Saturday 28 November 2009
Small fleet step by step: painting the bow
Before I can comfortably glue the ships to their base, I need to paint the bow and quarters with a total freedom of movement. I started with the bow of the ships. The work is not really complicated since there is not much detail to be seen. I just painted the whole area Chaos Black and then painted over the delicate woodwork with the same colour used on the hull.
Saturday 21 November 2009
Small fleet step by step: the sides of the hull
Time has come to paint the main colour theme of the ships. I chose a traditional Nelson checkered pattern for the English, even though the moulding of the hulls does not show any gun port lid. There should then be an ochre stripe at the gun deck level. For the French, I chose a red theme, a bit like the Acheron as seen in Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World.
The steps are straightforward: a base coat of ochre is followed by a dark wash (Chaos Black diluted in water). When the wash has dried, I highlight the stripe with the same ochre. The black stripes are Chaos Black highlighted with a dark mix of Chaos Black and Skull White brushed on the whales and channels. This highlight adds some depth to the models, as the black stripes would just look flat otherwise. It is just a pity that the effect is not more visible on the pictures.
The same process is repeated on the French hulls. The ochre is replaced by Terracota.
The steps are straightforward: a base coat of ochre is followed by a dark wash (Chaos Black diluted in water). When the wash has dried, I highlight the stripe with the same ochre. The black stripes are Chaos Black highlighted with a dark mix of Chaos Black and Skull White brushed on the whales and channels. This highlight adds some depth to the models, as the black stripes would just look flat otherwise. It is just a pity that the effect is not more visible on the pictures.
The same process is repeated on the French hulls. The ochre is replaced by Terracota.
Sunday 8 November 2009
Small fleet step by step: painting the deck
Since all seems ready to be painted, there is not a moment to lose. Of the different stages of making a 1/1200 ship, painting it is probably the easiest but also something that requires some research and organisation in order to be well done. For example, it could be useful to find out what differences there are between the paint schemes of various nationalities and how to reflect them on such small models. However there is no point in trying to stick to details that are not moulded. The main goal of those ships is for them to be different enough on a table to add some flavour to the game in progress.
The following pictures show the two different models, with the English ship at the top and the French ship at the bottom.
The first and foremost step is to spray some primer on the ships. I am using the same Tamiya primer as for the plastic models. I always fear to find one day that acrylic paint fall from the pewter models, so some binding agent can do no harm. As always with primer, the target is to cover the part without clogging the details.
I will then apply the colours by starting by the inner surfaces, meaning that I will paint the outer side of the hull at the end only. That allows me to manipulate the models between my fingers at will. I am starting with the deck, painted in Bleached Bone (left pic.), then washed with diluted black paint (middle pic.). Once the wash is dry, I highlight the planking with Bleached Bone again (right pic.).
The next step is to paint the details on the deck, such as guns, gun carriages, bits, gratings and stairs. I do not apply a darker wash and just highlight with a lighter shade of the colour. All the wooden parts are painted Scorched Brown (left pic.) and highlighted with Vermin Brown or Snakebite Leather (right pic.). The right picture also shows the guns and carriages. I opted for a traditional ochre (Andrea Color 15) for the English ship and Terracota for the French ships. Terracota will also be the color of the hull, and I chose to have it on the inside planking of the hull on the quarter deck.
The following pictures show the two different models, with the English ship at the top and the French ship at the bottom.
The first and foremost step is to spray some primer on the ships. I am using the same Tamiya primer as for the plastic models. I always fear to find one day that acrylic paint fall from the pewter models, so some binding agent can do no harm. As always with primer, the target is to cover the part without clogging the details. 
I will then apply the colours by starting by the inner surfaces, meaning that I will paint the outer side of the hull at the end only. That allows me to manipulate the models between my fingers at will. I am starting with the deck, painted in Bleached Bone (left pic.), then washed with diluted black paint (middle pic.). Once the wash is dry, I highlight the planking with Bleached Bone again (right pic.).
The next step is to paint the details on the deck, such as guns, gun carriages, bits, gratings and stairs. I do not apply a darker wash and just highlight with a lighter shade of the colour. All the wooden parts are painted Scorched Brown (left pic.) and highlighted with Vermin Brown or Snakebite Leather (right pic.). The right picture also shows the guns and carriages. I opted for a traditional ochre (Andrea Color 15) for the English ship and Terracota for the French ships. Terracota will also be the color of the hull, and I chose to have it on the inside planking of the hull on the quarter deck.
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