Weathering over decals?

[RMP2]

Hoping for a bit of help in regard to weathering of decals.

I am all good with settling them down with decal solutions, glossing and have a little experience of washes, but what about fading out decals on a well worn/faded aircraft such as a Russian beastie?

Its for my Su-25 in Afghan camo and would like it rather faded, worn and patchy as they tended to be. Paintwork wise I am armed with an airbrush, am good with pre-shading, a bit scared of post shading but understand the principle, but how to tie in the decals with that?

A little picking away at decals once laid down makes sense to me and have a lot of photos to work with, but toning them down is my main confuddlement.

An overall light dusting of a well thinned light grey? Is it just that? I cant think what more to do with them.

Any help is much appreciated.

Rob

[RMP2]

Noone have any thoughts?

[colin]

Tend to go over mine with very thinned Tamiya smoke X-19, just dulls them enough to blend in with the surrounding colour

[Rabbit Leader]

Have you tried any of the modelling powders on the market?

IMO they work best on matt surfaces, however you may have some luck with a small amount of white powder (the modelling variety!!) to knock off that decal brillance against a faded paintwork background. Best to use small amounts and increase the dosage if required.

Good luck.. Dave.

[wyverns4]

I have found that a very dilute spray tones decals down and makes them look more in-tune with the airframe. By dilute I mean 95% thinner, 5% paint and applied in several coats to build up the desired effect. Light, dusty grays work well for most, but it is open for much experimentation dependent on the location, colour scheme and environment.

Also there are several manufactures of insignia masks, so you could spray your markings on, (for that authentic painted on look) and adjust the tone as you like.

HTH.

Christian, exiled to africa

[RMP2]

Thanks, guys. I have chalks, mesh and Tamiya smoke, so all good for experimenting there.

I didnt think of insignia masks, thats something to consider and build up to, cheers.

[kiwitrogg]

Hi De Hi

I tried 2 methods on my Buccaneer, not sure it shows up too well in the photos.

First method, I made up washes of lighter blue and lighter red using oils that I applied to some of the roundels only.

Second method, I carefully brushed on/blotted Tamiya light grey panel wash over the remaining roundels and all the other decals, much easier.

The upshot is that there was little difference in the resulting look between the 2 methods. The beauty is that being oil based over Tamiya acrylics and Kleer, if I didn't like it I could clean it off and re-apply as necessary.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235006433-buccaneer-smk2b-xw547-12-squadron-148-airfix/?hl=buccaneer

HTH

Cheers

Gaz

[Caerbannog]

I recently tried True Earth products (Light ageing I seem to recal) on a Hurricane with good results. I will take pictures and post them here if you like. You can brush it to get a streaked effect or air brush it if you want to have a more uniform ageing.

René

[RMP2]

I recently tried True Earth products (Light ageing I seem to recal) on a Hurricane with good results. I will take pictures and post them here if you like. You can brush it to get a streaked effect or air brush it if you want to have a more uniform ageing.

René

If you have photos to hand, that would be great to see.

[Caerbannog]

If you have photos to hand, that would be great to see.

I took some pictures this morning and posted them here:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234985124-1-48-airfix-hurricane-old-tool-gn-a-james-brindley-nicolson/

Thought this would be the better place as they became more than one picture.

But here is one close up of an upper roundel with True eath filter brushed over:

I opted for a fainter effect, but you can create a very worn effect by using more filter on the brush and by adding more than just one layer.

René