Microboys Models

Weathering Method

I made a small test section of a 1/2" scale building wall for an upcoming grist mill project.The wall is made from foam core board with a piece of .040" styrene sheet epoxied to the back and wooden coffee stir sticks glued to the opposite side for the vertical siding. The window was made from styrene strip with the window glazing cut from the clear cover of a plastic CD case.

I want the grist mill to have a very old look to it, but still look to be be functional.

Here are the results.

Here I am showing the supplies and tools needed for my method.

Craft paints from the dollar store in the colors shown.

Good quality artist oil paints,Burnt Umber,Burnt Sienna and Black.

Grey automotive primer,Acrylic floor finish and Testors Dullcoat

Some artist chalk pastels made into a powder by scraping with the edge of a craft knife.Which will be applied with a medium sized round sable brush.Light gray and Raw Sienna where used in this case.

Here are the brushes that I used.Liner,flat and round course bristle and a small round sable.

Lacquer and enamel thinners and H2O will also be needed.Due diligence and safety are also needed when using some of the products,so heed the warnings on the labels.

To get this effect I first sanded the wood planks with course sandpaper going with the grain.Then they are sanded with a fine sandpaper to get rid of the fuzzy wood fibers that where raised up.The strips of styrene for the window trim where also treated this way before assembly.

Now the painting process can begin.I sprayed gray automotive primer over all sides of the wall section and the window was primed separately.I put a dab of each of the oil paints into a plastic lid from a chip container and added a few drops of Lacquer thinner.Using a brush I took a dab of the black and mixed with the thinner and following the grain of the wood I lightly brushed it on in a random fashion to darken some areas.The thinners will also dissolve some of the primer so you get a lot of different shades of gray.Next very small amounts of the Burnt umber,also thinned, were brushed on here and there.

Next a few drops of some gray and white craft paints where placed on a piece of meat tray foam to use as a palette to make some lighter shades of gray.Using the flat course brush I very lightly dry-brushed the planks,following the grain,to add highlights.

I now seal these first layers with the clear Dullcoat applied from the spray can in very light layers to seal everything.

Once this has dried,which is very quickly,I brush on a liberal coat of the Acrylic floor finish and let it dry. This will produce a glossy surface for the next step.

Using the method that Chuck Doan came up with to simulate peeling paint on his incredible life-like structure dioramas.

I brushed on some Enamel thinners to a section of the wall and then immediately brushed and dabbed on some of the green craft paint (or red paint for the window frame)

Do not brush this on to get an even coat,you want it to be blotchy looking.Once the paint has dried to the touch use the sticky side of a piece of cello tape to peel some of the paint off.

Repeat doing small sections at a time till you get a random look with sections without any paint at all.

I sealed this layer with the Dullcoat and let it dry.

I then dry-brushed on some of the green paint to add yet another layer of color and texture to the wall.A lighter shade of green as well as some white were dry-brushed on for highlights.

Here are the palettes of the various colors used.

Another coat of the floor finish was applied and left to dry.

Using a sewing needle inserted into a piece of dowel for a handle,I put indentations on the ends of the planks to simulate the nail holes.

I brushed on a thin coat of enamel thinners over the whole surface of the wall.Using the same palette with the oil paints on it I added a few drops of Enamel thinner (the lacquer thinner will have evaporated by now)and with the small round sable brush I applied small dabs of the UN-thinned Burnt Sienna oil paint in and around the nail holes and with a Q-tip lightly remove the excess paint,then with point of the liner brush, that has been dampened with enamel thinner,pull paint out of the nail hole downward with the grain.This will give a nice effect of a rusty nail in the board as well as a nice rusty stained plank.The other colors on the palette are also dabbed over the surface and blended with a Q-tip.If a mistake is made or you don't like the effect,use a thinner dampened Q-tip to erase the error.

Let this layer dry a little and then spray it once again with the Dullcoat.

Now after installing the window and glazing I used the pastel powders here and there including the window glazing to highlight and give a dusty appearance overall.

This may sound like a lot of steps but because of the short drying time of the products used and the almost instant sealing properties of the Dullcoat,one can do the work in one sitting.It took me roughly four hours to complete this test piece.

Here is a large scale model of a gothic castle that I am building based on a design that I found on a 3D model site called Turbo Squid by an artist named Xupypr_06

I scaled the model from the rendered pictures as best I could,I suspect that it is not entirely accurate,but it will still make an imposing model.

Here are pics of the original artwork.

These are the basic tools used to layout and carve the brickwork into the 1" and 1/2" thick rigid insulation foam that the walls and buttresses of the castle are made from.

I control the heat of the 25 watt soldering iron with a 300 watt rated in- line lamp dimmer switch.

Scale drawings and templates where made and used to layout the parts.

This is one of the side walls with the carving of the bricks started.

Once the carving is completed I texture them with a rolled up ball of foil that is rolled and pressed into the foam in a random pattern.

The foam is then coated,by brush, with "Goop",a mixture of acrylic latex caulking,Wellbond glue and plaster of paris that was formulated by a fellow Canadian, "Steve the Kamloopian",Who has some great videos of materials and techniques on Youtube for wargame terrain.Thank you for posting the recipe for this stuff.

The side window frames are to be made from plaster of paris that are cast in a latex mold that I made from a pattern constructed from styrene strip and square tube.

Here are a few shots of the components that have been made so far and the parts mocked up.

The overall size of the model will be 33" long x 22" wide and 34" tall.

I have made the back wall sections and the top of the keep is nearly done

I have also have started to make the windows for the back wall.I am using the window tracery and stained glass PDF files available from Hirst Arts,a company that sell molds for casting your own bricks for use in making gaming miniature terrain and any other project that you might need thousands of bricks for.

The brickwork for the top of the tower has been completed.

Here are some in progress shots

Here is a shot of the flickering led tealight behind the stained glass window.

I made the base for the spire this evening and then put all of the parts completed so far together.

I can not believe how big this project is getting.

The piece of foam board that is behind the model is 20"X 30"

I have finished the spire,with the exception of the very top.

Not quite sure,as yet,how I will make this part.

I have finished the upper wall and roof sections.I test fitted the pieces and once trimmed should fit ok.

I did a test paint on one of the buttresses and this color palette will be used on the whole castle.

I also narrowed the base and mid section of the spire which meant having to re-do the brickwork

Here is the floor for the top of the keep and the front door.The hatch for the keep and the door will have hinges made from styrene strip and tube,rivets made from the heads of common pins.