Thanks guys! I must admit, this is the bit I enjoy most.
ya33a, the simulated fabric is real fabric, painted to look like metal, then weathered to look like faded fabric....confused?
How it was done....
1, Marked out all panel lines using a soft pencil (keep it very light!). Mask off the fabric areas and spray with a thinned mix of Testors Dust and Grime. These are railroad weathering colors and come in all sorts of weird shades. Try not to spray the panels evenly. Spray around the edges and not the center of each panel - the overspray will coat the center and give you a nicely graduated effect. NOTE: Use very light coats sprayed at a distance. You should barely be able to tell color has been applied untill you peel off a bit of masking. I feel my panels are too heavily done. Would have liked them more subtle but I hadent thinned the paint enough.... oh well.
2, Using a 000 paint brush and bright silver paint (I use all enamels for weathering as they are weatherproof once dry) pick out all the panel line edges and paint every chip and scratch. Not as bad as it sounds! There is a trick to doing this. I will post a vid if you want when I do the underside. Let me know. Chipping is done with the sponge.
3, Rivets are added with a piece of tube dipped in paint. I put the paint on a piece of sponge first to make a "stamp pad" for the paint. This stops getting too much paint on the tube.
4, Airbrush all the panel lines with a very thinned down mix of testors Grime and Rust. Should be just on the brown side of grey. Set your brush to a fairly fine spray and take it slowly. Use this mix to add a few dirt streaks from panel lines/hatches/leading edges etc back in the direction of the airflow.
5, Darker streaking and general dirt is done the same way but with Testors Engine Black. These paints come spray ready but I always thin 50/50 otherwise its too easy to be heavy handed with the color. You want a fine shadow effect not a pin stripe.
6, Any chips/scratches that are too bright, hit them with the black on a very fine setting. I use a single action airbrush as I suck at using my good dual action brush - I could never get the hang of it! [X(]
I think thats about it. As I said, if you want I will try doing a vid when I do the underside. You'll just have to put up with my shocking Kiwi accent!
