 Dec 2014 - 09:53 AM, said:Snake45, on 19 Dec 2014 - 09:53 AM, said:

.... Done correctly (which is VERY rare), it works and adds realism. But 95% of the time......

shouldn't we give Builders (sic) the same lee-way in their attempts at shading et al that we offer when overlooking such things as garden hose ignition wiring (oohhh - aahh), steering wheels set so far they're practically at the back of the seat, and scrub lines well above the exhaust systems?

nobody - almost nobody - is going to hit a home run first time at bat

Edited December 19, 2014 by southpier