Model Battleship detailing.

[frostytheplebe]

I consider myself a Veteran of model warship construction... but not an expert yet. I've had to repaint and repair many of the models I made when I was younger to bring them up to date. (this is about 32 models we're talking about.)

Sadly, one thing I have failed miserably at is trying to get the decks correct. I have painted them the "Wood" testors color, and tried everything under the sun to make it look authetic. I've tried tracing lines with colored pencils, greese pens, even layering the paint with another shade of brown (don't recommend that by the way, it looks like crap.)

Currently I am working on an extremely rare model of the USS Texas (1892) and I do not want to mess it up. Any advice/experiments would be greatly appreciated. THANKS GUYS!

 

[frostytheplebe]

Here are some of my previous attempts!

 

[Red Baron]

Have you tried inking the wood panels? And maybe some dry brushing on the large surfaces, they all look like newly painted. Unless that's the effect you want to create, of course.

 

[frostytheplebe]

Have you tried inking the wood panels? And maybe some dry brushing on the large surfaces, they all look like newly painted. Unless that's the effect you want to create, of course.

Take a look at the battleship on the bottom... it doesn't really have the wood grained look to it, even when I use flat paint it just doesn't look right. I have tried ink... not sure.

 

[Red Baron]

I usually just put some extremely watered down black in the grooves, but that can end up looking crappy if they aren't deep enough. Does the wooden part of your model have any texture at all or is it just a flat face?
Unfortunately inking and dry brushing are pretty much all the techniques i know (other than "apply color till satisfied"), but they are easy to do and make for impressive results.

 

[frostytheplebe]

I usually just put some extremely watered down black in the grooves, but that can end up looking crappy if they aren't deep enough. Does the wooden part of your model have any texture at all or is it just a flat face?
Unfortunately inking and dry brushing are pretty much all the techniques i know (other than "apply color till satisfied"), but they are easy to do and make for impressive results.

It depends on the model... most of the ones I've been working on lately, or even deemed worth salvaging are all highly detailed and this have grooves.

 

[Shaggy]

Do you by chance get Fine Scale Modeler magazine? That magazine is a gold mine for techniques and after market parts. The forums at http://www.FineScale.com are a great place for picking up tips too, and I don't think you have to have subscription to use the forums.

Off the top of my head though, the best option is going to be a wash of artist oils or tempera paint, depending on your finish. The first step would be to lay down a single color base coat. The Second step would be the wash. If you're using oil based enamels going for the tempera or acrylic paints, and acrylics use something like artist's oils or enamels. Either way thin the wash color way down until it flows like water. Then brush it on, focusing the brush mainly on the woodgrain grooves. Then just take a cloth dipped in an appropriate thinner, water\tempera, paint thinner\enamels, and wipe across the woodgrain, instead of along it. Then seal it up with a clear coat, you can get them anywhere from flat to extra glossy.

Another possibility is sealing your base coat with Pledge Future Floor Polish. Then you don't have to worry about artist's oils reacting badly with an oil based paint and the same for acrylics and tempera. Just make sure, whether you use Future or another clear coat to seal the base, that you give it a couple days to dry and cure before you do a wash.

Another option might be pastel powders dusted into the grooves and sealed on. Mig pigments also makes weathering powders that might help too. Thene there are also companies that sale wood veneers that would work in the scale too. The Spetember 2010 issue of Fine Scale has an article on warships that show how good the veneer stuff works.