In the blog post, we are going to paint the Addams Ave III N scale building we assembled in the 1st post. Here is where we are going to choose a color, discuss the type of paints used, prep the model for paint and choose the finish.
Prepping the model before paint, Downtown Deco says to use a flat white acrylic spray paint and coat the whole model before painting the model. It is a good technque but I don't like to do it. Why you say? Because I like the way the coats of paint "shade" light and dark on the building when dried. By the paint drying this way, it makes the brick look like real style old "Fire Brick" used in making building in the late 1800's to the early 1900's. Priming the model prior gives a more solid brick look. But either way is correct.
First the paints. Every type of casting material used on models have a type of paint best for it. Being that our model is made out of Hydrocal, a plaster like material. Acrylic paints work the best. The acrylic paints you can buy at Arts & Craft stores like A.C. Moore & Michael's are by far cheaper and more plentiful than those obtained at a hobby shop. They very inexpensive compaired to model acrylics. Average 88 cents each for a 2oz bottle (sometimes two for a buck!) while a bottle of 1/2oz of Polly S hobby acrylics average $3.75 each ! Also the variety of colors is almost endless ! At our local A.C. Moore, there are over 800 colors of the spectrum available there.
So now you can choose the color you want to use. This is your perference. The box shows the model in a brown type of brick. For mine I wanted it redder like a building I see all the time in Passaic, NJ that is close to the design of the model we are building. So I chose a Red Iron Oxide Red for all the brick. Using a nice soft brush, I begin to paint the brick on the model. When painting, I like using long horizontal strokes so the paint doesn't blotch up on the end you start at. That can happen when painting Hydrocal models, Also remember to paint the knee wall along the inside top of the model. You just have to paint about 3/4" from the inside tops down to give the roofline color. As well you should paint any chimneys supplied with your kit with your brick color (See Photo Below).
If you look close at the model here. There is a stone front bar in the front and on the right & back of the building, the brick has broken off and the stone behind it is exposed. For this I used a medium beige called "Linen" to paint as the base of the stones. I also used it for the concrete trim on the model. (See Photo Below)
In the photo below, you can see what I mean about how the brick colors with the paint without priming it first. The brick has a multi-tone red just like old fire brick. The darkness of the red depends on how many coats of the paint you apply (See Photo Below).
Now we are going to paint the stones on the building. You are probably thinking "OMG, I can't do this !" but it really easy because you DON"T have to be perfect. First thing to do it to pick out 3 or 4 colors for the stones. You should pick out neutral & natural colors (Lt & Dk Browns, Greys, Beiges, Medium & Soft Reds, etc) for the stones so it keeps a real prototypical look (See Photo Below).
Now for painting, use a nice soft, thin artist bursh. Chose one of the colors and begin to paint the stone choosing them at random to give a scattered effect. DON"T WORRY ABOUT BEING PERFECT ! That is why we painted the linen color for the base of the stones. After you painted enough stones in the first color to your liking, clean the bursh and move on to the next color. Then do the same until you used all the colors you picked and are happy with it (That is the important part). The excess beige will darken as will some of the other colors when we do a "mortar wash" later in this project. At this time too would be a great time to paint the front of the left storefront. It was casted to look like a "Tile Front" style entrance & can be painted solid. I chose a dark teal color for my project building here but you can choose whatever color you like (See Photo Below).
Now while the stones are drying is a great time to paint the windows and doors. The ones that came with the Addams Ave III kit are made of laser-cut basswood veneer. QUICK NOTE: With this kit in N Scale you are always short 1 window. I have told the maker 7 times already & they never fix this problem. So I made a board from the scrap to make a boarded up window on the top side window & it was easily fixed :) .
So in painting these pieces, you can use either the same type acrylics we are using OR you can use "Paint Pens" or even colored "Sharpies" to color the windows and doors. The paint pens you can get at the same Arts & Craft stores that sell the bottled acrylics. They cost about $2 each. Sharpies you can get at any office supply store or even at dollar stores. Dollar stores have a "Bootleg" sharpie they sell with about 15 colors in a pack for a buck. Believe it or not, I bought a set of these 4 years ago and with all the use I give them, they still are going strong !
To begin, I take the hobby knife & very carefully cut them from the wood sprues. A CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH TO BE VERY CAREFUL IN CUTTING AND HANDLING THESE PIECES, THEY ARE VERY FRAGILE ! I then remove the flash on the pieces with a fine emery board. Then on a piece of cardstock or a paper plate, I place a piece of painter's tape on it glue side up and place my trimmed parts on it so it holds still for painting. (See Photo Below).
Now after you have all your windows and doors cut out and flash trimmed off, we can paint them. I use the paint pens because of ease and finish. Acrylics can be use but the best way to use them on these wood parts is the "Dry-Brush" technque that will be explained when we paint on the billboard after I finish painting these parts here (See Photo Below).
On the doors I used a Silver Sharpie to give it a brushed aluminum effect. These are great to get metallic effect to models when metallic look paints are a bit too runny to use (See Photo Below).
Now we set the parts aside to dry and move back to the main model. Now we are going to paint on the wall billboard that is shown on the kit's box photo. Oh boy ! I hear all those grunts and sighs out there, well fear not again ! You really don't know how easy this is ! And for those who don't know how to do dry brushing, well you are going to learn now and see it is a snap to do ! (See Photo Below).
With the kit they supplied a laser cut label template for the lettering. You can make your own template if you like in MS Word or any word processor. I use the exact size of the label to paint the black background on the wall. I mask out the are to the size of the template with painter's tape. Better to use painter's tape because it doesn't harm the other painted finishes to the building. (See Photo Below).
Next we are going to dry blush the black background on the wall. OHHH STOP YOUR MOANING ! It is really easy. First get a paper plate or a piece of cardboard you can use as a palate. Put a couple of drops black acrylic paint on the palate. Next take a stiff brush (Doesn't have to be new, you can use an old beat up bursh if you have) and dab it in the paint. Next take the brush and swirl in on the palate taking the excess off until you have a nice light covering of black paint on the bristles. It might take a bit more pressure than painting with a freshly dipped paintbrush. In fact it will look almost like the paint it dry on it. Then brush it on the surface you masked out. You will see it coats very lightly which we want. You also will notice that some of the red brick shows, PERFECT ! This will give the effect of fading & chipping paint from years of exposure. Continue the method until the masked out area is covered with the black to your liking. Lighter will make it look more worn and darker will make it look newer. (See Photo Below).
After the black paint dries which only takes about 20 minute, carefully remove the painter's tape to reveal the painted area. You will see the red coming though the black which is a great effect (See Photo Below).
Now we are ready for the lettering. So remove the letters from the laser cut label or from the stencil you made. This can take a bit of time even with the precut stencil too. And remember to save the center pieces of the "A's", "P's", "O's" & "R"s". You will need to place them inside their respected letters after the label is placed on the model. When the label is cut out, peel the backing and apply to the black background on the model. If you are using a homemade paper template with no adhesive back, tape it down with painter's tape. Now replace the insides of the "A's", "P's", "O's" & "R"s". On homemade stencils, use Elmer's Tacky glue to adhere the pieces to the model. This will left no gluey marks when removed later on (See Photo Below).
Now we are ready to dry brush paint again. Like we did the black background before, this time we will do the same with white paint. So get a disposible palate again and add a few drops of whie acrylic paint to it. Swril it around to take off the excess. You even might had it a bit drier this time because white paint in real life fades, cracks and peels faster than most other colors do, more so with northeast exposure with prototypes. Dab the brush onto the letter cutout and paint like this to your liking (See Photo Below).
After it dries again (20 minutes should do it but check before proceeding) we can remove the stencil. Carefully peel the label off the building or tape if you made a homemade one. Remove the center pieces of the letters "A's", "P's", "O's" & "R"s" too at this time. If the label or the tape removed at part of the painted surface from before, now is good time to touch it up (See Photo Below).
And there you go ! Now you should set it aside so all the paints have some time to dry and set up. Usually about 2 hours it will be ready to handle so we can seal it (See Photo Below).
Well there you have the first painting steps of the model build. The next install we will put the first seal on, then add the mortar lines, add a few waterslide decals on and then the final dull coat.. Sounds like a lot but it really isn't.
Well that is all for now. This afternoon I am finishing up some items for Christmas and relaxing a bit. So I hope this is helping you along here and any questions or comments you can place below.
Have a great day everyone :)
Mark
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