Eureka moment!

[Waspie]

You guys can correct me, buy looking at Tony's, (yak face) Hurricane build It suddenly hit me.
I was admiring the panel lines after he said he did a light wash. I was wondering why the effect wasn't so evident on my Sea King.
Then -[COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)] BANG.[/COLOR] I think the penny dropped.
Tony's lines were exactly that - Lines, etched or depressions in the plastic. Whereas, on my 'King' it has raised rivet lines. No wonder my lines weren't so evident.
Am I correct in my thinking. As all the wash did on my King was give a darker appearance both of the airframe and decals!!
Just trying to understand the foibles of this hobby I have returned to.

[rickoshea52]

One of the features Airfix trumpeted about their 1/48 Sea King was the prototypical skin panel joins, they’re lapped and not butt joined. Hence the reason the “panel” lines aren’t so obvious with a wash. However, any opening panels ,e.g. trans deck, engine cowls, hyd servicing panels etc will take the wash in their recessed grooves and pop.

[Guest]

As all the wash did on my King was give a darker appearance both of the airframe and decals!!

If it darkened the model all-over, then it sounds like your wash was too thick. On a model with lots of rivets, the wash should be thin enough that it gathers around those rivets, forming a shadow around them. It will then also pool inside panel lines and similar, again shading them.

[Waspie]

If it darkened the model all-over, then it sounds like your wash was too thick. On a model with lots of rivets, the wash should be thin enough that it gathers around those rivets, forming a shadow around them. It will then also pool inside panel lines and similar, again shading them.

Thanks Jakko. Didn't know it had to be thinned! It said ready to use - I believed them - doh!!!! Oh well. Lesson learned. I'll know next time.
Still, I did manage to get the dirty used appearance I was after. So, not all lost!

[Guest]

This was a pre-made wash? I’ve not used those extensively, but almost every time I have, I thinned them further because they seemed much too stark and too evenly covering straight from the bottle.

On models of armoured vehicles a good place to test the wash, to see if it’s thin enough (or too thin), is the underside of the hull, but you don’t get that luxury with aircraft, I suppose

[JR]

Thanks Jakko. Didn't know it had to be thinned! It said ready to use - I believed them - doh!!!! Oh well. Lesson learned. I'll know next time.
Still, I did manage to get the dirty used appearance I was after. So, not all lost!

Doug was it an acrylic wash, I ask because I've found they don't flow well as well as oils.

[Waspie]

Doug was it an acrylic wash, I ask because I've found they don't flow well as well as oils.

Yes John Acrylic!! Not knowledgable nor confident enough to use both yet.