Is Preshading worth it?

[spejic]

How to solve the "problem " without a airbrush? :deadhorse1:/>

Preshading depends on making a very thin layer of paint that doesn't totally cover the dark paint you put over the panel lines. You can't really do that without an airbrush.

You should use postshading - after painting the aircraft, highlight areas with drybrushing and brushing on ground-up dry pastels with slightly lighter/darker colors as needed. These will create subtle, feathered results that don't look painted on.

[Thommo]

Late to the party here. For what it's worth I teach preshading and post tinting in my demos and workshops. This process has served me well as I am a category winner at the IPMS nationals. I'm not saying that to brag, just that someone other than me seems to feel my efforts have merit and awarded accordingly. Rather than showing individual pics, to better explain my technique here is my video series on the subject-

www.grexairbrush.com/MAS

I watched your vids, they are great. One of the most interesting points for me is where you say different coloured paints even of the same brand react differently in the airbrush, and thus may need different thinning ratios.

I was very glad to hear that, because some of my Tamiya colours spray beautifully, and some are a pain in the arse (esp when I mix a fair bit of white in, when it seems to go quite 'dusty' with lots of overspray). I've been racking my brains for years wondering why sometimes my paint sprays like a dream (mostly darker colours) and other times a nightmare (mostly lighter colours). I thought maybe my thinning was inconsistent, or that sometimes perhaps the AB was just a bit dirty, but now I know it might just be the paint and I need to experiment a bit more with thinning (and perhaps pressure and drying retarders).

Edited August 13, 2016 by Thommo

[Darren Roberts]

I'm in the mid shading school of thought. I lay down my base colors, then overspray the entire model with Tamiya Smoke. Next comes a lighter shade of the base color (or multiple shades if I'm not feeling lazy). Then I overspray with a light coat of the original color. Decals and weathering with oils/ink pen/pastels finishes it up. Here are two Monogram builds that I used the process on.

[Rex]

You build USAF??

Who knew.

by the way, very nice, subtle, "chipping" on that Phantom's intakes.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Rex

[breadneck]

So what`s the concensus on the various tanks, cars, boats & train forums? Who`s actually lagging behind here and what do these brothers in arms use to get on top of things?

I consider the art of preshading as a logic way to kick off your weathering/shading career, then progress on from there to the more advanced dark arts, lol.

[vince14]

So what`s the concensus on the various tanks, cars, boats & train forums? Who`s actually lagging behind here and what do these brothers in arms use to get on top of things?

I consider the art of preshading as a logic way to kick off your weathering/shading career, then progress on from there to the more advanced dark arts, lol.

There's very little weathering used by car modellers (unless you're building a rally car). Aircraft and car models are at the opposite ends of the spectrum - the aim with aircraft modellers (except, perhaps, airliner models) is to achieve a 'used' look, whereas the majority of car models are finished to 'showroom' standard, where the aim is to get the paint scheme as flawless and glossy as possible.

[krow113]

Sometimes bikes get weathered...: