Pre Shading

[Guest]

Laurie, all these techniques are just an artistic endeavour to make a scale model appear like the real thing. Which techniques and how they are used is very subjective

Aware of that Steve. Just that the scale thing suddenly appeared in the above texts from no where with out a point of reference. That is did it refer to the scale of the model or the supposed artistic techniques to bring reality look to a scale model.


Laurie

[Guest]

When I think about it all I do not even think of the scale look. Read about it even written probably a lot of rubbish. But I realise that it does not enter my thoughts. I am just, to bore as mentioned before, interested in what it looks like on the shelf incorporating all that I see on a real aircraft in a situation that it is operating.


Cannot say that I think this must be a lighter colour for scale. I think does it look right and how does that fit with the chosen setting of the real aircraft. I feel that if you can get that right then it will look right ie incorporate what you see. On the Merlin below I studied many photos to get the actual look and never thought of its scale just the main and minute detail. Neither have i added shading that I have not seen on any real Merlin.It seems to me if you can get that then the model becomes alive in its own right. The artistic bit , I think, comes in how well you handle the technique.


A further thought. If you pose your model on a plain background it is always going to look like a model. If you pose it in a scene you stand a chance. With a background the model is placed in perspective a naturally. A natural 'trompe l'oeil' not a contrived one. Think the photos below show the perspective given by the background.


Just to say the panels are not panel line marking. There are rivet lines on either side of the panels which collected dust. Not as good as I had hoped for as my technique needs more thought despite the hours of practice. Tut.


Those are my thoughts not meant to be argued about but to show my way and thoughts.


Laurie


[ATTACH]108904.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]108905.IPB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]108906.IPB[/ATTACH]

[Dave W]

I've worked on aircraft for getting on forty years. And I'm undecided if preshading gives a realistic finish or not.I started in the military.But these days I work on civil airliners.Except for really old stuff I wouldn't pre shade an airliner as I think it would be totally unrealistic.Older military aircraft with Matt paint finishes probably would look realistic though.See the Phantom in the attached pic taken in 1976.the areas around the edges of access panels and skin sections are definitely darker than the rest of the airframe.[ATTACH]108926.IPB[/ATTACH]

Im the fresh faced youth second from left!.

[stona]

We're getting a bit confused between shading or modulating the colour, usually relative to panel lines, and the sort of washes that run into panel lines and other detail to emphasise that. Both are valid techniques in the model builder's effort to fool us into thinking we are looking at something rather larger than we actually are.


Panel lines are often joins of one sort or another between the various skins of an air frame and not just lines of rivets where the skins are attached to frames, stringers or other formers beneath. There are various ways that the panels might be joined but probably due to the need to build quickly most WW2 aircraft had butt joints, lap joints or a combination of both between skins. Some designs formed the edge of the skins to form joggled joints, as in most Messerschmitt fuselages. Whatever the system used these are joins between different skins, what we tend to call panel lines. Everything else, as Laurie said, is just lines of rivets attaching the skins to the underlying structure.


Cheers


Steve

[Guest]

We're getting a bit confused between shading or modulating the colour, usually relative to panel lines, and the sort of washes

Cannot say that I am confused Steve I am just not wedded to convention. I look at what I want to achieve then go about it with out thinking modulation and shading etc.They may form part of the answer but are subjugated to slave not master. I certainly do not want to get stuck in a conventional way of carrying out things as in jigsaw fashion. I see one of the problems of model making as the sectionalizing of finishing a model.


I just love at the finishing stages after construction to think about how I am going to finish this creature. I take a lot of time and experimentation to achieve this. I have never thought in sections panel lines modulation shading I just try and visualize, with the help of reality, what I want as a finished object then go from there. I will adjust all the time and go back a step if things have not worked out. But never go for this is the next recognised step as that is when the artistic side jumps out of the window and stereo type takes its big seat. My view !


I like silver ware it is of extraordinary beauty and also diverse with the way the silversmith has crafted his piece. Take a silver jug. It can be plain as a pike staff. It can have a decorated handle. A rim with simple decoration the rest simple. Or perhaps totally covered in recessed decoration. Take your pick. What ever you like go for it.


Laurie