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Weathering Olive Drab WW II Interactive

bob letterman

Master at Arms
Staff member
I'm not sure how I got talked into doing this, how can I refuse anything from Junior. :mpup , but lets get started.

I'll be talking about a lot of things, this has the possibility of running for some time. To begin, this is the way I have been weathering since the 70s. It certainly isn't the only way, and there are those that will believe it is old school. I happen to believe that the new techniques are barely modifications of old school systems. I have experimented with this system so many times I can't remember and only a couple of times found a reason to alter it.

New systems with new titles have been out there for some time now and I can't argue with their results. I have noticed one thing though. Many modelers, including ones I have seen on this website, can build and detail beautiful models. The rub comes in with, not the painting, but the weathering. I see guys that are working on a an above average level, but weathering on a much lower level. I think too many attempt to use techniques of the top armor modelers in the world like Mig Jeminez. Like so many other things in this world, you have to learn to walk before you run.

Mig is a friend of mine, a nice guy but, let's face it guys, Mig is a natural born artist with phenomenal artistic talent. I would bet his first model would blow you away. He is the kind of modeler who needs no classes or tips. He develops his own techniques because he is an artist with artistic skill sets that allow him to do things that would not be possible for the average modeler.

I have had the honor of being friends with many of the great artists in the modeling world, Shep Paine, Mig, Lewis Pruneau, Mike Good, Carlos Andrea, Luca Marchetti of Pegaso models, and many more. I was also a business partner with Francois Verlinden for many years, another of the modeling greats. I have been building models since 1945.

To start, I will give a list of materials that will fall into 4 categories. 1) completely flexible, substitutions no problem. 2) Totally optional items, depending on whether or not you need them. 3) Items I would strongly recommend for this system, but, if you must, you can still make substitutions, and, 4) Those items which can NOT be substituted. If you have problems, I'll help you find a place to buy them.

Category 1). A clean old T-shirt, the normal white ones.
Some Q-Tips.
Q-Tips.jpg

Some slick cardboard for pallets.
pallet-1.jpg

Some clean used bottles for liquids.
bottles.jpg



Category 2) An Optivisor, (If you are over 40 and don't have excellent eyesight, they can make a huge difference in the quality . of your work. No, I don't own stock in Optivisor.
Optivisors.jpg


Category 3) Brushes. I use Winsor-Newton Series 7 sable brushes for detailing. I use no. 1, No. 0, 00, 000, 0000, and 00000.
Yes, they are expensive, but well worth it. If you take care of them they can last for years. More on this later.
WinsorNewton.jpg


Then, for mostly dry-brushing, I use Russian sable Filberts. Again, these are expensive, but, they will improve
your dry-brushing so much, they are well worth the outlay of cash. If used and maintained properly, they will last
for years. I have both the series 7 and filberts that I have had for 30 years!
filberts.jpg

brushes-2.jpg


Category 4) These are items than CANNOT be substituted. Of course, I can't make you buy them, but, if you don't, then you
probably shouldn't bother with this because it won't turn out well unless you are a natural born artist.

Humbrol paint tins. The colors you will need are.
Matt 72. Khaki Drill.
Matt 29. Dark Earth.
Matt 33. Matt Black.
Matt 34. Matt White.
Matt 26. Matt Khaki.
Matt 60. Matt Scarlet.
Matt 155. Olive Drab.
Gloss 35. Clear.
Buffable Metallic. 27003. Polished Steel.

I also use these, but you can skip these for this tutorial if you like..

Matt 159. Khaki Drab.
Matt 179. French Artillery Green.

Next, two tubes of Artist's oils. Not the acrylic tubes. OIL. I use Winsor-Newton, but any quality artists oils will do.

Raw Umber.
Burnt Sienna. I screwed up when photographing. Burnt Sienna, NOT burnt umber.
oils-2.jpg


And finally. If you choose to omit any of these products, absolutely get this one. I can't emphasize this enough.

Artist's Rectified Turpentine.

rectified.jpg

rectified2.jpg


Believe me, I have tried every substitute imaginable. They DO NOT WORK! They WILL NOT WORK! Without artist's rectified turpentine, forget it! If you use regular turpentine, you will have an oily mess that will never dry. If you use mineral spirits or thinner, it will dry glossy if it dries at all. Please, trust me on this one. A 30 ounce can will be under $20, and will last you for years. Only available in better art stores.

The vehicle you choose to use in this build can be anything of your choice that would be painted olive drab. If you use acrylic olive drab as a base coat, then it should be hard enough in a couple of days. If you use enamel olive drab, you should wait at least two weeks. The turpentine will eat through your base coat if it hasn't hardened. I will show you how to keep that to a minimum as we go along.

Use the count me in thread to join the build. There will be a"My Project" thread to post your builds.
 
Where to find Humbrol stock? This should be posted for the uninitiated.

Regards,
 
The vehicle I will be weathering.

I will be weathering the resin kit of a Diamond T wrecker for the demo, but I will probably use other vehicles as well.

diata-1.jpg


Bob
 
Yes Saul.

Here is a link to the hobby distributors of Humbrol in America. All four are distributors but you can contact them directly and ask for a dealer in your area or on the Internet.

http://www.humbrol.com/stockists-and-distributors/?second_level_rid=107&root_rid=5&search.x=11&search.y=12&search=search

The third is the distribution arm of Squadron, you can order from their web site.

The fourth is from Steven's International. They are distributors but they can tell you where their retailers are located and how to contact them.

Also, if anyone buys from Historex Agents in England, I believe they carry them. we may have some Europeans involved in this.

Any of the items listed, I will find a place where you can buy them.

Bob
 
BoB ,

I'm lookin forward to a Peak inside the Shop of a Master !! Thanx for doin this !! While I currently don;'t have anything on th Bench that's in need of O.D. ..... The Lesson is relative .... (IMHO) techniques , etc. I remember a lil while back how you commented that you loved th Humbrol for drybrushing, I have a tin from th early 80's th Monogram/Humbrol tins, th one I still have is th GunMetal & I still use it for Drybrushing !! (y)

Keep on rockin Brotha' !! I'm lookin forward to th Next Installment

:hmmm I do have th Dragon ERSTAZ M10 ( Panther) th B.o.B. Skorzeny plot. ALthough I don't think th Jerries used O.D. ..... I think They used Their own Dark Green ??

Rock-On BoB !!! Thanx again !! I'm sittin up front & Center !


:erik
 
The vehicle I will be weathering.

gonna be nice to see how it turns out :)
I have no OD projects right now but i will sure bookmark this campaign for the future!
//Mats
 
The vehicle I will be weathering.

BoB ,

The Diamond T ..... such a Bad AZZ. It's just a mean lookin Beast !! I got to see one up close & personal at th Tank Farm( Nokesville,V.A.) !! Is that kit OOP ? I remember seein that Truck some time ago...... Lookin forward to this !!
 
The vehicle I will be weathering.

Cool looking vehicle Bob. I'm looking forward to the project as well.

Cheers, Christian B)
 
Re: The vehicle I will be weathering.

BoB ,

The Diamond T ..... such a Bad AZZ. It's just a mean lookin Beast !! I got to see one up close & personal at th Tank Farm( Nokesville,V.A.) !! Is that kit OOP ? I remember seein that Truck some time ago...... Lookin forward to this !!

Hey Erik,

Well, to begin with, it was a terrible kit, I ended up scratching a lot of the parts. See the following link.

https://www.modelersalliance.com/forum/bob-letterman/1335-logistics-the-trucks-a-jeeps-update-july-25-2011

It was a "Roy" kit. VLS carried them for a couple of years. We had so many complaints we had to drop them and then they went under shortly afterwards. I'm guessing they have been gone for maybe 8 to 10 years.

Bob
 
What shade of OD would you suggest or does it matter?

Terry B)
 
BoB ,

I'm lookin forward to a Peak inside the Shop of a Master !! Thanx for doin this !! While I currently don;'t have anything on th Bench that's in need of O.D. ..... The Lesson is relative .... (IMHO) techniques , etc. I remember a lil while back how you commented that you loved th Humbrol for drybrushing, I have a tin from th early 80's th Monogram/Humbrol tins, th one I still have is th GunMetal & I still use it for Drybrushing !! (y)

Keep on rockin Brotha' !! I'm lookin forward to th Next Installment

:hmmm I do have th Dragon ERSTAZ M10 ( Panther) th B.o.B. Skorzeny plot. ALthough I don't think th Jerries used O.D. ..... I think They used Their own Dark Green ??

Rock-On BoB !!! Thanx again !! I'm sittin up front & Center !


:erik

Erik,

I scratched one of those many years ago, long before the Dragon kit. If memory serves, when I was researching it, thee Germans used a mixture very similar to the American O.D. to paint then. They also used many captured American vehicles and the paint would have had to be similar or it would have been a dead giveaway.

Now you have no excuses for not joining in! (y) (y) (y) :yipee

Bob
 
What shade of OD would you suggest or does it matter?

Terry B)

Hey Terry,

Well, to get in early, I would suggest an acrylic paint for the basecoat. It will accept the solvents much sooner than any enamel.

Testors has a great Olive Drab. It is lighter in color than many others and the WW II O.D. was lighter in shade than later O.D. paint. It is Testors 1265 enamel Olive Drab. Testors paints match colors with their enamels and acrylics, so find the acrylic match for 1265 enamel and that would be my suggestion.

BTW, the logo M-32 B1, the icon tank for this build was painted with 1265.

Bob
 
BTW, I am locating some Internet retailers that carry Humbrol. As soon as I get some email addresses, I will post them here.

I know that Sprue Brothers do not carry Humbrol. Squadron does, CRM in St. Louis does but, I'm not sure yet if he still does mail order. There are many others, believe me. I buy all mine from CRM, he always has a great selection in stock!

There are two chains that carry the brushes and the oil paint. Michael's carry the Winsor Newton and filbert brushes and some stores carry rectified turpentine. Dick Blick art supplies, a national chain, carries everything, oils, brushes, rectified turpentine.

Bob
 
What shade of OD would you suggest or does it matter?

Terry B)

Hey Terry,

Well, to get in early, I would suggest an acrylic paint for the basecoat. It will accept the solvents much sooner than any enamel.

Testors has a great Olive Drab. It is lighter in color than many others and the WW II O.D. was lighter in shade than later O.D. paint. It is Testors 1265 enamel Olive Drab. Testors paints match colors with their enamels and acrylics, so find the acrylic match for 1265 enamel and that would be my suggestion.

BTW, the logo M-32 B1, the icon tank for this build was painted with 1265.

Bob

I think I have those paints in stock. ;)

B)
 
OK, just heard from Chris Merseal at CRM hobbies in St. Louis.

He has huge stocks of Humbrol and if you mention me, he will give a 10% discount.

Humbrol paint is $2.39 a can (Tin).

Here is his email address.

crm@inlink.com

I've known Chris for years. He is a nice guy and honest as the day is long. Completely trustworthy!

Bob
 
Cool! Maybe he needs to pack up a Bob Letterman special with the supplies you mentioned?

Well, he only has the humbrol paints. The rest have to be bought at an art store.

I told him which colors so when somebody calls, just ask for the Bob Letterman special. He would have those ready with the price and shipping.

He will have the following already bundled.

Matt 72. Khaki Drill.
Matt 29. Dark Earth.
Matt 33. Matt Black.
Matt 34. Matt White.
Matt 26. Matt Khaki.
Matt 60. Matt Scarlet.
Matt 66. Olive Drab.
Gloss 35. Clear.
Buffable Metallic. 27003. Polished Steel.

He will also know of the two optional colors.

Matt 159. Khaki Drab.
Matt 179. French Artillery Green

His phone number is 314 832 4840
His email is crm@inlink.com

He is also telling his employees about this.

He accepts all major plastic!

Bob
 
Open on Sat? that's when I'll have time to call.

Yeah, he is. I believe he opens every day at 11 AM central standard. I don't think he works on saturday, but he said he would inform his employees, so.......

Do ask for Chris if he is there.

Bob
 
This is so great.

I do have an problem or 2. The mayor one beeing that a lot of these products will be unavailable or unafordable to me here in South Africa. Will you also be giving advice on difrent options or techniques using other products? Even just an general idea will help.

I sure am hoping this will help me getting to be a better modeler and hope to be able to join in here soon.
 
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