Need some weathering advice s-100

[sithman]

Currently I am building a German Schnellboot in 72 nd scale and have mixed and sprayed the base colours.

 

I don't want to build a pristine model BUT I know these boats were  scrubbed and painted on a reglar basis and so they should not look like a complete worn out mess.

 

I allowed myself a scumline,  Brownish above the waterline and green below. I suspect that for the length of time these boats stayed in the water between maintenance even this is "over done" but onwards!

 

The dark bluish grey deck needs something I think. I was thinking of wearing the traction paint on the wood where the crew walked but as bare wood is slippery (hence the paint) it would not have gotten into a terribly worn away state!

 

  Likewise I was going to use pencil graphite at the traffic areas and handles where the crew touched! but this would only make the model look too dirty I think.

 

Standardly I would just dry brush light and wash darker and call it a day but this too I don't think would look right!

 

What would you do to detail and make the decks "pop"?

 

OR should I just finish the paint job, assemble all the deck fittings and guns and leave it all clean?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

Edited April 16, 2017 by sithman
add pic

[EJS]

Good question. I do lots of US Naval ships. I've tried to do some light weathering, but always seem to muck it up somehow, so it looks crappy. I know real life ships were not pristine, but as a US Sailor, we worked very hard to keep them looking good. Maybe I want the look to be as we wished it would look, not as it really was, but that's what I do. I remember stopping once before we transited the Elbe river up to Hamburg, just to repaint the boot top and touch up the port side paint work on the USS ESSEX. I have painted the grey hull sometimes, in panels, by adding a drop of white to the mix here and there, to get the "panelized" look that appeared when we clean up painted some areas on the hull. Aircraft modelers take great pains to get that panel to panel difference in color and shade on their models. The flight deck too, had slightly different shades on it in a patchwork effect where it had been touched up. The sun really faded the paint rather quickly, so that touch up work always was slightly darker than the untouched spots. As far as weathering, I only do some streaking / rusty stains, at scuppers, discharge pipes and other areas that water drained down the sides leaving a streak. I guess it's really a personal preference. I do like the look of a truly "clean" ship, just as it might have been at commissioning or fresh out of the yards, so I just say "this model is of the ESSEX right after coming out of Brooklyn Naval yard after her 1961 maintenance workup" or some such comment.

[sithman]

Thank you for your assistance!

 

I have decided to continue on with my very light weathering, where the scum line can't be seen unless up close to the model and I will add some darkened (very lightly) areas where the crew walks and I will incorporate that patched look for the deck as well.

 

that way the model lookks pretty clean ( as your Commanders would want it) but still adds a little visual interest to it.