MIG washes v your own washes ?

[Guest]

Hi all , at the moment I`m enjoying making 1/35 military stuff, do you guys make your own washes ie- tamiya black/brown + tamiya thinners etc or do you use the MIG washes , how do they compare ? , I`m new to modeling again and at the moment spending a small fortune on building my kit up , I don`t want to compromise quality for the sake of a few quid so what do you experienced gents do for washes,

for the record my prefered paints are Tamiya and Vallejo if this helps.

Any advice would be very welcome

Richy.

[Guest]

Hi Richy, now while I'm sure there are people who swear by them, I can't see the point of buying ready-made washes. It's like buying pre-grated cheese! I'd also add that unless you're sealing the basecoat while varnish or Klear, always use a different type of paint for your wash, eg if the base is acrylic, use enamel/oil paint. This will prevent any unwanted interaction between the wash & paint. My personal preference is to use oils for my washes as they leave a better finish, you can manipulate the wash better coz the oils dry slower & they don't leave 'tide-marks' like enamels sometimes do. It's also good to use a number of washes of varying tones, which helps to give a more subtle effect. The key is experiment & see what works best for you. Just save your money till you've tried the traditional methods first! Patrick

[stona]

I'm in both camps. I use the Promodeller washes on some aircraft but (as an acrylic painter) I make my own oil washes, more controllable and of course you can make any colour you want.

[Guest]

Thankyou Patrick , having made an tamiya SAS jeep and used a tamiya xf black + water wash ( did not have any thinners ) I found it came out with a sheen which I personaly dont like, can I use a clear matt finnish to go over the top and if so would an oil be better than an acrylic .

Sorry about all the questions but I`m learning , I have very high standards and a million miles away from where I want to be ( having seen some of the quality models the guys have made on here )

I understand it takes years and years to master model making but if you dont ask you dont get

Again any advice would be very welcome

Richy

PS this is a great forum I find I`m on here every day picking up tips.

[Guest]

Cheers Stona , Like you I prefer acrlyic but if oils can improve my finnishing then I`m happy to go down that route , but I`m getting the impression that there is no magic formula its just trial and error , thats why I`m enjoying having a go at military models because if you cock up you still have a few goes at getting it right unlike F1 models I used to make 20 odd years ago,

Many thanks

Richy.

[Guest]

Hi Richy, you're right in what you say coz military models (especially vehicles) do allow for a lot more freedom but the downside to that is the added level of complexity. I'm inclined to steer clear of matt varnish coz many people, including myself!, have had problems with it producing a kind of white 'bloom'. It happened to my Tiger 1 so now I don't use it. I've found that adding washes & drybrushing gets rid of any shine so I would recommend giving your jeep a few light washes of well-thinned dark brow/black enamel, followed by a bit of careful light drybrushing over the main panels (bonnet,sides & rear plate). If there's still to much shine after this, buy some cheap pastels, grind them up to give a light grey/tan colour and use a cotton bud or your finger to apply this to the flat areas which will tone it down nicely. A desert vehicle is always going to be dusty! And don't worry about asking questions, that's why the site is here-to share knowledge & experience to make us all better modellers. Patrick

[Guest]

Thanks Patrick , I take on board what your saying about the clear matt varnish and will give it a miss , I will experiment with the advice you have given me and have a go , if it goes belly up its no big deal as the model only cost me around £8 and its all good experience anyway , I`m waiting for an airbrush kit from the internet for which I`m going to experiment on a very cheap tamiya rally car kit I got from modelzone , a peugeot 206 in tiger tank winter camoflage will look great ?

thankyou for your advice

Richy.

[Guest]

No problem Richy, we're here to help! And we're all learning, as I have when I found out not to use Maskol to mask off my King Tiger for an 'ambush' pattern! Keep trying new ideas out & it will all come together. Patrick

[Guest]

Hi Richy

Interesting you ask this. I think MiG washes should be thrown in the bin. I bought the brown earth one and coated my tank. The problem is MiG washes are HEAVILY clay based and getting the stuff off with a damp tissue is a b******! So i had to soak my tank in solution and start off painting from scratch. The good stuff, as has been mentioned is promodellers wash. It's also clay based but in for some reason works better.

But the absolutle best wash, which has served me well, was by mixing a smidging of oil paint with some thinners. This way you can control the amount, colour and it looks super.

I use MiG pigments but the washes, never again!

Cheers

Paul

[Guest]

Richy

I see you have made the sas jeep, i am just finishing mine now, fancy the tamiya recommended paint came out alot darker then i though, are you going to make another? ( I ask out of a alterior motive):thinking:

Not sure about you but I remember looking in the model shop window as a kid drooling thinking one day I am gunna make that one ! So as my second ever model it was a no brainer after the anti pesto van !

[Guest]

Hi Dograt , I agree with you about the Tamiya acrylics coming up darker than I would like - I followed the tamiya instruction paint guide myself , but saying that I`ve weatherd it with a few slightly darker and lighter sand colours and a matt black and water wash ( had no thinners )to give it the - dirty been on operations for a month look if you know what I mean , it was my 1st military model with weathering , its by no means perfect But I`m happy with it ( shame my pants camera does not really do it justice ), as for building another I fancy having a go at the SAS pink land rover - quite hard to find but have seen a few on ebay and making some sort of desert diorama,

Hows yours going.

Richy.

[Guest]

Hi Dograt , I agree with you about the Tamiya acrylics coming up darker than I would like - I followed the tamiya instruction paint guide myself , but saying that I`ve weatherd it with a few slightly darker and lighter sand colours and a matt black and water wash ( had no thinners )to give it the - dirty been on operations for a month look if you know what I mean , it was my 1st military model with weathering , its by no means perfect But I`m happy with it ( shame my pants camera does not really do it justice ), as for building another I fancy having a go at the SAS pink land rover - quite hard to find but have seen a few on ebay and making some sort of desert diorama,Hows yours going.

Richy.

Hello Richy

http://www.relishmodels.co.uk has 2 pinkies in stock:dancing1:

Ps jeep is going ok see my other post under painting some photos there, unfortunatly the photos make it look real sh*t

[Guest]

Hi guys i will throw my bit in here if i may,personnally i will make up the washes myself i will use tamiya paint mixed with thinner as well as oil paints as washes. Oils can be bought very cheap now, i will also use pastels again these can be bought from rymans very cheap and they do the job just as well if not better than the more expensive mig products.

scott