Hello sailors!
This is my first post here. I have a long experience of all things related to human/humanoid miniature painting (translate: I’m oooooooold!) but I’m quite new (as an adult anyway) to military models.
My question is a very important and basic one: in miniature human-like characters the name of the game is: blending - like on a canvas painting, from shadow to highlight via base tone without any violence.
Now, does that work in armour modeling? Do you highlight the er..... highlights and paint the shadows darker? I’m fuyllyt familiar with every word MIG has ever written about washes and co, but I’m stuck: I’m used to tricking the eye into thinking that that ork is big, when it is very small.
What is your approach to tricking the eye for say 1:72 ships, diorama and figures?
I’m a total newbie in military.
All input most welcome. I’ve started work on a 1:72 schnellboot diorama (and having a lot of fun scratchbuilding)
Cheers mateys!
M

Hi M welcome too our lil community! I will try too answer your question(s) too the best of my ability. Well in armor/ship modelling we use washes (for shadows and general ware), pigments (for soot, dust, rust, ware....etc.....), you can use chalks too the same or better effect than pigments and well painting is all up too your prefrences( but you can use it for highlights and too get some of the ground work set up for your washes pigments and chalks etc....) but all of it is up too you, depending how adventurous you want too be. And as far as military figures are concerned you can use the same techniques that you use on your figures. And as far as I know (IMO) we military modellers we try for realism rather than making somthing look bigger or scarrier, for us I think its all about having a piece of history or equipment that we can connect too the past. Sorry if I didnt help or if I just ranted alot.

Cheers Alex

Thanks Alex for your answer, now I get it.
And I just realise that I got mixed updsomehow I mixed up the two threads I wanted to start: the general question you just answered, and one about S-boat research!
That’s what you getfor trying to post while working and eating at the salme time! :-D apologies.
The question related to the title of this thread was: S-BOAT RIBS FOR NEWBIE on some pictures you can see horizontal “ribe”s on S-boat, obviously these are the pieces of wood that make the hull. This is often seen towards the front of the boat, I would guess this is because of the violent contact with water when at full speed.
My question: I have looked everywhere for a plan that would show how these pieces of wood (sorry, I don’t know the english technical word for these) but I could not find any.
Where do you think I could find such plans or at least some pics of very a battered S-boat hull that would display this well?
Many thanks again
M

Try looking in the Dockyard part of the forum in the Schnellboot thread there are plenty of links to other sites and lots of information their also. The ribbs you refer to are actually aluminium plates over a wood frame hope this helps with your quest

Aluminum ????? and there I was thinking it was wood on a metal skeleton!!!!


surely you mean the “kalotte” was made of alu, but the hull was good old wood???

Sorry I read your question wrong you are right wood hull metal frame the Kalotte was armor steel and the rest of the Bridge and forward torpedo area was coverd in aluminium for weight.Also you can check out the S130 restoration at WWW. S130.com some good shots of the frame work from inside the boat on there.

It looks like the s130 web site is gone :-c
but thanks for the info!