Sponge

[David Lovell]

Have tried the sponge technique before without too gooder results ,admittedly a long time ago when it first came to light ,but watching uncle night-shift on YouTube the other day was interested in his results he himself admitting he was still finding his way with it . I think I'm struggling more trying to find the rite sort of sponge so am asking what do some of you rip up for this if it needs to come from the armchair I'll just blame the dog thanks guys your thoughts would be much appreciated. Dave

[Jack L]

Have tried the sponge technique before without too gooder results ,admittedly a long time ago when it first came to light ,but watching uncle night-shift on YouTube the other day was interested in his results he himself admitting he was still finding his way with it . I think I'm struggling more trying to find the rite sort of sponge so am asking what do some of you rip up for this if it needs to come from the armchair I'll just blame the dog thanks guys your thoughts would be much appreciated. Dave

Is this for chipping? It's a technique I like a lot. I'm at work so can't take a photo, but I have a stock of sponge from the innards of an old peli case. nice and fine, with not too much give. Almost always use 'Black Brown' and dab off the excess until it's almost dry, and build up the layers slowly. I'll see if I can find some pics of models.

[The Smythe Meister]

Hi Dave,I use those orangy/yellow doughnut shaped "artist's sponges",hey come in a group of three,
I THINK I got them from "Hobbycraft",but it was a long time ago,so I'm not sure :thinking:.
I'll try and find them......

[The Smythe Meister]

..... These....

Hobbycraft do still sell them, although this image is from Amazon....£4:99

[Jack L]

Here are probably two of the clearest examples I have of using that sort of sponge

[rickoshea52]

Like Jack, I use foam from a pelican case but also the kitchen sponges with the scourer can be repurposed after they are no longer useful for the dishes. I even use the scourer bits to create scratches on armour.

[Andy T]

I'm with you Dave, I just can't get a handle on it. I dab away and nothing, nothing, nothing, big blob of paint :smiling5:

[rtfoe]

I do it with a few torn sponges at the ready to be handled with reversed tweezers and do a few light dabs. You'll never get all your chipping in one pass and less paint on the sponge the better. The artist sponge that Andy recommends has more irregular holes which works better. I use both types, fine and the artist ones. I've yet to try real sea sponges.

Cheers,
Wabble

[David Lovell]

I'm with you Dave, I just can't get a handle on it. I dab away and nothing, nothing, nothing, big blob of paint :smiling5:

I will give it a proper go Andy just on YouTube they always seem to have the perfect sponge ,since I've been doing a few jumbo(35th) builds just thought it would be quicker/easier than doing it all with a brush wich i do with the 72nd stuff id be surprised if it scaled down to 72nd would have to be a miniscule bit of sponge ,the one piece of knowledge gained from this little question/ answer time is after looking on amazon I now know what a pelican case is but I ain't paying that just to get a piece of sponge, strangely they do sometimes appear in the skip on jobs empty of course bet I'll never see another one now. Dave

[scottie3158]

I just use the sponge from a pan scourer.

[Andy T]

Dave, I've tried everything from kitchen sponges to memory foam to natural sea sponges nicked from my lad. It seems to be more about the paint consistency and amount of unloading, but I'm still trying to find something that works well for me.

[Tim Marlow]

I tend to use makeup sponges torn up. I think the tearing is important to get a rough uneven surface. I’ve also used the relatively coarse sponge that is used to back the bubble packs my metal miniatures come in, also torn up. I’ve also found it works best if the paint is relatively thick textured, but in a shallow puddle so the sponge doesn’t take up too much paint. It’s rather like the stippling technique used in brush painting. In effect you are stippling the surface with a sponge rather than a brush. It is imperative that you dab off virtually all the paint on a piece of photocopy paper or cardboard before you use it and don’t press too hard. Difficult to explain, but once you crack it the technique is quite simple and effective.

[Scratchbuilder]

Have tried the sponge technique before without too gooder results ,admittedly a long time ago when it first came to light ,but watching uncle night-shift on YouTube the other day was interested in his results he himself admitting he was still finding his way with it . I think I'm struggling more trying to find the rite sort of sponge so am asking what do some of you rip up for this if it needs to come from the armchair I'll just blame the dog thanks guys your thoughts would be much appreciated. Dave

If your wife (or even you) uses the sponge with the course back to it, nick the sponge and tear off the rough part, then rip off a small piece, grip it in tweezers, dab it in the paint and then dab onto tissue and go to work on a scrap item untill you are happy with the result. Then hide from the wife.....

[Del640]

Kitchen scourer ripped, just right. I've just posted my Hurricane in completed aircraft all chipping etc done with this method.