JS3 - Mud and Grease

Salut à tous !

Hi Everyone!

Alors, je n'ai pas chômé, mais juste avant la dernière séance photo, mon coeur s'est arrêté de battre. Alors que la pluie s'abattait dehors, menaçant de détériorer la porte du sous-sol, déjà bien atteinte, j'ai laissé de côté le JS3. En descendant les escaliers, j'ai entendu un bruit suspect. Malheur. Une des caisses de rangement latérale en photodécoupe s'était décollée. Rien de bien méchant. Un peu de colle et on repart !

So, I didn't remain idle, but just minutes before the last photo shooting, my heart stopped beating. The rain was pooring down, threatening the cellar door to rot, as it is already, so I decided to let the model rest for a minute. Going down the stairs, I heard a suspicious noise. Misery! One of the lateral PE boxes broke down. Nothing bad. A little glue and let's go again!

J'en ai profité pour jouer un peu avec les pigments... Je les applique secs sur les différentes parties du modèle et je les disperse un peu avec du diluant pour énamels.

I also added some pigments here and there. I applied them dry and slightly move them using Odorless Thinner for Enamels.

Pour la rouille, j'ai appliqué plusieurs pointes de Rust Streaking Grime d'AMMO que j'ai tiré vers le bas. Puis un léger jus de Light Rust Wash d'AMMO avant de finir par des pigments Track Rust.

For the rust, I applied some dots of AMMO Rust Streaking Grime that I pulled down to make some streaks. Then I added a soft wash of Light Rust Wash and finished by applying dry Track Rust pigments.

Alors, la boue, les pigments, le truc qui me fait toujours peur. Mais on y va, on ne progresse pas sans essayer. C'est du plastique, quoi ! Pas ma vie que je joue !

So, mud, pigments, the things that always scare me to death. But let's go, you never get better without trying. It's plastic, come on! I'm not putting my life at stake!

Alors voici comment j'ai procédé.
J'ai commencé par appliquer du Turned Earth d'AMMO. Super produit pour une boue assez épaisse. Je pose le produit au pinceau et j'attends que ça sèche. Je recherche avant tout le volume !

So here's how I made it.
I started by applying some AMMO Turned Earth. Great product for a quite heavy mud. I used a brush and waited for it to dry. I am looking for volume!

Puis, avec un pinceau à pochoir et un mélangeur, je viens projeter des quantités de Dry Steppe d'AMMO. En projetant le produit, on obtient des formes irrégulières comme de la boue réelle.

Then, with a stencil brush and a mixing tool, I create some splashes using AMMO Dry Steppe. Doing so, you will get some random shapes looking like real dirt.

Enfin, il suffit de venir ajouter des pigments secs une fois que l'ensemble est bien sec. On joue sur les tonalités (sombre, moyen et clair) et les endroits où la boue est censée être plus humide. Puis on rajoute quelques coulures de boue fraîche/graisse avec un peu de Fresh Engine Oil d'AMMO et quelques pigments noirs au pinceau ainsi que quelques éclaboussures.

Finally, you just have to add some dry pigments once the model is dry. Play with lights (light, medium and dark) and places where the mud should be more humide. Then I added some fresh mud/grease streaks using AMMO Fresh Engine Oil and black pigments using a brush and I also added some splashes.

J'espère que ça vous plaît !

I hope you like it!

Experimenting working pigments!

Hi everyone! This quick post will be exclusively in English since I wrote it for myself and shared it Michael Rinaldi. Pigments are hard to use for me, but fortunately practicing pays!

I.                    Yesterday’s attempts

These two pictures are yesterday’s first try at using pigments. I carefully brushed them and I somehow liked the effect near the cupola, although the pigments were a bit too big on the edge of the opening.

On the second picture, there were massive pigments added and then brushed around the details. I left them quite compact and misted some X-20A. Of course the result is massive pigments with no background pigments underneath. It looks like chunks of dust deposited like very small stones and doesn’t look realistic at all.

Both tries were irrelevant. It is starting to look the part near the episcope, but I think I just brushed these pigments today (you can see one very strong brush stroke) after another failed attempt, yesterday.

II.                  Today’s attempts

Near the welding line was a sponge attempt. I diluted pigments in water. It looks awful. It may be interesting in adding splashes, but I will forget this idea.

Around the opening was today’s try. The pigments were applied in one go and I brushed them carefully to reach the opening. Still, there are some visible brush strokes that are unwanted. Either this may result in some bigger pigments being crushed into the surface and leaving a line, or the brush stroke that was too strong on the surface, but I was really careful. Would another round of pigment have softened the result? Maybe but if I want just that small amount of pigments, then I’m stuck.

III.                Starting to look the part?

On this one, pigments were applied very softly with just a few pigments at a time and in 2 layers. The result is softer, I think the pigments have blended just enough. There was then an attempt at adding some Green Enamel on it. It looks fine on the picture but I think it still has some hard edges. I did this quite simply. I added some Slimy Dark Green that I diluted a lot and removed the excess on a paper towel. Then I touched the surface and watched it flow. I used my hairdryer to dry the thinner quickly to avoid tidemarks.

More dust here. I was afraid it would really bleach the surface and it did in some aspects. The base color is nearly invisible underneath. My question is “Is it believable? Does it look natural enough?” There were 3 rounds of pigments on this. I started from nearly the half of the surface and moved towards the edges trying just to push the pigments. I tried softening the edges by places but the pigments hold really toughly on the surface.

I also applied some Slimy Dark Green, and here the edge look harder. This question has still to be solved. It also happens with mud. Whenever I apply pigments on the lower hull and add some enamel effects on them with a brush, the thinner would flow and once it’s dried the edges are hard and not realistic. Is it a matter of dilution or a problem in the application process?

Right near the gun, under the welding line, the pigments were applied yesterday in one round. It looks like small rocks and there are barely any pigments underneath. I didn’t dare touching this with my brush, for I was quite sure they would leave marks on the surface.

Near the hook on the right hand side was a sponge application.

IV.                Previous attempts

Everything was tried today.

On this olive drab piece of styrene, I used 2 batches of pigments on the bottom right corner and the top left corner. The top left has around 4 to 6 pigment application. The colors underneath is not visible anymore, whereas the right one is visible in some places. For the latter, I worked my way from the center to the corner carefully pushing the pigments and fixing them when I reached the edges. Then I added some more pigments in the center that I pushed in part (some remained at the center) to the flat edge. The olive drab is still visible (partly) and was the result of 3 applications of pigments.

The bottom left corner and the very small right flat edge were just one pigment (the brightest) use with 2 or 3 applications.

Now the question is “for the 4 to 6 rounds of pigments. Is it too much?” If I want to have some transparency then I’m obviously going wrong. Still, there were many pigments in the top left corner, so that would explain it all. But is it really possible to get transparency when going through that many rounds?

 

On this Dark Yellow Primer, I am quite happy with the result on the right hand. I guess I used mid tones and light tones going from dark to bright (bright on top). It has a grainy finish that I like and this is what decided me to start operating on my model. It has some transparency and there is a gradation of colors that seems to be ok. The pigments are not chunky.

Still I did the exact same thing using only bright tones on the left and although it looks quite transparent some chunks remained, which doesn’t look too realistic.

V.                  Conclusion

Thus I am still wondering and experimenting on the techniques of pigment application. Being more satisfied with the very last piece of styrene, I think I am heading to the right direction.

However the notion of layering is still quite hard to apply on such small surface of application and the base color may suffer from the repeated application of pigments, considering my level. Even if I try adding very little pigments at a time, I find it hard to keep the right look.

Still, I feel comforted in the idea that adding pigments over pigments is not destroying the previous layer and adds in realism, as far as my limits are for now.

OPR and pigments is another subject that I should train on, avoiding tidemarks and hard edges. I barely touch the surface to unload the paint and not remove the pigments making them muddy, but the result is these hard edges and sometimes some tidemark when it comes to working on mud surfaces.

Another thing pointed out by Mike was the fact that the surface is really grainy. This happens when working with modulation. The angle taken by the airbrush makes the paint hit the surface in various ways. Sometimes it gets smooth when close enough and sometimes the paint dries before hitting the surface making it grainy...

FINALLY !!!

On this T-34 1/48th,

After many attempts, I really worked my way very slowly and added pigments little by little pushing them soflty and got to these results. The combination of HS, OPR and Pigments seems to work very well and I am very thankful to Michael Rinaldi for his long-time support and patience. Still, this has to be improved!

JSU-152 - Pigments

Salut à tous ! Lundi matin, pas envie de travailler... J'attaquais donc les pigments !

Hi everyone! On Monday morning, I didn't feel like working... So I started using pigments!

J'ai dû utiliser pas moins de 6 références de pigments de marque AK-Interactive et Mig afin de réaliser 4 teintes différentes de pigments, de la plus claire à la plus sombre.

Sur le bas de la caisse, j'ai grossièrement appliqué les pigments de manière aléatoire que j'ai noyés dans du Tamiya Thinner pour les fixer. J'ai aussi saupoudré quelques pigments supplémentaires sur les parties les plus humides afin d'obtenir un côté un peu plus granuleux. Rien de bien compliqué, mais j'ai tout de même appliqué des pigments plus sombre sur les parties les plus exposées à la boue.

I must have used not less than 6 different tones of pigments from AK-Interactive and Mig to make 4 different shades of pigments, from the lightest to the darkest one.

On the lower hull, I simlpy spread some pigments in a random pattern that I drowned with Tamiya Thinner to fix them. I also spread some more pigments on the most humide surfaces to give it a gritty look. Nothing too complicated here, but I nevertheless tried to keep the darker tones around the most exposed to mud areas.

Ensuite, sur les parties supérieures, horizontales et verticales, cela a été un peu plus délicat. J'ai vraiment utilisé peu de pigments afin de ne pas couvrir le travail aux huiles précédemment réalisé. Voici la technique :

Appliquer les pigments au pinceau fin, les écraser un peu pour qu'ils s'incrustent dans la peinture mais ne pas hésiter à laisser quelques pigments un peu plus volatiles. Je n'applique qu'une seule teinte à la fois que je fixe avec du Tamiya Thinner que je vaporise à l'aérographe. J'ai une pression de 0,4 bar en sortie d'aérographe et l'aérographe lui-même est très loin du modèle. Je fais simplement pleuvoir le diluant sur les pigments, ce qui leur donne un léger côté granuleux une fois secs. Je répète l'opération aussi souvent que nécessaire. La partie arrière du JSU n'est pas encore traitée car j'attends de pouvoir fixer le bas de caisse pour ne pas avoir d'effets trop disparates.

Une fois de plus, j'aimerais remercier Michael Rinaldi pour ses conseils avisés et je vous recommande fortement de lire ses ouvrages, TANKART 1 et TANKART 2.

Then, on the upper parts, horizontal and vertical, it was a little trickier. I really used a small amount of pigments in order not to cover the previous work with oils. Here's the technique. Apply the pigments with a fine brush, crush them into the paint so that they can get a hold onto the surface, but nevermind the small parts of pigments that are still workable. I work with only one color at a time that I fix with airbrushed Tamiya Thinner. I have a 0.4 bar pressure and the airbrush is held far from the model. I simply make the thinner rain over the pigments, giving them a gritty aspect. I repeat this operation as many times as necessary. The rear part of the JSU isn't worked yet, for I'm waiting for the lower hull to be fixed to get uniform effects.

Once again, I would like to thank Michael Rinaldi for his wise advice and strongly recommand you to read his books, TANKART 1 and TANKART 2.

J'ai vraiment essayé d'obtenir de forts contrastes entre les différentes teintes de pigments, permettant au spectateur de se dire qu'il s'agit de poussière sèche ou humide, plus ou moins épaisse. J'espère que cela vous plaît !

I've really tried to get strong contrasts between the different tones of pigments, allowing the viewer to tell whether it is dry or wet dust, thick or thin. I hope you like it!

Jagdtiger - Dust and Stains

Bonjour à tous ! Finie le boue... Enfin presque...

Hi everyone! I'm done with mud... Well, nearly...

Hier j'en ai profité pour appliquer quelques voiles de rouille sur les pots d'échappement. J'ai tenté d'utiliser la technique de Marc Reusser avec du Windex (qu'on ne trouve pas ici). J'ai donc mélangé de l'eau et du liquide pour vitre (2 pour 1). J'ai tout d'abord peint mon pot d'échappement dans des tons rouille en utilisant le set Dust and Rust de Lifecolor. Je me suis trompé à ce moment, car il faut en fait peindre la rouille en commençant par les tons les plus sombres et finir par les plus clairs. J'ai travaillé de manière habituelle, mais ce n'était pas la bonne méthode. J'ai ensuite appliqué deux couches de vernis mat. Puis j'ai peint à l'aérographe une couche de jaune très clair et ma couche de base. On vient ensuite frotter le mélange nettoyant vitre + eau avec un pinceau pour faire ressortir la rouille. Il faut que je m'entraîne encore avec cette technique, mais je pense que l'on peut obtenir des résultats très convaincants... ENCORE UNE EXPERIMENTATION A MENER !!!

Yesterday, I decided to apply some layers of rust on the exhaust pipes. I've tried using Marc Reusser's Windex technique (that we can't find in Freance). I thus mixed water and window cleaner (2 parts for 1). I started by painting the pipes with rust colors using the Lifecolor Dust and Rust set. I made a mistake, because you actually have to paint them starting with the darkest colors to the brightest ones. I worked the usual way, but that wasn't correct. I then applied two coats of mat varnish. I airbrushed a very pale yellow and the basecoat. Finally I gently scrubbed the surface with my Windex + water mix to show the rust. I still have to practice this technique, but I think you can get very convincing results... ONE MORE EXPERIMENTATION TO LEAD!!!

Pour le reste, j'ai avant tout mélangé un peu de Wet Effects Fluid et de Fuel Stains de AK-Interactive. Ce mélange m'a permis de faire des traces d'humidité sur la boue et sur les parties verticales du Jagdtiger.

J'ai retravaillé les parties horizontales avec des pigments clairs.

Ensuite en mélangeant des pigments et du Oil Grease AK-Interactive, j'ai appliqué mes traces de graisse. J'ai répété ce processus sur les parties les plus sales pour accentuer l'effet.

Enfin un peu de Fuel Stains pour d'autres effets !

For the rest, I first mixed some Wet Effects Fluid and Fuel Stains by AK-Interactive. This mix allowed me to create wet streaks and wet mud on the vertical surfaces of the Jagdtiger.

I then worked on the horizontal surfaces with some light pigments.

I mixed AK-Interactive pigments and Oil Grease to create grease spills. I repeated this process on the dirtiest parts to emphasize this effects.

Finally some Fuel Stains for other effects!