You have just finished assembling your latest model car. It is a vintage 1950's era sedan but something about it just doesn't seem right. It is all new and shiny and totally out of place in the here and now. You want to make it look like it has just been dug out of the weeds after sitting in someone's yard for the past forty years or so. How can you get this sort of realism out of your model car? You could try leaving it in the dirt and dust for awhile and see what happens or you could weather it prematurely yourself. You can imagine which would be the easier route.
Weathering a model car is a rather simple process that does not require too many extra supplies. You just need to have some red and brown ink, a brush and some water. You can go ahead and paint your model car as you normally would. One thing you might want to do is to intentionally leave some spots thin. This will help the rusted areas to stand out better. Other than that you should have a nice even coating over your model car. Once your ink has time to dry you can prepare your ink "rust."
To prepare this ink you will need to mix regular ink in the color combination you want and then combine it in a 1 to 1 ratio with water. This will give you what is referred to as a wash. A wash will leave behind a light paint residue without covering up the base coat that is underneath. Make sure that you completely blend the water and ink. If the wash is separated it can cause you to have spots of thick paint over the top of your undercoat which can look very bad.
Once you have the wash prepared you are ready to apply it. Dip your paintbrush very lightly into the wash. You do not want to load your brush with the color because it can be very hard to control how much you leave behind on your vehicle. By just dipping the tip of your brush in it will allow the rest of the brush to draw some of the wash into it. Now touch your brush lightly to your model car. It should be in a spot where you want the rust to start.
Draw your brush away from this point which will make it appear that the rust is radiating from the area. It can make the difference between it looking real and it looking like a poor attempt at painting fake rust. Once you have applied your wash in this manner give it time to dry. The length of time it takes to dry will depend on how much color you have applied.
If you want to make the rust stand out even more then you can repeat the previous steps. Each time you do this it will add a layer to the model car that it did not have before making it look older and older. The more you add the more weathered it will appear. Make sure to mix different washes each time. Rust is not uniform in color so neither should your wash. With a bit of practice you will be creating vintage model cars in no time at all.
Maybe you have just decided to try building your first model car. Maybe your loved one decided it was something you might enjoy doing. Either way, you are about to begin a voyage into a much loved hobby that is enjoyed in many countries across the world. Model building can be very rewarding and can also be a great stress reliever. One thing you will need to know before you begin is the proper method to assembling a quality model car.
The only thing you need to get started are your model, some model adhesive, and a toothpick. It is also handy if you have a small hobby clamp to hold small parts together as the adhesive dries. While it might not take long to do so the parts can sometimes slide allowing the parts to slip apart. Something else that can come in very handy is alcohol wipes and a drop cloth. The drop cloth will catch any drips that happen to come from the gluing process and the alcohol wipes can help to clean up any glue that goes astray.
The first place to start is by identifying the first parts you need to assemble. Go ahead and carefully remove these pieces from their plastic frame. You may notice some extra bits of plastic that are left over from the manufacturing process. These pieces of plastic are known as flashing. It is okay to go ahead and carefully cut them away from the parts as well. Once you have done this you can try a dry fit. A dry fit is when you hold two parts together and see how they will match up before you glue them in place. If the fit is good then you are ready to proceed.
Place just a small amount of the adhesive onto your toothpick. You will then take the toothpick and use it to place a small amount of adhesive on the parts to be attached. The reason you use the toothpick is to prevent making a mess by applying too much adhesive to the parts that are being joined. Once you have done this you can place the parts together. If you have a clamp and are able to use it on these parts then you can feel free to clamp them lightly. After you have attached the parts together you should then set them aside and let them dry for a few hours to ensure that the adhesive has time to set up.
There are a couple of points that you will want to remember. Treat your adhesive right. By making sure that the top is replaced properly each time you will be able to get several models out of one tube. Improvise if you don't have any hobby clamps. A rubber band, or paper clip may work just as well. If you are working with chrome plated or painted parts you should make sure and remove the bit that will be in contact with the glue. It can cause the parts to not fit as well if it is left on. Above all, do not worry overly much. Model building can be very fun if you allow it.
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