How many hand paint 1/72 scale models?

In my experience; I have always considered Humbrol paints to be the best paints for applying by brush.

But, I have seen more than a few 1/72nd scale armor pieces hand-painted in oils; and the results were excellent.

I guess the key is it avoid using "brushstrokes" to begin with. My preferred method is to "dab" the paint on, as opposed to long brushstrokes. And make sure the paint is still very wet when you apply it.

Greg, Are enamels better for brush?

I hear a lot about Vellejo Acrylic paint and was thinking about using it for my 1/72 armour.

Well, I have a couple Matchbox kits I can experiment on.

Cheers, Reddog

I find Vallejo need thinning even for brush painting, or else they leave marks. I use Lifecolor, they leave very little marks even straight from the jar.

Wulf

Assunming you are talking of gloss paints, yes, and the trick is the same as with airbrushing, making sure the paint is of the right consistency. I can't do it, but I have seen it done. Good brushes help, but paint consistency is the key - thick enough to cover well, but wet enough that the brushmarks flow together and disappear. You have to make sure to get an even coat, as you must *never* go back over the paint layer until it is dry. Enamels are more forgiving than acrylics, as enamels stay at the same consistency for longer. But then I can't get on with acrylics anyway...

Ah hell, I can barely avoid brush strokes even using an airbrush.

I usually use hand brushes for interiors, where the stroke marks aren't so obvious, and there I apply it wet, usually going three coats--horizontal for the first, vertical for the second, diagonal for the third. That seem to work okay, but it's not really doable for an exterior. That said, I did a Bloch 152 in that multi-color Frtench hard-edge mottle with an air-brushed base coat and hand brushed added colors--it came out fine, probably becuase the pain went on in dribs and dabs instead of strokes.

Mark Schynert

I dip the brush in thinner after I dip it in the paint. Allows me to control the thickness, but seing as I've only just finished the first model after my return to the "scene", I haven't mastered the technique yet.

Of course this can sometimes require a layer more than usual because of the thinner paint, but it was certainly a big improvement over my first test without using the dip in thinner.

Havent really done any major sanding yet, but if wet sanding in between layers can do wonders for automotive paintjobs, I guess the same can be said even for brush applied model stuff?

/Ronnie

visible brush

Another way to lessen the brush strokes is to clear coat when your model's finished. I prefer Testors Clear lacquer, generally gloss, occasionally Matt. I generally don't use much Clear Flat because it fogs the clear pieces. The final overcoats seem to level out any brushstrokes that might have been laid down. It helps secure any decals as well.

----Snip----

That said, I did a Bloch 152 in that multi-color Frtench

Mark I didn't realize you were into Frtench S&M. 8>) Pete

visible brush

I've hand painted camouflage patterns onto 1/72 scale armor. The results are acceptable to me. Rob Gronovius

FWIW "Brush Painting Basics" by Matthew Usher, May 2004 issue of Finescale Modeler.

Bill Shuey

in article snipped-for-privacy@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com, snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com at snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote on 3/28/05 2:44 PM:

I just did a combination brush/airbrush camouflage on the Italeri 1/72 AH-1W. I airbrushed the base color (36375). Then, using Polly Scale 34079 and Testors Acryl Interior Black, both thinned about as much as if I were airbrushing them, I brush-painted the edges of the green and black camouflage areas. I then used the airbrush to fill in the middles of the color areas and to create just the suggestion of overspray around the edges. The brush marks don't show at all -- I think this is partly due to the choice of paint -- and the results are much closer to the real thing than I could have achieved by freehand airbrushing.

(Hi Rob! And say hi to Elena.)

Pip Moss

I used to feel cheap 'cause I had no signature.

I don't know if such a blanket statement as "enamels being better" can really apply. I have always sensed that paints that are known for the excellent "airbrush-ability", were poorly suited for hand-painting. And vice-versa. So, in my experience, paints like Tamiya, Gunze, and Polly-Scale; while excellent for airbrushing, were always less than adequate for brush-painting. But paints such as Humbrol, the old Polly S (as opposed to Polly Scale), Vallejo, and my favorite Jo Sonja; are excellent for brush-painting, and not-so-excellent through the airbrush.

But, for *any* paint being applied by brush: You *must* keep it very wet; constantly stirring it and adding more water/thinner; and apply it in very thin coats, almost like building up a series of glazes. In fact, when blocking in the base colors on a figure, I often need six or more very thin "glaze" coats to get an opaque coverage. And you really can not adequately apply it over bare plastic/resin/metal. You need a good matte primer coat, to provide "tooth".

Excellent addendum!!!

Spraying on a clear coat doesn't so much level out the brush strokes; but it *does* even out the sheen. When brush-painting; you almost always get some patches that are oh-so-slightly glossier, or flatter, than others. A clear over-spray tends to "level" out these inconsistencies very nicely.

I've noticed the discussion has so far centered only on paint.

An award-winning member of our IPMS chapter insists that red sable brushes are the key to a smooth brush paint job. He swears by them and I've noticed that they do give a smoother brush stroke. High-quality red sable brushes can be found in art supply stores and are not cheap. But if you do a lot of hand brushing, they can be worth it.

Martin

Hand's up here. I don't have an airbrush so unless the model encompasses a large area for which there is a needed colour available in a spray can they're 'all' hand-painted. Natural metal types are the largest group of models with sprayed finishes.

I nominate Humbrol enamel paints as my all-time favourites.

Bill Banaszak, MFE

Trust me! One lesson I have learned over 50 years of model building is that your tools matter. Good paint brushes and good care for your paint brushes pay off. This brings me to a thought that cropped up late last night. I was filing on some resin pieces (cockpit set for an Airfix Hawker Hurricane) and it occurred to me that it was time to visit my local hardware store again. Files were obviously getting dull. You know, we buy a file and it looks all nice and clean and sharp and we figure here is a tool I can pass on to my grand kids. Unh Unh! They get dull with use like everything else. Plastic is plastic, but most plastics have fillers in them and some are quite abrasive. You would be surprised at how dull a file can get after a while. You need to go replace them every now and then. And how often do you put a new blade in the Exacto??

Bill Shuey

At an earlier time I made my own sponge pad by tie-ing a ball of ordinary rubber sponge to a cocktail stick. The paint can then be daubed onto the model with the sponge Unique paint effects can be obtained by dipping the pad wet with the main color into a "weather" color such as brown or tan or even counterintuitive colors like red, yellow, blue, etc. Then apply to the model. There are no brush marks.

Do not reuse the sponge. Dump it after one use. Once the paint dries the sponge becomes crumbly and will leave rubber crumbs on your model.

For a nice clear coat after you have painted the model and applied the decals paint it over with acrylic extender available from art supply shops.

Pip, I sure will. She was student of the month in January and just finished her first marking period here with a straight A report card. She was enrolled into the gifted and talented program at Ft. Knox. Rob

can't you resharpen files? or is that an obvious dumb?