Part Deux: You Don't Have To Be Van Gogh To Paint A Model Building

I see your back !  Welcome to Part Deux of the painting process. It part is going to be easier. In between the coating, mortar washing and finishing we are going to install a few waterslide decals too. This way it looks like they were painted on the model before we put the final dull coat on it.

So why don't we begin, OK?

By now, your model should have dried up nicely. So the next step is the overcoat before we apply the mortar wash. This we spray on. I use Krylon Acrylic Clear Sprays available at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, A.C. Moore, Michael's, Pearl Artist Supply and most smaller hardware stores. The big box hardware stores (Home Depot & Lowe's) don't carry Krylon. Why? Ask them.

These sprays are acrylic and dry so you can use in about 15 minutes. Great for projects like this. It comes in 4 main flavors: Gloss, Satin, Matte & Flat. For this project, we are going to use satin first for the overcoat then a flat for a final dull finish. At Wal & K Marts, then run about 4 bucks a can.

First we use the satin finish. The satin is a glossy finish without the real high luster of true gloss finish.  By coating the model in this finish, it allows the mortar coat flow on the the brick without soaking into it. It will leave "Mortar Lines" between the bricks while adding a slight weathered look to it. The color depends on the look you want. For this building I am doing I am going to use a darker grey acrylic paint. For doing this you will need your paint, a medium brush and a few paper towels. So here we go.........

First spray the model with a nice even coat of the Krylon Satin Clear Acrylic. Made sure the model is evenly coated and spray from a 12" to 16" distance so you get no runs in it.  After you spray the piece, set it aside to dry for 20 minutes. That is all the time you need it to dry under normal conditions. After that, then it time to put the mortar on.

Dab your brush in the grey paint and brush it on the brick both horizontal & vertical. After you coated the area you are working in, take you paper towel and wipe at a 45 degree angle. The amount of pressure you apply gives you the effect you want either light or dark. And the 45 degree angle keeps the paint inside the mortar joints from wiping away. Apply this to the stonework on the model too. This will fill the joints between the stones also. And remember to apply lightly to the concrete trim and inside the knee walls on the roof too. After this is done, you will be amazed with the results (See photo below).

The only part I didn't do this too is the front of the tile store front. This is to have some luster because it is suppose to be porcelain tile so I left it. Then I re-spray a light coat of clear satin back on the model and let it dry. I do this for two reasons. One is for when I am handling it, the mortar coat doesn't wear off from my hands and two I am going to apply a few waterslide decals on & it is better on a glossier finish than a flat finish (See photos below).

Here now we take a break from the painting. This part isn't necessary but I like adding it to the building. We are going to install both waterslide & dry-transfer decals to the model. There are many sources of decals out there for the hobby. My favorites besides making them myself (That will be a whole other blog entry one day) are ones from Microscale & Walthers for waterslide and Clover House & Woodland Scenics for dry transfer. We will be using both types of decals in this project (See photo below).

First we will use the dry transfer type. These are exactly that, DRY. You use no water applying them. You can apply them using a burnishing tool (Available at your hobby, ceramic supply or arts & crafts store) or a regular #2 pencil. The one downfall using these are most of them are very brightly colored. So you have to darken them towards the end of the project when you overall weather the model.  The first step is the place the transfer decal you want to use and place it above the location when you want to apply it. We are applying the "ROOMS" decal to the front of the Palace (See photo below).

Next take your burnishing tool or pencil (I am using a pencil BECAUSE I can't find my burnishing tool at the moment LOL) and with a little pressure rub the decal totally over the area. (See photo below).

After doing the step above, slowly take the decal sheet off. If it starts to "pull" the decal to the transfer paper, re-rub the part of the decal that is sticking to the paper until it loosens. (See photo below).

Afterwards you will have a nicely applied dry transfer decal on your model. This is on a smooth surface but if you are applying it to the brick. Place the backing paper on the decal (The onion-skin type paper with the decals) & re-rub it gently to get the relief of the brick on the decal. We will weather these decals later in the project (See photo below).

Now onto the waterslide decals. These are a bit more tricky to do. No, we aren't going to apply them the way we use to install them on the model kits we use to build from Mae & Ollie's or Dashie's (Only the people I grew up with would know that last line. They were corner candy stores that sold model kits when I was growing up). We are going to install them properly so they will look weathered and the relief of the brick shows in them so they look like they were painted on.

First we are going to "pre-weather" the decals I picked out. Using regular pencil and ink erasers, we rub them on the decals so it gives them a faded look. You don't have to apply much pressure on newer fresh decals. It might take a bit more pressure on older ones. But just be careful not too erase through them of to tear them. The ones we are doing are the three that say "Worthington Hotel" in the photo below.

I put a photo next comparing the erased decals to the non-touched decals. You can see the difference and it looks great once applied (See photo below).

Now it is time to apply them. You need a small bowl of tap water enough to hold the decal you are doing, paper towels or napkins, tweezers and a bottle of decal setting solution. There are many brands out there for Microscale, Walthers, Floquil & Testors. I use Solvaset mostly but is tricky to work with because it is more aggressive in softening the decals. For beginners I would suggest Testors Decal Setting Solution or Microscale's Micro-Sol. These work just as good but give you more time you can move the decal before it starts to work. But being less aggressive, you might have to apply a few coats to get the full effect. Available at hobby stores or for the Testors anyplace that sells there hobby paints like Wal-Mart, A.C. Moore, etc.

OK, now that I said all that, lets cut out the decal and place it in the bowl of water for about 30 seconds. Note that some decals with thicker film might take a bit longer. Some thicker and older decals I actually have to leave in for over 5 minutes sometimes ! How you tell is after to take it out of the water, wait at least another minute to 1-1/2 minutes before you try to slide it.  If it doesn't slide easily, put it back into the water for another minute or so until it slides with ease. NEVER TRY TO FORCE THE DECAL OFF THE BACKING PAPER BECAUSE YOU CAN DAMAGE IT AND RENDER IT USELESS (See photo below).

Then when it slides easily, place the decal in the spot you want it. When set press the decal with a paper towel or napkin to take up the excess water and hold firmly to the model (See photo below).

Decals can be purchased to the scale you are working in but that doesn't mean that decals in other scales can't work either.  I wanted a billboard look for the left side wall of the model so in this case I used an HO scale decal for a radio station. It doesn't look awkward and when it place and slightly weathered, it will look and stand out nicely (See photo below).

Now it is time to set the decals so them actually become part of the surface of the model. For this we use the decal setting solution I talked about a few photos back. We will use this on all the waterslide decals on the model and not the dry-transfer one because it can harm them (See photo below).

Apply the solution generously to all the waterslide decals on the model with a soft brush. Give them a good soaking so it works into the decal to soften the film. After you apply the solution, DO NOT TOUCH THE DECAL FOR ANY REASON !  Because if gets really soft and you can damage the decal that it can't be moved or repaired (See photo below).

While it is drying, you will notice wrinkles, air bubbles and even the decal movign a bit.  This is normal to happen. The wrinkles and bubbles are from the solution forcing the air out from between the decal and model. After it dries (check bottle of the solution you are using for dryng times) you will see that the decal formed itself around the mortar lines and all the relief on the model's walls. Now it looks like it was painted on the building.  If for some reason you still have an air bubble or two on the decal after it dries. Take a hobby knife and prick a little hole in the bubble and apply so small dab of the solution again. This will take care of that problem (See photo below).

Now what?  Oh Yeah !!! The final overcoat, that means we are almost done now with the painting !! WOO WHO ! The final overcoat we give it a flat dull finish using the Krylon Crystal Clear Flat Acrylic spray. Apply the spray just like you applied the satin finish prior. After the first coat, see how the finah looks. It just might need a light second spray to get the correct dull finish (See photo below).

There you go ! See and you thought it was going to be hard. That should do it for the painting for the most part.

The next step we are going to to is install some outside lighting to the model using 3mm clear LEDs. On a Hydrocal model structure, it is a bit of a task but once again not hard at all so that the novice can do it. Once again, it is an optional step but it enhances the model so much

Well until the next blog post, have a great day everyone !

Mark