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QUICK TIP: “Painting cockpits with Zenital Light” by Diego Quijano

Aircraft cockpits, especially those of WWII fighter planes, are a perfect spot to apply overhead -or zenithal- light paint effects. We are going to show a very simple method to do it. We start by applying preshading using the Black & White technique with black, white and grey paint. AMMO´s One Shot primers are perfect for this because of their great covering power and smooth, durable finish.
1: The first step consists in applying a grey primer coat. In this way we get three things: it provides a tough, durable paint foundation for the top coats, it also gives a smooth uniform surface and color, especially if you are combining resin, photo-etched and scratch-built parts; and lastly and most importantly, it works as the medium shade for the preshading .
2: Next, black paint is sprayed to the bottom details. Airbrush the paint at a low angle to reach only the shadow areas. Dilute the paint a bit more if necessary to atomize the paint properly.
3: The next step is adding highlights. Much the opposite of the previous one: we now airbrush white paint on the raised areas and high points, again holding the airbrush at low angle.
4: In this way we get a nice preshading layer with a stark zenithal effect, with the top of the raised areas in white, vertical surfaces in grey and the shadow at the bottom in black.
5: Next we proceed to apply the cockpit color. In this case is British Interior Green A.MIG-0219. Apply it very diluted and in thin layers to avoid completely covering the Black & White preshading. By adding around 30% Transparator A.MIG-2016 to the mix we´ll get a more transparent and easy to work color without thinning the paint too much. Airbrush thin color layers until a good color covering, but stopping before the zenithal preshading completely disappears. If the overhead lighting effect seems too stark to your liking simply add more color layers until satisfied with the result.
6: Once we are satisfied, a clear gloss varnish coat is applied to prepare the surface for the washes and other weathering techniques to be applied using enamel products.
7: When the varnish has dried we can apply the weathering effects, paint elements in different colors and add other details.
8: The final effect emphasize highlights and shadows inside the cockpit, especially those with many details, adding lots of contrast, visual interest and realism to our model.

DUSTING WITH PIGMENTS by David Perez

1. This is the part we have selected for this short step-by-step article. It represents the surface of a rusted vehicle with faded green camouflage color.
2. We deposit small amounts of pigments onto the surface with a brush. It´s neither stippled nor moved around with the brush, just put in place.
3. Then, and using a brush moistened with enamel thinner, it´s time now to start moving the pigments around the surface, insisting more in nooks and crannies.
4. This is how the part looks like once the pigments have dried. The excess pigment is cleaned off with the help of a cotton bud. Here we have used a vertical motion, from bottom to top.
5. The finished part; you can see how the pigments mimic a fine sand dust layer for a highly realistic effect. You can also appreciate how it gathers more heavily inside nooks and crannies, and more important: the previous rust effects are still visible after we have applied the dust layer.
6. This method can be also used as a base to apply oil and fuel spills or other wet effects.

Pic N1: We use the spare tire of a M 26 recovery vehicle as example. First the tire is painted with the acrylic color Zashchitniy Zeleno XB 518 A.MIG-083. Then we apply paint chips of different sizes and shapes on the edges with Reseda Green A.MIG-003 acrylic paint.

Pic N2: We scrub the entire surface of the black vinyl material used for the rubber parts with a scouring pad to get rid of its shiny surface.

Pic N3: We use now a filter Tan for Yellow Green A.MIG-1507 and pigment Europe Earth A.MIG-3004 to represent dry earth.

Pic N4: We mix the filter and pigments to create a wash that will be applied all over the wheel and tire, focusing more on the nooks and crannies. The filter works as a binding agent for the pigment.

Pic N5: Here you can see the result once the wash has dried.

Pic N6: We use a cotton bud to remove the excess wash from the high points –like the thread portions that are in contact with the ground or the edges of the rims–. On the other hand, the pigments accumulated in the recesses of the thread pattern are left undisturbed.

Pic N7: Matt Black A.MIG-046 acrylic is applied with a piece of sponge or foam. Firstly we dab the foam in the paint and then unload the excess onto a kitchen paper and then it´s rubbed on the thread pattern and edges of the tire to bring back the original rubber color.

Pic N8: To add some contrast to the tire we apply a light coat of Africa Korps Wash A.MIG-1001 in a few spots, trying not to overdo it.

Pic N9: Final result.

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