Input needed on 1/87 modulation

[modelico]

Hi folks
I am starting a new scene to be included in my railway modules. I can't have a layout due to room shortage so I'm building some modules whch are diorama-style oriented. It will depict a heavy weathered locomotive and one or two very rusty cars/pickups. I am wondering why I haven't found out anything on colour modulation when it comes to scales with high reduction ratio. Has anybody tried it?. Any recommeded technique? Is it worth or had I better forget the idea?

[Malachi Constant]

Well, this isn't pure "colour modulation" as such ... but here's an HO figure that I did ... and I did as much as I could to do the same shading, shadowing and highlighting (*) that I would use on a larger scale figure.  I think the answer is that your models will definitely benefit, and you'll just need to use a somewhat more selective, refined and delicate touch to make it effective in the smaller scale.  The secret ingredients there are most likely (1) practice and (2) critical review by your email buddies and/or forum members.

Oh yeah, one other critical ingredient might be some VERY good quality sable brushes ...

(*) The shading, shadowing and highlighting do in essence "modulate" the colors ... but it's not "color modulation" in terms of the F.A.Q. techniques ... so I don't want to get busted by the vocabulary police! 

Cheers,
Dallas

[Ray Dunakin]

Whoa! That is some incredible work for such a small scale figure, Dallas! You must have eyes like an eagle.

[Malachi Constant]

Ray -- Thanks!  I used to enjoy the "benefits" of being extremely near-sighted ... but now I'm past that age where you can't see things that are too close ... so I gotta get just the right magnifiers, etc. and hope for the best! 

Al -- A few more suggestions ... some other approaches that might prove useful in smaller scales ...

-- Traditional dry-brushing is a decent start, but it can be pretty crude.  I use an approach that I call "wet dry-brushing."  It's just like dry-brushing ... except the paints are thin and the brush is dampened ... then most of the thinned paint gets wiped off the brush before it's applied to the model.  The difference is this:  it produces a much more subtle AND more controllable effect.
-- To get the most of that, mix up at least THREE highlight shades ... a "middle" highlight that will be wet-drybrushed over all of the basic highlight points ... a "higher highlight" that will be wet-drybrushed over say the top 1/3 to 1/2 of the high points and the "highest highlight" which goes over just the highest points.

-- Another alternative highlighting method:  GLAZES.  Vallejo Glaze Medium allows you to apply TRANSPARENT paint layers, even with opaque paint colors.  Again, three shades.  Mix a drop of middle highlight paint color with two drops Vallejo Glaze medium (as a starting point, adjust as desired).  Brush that lightly over the various high points and LET IT DRY.  The glaze takes much longer than "regular" acrylics.  Go back over the top 1/3 to 1/2 of the highlights with the next lighter color ... let dry ... then go back with the highest highlight in just a few select areas.

-- For shadowing, washes are traditional ... but you can get more controlled effects by using diluted acrylic inks (Vallejo and/or Reaper).  Again, you can use three shades ... or three passes of the same shade.  Apply one layer  into all of the shadow areas ... another layer into the deeper shadow layers ... and third layer in the deepest shadow layers.

-- For acrylics, you can use an ink glaze in place of a filter (heresy! but it works for me) .... mix 1 drop of acrylic ink to 2 drops Vallejo glaze medium as a starting point, vary as needed.   This produces a transparent layer that will homogenize your shading and help smooth the transitions.  The acrylic inks can be mixed to vary colors.  For example, Vallejo Sepia Ink has a golden tone ... Vallejo Woodgrain Ink has a very reddish brown tone ... those two can be mixed to produce a nice deep orange.  Another example:  Vallejo Sepia Ink + Green Ink (very vivid)  produces a nice mossy green.  The point of those examples is that with some creativity you can mix your own ink shades.

Again, some really good sable brushes are a big help.  I like the DaVinci Maestro brushes ... put any high quality ones will be a step in the right direction.

Cheers,
Dallas

[Malachi Constant]

Here's another little figure I'm working on and my attempt at making a (somewhat) believable fur coat in HO scale.  There's a lot of wet-drybrushing and glaze layers involved here.  The really big enlargement shows all the hideous flaws, but also allows you to see various degrees of highlighting.  The middle panel is about 3x actual size on a 19" monitor ... and I'm hoping to have the figure look decent at that amount of enlargement.  There you can still see varying levels of highlight and shadow and outlining around the collar, etc. (done with inks).  PS -- Her hair is not done yet, she'll lose the "helmet head" before she's finished!

In place of a filter, I used an ink glaze over the various paint layers.  Mixed Vallejo Woodgrain Ink (deep red) with Reaper Blue ink to produce a nice Deep Purple (dat-dat-da on the water) color which was mixed with Vallejo Glaze Medium and applied over everything ... cuz black fur coats often has a slightly purple sheen and it helps homogenize the layers.  Will review and probably do some additional work on the coat after the other parts of the figure are painted.

Another thought about working in HO with acrylics ... and this is very much MY OPINION! .... I really like a lot of the Vallejo products, but in my opinion their flesh tones and metallics are "crap" to put it nicely.  The flesh tones are just plain hideous and the metallics are coarse and sparkly.  Opinion again ... I really like the Reaper Master Series metallics for small items ... the pigments are ground MUCH finer than those in the Vallejo metallics, and they have some really nice metallic hues.  I used some of those with glaze medium to suggest the reflected highlights in the fur coat.

Also, Reaper Master Series flesh tones are much nicer to work with ... each "series" has three shades (for example:  there's a "fair skin" series with three shades and a "tanned skin" series with three shade, etc.)  For the finished HO figure shown previously, I used mostly the "fair skin" series with some of the tanned skin paints mixed in for the shadow areas and some of the rosy skin paints mixed in for cheeks, lips, etc.

And, now that you've heard (extensively) from a hack ... go ask Anders how a real pro paints HO stuff!  

Cheers,
Dallas

[modelico]

Thank you so nuch for your help Malachi. Now I have some ideas to study and to think about. By the way, the H0 girl has her pupils painted. How on earth did you do it?...OK!, I know Masters are masters

[Malachi Constant]

By the way, the H0 girl has her pupils painted.

Very, very carefully!  That's where a top-quality brush comes into play ... because it'll hold a sharp point AND hold and distribute paint ... but you still gotta hit that tiny little bullseye ...er, person's eye.    -- Dallas

[David Emery]

Great stuff!  I printed out this thread so I could study it the next time I do a figure.

dave

[marc_reusser]

There are a good number of examples of CM out on the web. Have a look at some of the good quality ssmall scale armor forums.

Insofar as members here....John Tolcher has been working on a 1/76 (S-scale) diesel where I believe he employs some CM (there is a thread on the AK forum).

Rick Lawler has a great example thread, also on the AK forum,  in which he is showing CM on a wargaming scle tank, which I believe is even smaller than HO.

[David Emery]

There are a good number of examples of CM out on the web. Have a look at some of the good quality ssmall scale armor forums.

Insofar as members here....John Tolcher has been working on a 1/76 (S-scale) diesel where I believe he employs some CM (there is a thread on the AK forum).

Rick Lawler has a great example thread, also on the AK forum,  in which he is showing CM on a wargaming scle tank, which I believe is even smaller than HO.

1/76 is 00, S scale is 1/64.  A lot of wargaming armor is 1/144, if I remember right.

dave

[SandiaPaul]

Marc,

OK, the AK forum?  I am guessing this is not about the gun, which is what turned up with a quick search.

I'd like to red about "color modulation" can you point to a thread somewhere?

Thanks,

Paul

[marc_reusser]

Paul,

AK-Forum, is the forum for 'AK-Interactive' the "other" company that makes a whole bevy of painting and weathering products. 

Here is the link to Ricks thread showing the small scale modulation.
http://akinteractive.foroactivo.com/t991-t34-85-a-very-small-project


Here is a link to Johns thread. Doesn't look like he used modulation, but did di chipping and other weathereing, so may be of interest anyway.
http://akinteractive.foroactivo.com/t891-1720-class-locomotive


Here is a superb article on CM by Michael Rinaldi:
http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/other/modulationmr_1.html

Here is a good article/demo on CM by Adam Wilder (with SBS photos at bottom of page):
http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=2006


From these two you should gleen all you ever need to know about the subject, and how to do it.



Marc

[SandiaPaul]

Thank you Marc.

I was tempted to post a link to the one site I found with a scantily clad woman holding a AK, but she wasn't wearing a thong bikini.

Paul

[Lawton Maner]

Paul:

Do you mean something like this?

[marc_reusser]

Not an AK.....and an odd firing position. Right leg would be better over back of bench to brace, and lean/press into the the shot.