Scale Fade

[brownstone322]

OK, I need your thoughts on scale fade. Do you do it? Do you believe in the concept? How do you go about doing it? I'm not sure about all this, but I'll answer my own questions anyway.

1. I have never lightened my colors, but I'm obviously thinking about it. I've always used Testors Model Master enamel, and I stick by the official FS numbers, but I'm not entirely satisfied. Certain FS colors will indeed look kinda dark to my eye, and others (such as the 34079/34102 greens in a TO 1-1-4 scheme) look too much alike compared to photographs.

2. I've never been convinced that a color should be lightened strictly because of scale, that is, because the viewing distance works out to a hundred feet or whatever. I can look out the window right now at my neighbor's car, and it looks inky black just the same. On the other hand, I think military jets sit in the sun constantly -- they're airplanes, after all -- and I suspect they just fade. I dunno, though. But I do know this: When I look at examples of models online, certain colors (such as 36118 gray on an F-16 or F-15E) look good/better/right after they've been lightened a bit.

3. I'm not sure if there's a consensus as to how to do this. Some people say they'll actually darken certain colors in certain schemes to increase contrast (such as adding black to 34079 green) or add white for the same effect (such as to lighten 34102). Cybermodeler.com has an excellent painting guide, and it suggests color fades that simply swap out one manufacturer's color for a lighter shade in the same family. But this makes me nervous too; across an array of grays, for example, there are shifts toward and away from other tints (especially blue, but also yellow or red/purple) rather than just darker/lighter. Also -- and this is important -- Cybermodeler.com lists a range of lightened percentages: 7, 10, 15 and 25.

So, anyway, what do YOU think? And if you were to follow Cybermodeler's fading guide (which seems a lot easier than mixing), what percentage of fading would you use?

I'm sure this has been discussed many times, so thanks for accommodating me!

[Jennings]

Believing in it is sort of like believing in gravity - it's a fact whether you believe in it or not. And if it was good enough for the likes of Michelangelo and Leonardo daVinci, it's certainly good enough for me. And if it didn't exist, the Blue Ridge Mountains where I live would be called the Green Ridge.

My best advice is that there is no formula. It's not mathematically precise (regardless of what you read). The concept of more scale color effect with smaller scales is essentially correct, but you simply can't put numbers to it. It's a TLAR thing.

As for looking out at your neighbor's car, don't be fooled. If you're looking at it from a quarter of a mile away, the fact that you know it's black will fool your eye into not really seeing what it's seeing. It *will* appear lighter/greyer due to atmospheric haze (the whole mechanism of this exercise). The same holds true for glossiness. What looks mirror-like glossy in close up won't appear that glossy at a distance.

Mix in some white or light grey until it looks about right.

And if you still don't believe this is a true fact, I invite you to paint a 1/72 model cockpit black (on an airplane that had a black cockpit in real life). See what a black hole it looks like. Then paint it dark grey and see how much more realistic it looks.

Having done decal art for the past almost 25 years now, I can tell you that if I matched every decal ink I used to an exact FS595 (or whatever) color, they would also look like black holes.

Edited April 26, 2015 by Jennings

[thegoodsgt]

There was a brief discussion here on ARC not too long ago, and if you Google “scale effect” model you’ll find a number of good articles and discussions. More to the point of your question, my advice is to study good photographs of the aircraft you're modeling and then paint what you see. It may take you some time to find an approach you're happy with, but practice will make perfect.

Steven Brown

Scale Model Soup

[Space Tiger Hobbes]

Has there ever been a discussion of lightening paint for scale effect but then applying decals straight with no fade? I've never seen it discussed, but I'd like to. Including how people do it.

[Crazy Snap Captain]

Has there ever been a discussion of lightening paint for scale effect but then applying decals straight with no fade? I've never seen it discussed, but I'd like to. Including how people do it.

Do you mean how do you fade decals to match the weathering of the paint? Couple of easy options are to lightly spray over the decal with the colour of the paint that the decal sits on to blend it in. Another tip is to lightly sand the decal itself with 12000 grit until the colours start to fade a bit.

[Space Tiger Hobbes]

Thanks. I might try the paint idea. Sanding decals? Un-sealed, I assume? Sounds too much like base jumping or Russian roulette.

[Crazy Snap Captain]

Thanks. I might try the paint idea. Sanding decals? Un-sealed, I assume? Sounds too much like base jumping or Russian roulette.

Tiger,

It's not that bad. The trick is to ensure you have set the decal properly. Using a good a setting/softening solution combo (like MicroSol or Mr Setter/Softener) will ensure your decal adheres to the model. Let the decal dry for at least a couple of days before sanding. When sanding, use at least 8,000 grit ( I recommend 12,000 grit) and rub softly. Here is a pic of the sanding version I did as part of a Flanker build I did a while ago.

The one on the left has had the sanding treatment. The one on the right is pre sanding. I went for an extremely faded look on this build. You could stop sanding earlier if you just want to knock off some of the starkness of the fresh decal.

HTH.

Edited April 28, 2015 by Crazy Snap Captain

[11bee]

Tiger,

It's not that bad. The trick is to ensure you have set the decal properly. Using a good a setting/softening solution combo (like MicroSol or Mr Setter/Softener) will ensure your decal adheres to the model. Let the decal dry for at least a couple of days before sanding. When sanding, use at least 8,000 grit ( I recommend 12,000 grit) and rub softly. Here is a pic of the sanding version I did as part of a Flanker build I did a while ago.

The one on the left has had the sanding treatment. The one on the right is pre sanding. I went for an extremely faded look on this build. You could stop sanding earlier if you just want to knock off some of the starkness of the fresh decal.

HTH.

Cool tip, I never would have thought of that approach. I've always just lightly dusted my decals with some thinned paint but your way also replicates some chipping. Thanks for the tip!

[dancho]

If you paint your house based on the color of a little paint sample from the paint store....oh my! The "really dark, dark blue" on the sample turns into a bright, circus wagon blue on your house. "Can't be the same color!" So you hold the little sample up to the newly painted siding. SAME COLOR. Exact match.

It's some kind of optical illusion. Don't know how it works. But it IS real.

[seawinder]

(snip) Certain FS colors will indeed look kinda dark to my eye, and others (such as the 34079/34102 greens in a TO 1-1-4 scheme) look too much alike compared to photographs.

I quite agree that Model Master's rendition of 34079 is not good. I use their RAF Dark Green instead. To my eye it looks much better against their 34102.

[Jennings]

If you paint your house based on the color of a little paint sample from the paint store....oh my! The "really dark, dark blue" on the sample turns into a bright, circus wagon blue on your house. "Can't be the same color!" So you hold the little sample up to the newly painted siding. SAME COLOR. Exact match.

It's some kind of optical illusion. Don't know how it works. But it IS real.

That certainly happens, but it's not the same phenomenon as scale color effect (exactly). A big part of the paint sample in the store not looking like your house is lighting and other adjacent colors. Your house has blue sky and green grass around it that you don't have inside the store, plus the artificial lighting, etc...

Scale color effect has to do with particulate matter in the atmosphere that scatters light.

[Brian P: Fightertown Decals]

Of course if you're using decals that are FS color printed and you lighten your paints, then the decals don't match... TPS F-14 for example

[Space Tiger Hobbes]

Which would probably make the light overspray of your final color or something lighter a good idea?