hey guys… i’m waiting for Wilson’s new structure book to come out, and i’ve got a few kits coming now from Internet Hobbies’ crazy sale. I was wondering, is there any special paint brand or type I should use to paint these kits? I’ve never painted any wood kits before… and I got a couple small Bar Mills kits that I’m going to use as practice (HO twin utility sheds).
Is there anything I should know before attempting this? Like, any special techniques or like, should I use washes instead of straight paint, etc?
I would first start by priming the wood walls with some type of grey spray paint (the cheap brands are okay). Spray both sides. This will help prevent any walls from warping. Then I use Floquil either straight from the bottle to look like a painted structure, or you can thin it to make it look more like a wash. If any of the grey shows through, it gives the structure a weathered look. I wish I could post some pictures, but I’m at the office and don’t have access to them right now
There are lots of ways of going about this. I like to stain my wood first to get a silvery patina of weathered wood. Then I use a number of techniques as depicted on my Picture Trail site. The following links show some build sequences for some different brands of wooden structure. It is not unusual to get a bit of warping, but nothing that a pile of phone books can’t deal with!
If you want a freshly painted new look, prime and then paint with any good hobby paint.
If you want a weathered look, I use artist acrylics that come in the tube. I mix the paint in a cupcake pan with some water. I mix it on the brush so it is not even. Each brush full is a little different and I try to keep it thin enough so it does not cover. I brush it on in the same direction as the wood. Be sure and paint the insides and the edges as well as the shown side with the same paint mixture and at the same time.
i’m assuming most kits come with something talking about painting them, right? Like, which colors are recommended and what was used in the prototype model.
Painting instructions vary a lot from manufacturer to manufacturer. Not all structures are based on any particular prototype either, so there is really no general statement that one can make about what level of instruction your particular kits will have.
I have built a number of Campbell Scale Model wood kits. I have used Floquil® Railroad Oil colors exclusively without fail. Brush marks do not show, and really shows a nice finish. I also use the dry brush method for weathering the paint. Use grimy Black and other dingy colors. Campbell has some very good suggestions in their kits for painting suggestions.
Here is a tip I’ve used to Weather natural wood finishes. I use the dirty thinner to show a weathered look to unpainted wood finishes. Wood supports, Tresses, and decking arte some of the examples I have used this technique with. What’s more we finally have a use for that dirty thinner.
What I meant by OIl coloers was Oil Based colors. Water colors work well but I found the the Oil colors do not warp the wood as water based colors might. As fars as actual colors, I thend to stick withe earthtones, grays, for indutrial structurees. I will also try to achive contrast by going with an oposite color fro the trim, doors etc. For Example if the bas color is gray I will do the trim in black. This is where your imagination can run a bit wild and really look arund you and you can get some ideas from prototypes. I hope these tips help you a bit.
so you think Floquil paints would be better than Pollyscale?
i mean, i’m going to brace all the walls 'n whatnot anyway, but anything that can help keep them straight is great.
also, do you guys have any tools/clamps that you would recommend? I thinking i really need to get smoe right-angle brace/gluing jigs to help build these new kits when they come… any suggestions?
Any paint that is non water based is going to result in less swelling and warping than water based paints. However, I am not a big fan of the fumes associated with oil based paint and tend to use the cheap craft style acrylic paints for my structures. I will often stain with an alcohol and ink stain first. As long as you paint both sides of the walls warping is not too bad. Once the paint is dry a pile of cook books of phone directories will take care of any warping!
Good square and plumb walls are important. Sure you can get special clamps, but I am just as happy using a good square block of wood or metal machine right angle to help get things square. Rubber bands can be excellent clamps to hold the 4 walls together while drying. Just put them around the entire structure and they apply nice even pressure to all the walls. You don’t want them too tight though.
Wooden clothes pegs and cheap small clamps from the hardware store can also be useful clamps for certain applications.
My personal favorite glue for wooden structures is Titebond Wood Trim adhesive. Use is sparingly and keep it off the painted surfaces. I apply it with a tooth pick. It has good tack and dries quite quickly.
These are just the things I do. There are no hard and fast rules to all this stuff, so there are lots of other ways to get the same results.
