Chapter #4 - Simple Superdetailing

[sydeem]

That Is Really Beautiful!

[hot ford coupe]

The "How To" :

[B][U]The Wash[/U][/B]

The big problem with this technique is not to overdo it. Remember that with washes , less is more and that if you overdo it, it's worse than if you didn't do it at all. You can use lacquer , enamel , oils, acrylic , water colors and even chalk. My own personal preference is to use water colors because they clean up easy with water and can be easily removed if I mak a mistake. They also can be adjusted after they dry to remove unwanted layers. Acrylic is a bit more difficult because once it has a chance to dry, it becomes insoluble in water and you can't remove booboos so easily. The same holds true with lacquer and enamel . I usually start with an 8:1 mixture of water to paint. I mix that with a small brushful or two of dishwashing liquid to reduce the surface tension or ele the wash will bead up. I then apply a small bit and lit it run into the deepest portion of my part. Depending how strong the effect is, I ether add paint or water until the mix looks about right. Then, I go to work. After the paint dries, you'll see a telltale "dry Line" that looks out of place.



You simply remove the line with a damp piece of paper towel rolled up into a point leaving the deeper wash in place.

[B][U]Dry Brushing[/U][/B]

This technique can be used when you want to highlight a part or simulate wear, dirt, grease and paint chipping on parts. Using a metallic paint, load your brush and wipe off most of the paint on a paper towel. Then rub the brush over the area you want worn until you get what you want. this wlll take some practice so don't worry if it doesn't come out the first time. For chips, don't remove as much paint and dab the area so you get a small jagged chip.



An offshoot of dry brushing is dry misting. The difference is that dry misting uses the rattle cans instead of the brush. I used this technique for the exhaust manifolds for the Pontiac engine. I first sprayed the whole piece iwth Tamiya white primer , After that was dry, I masked off the pipe and sprayed the manifold with Modelmaster's buffing gun metal in the usual way. After that, I misted the surface with gun metal with the can about 2 1/2 feet from the part giving it a grainy, cast metal texture. I call it dry misting because the mist is almost dry when it hits the part. After that was dry, I misted the surface with Modelmaster's buffing magnesium with the can also about 2 1/2 feet from the part but with a lighter mist so I get the grainy mist just on the highest spots and not in the recesses. The result looks like a wash but in reverse like a highlight. For added detail, I'll dry brush some stainless steel over the very high spots like the bolts. I also lightly buff the hig spots. Remember not to overdo this.



Here's a closer view.




[B][U]Brand lLabels and Metal Plates[/U][/B]

For this technique, you need a computer program that will resize a scanned label down to size. I won't go into that now because each resizing program has its own protocol. I first print out the labels on thin paper, cut them out and stick then on with white glue. I'll then spray the part or brush on a little clear coat to make the label look painted on. Check out Mario Lucchini's gallery and look at his engine. This is what things should look like. Also, Syd Deem has graciously printed up a set of labels for us in one of the posts.

[U][B]Additional Engine Wiring[/B][/U]

Preparation for adding this kind of detail is usually done before the parts are completely painted with final details being added afterward. The tools you'll need are a pin vise with small twist drills, some thin wire hopefully in scale for the job, come CA adhesive, possibly some thin styrene rod both round and hexagonal and some really good research pictures of how things are wired up. The key to this is not the technique itself but knowing where the wires go.
After a part has been prepared, locat the spots where the wires will be placed. Choose a twist drill about the diameter of the wire and carefully drill your holes. Finish painting the parts and carefully clean out the holes. With a little CA at the tip of the wire, insert it into the hole and you're done. Sometimes a wire will exit a 1:1 part with a plastic collar around it. First, glue a small slice of styrene rod a bit bigger than the wire to your part, drill your hole, paint the part and insert wire. You may also need to add a terminal to that part. That's done by adding a lsice of hex rod to simulate the nut and a piece of round rod to simulate the bolt. Drill your hole and go from there.

[B][U]Color Variation[/U][/B]

Our final technique really adds a lot of interest for the eye to pick up. As you can see from my engine, what used to be the chrome parts, althoug still bare metal are painted in defferent shades of Modelmaster's buffing metalizers.



The rocker covers and intake are aluminum plate and polished over a bit with SNJ polishing powders, the carbs are stainless steel with just the highlights polished, the valley coner is magnesium and the exhaust manifold is gun metal. I decided to leave some parts still in chrom because the parts really weren't too bad. I repaired the cut areas where the sprue was removed with a bit of BMF , not the ultra chrome but the regular type. You may need some magnification to get these pieces down. You can also use the BMF in other areas to dress up your engine.



Hopefully, this tutorial has helped to increase your understanding of some of the simple optical "tricks" to add realism and interest to your build. Later on, we'll do more detailing as we progress through the rest of the build.

Next tutorial will be the body and opening the doors and trunk. l:

[hot ford coupe]

Thanks Syd. Looks like you got the comment in just before I finished the second part.

[Mike1981]

Great stuff Jeff, ive learnt alot from this latest chapter and the previous chapters have reinforced what i already know, its never too late to learn something newl:

[robjos32]

Thanks again for this tutorial, your engine looks beautiful. As usual I eagerly await the next installment of this build. I cannot wait to start on my version of this build.

[hot ford coupe]

I'm glad you guys are getting out of these tutorials what I intended. They're meant to teach beginners the basics and refresh the minds of the more experienced. I know that going through this myself, I've reminded myself of countless things I've forgotten from my younger modeling days, and learned to see and deal with what I never could before. When I was a kid just starting in superdetailing, no one really taught the basics. It was usually the advanced stuff that you found in the magazines and many of us had to shovel through a lot of stuff and spend a lot of cash on supposed junk we couldn't make work only because there was no one around to show us the basics to make them work. There were never any good builders in the neighborhood to learn from and the guy who ran the local hobby shop was a miserable old fart (about as old as I am now, hee hee) who only sold the models and never built any. Besides, he used to have a nasty flatulence problem especially if he wanted you out of the store. Many other "expert" builders and hobby shop owners were kind of arrogant and rude and wanted to keep their techniques secret. I've always wanted to change that kind of thing so modelers didn't have to struggle blindly anymore to learn what to do to get really good results. It makes the hobby so much more enjoyable and so much less frustrating. It's a way to give back. So thanks all you guys for the kind words. Fortunately, we're not done yet and there's a lot more to learn.

[j_nigrelli]

this is great!

any chance of divulging the url of this "Syd Deem has graciously printed up a set of labels for us in one of the posts. "

thanks for the work of putting this all together.

[sydeem]

Check my gallery. If anyone wants different sizes and does not have a graphics program let me know.

[hot ford coupe]

Thanks Syd. I don't want that great set of labels to get lost.