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Weathering Model Aircraft

by David W. Aungst
Philosophy
My motto is simulate, not duplicate. You can duplicate sun fading by placing your model in the sun for a couple years, but who wants to take that much time? You can simulate the same effect with some careful mixing and lightening of the paints. Weathering requires you to simulate the passage of time, perhaps years, all in the time you spend building the model, which could be as short as a week or two.



The effects of scale can not be ignored. I am not looking to get into a discussion of "scale effecting" paint colors, although I do. What I do want to point out is that a model is substantially smaller than the subject it represents. What needs to be considered is that modelers are using one-to-one scale paints and coatings to simulate what those coatings on the real subject would look like if someone were to shrink the subject down to the appropriate scale. Such a shrinking would include the paint and dirt and everything, not just the simple size of the subject.

Take for example the powder burn stains around guns. These are formed by tiny particles of unburned gunpowder "dusting" the surface around the gun as well as some actual burning of the paint. Viewed in detail on the real subject, these are course and grainy. If a modeler were to precisely duplicate that finish on a 1/48th scale model, it wouldn't look right as the grains would be way too big. It is important to remember the scale reduction of the powder grains when applying the stains on a scale model. The same is true for fluid leaks, shoe scuff marks, paint chipping, etc.

About the Author

About David W. Aungst (DWAungst)


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