Popski's Private Army - Part 5, Finishing off

Weathering has always been (and still is) a bit of a thing for me, I don't particularly like doing it as I feel it is so easy to mess up all of that hard work with sloppily applied weathering. For a long time I didn't do it at all but there was obviously a big chunk of the final idea missing.

Some time ago I attended a course run by Geoff Coughlin at Scale Modelling Now, an online model magazine that hosts actual modelling workshops by some of the best in the hobby. This particular workshop was run by (to me) the master of dust and weathering, Lester Plaskitt.

I've known Lester for some years so I thought I would go along and try and pick up some tips. And boy did I, the sequential approach and hands-on instruction and guidance was worth every penny. As a consequence, I suggest if you are looking to up your game and want to learn from some of the best modellers around, look into getting yourself on one of these workshops.

Anyway, I digress. You want to know what I learnt. To repeat what I said earlier in the blog;

"Weathering is a layering process; it needs to be considered at every step. Why is that area chipped? What caused that streak? Would that be rusty?  - There is a lot more to it than buying a jar of the latest wonder-product and slapping it on without consideration. Take your time, think it through."

So by way of a reminder, this is the jeep before any dust effects.

Compare that to this shot of the finished piece. Bit different, isn't it? And you can probably see now why I spent years avoiding doing this !!

So to start to tie everything together, the first thing to do is to create a base to work from. This step was to spray a highly diluted mix of Tamiya XF57 Buff over the lower areas of the jeep. This was then repeated on horizontal surfaces, those surfaces that would gather dust. All we are doing here is changing the tone of the paint gradually and in a patchy way, we aren't trying to cover everything in an even coat of dust.

That dust is now worked up into a more opaque layer gradually and by concentrating on the form of the object we are weathering. i.e. Dust gathers in recesses, is removed by wear and can be smeared and moved around. It is anything but uniform.

This process works best if you work on one panel or area at a time, it is easy to gauge progress then and you can alter or refine areas as you go. What it also does is make you think about what you are doing: where would the dust accumulate here? would that area be in constant use? If so, how would it get rubbed off?

For the next stage I mixed up two versions of the following Vallejo acrylics: a thinned version of approx. 50/50% 987 Medium Grey and 976 Buff (mix 1), the second version has a little more Buff added and isn't thinned as much (mix 2). This is the scary bit so I urge you to practice this on an old model first.

Add a little washing-up liquid to water (this breaks down the surface tension and slows the paint drying a little) and brush this on to your desired area. Next, apply some of the thinner mix 1 to this and use your brush to literally "move" the paint around to where you want it. Remember, dust will gather in recesses but it will also leave a trace across the entire surface. Once happy, and when this is dry, (use a hairdryer to speed up this process) you can then enhance the effect by using the thicker mix 2 in the areas of greatest build-up. 

This is a slow process but it does create that build-up of dust that cannot be replicated any other way. True, pigment application is far quicker but it doesn't give you as much control, and that is key. For a final touch, dry pigments can be applied to enhance the effect and I have done this selectively here, using the same pigments I used on the base.

As a case in point, compare these two wheels: one before the dust layer, the other after the application of acrylic only "dust".

So, not forgetting to apply this technique to the lower areas of the figures, all that remains is to mount everything on the base and apply some final pigments to any missed areas.

So does it work? I must admit that initially I thought I had overdone the dust effects but then I looked at my reference photo's again. I'm happy with the end result and this project pushed me through a mental barrier when it comes to a heavily dusted finish. All that remains, then are the final pictures.

Thanks for following along and if you have any questions please drop me a line.

UPDATE - An abridged version of this article appeared in the December 2018 issue of Military Modelcraft International Magazine.

Popski's Private Army - Part 4, Figures

I always add at least one figure to my vehicle projects, not only to give a sense of scale but also to impart that these machines we model are more than just that. To me, adding a figure or two gives the additional element of context; the interaction of man with the object and its’ surroundings.

I studied quite a few pictures of the PPA soldiers to try and get an idea of how they were dressed only to come to the conclusion that pretty much anything goes. I’ve seen denison smocks, leather flying jackets, battledress, cricket jumpers and anything in between.

To try and replicate this, let’s say, nonchalant look I used a standing figure from Masterbox (MB3561) which is actually a German DAK figure. I loved the pose and the “uniform” on this particular figure is fairly generic, so with a head swap for something a little more appropriate courtesy of Hornet, we were good to go.

The seated driver figure is from Mantis Miniatures, 35077, again I swapped the head for a Hornet item but this resin figure is perfect for what I had in mind.

Some time ago I was sent the Lifecolor British Infantry Uniforms set for review and I was keen to use them on this project. Most of my figure painting is done with Vallejo acrylics, mostly from the Modelcolor range but also I use Panzer Aces. However, I do use Lifecolor acrylics on occasion and I find they really suit my style of painting, they blend seamlessly with the Vallejo and dry dead flat.

After priming the figures in light grey I proceeded to get the flesh tones finished, this was covered in more detail in my US Airborne Jeep blog here.

Unfortunately I didn't take many WIP shots of the process but I'll break down the colours I used for each figure here, hopefully it should give an idea. (Lifecolor paints begin with a UA, the rest are Vallejo Modelcolor).

As an aside, I always add a little Tamiya flat base X21 into my Vallejo paints (except flesh mixes), some will dry to a slight sheen and this will make them completely flat. Some colours are worse than others for this but it pays to have that insurance in the first place.

COMMON

Beret - Base is Andrea Black* with a touch of 862 Black Grey. Shade with Andrea Black and Highlight with 862 Black Grey. Overall glaze of Andrea Black to blend everything together.

Leather band - 950 Black.

*All black is not created equal. Andrea black is not as dark as Vallejo black and is quite a nice dusty tone once highlighted, it also dries completely matt, unlike Vallejo out of the bottle. We can use this to our advantage by reserving the Vallejo Black for the deepest shadows, if necessary.

Also, by using the straight Vallejo Black for the leather band on the beret we can show a difference not only in tone, but in glossiness. I have also used this effect on the binoculars.

Boots - Base mix of 871 Leather Brown and 950 Black. Shaded with 950 Black, Highlighted with 971 Leather Brown, then 981 Orange Brown. Touch of 819 Iraqi Sand for the final highlight.

STANDING FIGURE

Shirt/Trousers - Base UA442 Yellow Tone Gears. Shaded with 941 Burnt Umber, Highlights with 976 Buff.

Jumper - Base UA443 Battledress Light Tone. Shaded with 887 Brown Violet, Highlights with 845 Sunny Skintone.

Cravat - Base 986 Deck Tan. Shaded with 941 Burnt Umber, Highlights with 820 Off White.

SEATED FIGURE

Shorts - As Trousers, above.

Tunic - Base 921 English Uniform. Shaded with 872 Chocolate Brown, Highlights with 917 Beige.

Gloves - Base 871 Leather Brown. Shaded with 950 Black, Highlights with 981 Orange Brown, then 977 Desert Yellow, sparingly. Overall glaze with 828 Woodgrain/812 Violet mix.

Belt - Base 70% 988 Khaki / 30% 880 Khaki Grey. Shaded with 941 Burnt Umber, Highlights with 976 Buff.

Holster/Pouch - 70% 880 Khaki Grey / 30% Khaki. Shaded and Highlighted as above.

There is a little more to do to tie them into the scene and that is where the next part picks up, dust and finishing everything off.

Popski's Private Army - Part 3, Making the base

In the latter part of the war Popski's Private Army operated primarily in Italy. To try and create this feel (and avoid the obvious cliches) I decided to have the jeep depicted on a dusty track with a dry-stone wall as a backdrop.

As is my usual procedure, the base was a piece of builder's insulation foam with a rough track gouged and sanded out. Once the rough form had been created I clad the sides with fairly thick plasticard, shaped at the top to follow the contours I had just created but leaving it a few mm higher to take into account the next bit.

For the actual groundwork, I used DAS Air-dry clay. This was rolled out into a reasonably thin sheet (using plenty of talc) and then draped over the base to form the surface. I used plenty of PVA glue here to make sure everything would stick together.

Once happy with the form, I began to texture the surface with an old paintbrush and some more watered-down PVA to get the look I was after.

For the wall I did toy with the idea of making one myself then decided that life was way too short for that. This particular item is from Accion Press and is finely cast in dental plaster which makes it really easy to cut to your own requirements, if necessary. You can order one from their website here.

The wall is actually a lot bigger than I wanted so I cut it in half at an angle and firmly pushed it into the still-wet clay.

To add to the surface texture I then sprinkled various grits and small stones over the base to add a little interest. Remember that on a track such as this the passing of vehicles will move the larger pieces to the sides of the track, some are retained in the centre but very little will remain in the actual tracks. This was fixed with diluted PVA and the whole lot was set aside to dry for a few days.

The gatepost here is just a piece of plastic stock that has been textured with an old saw blade and shaped at the top.

Once everything was fully dry, an airbrushed coat of Stynylrez black primer gave a nice even coat on which to start the painting proper.

The wall was removed for painting separately after drilling location holes to fix it securely. After masking off the sides of the base I began airbrushing various earth tones for the ground. To start I gave everything a coat of Tamiya XF52 Flat Earth, to this I added XF78 Wooden Deck Tan and XF57 Buff in various quantities to try and impart some variation and to try and pick out the track marks.

The stone wall was airbrushed with Vallejo 884 Stone Grey (handy name, huh?). This was done from above to try and keep the dark shadows on the underside of the stones and retain the volume. Individual stones were then picked out by adding other Vallejo colours to this base, in various amounts, to try and make the wall look a little more believable. I used the following colours; 987 Medium Grey, 986 Deck Tan, 871 Leather Brown and 976 Buff. The beauty of acrylics is that you can really use their transparency to build up subtle colour differences.

Once everything had dried I began using various washes of oil paints to give some depth to the colours and pick out the shadows. This was particularly evident where the wall meets the ground and the joints between the stones. You can use a ready made product for this but I mixed my own from various oil colours.

You can see here how I have tried to keep the actual tracks quite light, fading out to darker areas where the wall is.

Next step is to pick out some of the stones on the ground with the colours I used for the wall. Logic would dictate that the stone wall would be made from local materials so this will help to tie everything together.

For the vegetation I used various ready-made grass tufts and also some dried items that I have collected over the years. This is a quite long and tedious process if it is not to look too contrived, it really does pay to study a similar location to the one we are trying to replicate; observation is the key to a believable scene, especially with natural items.

When the grass is applied it does give the whole thing a very stark look but this will be toned down later to blend everything together.

I did feel that something was missing and although the wall gives a nice backdrop, it is lacking in height. My initial idea was to use a cactus plant; these are used in the Mediterranean as wind breaks and are often seen next to stone walls like this.

Eventually I decide that this was probably a little much (although I may use that idea for a future project), so I chose a ready-made tree form the Mininatur range. This seemed to be just what I was looking for to add height and interest to the rear of the scene.

I spent quite some time looking at wooden posts whilst out walking the dog and initially I found it quite difficult to pin down the actual colour of these.

Eventually I decided to keep the palette on the warm grey side and started with a base of Vallejo ModelAir 131 Concrete. To this I added various shades to pick out the grain and ended with a light wash of grey/green to the lower part of the post. The gate is an etch brass item from Verlinden, again painted in various dark grey tones.

To finally tie all the elements together, a highly diluted mix of Tamiya XF57 Buff was airbrushed around the base giving the dusty, dry look I was after. This was further enhanced with Pigments; Europe Earth and Light Dust from the Mig Ammo range.

With that, the masking was removed (always a moment of apprehension) but luckily there were very little touch ups to do.

So this is how it turned out; there are a few little tweaks to do but that is done once the vehicle and figures are in place.

For me, the base is a critical part of the project and I usually have an idea in my mind of how I want to display the vehicle/figures; that will inevitably change and evolve as the project progresses but the important thing to remember is that it is a major part of the project, not an afterthought. I will often spend as long on the base as the main object of the scene.

All too often you will see a base that is hurriedly thrown together afterwards and all that does is detract from what you are trying to display. It isn't difficult and it doesn't need to be elaborate (as I've hopefully shown here), in fact the simple, well observed scenes are often more powerful.

So, next time, I'll show how I painted the figures here and then we'll pull it all together with some more dust.