The Christmas Hollibobs thread

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Merry Christmas!! I hope you have all enjoyed the break? and are now raring to get back to.... yet more New Year revellry!

Ok tonights "Friday Night thread' is moved to mid week, principally because I'm tied up the New years weekend ( wifes new hobby...)

So for our third installment I want to tackle the issue of "realism". First of all I want to hear what you think makes a model look realistic. Then I want you top tips on how to acheive this. I'm also partuclaurly want ting to hear form modellers for whom winged things are their main subject - as I passionately beleive that techniques form one genre of modelling can help with others

Now I think this is potentially a thorny one, so lets keep it on topic, and remember - one modellers 1/32 scale steak, is anothers 1/144 scale test tube of Cyanide.

I'll kick this one off with some thoughts, by no means exhaustive, but enough to get the trifle flowing!

Scale thickness is for me a very important thing in acheiving "realism". I'm aware its virtually impossible to actually do this, but I do think that thinning down anything from a RT aerial to the edge of a cockpit sill or gear door can really help. As the seat in a cockpit tends to be very visisble - thinning the seat edges can IMO make a big difference.

Easy to acheive - just thin with scalpel, files and sanding sticks

Overemphasis. Conversely from above, sometimes I find that when scratchbuilding details - making them a bit bigger helps highlight them, and gives the area a little more relaism. I guess because in small scale - you are looking for these details, so enhancing them gives your brain a hint!

What do I mean here - well, knobs on the end of levers made with PVA glue, brake lines from copper or lead wire, gunsight lenses. To make tham at scale means they dissappear a lot of the time, make them a bit bolder and they stand out more, adding to the realism.

OK theres my two openers, over to you lot.

Jonners

currently with a head cold, so anything alchoholic helps!

[Haggis]

A few don'ts with regard to painting;

Do not pre-shade.

Do not lighten the centre of each panel.

Do not put a dark wash into panel lines or, for a dark camouflage, do not put a light wash in a panel line.

Do not dry brush.

A few do's;

Do subtly post shade by tinting the base colours.

Keep things random, especially altering the tones of the base colour (see above).

Use filters to blend paintwork and decals, this will highlight the panel lines in a softer way as well.

If you're going to use pigments, use a tiny amount sparingly and blend using white spirit.

Beware the over glossy or overly matt finish. Think scale effect.

Above all, look at the real thing in reference material and try and reproduce what you see in the picture.

Just my 2p.

[Julien]

I must admit I dont like the practice of washing pannel lines with a harsh colour to make them stand out, although this does seem to be a re-occuring "fashion"

Julien

[Andrew Jones]

More do's and don'ts,

Don't do what everyone else tells you to do.

Do what you are happy with.

Or, don't slavishly follow fashions , but listen to the advice of others and pick that which suits your own taste.