1/35 scale auto repair shop

[Bexley]

Go with Master series over their Pro Paint line. The "Pro" paints are their older line, aimed at gamers who want a tough opaque coating on their figures. (Read: Thick, grainy, not suited to detail work.) The Master series was developed in the last few years (I want to say 2003 or so) for painters who are producing display pieces.

Fun fact: the agitator in the bottom of the Master series bottles is a tiny pewter skull.

[Malachi Constant]

Yes -- What Bexley said ... the Reaper "Master Series" paints are top-notch.  They have a nice range of colors and make a great compliment to the Vallejo selection.



Check this out -- 1/35 scale doghouse with laser-cut license plates used as shingles -- built by Greg Shinnie (aka Ensign) on the RR Line Forum.



I'm working on customizing a couple of figures for Greg's HO scale "Chambers Parts Store" -- a great model based on the famous Walker Evans parts store photo:
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=31508

In return, Greg offered to build a doghouse to compliment my 1/35 scale build.  He came up with the clever idea of using the license plates on the roof and had them custom cut by his buddy Joe Rutter at "Full Steam Ahead"

Guess, I'll have to hurry up now and make some more progress on those little HO figures!  Lucky dog has four walls and a cool custom roof ... poor old Mudgeon is still waiting for walls on the shop ... 

Thought y'all would get a kick out of the doghouse and the cool laser-cut license plates ...

Cheers,
Dallas

[DaKra]

haha, I love it.   Just the laser isn't really the right tool for this job, because it leaves a rough texture on engraved surfaces.   Since the plates are meant to be stamped tin, even factoring rust and weather, photo etch is the ideal method.  But still, its an economical compromise.  Anyway, using the plates for the doghouse roof is great!   

Dave
   

[Ray Dunakin]

Very cool. I've been wanting to get some 1/24th scale plates done somehow, as it is very common to see rusty old plates nailed to old buildings.

[Malachi Constant]

Dave -- You're right about the surface texture ... BUT ... there is an easy fix.  Mix some Reaper brush-on primer and some Vallejo mat varnish, thin them just right and apply ... viola ... level the surface.  There's some stuff called Mr. Surfacer or something like that which may be intended for the same purpose ... never tried it ... but the home-brew can be used very effectively.  The mat varnish alone can be used as a light adhesive, and you can paint over it ... so mixed with the brush-on primer and slightly diluted it does make a nice self-leveling "resurfacer" (which apparently isn't a word, but is exactly what I mean!) 

Ray -- I'm talking to Joe at Full Steam Ahead about having some 1/35 plates custom made for myself ... interestingly, he actually researched the individual plates he made for Greg's project ... so if you read them, they're from the right state and time period!  Have also broached the subject of doing them in other scale, so I'll do an update as things progress.

Gotta get back to sculpting the little figures now ...

Cheers,
Dallas

[Junior]

Really fun idea! Very nice work by Greg.

Anders

[DaKra]

Hey Dallas

Your surface levelling mixture would be a big breakthrough for me.  Before I buy the ingredients to try it, would you do a demo here so I can see how it works?  Thanks!

Dave

[Malachi Constant]

Dave --

Yes, gladly ... might be a few days before I actually get a round tuit and post pix.  Will do a demo with some of your gears or something.  Meanwhile a few notes/thoughts while they're occurring to me:

-- Scale:  You're pretty geared to thinking in 1:87 and I'm geared toward 1:35 at the moment.  In the smaller scale, the surface texture in question might be far too rough for something tiny like a license plate.  Pretty well convinced it will "do the trick" in 1:35 and come in handy for at least some surface issues in 1:87.  So I'll do that demo when I get a chance.

-- Photo above:  After priming the figure above and doing the flesh tones on her face, I went to paint the eyes and realized that the lower eyelids on the plastic figure were a bit gnarly and unpleasing.  So, I went in with a knife, and reshaped the lower eyelids ... which, of course, removed some thin layers of acrylic paint and primer in the area.  Rebuilt the area with the combo of brush-on primer and mat varnish mentioned before.  Now, if you look closely, you'll find a few lumpy-bumpy areas on her cheek where I built up the paint unevenly, but real dang smooth around the eyes.  So you'd never know that the paint had been peeled away there and the surface repairs hold up well.  (And, this enlargement is about 5x actual size on a 19" monitor.)

-- Origin of the idea:  While viewing the Mig Jimeniz video on using Vallejo paints, I noted that he used their Mat Varnish as an adhesive to fix laser-cut paper leaves (ie tree "leafs") onto a tank.  That sparked the notion of using the adhesive quality of the mat varnish.  Likewise, having good results with Reaper paints and found that they had a brush-on primer.  And, occasionally have problems where I'm handling an object too soon after painting etc and "chip" the paint (but not in a desirable way).  Did some experiments and found that the combo mentioned is useful for repairing surfaces and getting a nearly-invisible repair (smooth surface).  Then, after the repair is made, you can brush on a thin layer of the mat varnish, feather it out into the adjoining areas and get a fairly bullet-proof repair to the chipped paint issue.

PS -- Tamiya Fine Surface Primer gives one of the smoothest primer surfaces that you can get from a spray can ... that's a great starting point.  Acrylic paints thinned with wet water won't always "grab" onto that primer, so a very thin preliminary base coat diluted with Testor's acrylic thinner creates a good base for subsequent layers of acrylic paint thinned with wet water and/or dry-time extender.  In my case, that preliminary base coat is brushed on and it's fairly thin.  Just enough to get a bit of color and that thinner over the Tamiya surface.  As mentioned before, there are some "Mr. Surfacer" and related products that seem to be geared toward the same issue ... I haven't tried those yet.

More when I get a chance ...
Dallas

[Malachi Constant]

Thought I'd better give this a try before I take off to sculpt a busload of miniature reform school girls! 

These are a couple of Vector Cut gears (from the large set, I believe) ... as Dave mentioned, the laser leaves a pebbly texture where the relief is etched (engraved, cut, whatever) below the main surface ...



Another view of the pebbly surface ...



The plan:  I've used the Vallejo Mat Varnish, Reaper Brush-on Primer and (choose your color) very successfully to do surface repairs on figures, etc., where paint has been chipped or rubbed off ... or where I've made changes to the object after painting.  Both of the Vallejo varnishes shown here appear to be "the same thing" -- just numbered differently for their different paint series.  I've chosen the light green color not so much because it looks pretty    ... but hoping that it will photograph well here ...



Sprayed the gears with several very light coats of Tamiya Fine Surface Primer -- which is about as good as it gets for spray can primers -- no grainy stuff obvious here on the smooth surfaces.

Mixed up some goop as follows:  2 drops Mat Varnish, 2 drops Brush-on Primer and 2 drops paint.  Dampened a fine sable brush in "wet water" (90% water, 10% Liquitex Flow Aid) and applied the goop to the areas with the pebbly surface.

Let that set a few minutes, then added a drop of wet water to the mix and applied another thin coat.  Let THAT sit a few minutes, added a 2nd drop of wet water to the mix and applied another thin coat.



So, this is what I've been doing to "repair" unwanted paint chips and blend-in reworked areas on figures etc.  On those, I've mostly been working with a SMOOTH surface and the goal was to patch a small area and bring it level with the surrounding area.  As seen here, it seems to work rather well on the little laser cut parts where a flat, solid color is desired.



More experimentation here and trying to really push and scrutinize the effects ... so, brushed on a thin layer of paint (normal dilution, not the goop) over the previously unpainted areas and went over it with a thin wash of brown ink.  The high contrast shows where the goop made an improvement, but certainly did not make a super-smooth surface ... so we'll keep going ...



Brushed on some shiny metallic paint which further exaggerates the surface texture ... which prompted another idea ...



Brushed on some Vallejo GLOSS Varnish with just a touch of wet water (because it has too much surface tension to settle down by itself unless spread over a large area) ... let that set ... then hit it with a coat of Tamiya Clear Flat spray.  The gloss varnish was applied over the ENTIRE recessed area, so it makes an improvement in the previously-pebbly area and levels out the area treated with goop even further.  This looks very promising ... even in this really extreme enlargement.  (Hold yer entire hand up to that fingertip!)

Additional thoughts / ideas:  Would play with using the "goop" mix and the individual components (primer, varnish) using just a bit of Liquitex Flow-Aid (instead of water) to break the surface tension and get the flow needed without reducing the viscosity.  Might take a fair bit of experimentation to find an ideal mix ...

This last shot of the shiny gear on my finger tip looks very promising for the effects I'm after ... would also suggest looking into Mr. Surfacer, etc. to see what else is out there.  Have fun!

Cheers,
Dallas

[78ths]

It seems no matter what method used there will be some surface blemish in the removed surface area. I find even etched parts have surface irregularities where areas have been surface etched.  CNC may be another option that would provide and interesting result. The one thing I am trying to keep in context is how small the parts are and the fact that they are being significantly magnified in the photos. The painted areas look good and I am sure in real life my eyes without the aid of my reading glasses  would not see the surface marking.

Great experiments and eagerly watching your results. Mainly due to wanting to use the laser cutter to do name plates etc... If they are cast gears the un-machined portions would be rougher than the machined areas.

[Malachi Constant]

Ferd --

This or a similar technique should work fine for 7/8th's nameplates, etc.  In the photo above, the inset is about 2x actual size on a 19" monitor ... outer diameter of the recessed area on the actual part is about 1/4".  Significant part of the speckly effect still visible comes from the metallic paint!  Suspect this approach will be fine for smoothing out any details on my 1/48 and 1/35 projects ...

If Dave & others working in HO find this useful, they may need/want to refine it further for dressing tiny parts ...

Further to the nameplate issue ... if they're supposed to represent sand-cast parts, then some of that pebbly texture might actually be desirable.  It's all a matter of what the part is supposed to represent and how crazy we want to get with the individual pieces!

Cheers,
Dallas

[78ths]

Hi Dallas
At 2X it looks great. Is this cut on lazerboard?  I have had some good etchings on 1/32 aircraft ply probably due to most of the material being glue. It tends to sizzle and smoke more than any other wood. thanks Ferd

[Malachi Constant]

My guess is yes on the laser board, but Dave's the one who'll know for sure! 

If you look at the unpainted parts at the top of the previous long post, you'll see that they're tan with brown spots where the material has been scorched a bit ...

Cheers,
Dallas

[DaKra]

Dallas,

thanks for showing your methods and results.   I've experimented with thinned auto putty, thick paint, dipping in Future floor wax, etc and gotten very similar results.   To my eye, none are smooth enough to adequately represent stamped sheet metal, and not nearly as good as photo etch. 
   
Dave   

[Malachi Constant]

Mr. Mudgeon's follow-up question:  What keeps the dang horses from just falling apart?

Still bouncing around different aspects of the project ... haven't done the final shading on Millie's arms and legs yet ... just little bits of progress here and there.  And the occasional outbreak of full-blown dementia! 

Thanks to Greg Shinnie & Joe Rutter for the cool dog house!

Cheers,
Dallas