Chipped Paint

[T140]

I've seen some very good examples on here of "chipped paint", but not sure how it's achieved. Some of the photos show chipped areas with what look like sharp edges, which is great, but how the heck do you do it ? Presumably not with a brush ?

Do you literally paint a mock primer on the whole kit and then take away the top coat where you want the chipped look, or apply the primer over the top cost only where required ?

So, would any of you good and very tallented chaps fancy showing me how.

:confused:

[RickLawler]

Hey Ian,

There are many ways to achieve chips. One was is as you said, paint an under-color, then scratch off the top coat with your knife blade - a real scratch! In this same catogory your could achieve similar results by carefully using a masking agent over your primer base.

Another similar way is to not to worry about an under-coat, scratch the paint, then put a wash (drop) of color into the scratched area. For this I find thinned oil paints work best as it capilaries (sp?) or fills in the scratch.

Another technique, good for simulating lots of little rock chips is to use a piece of brillo pad, dip it into your chip color - not too much saturation, kinda like a "dry brush" amount of paint - then gently tap it on your surface. Be careful to make your blotting action random so as not to leava a "pattern".

Then of course there is the paint brush. It's not as sexy as some of the more exotic techniques but I've seen some fantastic results. This just takes a little practice with a fine brush.

And now there is the "hairspray" technique. Paulyrichard is about to use it on his KV-2 750(r) build - check out his vbench.

I generally use a little bit of each on my builds - not all scratches are created the same in real life, why should your model be any different.


Hope it helps.
Rick
ra
Oh, one more...you can get yourself some artists colored pencils and draw scratches. Lots of colors available.

[Ross_Moorhouse]

This is my salt method for paint chipping on a 76th JB 1 tonne Ambulance...

http://www.wargamer.com/Hosted/CloseCombatFuture/rosssmodels/JBamboFRI%20005.jpg

http://www.wargamer.com/Hosted/CloseCombatFuture/rosssmodels/JBamboFRI%20002.jpg

[hogan]

The thing to remember about chipped paint on tanks is that it generally is a fictional artefact- in reality chips on armor generally do not exist, or at least not to the extent some modellers would have you believe. Look at photos of the real thing, you'll see what I mean. So any chipping should be minimal.

[Driver]

You got a point there Hogan. Some modelers go to an unbelievable extreme with the chipped paint effect and instead of a realistic effect they end up with something that looks like a toy. References are the best way to go always!!

[T140]

Thanks gents. I need to get hold of some old models and have a play about with these ideas then. Ross, how does your salt method work ? Results look good.

Hogan and Driver, yep very valid point. One thing that does bug me a bit is that models seem to get marked down in competitions if they don't look like they have been dragged through a hedge backwards several times ! Some of the weathering etc I see on models is excellent, but there seems to be a move to the idea that a model must be highly weathered and beat up. At some time in their lives all of these vehicles would have looked factory fresh, and I prefer to see a variety of vehicles states rather than all in worst "condition".

It would also be fair to say that you have to make allowances for scale. By that I mean that some effects that look good in 1:35 scale are not strictly accurate on the real thing. The over chipping on models is probably a good example. Depends of course what you are aiming to achieve.

[David Diaz]

I think you guys brought up a very interesting point here. As Hogan and Driver said too much chipping is one of those modeling “myths” that have been created over the years. In real life paint chips are not that common on the outside of armored vehicles, the inside, well that’s another story.

The trick to make paint chips look realistic is to know where to apply them. I think Rick outlined all the method I use. The brush method gives you the most control, but the masking effect is really convincing too.

Just like everything, it takes practice.

Dave

[pwranta193]

While this is not about technique - it is about application.

My thoughts is that this is an idea that took off when MiG started some of his very in depth projects - I remember a comment about him watching heavy construction vehicles and the aging that takes place on them.

The disconnect is that those type of vehicles are sometimes running for years - or even decades - vs. the few months that most (key word MOST) vehicles had after about '43. A Cat bulldozer? How many years do you think they keep those running before replacemnt. Ever been to a farm? Many current 1:35 builds look like vehicles that have been sitting on a deserted ranch in the American desert West for 20 or 30 years. Start small - and then compare it to the appropriate photos...

Notable exceptions would of course be the North African vehicles - or anything that had been through a white wash.

Dos Centavos,

[T140]

Very good point Paul. Cheers for your input.

[hogan]

Agree with MIGs role in promoting chipping in the hobby. While I certainly recognize his great contributions to the modeling, the chipping is a bit overstated.
I recently read another possible source of this fad (yes, fad). In recent times, maybe the early 90's, an Army of a small country (Iraq?) did use a very inferior paint on some vehicles. The paint wore and chipped terribly, and photos of these tanks floated around and into the hands of modelers, where it gave birth to chipping as we know it now.
Who knows?

[Andrew Hall]

Pablo, construction vehicles tend not to get shards of steel travelling at 300mph hit them :) Ta-da-bing on the crash cymbal.

I always thought 'cheeps' was too strong a word. Scuffs is a better word. Subtlety is a better one. There's loads to choose from but get your Sturm & Drang Panther out and look at that close up of the driver with 'Margret' chalked on the barrel.

I think there was a guy in Japan, Takahashi, who was doing this before Mig. Before my time but I think he did some stuff in Armor Modelling mag - anyone?

A

[Sheeds]

Allo.

Yes, you're right Andrew. I believe Takahashi was the inspiration for guys like Mirko, Andrew Dextras & James Blackwell. His latest work was in a recent Armour Modelling mag, and it is lovely subtle work. It's good to see that he and James are both back in the game.

Sheeds.

[Plushy]

Hi Guys ,
I work with Forklifts in a Freezing Cold enviroment about -30 degrees celsius and i can honestly say that the paint work gets damaged very quickly ,with chips scratches and rust admittedly we are not very carefull with the Forklifts and we are driving in and out of steel racking which chips paint very well . I will post up some photos of the `new` forklift after its been in operation for about 6 months . The forklifts are battery powered so no fuel stains but hydrulic fluids attracts dirt and dust like nothing else .

So in my opinion Chips ,scuffs , scraches ,rust, dents, oil stains,fuel stains are all plausible but only if in moderation and preferably using photographic reference .

i also reckon that in a combat situation the vehicles paintjob is the last thing you worry about , the mechanical side of things comes first . i.e the engine ,gearbox, final drive,weapons then the crew and last the paint {unless the enviroment changes suddenly }

Thats just my 2 cents .

Cheers Plushy

[brokeneagle]

Well for me chipping came from Shepard Paine' s weathering guides, that came with the Monogram planes of the late 1970's and 80's. They started me off chipping my planes from his '4 pager 'articles in '89 and this led to chipping tanks in 90-91 [that's only intended as an example not a stake in the ground]. I think chipping was happening well before the Japanese guy, though it probably didn't become mainstream until the mid 1990's. This is also not intended to take away any admiration for Takahashi's stuff:), I just think there were earlier influences for 'older' modelers. :rolleyes:
Chipping is a great realism tool that should be subtle and combined with other weathering techniques to achieve the best effect.

[Eoin666]

Any armoured vehicle crew would tell you, when not driving, eating or sleeping, they're servicing the thing. If your life is dependent on the armour, you're not going to want it rusting to pieces under you. Plus the short life span of most WWII tanks meant, that while they would pick up scuffs and scratches, they wouldn't be rusting away.

Tracks, unless it's been sat in rain for a few days tracks don't rust, a 1/4 mile journey would take any surface oxidation off.

Chips, desert and white washes were temporary over sprays so would wear off quickly. Interestingly the desert colour between the Challenger 1 in the early 90's and Challenger 2 in late 90's was different in their ability to withstand weathering, Chall 2 look a lot more beaten up.

It does seem to be a fashion, like fad for the extreme weathering seen on Japanese WWII fighters as though they've been rotting in the jungle for a few yrs, no maintenance crews......even those with markings for home defence!