As an airplane buff and modeler who’s happily landlocked in the US Midwest, I find your videos on weathering boat and ship models invaluable. You point out the obvious that I was missing - boat and ship exteriors are walked on, worked on, and beat on. And probably puked on. That’s unlike airplane exteriors. So now as I begin to weather my now pristine lobster smack, I’ll reduce my mind to scale and imagine what working on this boat would be like and where the wear would appear. I also like that you point out that weathering techniques are the same across ship, airplane, and train modeling. Weathering models is a transferable skill. To that I’ll add that light weathering beats heavy weathering when striving for a compelling impression in any category of model. Keep the videos coming.
@@shipmodelguy I hope so. I haven't seen a new video from you in quite some time. I'm working on my second ship, HMS Sovereign of the Seas, a daunting but worthy project, largely scratch built. Your techniques will add a lot of realism to the model. Thanks!
Watching takes me back to reading George Frank, in the early '80s, immersing myself in the hidden mysteries of wood finishing. From knowledgeable handyman to lifelong cabinetmaker, to retired from the world gardener. I had to give up shoe making - too hard on the hands - and am more than curious about model boat making. I think I found the right channel. (One of the great recipes imparted to me by George Frank was "Liquid Nightmare" ; iron oxide - rust - and vinegar. At a mix of 15 :1 with distilled water, it turned Oak to a nice weathered silver ((pure nightmare made "poor man's Ebony" in high Tannin woods)) - a chemical stain irreproducible with artist colors , IMO.) I have a good recipe for Liquid Nightmare, if you're interested.
These videos are great! I put them on while I'm working and listen while I code away. Can't wait to apply some of these to my current build because weathering is something I've never been adept at.
Glad you like them. A lot of the videos have sections that deal with weathering, including Episode 9 of the Whaleboat Series. Hope you check it out. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for this tutorial. Specially your talk at the end where you speak about how anyone seeing a model could be drawn into wondering about life onboard. I have only built two boats so far. Both from kits. I have always wanted to create that atmosphere and used my imagination to achieve this. I just wanted to let you know that I totally get what you meant (as I'm sure many others do). Thanks again, I loved watching this. By the way, I live in England but thought that Bob Ross impersonation was spot on!!!
When my son was small, I had the luxury of working from home. He would spend the mornings at daycare. I would pick him up, we'd come home for lunch and we'd watch Bob Ross together almost every day. I learned so much from watching him, especially the way he analyzed color. He was a big influence on my model building. When I imitated him in the video, it was truly done with affection and thanks.
Like this instructional video. Thanks. I have never tried weathering before, but I feel confident enough to try some at least. Scrap stuff first though before I go to the real model. Thanks again.
Glad you're enjoying the videos. The basic weathering techniques that I demo in the video will work just fine for a ship's hull. Dry brushing and washes are at the heart of the method. The other thing that is at the heart of the matter is regardless of what it is you are weathering, you always have to consider how the thing was used, whether it is a ship's hull or a belaying pin. In the case of a hull, the first thing to think about is the outside surface. If it's a 19th century vessel, it was probably painted. If it was earlier, many times they would be oiled and left to weather over time. If there were any external iron fitting, like eyebolts or chain plates and backing links, these would start to show rust stains, after some time. Also remember that your weathering should never be the feature of the model. It should be the subtle treasure,the reward for the viewer who takes the time to really look at your work. It should never scream out for attention. Hope this help a bit. And remember you can always write to me through my website's contact page: tjlauria.com/contact/.
A really well thought out demo... nice job Tom! I subscribed to your channel a while back but some how missed this one. It reminds me of a presentation I prepared for a meeting of our model ship club The Provincial Marine a number of years ago. I'm a fine artist and I hate to see a beautiful model destroyed by a poorly scaled paint job so I proposed my presentation. For it I did several tests with my acrylic and oil paints in preparation for my little talk. In it I proposed the use of artist oil paints. The new water mixable paints out now would be even easier to work with as they clean up with soap and water. The paint can be thinned to whatever degree one wishes using odorless thinner. Because you thin the paint with either linseed oil or the thinner, there isn't the amount grain raising found with the acrylic paint. They work quite well for the aging process as well. I did not do any testing with my airbrush, mainly because I find them to be a pain in the backside. I haven't done any testing with silkspan but suspect the acrylic paint would be the best choice. At any rate this comment is not to say I'm finding fault, I quite admire your work and simply thought I'd share what I discovered.
Hi Tim, I have tried artist oils. I like the look of the colors. What I had trouble with was getting a thin enough coat, or coats, to cover efficiently without obscuring detail. I haven't tried putting them through an airbrush, but I should experiment with that, at some point. After I switched from solvent based Railroad Colors in the late 90s, I went to their acrylic replacements and had unsatisfactory results-at first. I did eventually learn to control them to good effect and, for the sake of consistency, ,had been using them until they were discontinued a couple of years ago. Now I'm having to use the stuff available through Micro Mark. They go through the airbrush nicely, but there are some shortcomings with them. Thanks for the thoughts and your support. Hope you stay with the channel. Tom
Nice demo on weathering Tom, I appreciate your techniques, Would love to see your ideas on weathering and wear on decking of 18 and 19th century ships. Again thanks Ric Smith
Thanks, Ric. As far as weathering decks goes, the process is basically the same except that you would have to envision the foot traffic patterns then try to replicate those. Remember also that decks were, in general, better looked after than some other elements of a ship (regular holystoning, etc) and in the case of the Royal Navy, they were absolutely anal about it, so if it's a British ship, there probably wouldn't be any wear or weathering. If you want to see an example of a distressed deck go to tjlauria.com/gallery/l-a-dunton/#gallery_fancybox_79-14 or tjlauria.com/gallery/l-a-dunton/#gallery_fancybox_79-21 All of the LA Dunton model has weathering on it, even the dories. Thanks for watching.
That affection certainly came over. Even though it was short. I am really going to enjoy your videos and an very much looking forward to learning from you. Thank you.
Do you use a primer under your paint ? Iwould like to see a vido on the size of line to use with different blocks. Great job I have learned a lot. Thanks for your help.
Generally, I don't use a primer if the piece is just going to be painted. The purpose of a primer, as I understand it, is to penetrate into the wood to seal and raise the grain. Most of the paint I use is thin enough to meet this first coat requirement. When it's dry I sand it lightly with 220 grit paper and apply the second coat. On large areas (hulls and decks) as a sealer I will use thinned down shellac. It's then lightly sanded and painted The shellac is also helpful in controlling how the wood takes color if the piece is going to be stained. The process is the same as described for painting. As for rigging line sizes. That's a good thought. I will put together a short video on the subject within the next week or so. Hit the notification button to make sure you know when I post it. Thanks for the input.
I'm upwards of 60, and I've used those "brain destroying" lacquers, etc since I was about 8 years old. So, I liked your joke. Also, a Homer Simpson-ism:. Beer and Drain Bramage. Nope, not me!!!
Thank you, Tom, for your tutorials about weathering effects from a distance. Do you have examples of assembling masts, rigging, and sails? Disc issues in my neck affect my hands and neck. My project is a new Revell Cutty Sark 1/96. Its sails are excellent. Wondering if it’s easier to work off the vessel, rigging one mast at a time. This is the 3rd time I've started this project
Hi David, I don't have a video on that, but my basic practice is to assemble as much of the mast, along with the yards and rigging as possible before installing it on the model. Maybe a video on the subject is in order.
Am looking forward to deadeyes from scratch. On the CS 1/96 I will add everything possible to the veneer over plastic deck before I attach it. That will allow me more freedom with my hands. Also I will do as much as possible with rigging off the vessel. Now I will start tying ratlines.
Guilherme, I don't think I'll be able to do a video about that anytime soon, but if you go to my video about making sails for ship models (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g_m_VWzk4w8.html), at 5:50, you'll see how I do it. For white lettering, I use dry rub transfers. There are dozens of fonts and sizes. They're easy to use-just place the sheet on the model and rub the letter or number until it transfers from the sheet to the model. Here's one place where you can get them, but there are plenty of other options online. pcbsupplies.com/dry-transfer/ Hope this helps.
What can I use for sails a radio controlled schooner like the bluenose. I acquired this vessel but it is damaged so I have to build a main mast and put a sail on it. It is about 2 feet long.
I'm not too well versed in RC stuff, but I think Mylar might work well. It's thin and light weight. On a model that's only two feet long, that would be the first thing I would try.
All the staining was done with the artist's acrylics in various dilutions. The weathering was done with the paints right out of the tube-usually dry-brushed on..
@@shipmodelguy Thanks for the quick reply. So the staining on the whale pole is the same that you demonstrated on the strip of holly at the beginning of the video.
@@samuelrosenthall2280 Yup. That's how I do just about all my wood staining. It's easy to control and doesn't penetrate as deeply as solvent based stains and they are infinitely mix-able.
Hi Floyd. If you're referring to that plastic tray, you can get those in any arts and crafts place like AC Moore, Michael's or Hobby Lobby. They're just plastic paint pallets.
I use acrylics for all my weathering. I've never actually tried weathering powders. I've just gotten so used to distressing with the paints and they give me the look I want, so I just never saw the need to buy another material-and have to go through another learning curve to get a good result. Sorry. I can't help with that one.
I print the names on my computer. I usually use Word or Excel. You just print the name in the font and color. Then highlight it with the color that matches your hull color. Print, trim and use Elmer's glue to put it on.
