Hello,
I've got an idea for a paint scheme for a squadron. I'm interested in doing a black basecoat, and then using a was to fill the cracks and low places with a bright color like orange or red or sky blue.
Will washing over a black basecoat work, or do I need to find a different way to achieve the look?
Thanks!
Not really. Bright colors are generally weaker than dark colors, especially black, which means that they'll just look really dark (especially when they're watered down).
The only way I can think of would be to do a basecoat of the bright color and maybe gloss varnish, and then paint over all that really carefully.
Hello,
I've got an idea for a paint scheme for a squadron. I'm interested in doing a black basecoat, and then using a was to fill the cracks and low places with a bright color like orange or red or sky blue.
Will washing over a black basecoat work, or do I need to find a different way to achieve the look?
Thanks!
Sounds like the movie Tron. A black basecoat and a color wash will just give you a black ship with a slightly visible color tint. Like Ailowynn said, you'll need to start with the bright color and then paint the black.
You could do a 2 part job over a black undercoat + gloss varnish:
1) use an oil wash to deposit white pigment in the cracks, titanium white is a nice opaque color for this.
Google miniature oil wash to see how to do this (basicly : dilute the oil paint in lighter fluid then paint on the wash on the model, clean the raised/flat areas using a q-tip moisted in lighter fluid, this works because oil colors take a very logn time to dry).
re-varnish.
2) Airbrush or paint the transparent color of your choice. The black should be slightly tinted, while the white should take your transparent color.
I did this with a Z-95 when they came out. I don't think I have any pics of it on my phone to show, but I will try to post some after work today.
I did a primer coat of white on the model, then did a black drybrush over everything. Knowing that I'd be working with several layers on this, I then did a wash of bright blue on the model ( I ended up doing 2 coats of this). Finally I worked slowly with some more light drybrush work of black, and then did some fine point touch up work.
Honestly it could've come out better, but I'm happy with the results. I wasn't looking to do a whole squad of these, so if it isn't perfect, I'm ok with it.
You would lose the wash on the black.
If you were after a tron style model I would undercoat black and paint the colourful parts white. Then go over in your desired paint colour or wash. The white will help show off the new colour and contrast heavily against the black. After, tidy it up with black.
If you're bored and looking for a fast way to paint a model. I would undercoat in grey and dry brush up to white.
I would think you should also be able to get the appearance by painting the model the orange or whatever you want, and then dry brushing a dark color over top. By dry brushing it, it shouldn't end up in the cracks, but should cover the raised panels. End result should be bright orange in the cracks, and dark gray/black on the surface panels.
You never posted pictures
Haven't gotten around to doing it yet. Wound up making some Lego Movement Template holders, working on getting them painted up. But also slammed with work, and actually playing the game. May give it a shot over spring break, or in a couple of weeks (I teach).
You could also try making a panel lining wash using a bright enamel and some lighter fluid. its a little involved but here is a good tutorial on how to go about it.
http://majorwilliams.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/gundam-building-101-panel-line-washes.html