Aircraft weathering - I am of two minds

[CorsairMan]

Do I try to weather

 

Its always a debate when I build.  

[southwestforests]

If you were a bipolar Gemini like me you could be of four minds. 😁
That showroom shiny yellow wings Kingfisher is pretty.

I'm not building many, if any, aircraft now but when I did the weathering level was pretty light, if any.

Have built far more armor, and trains, and the weathering level there is light to moderate. 

Edited April 3, 2019 by southwestforests

[BaconRaygun]

 "Do you like a specific “style” of model?"

 

I like both, weathered and un-weathered models, but If I had to categorize my preference, I would say that I prefer "convincing" models.   I've been to A LOT of aviation museums, and I've been around aviation literally my entire life, so needless to say, I've seen a lot of real airplanes in person, along with quite a few "museum" scale models.   

 

On museum models:  I like that a perfectly clean model highlights everything.  I dont like that some of the parts are not represented well.  One example is heat staining.  Even if the model is to be perfectly pristine,  the lack of heat staining often detracts from the realism.  Almost makes it look toy-like.   Honestly, it bums me out when I go to a museum and see a pristine scratch-built model that probably cost $20,000.... and the exhaust cans are just a generic silver.  

 

Ok kit models:   I prefer an under-weathered model that looks convincing.   I think some people go too far, and the results, in my opinion, sometimes end up cartoonish (if that makes sense).   I think over-done panel line washes are a perfect example of this.  If you look at a real airplane, some of the panel lines are quite visible, but most are pretty dull.  Then, you look at a beautiful kit somebody built, and every single panel, rivet and screw look like they were blacked out with a magic marker.  Looks like cell-shaded animation to me.  

 

So on those notes, I don't really care too much if it is weathered or not... as long as it looks realistic.   And I say this being fully aware that most of us don't build dead-ringer replicas.  I don't care if a model is 100% accurate to the last rivet... I just care if it looks convincing to somebody that doesn't know every millimeter of a given airplane. 

 

 

"Have you tried either the museum perfection stream or the weathered greatness stream?"

 

I'm a noob, so, not really on both counts.   Used to build kits as a kid and just getting back into this now.  I've only built one "real" model, and I took the lightly weathered route, simply because that's what I saw in reference shots of the aircraft that I built.  I didn't do a full panel wash, instead, my panel lines were highlighted by black-basing and ehh, ill call it mid-shading, since some additional shading was done midway through the painting process.  I did a pin-wash on select areas, but those were mostly vents and other areas of blatant contrast. 

 

Currently I'm building Earhart's Model 10 Electra, and I think I'm leaning towards the museum route.  Not because I dont want it all weathered up... but because reference photos are literally from the 1930s, and its really difficult to distinguish gradients, tarnish and weathering from the shortcomings of photography during that era.   In other words, from reference shots, I cant tell if something is just dull and tarnished, or if its just the old photo playing tricks on me.   And obviously current restored museum examples are polished to almost jewelry grade perfection.... the original aircraft probably didn't look like that.  

 

 "Do great products lead to great finishes?"

 

Ehh, maybe?  I think this greatly depends on technique, patience, equipment and skill.  Too many variables.  I think it can go both ways.  I think bad products are a great way to screw things up though.  That I can say with confidence. 

 

"What works and doesn’t work for you?"

 

I'm not experienced enough to answer this question with any degree of honesty.  However, I did try oil paints on my Su-35 build, mostly for oil stains and rain marks.   That worked for me.  I like how forgiving and predictable they are to work with.   I like how easily available they are, and a tube of each color will probably last me until either me or the paint expires... and I'm only 34, so that says a lot, lol. 

 

I'm happy with how my heat staining came out with just an airbrush, so I have yet to explore any of the other techniques and products used for this purpose.  On this subject, I will say that I feel some people tap-out with their airbrush prematurely.  I only say this because I must have watched 30 different builds on youtube from well known modelers, and based on what I saw, I think they could have achieved similar or in some cases better results if they used more airbrush and less oils and pastels.  But that's, like, just my opinion, man. 

[habu2]

I’ve half a mind to click on your link..... 🙂

[MoFo]

51 minutes ago, habu2 said:

I’ve half a mind to click on your link..... 🙂

I don't.