So, as I come back into modeling as an adult, I find myself revisiting a lot of the challenges I faced when I did this as a kid, only now, obviously, my standards are much higher. One thing I never explored was weathering, and so I'm pretty much a newb to it. I'm to the point now where I'm ready to weather my U-boat, but I'm really at a loss as to how to do it. Anybody know a place where there's some good tutorial reading to be had on the subject? Thanks for your help.

Chris

I'm nervous myself in the same (pardon the pun) boat. Te main areas are rust and sun/sea salt discoloration. That means veraious rust steaks and various light/blasted paint.

Rust - have seen some awesome stuff, wash of surface rust to deep chips of black/brown. faded spots have seen some nice patches. Reading "Clear the Brideg" (story of Tang), author Dick O'kane was surpised to see his boat from dockside not the black of war, but a splotchy charcoal gray. And that was after 1 patrol!

Armorama (www.armorama.com) has a nice technique section. I plan on practising and checking out info before i weather. Pastels are big highlighters, but I have never used.

Well....tonite I tried a wash and drybrushing some rust onto my U-boat.....what a disaster. Well, I don't know, I guess it doesn't look that bad, but it sure as hay doesn't look like all the pro's. Note to self: find cheaper kits to practice on first before tackling big expensive ones. Oh well. She'll still look good on the opposite wall from my Lindberg 1/125 Destroyer. Meh.....time to get a beer and relax for the night.

Chris

Try using pastels (scrape some off onto a spare piece of paper and drybrush that on (the dusty type ones, not the oil ones) - seems to work really well.

Also, if you don;t have one, invest in a decent fine-work airbrush. Most of the pre-weathering needs be set up with careful airbrush application

Good luck

I find with weathering, you have to be really careful not to over do it and make it look cartoony. I like to do a little bit lightly, take a break from it, then re-evaluate it before adding more.

I'm using Detailer smart liquid washes more and more, I like how easily they thin with water for subtle effects, and blend together to get the color just right. And mistakes wipe away easily with a wet q-tip.

www.thedetailer.net