20260628 Drying up

20260628 Drying up

“I hate painting”

OK, here is a very difficult topic about scale models. Because when it comes to scale models, I like to dry test-fit the parts and research them in how to design a Circuit Board for it. And that, my Friends, is my Hobby in a nutshell. So, if I needed to complete the model, that is a different story which I hate. This is because some of the parts can go missing or kept elsewhere which I have forgotten or, it needs… painting.

And depending on my mood, I usually dread entering this area. One of the core reason is that because the subjects are usually ma.K or just my usual pattern of not RTFM, I do not know which colour goes best with the model. In the end, using my vast imagination, its basically black but not black and dark grey but not white. Once that is out of the way, then my mood lightens up because of what is coming next; weathering. And you can tell I lack experience because seldom complete my kits. And thanks to MALCOM, I do get one completed, which is usually a last minute rush with a lot of planning going out of the window.

This is the latest model, coming straight back from MALCOM 2026. The 1/20th Hummel Drone is a backup model to the 1/20th Neuspotter whose neck snapped. I wanted the green wavy lines to show up more but as it dried, it blended with the dark background and I do not want to respray it again.

“I really, really hate painting.”

One of the reason is also that I live in a hot and humid country where the average weather is 34ºC. And the seasons? Its Summer, Hot Summer, Hotter Summer and damn, its Still Summer. And because of that, the paint either dries or does something weird. Since I’ve switched over to acrylics in the 2010’s, opening the dried caps are not so bad. Its the contents inside that was disheartening. Some can be revived with some thinner and those that failed will be turned into empty bottles.

Now that I have moved on to a cooler place, I hope that the surviving paints will behave themselves. Alas, choosing a specific colour it usually means going to the shops again since it would either have dried out or, too little to do anything productive with it.

20260628 Drying up
I actually have four trays of these. The one on the left started out being on top since most of the bottles were too high. Now they are also used as the weathering tray. Looking at them, its usually dust and rust pigments, with engine grimes and subtle washes. The rest of the three trays are paints that are either duplicates or, well, other colours, I did not believe I had so many shades of red because I started out with many shades of grey (ahem). Yes, grey were my goto colours when it comes to deciding what colours to use. However, very quickly, after learning about black basing, the Mr. Surfacer 1500 Black is now my goto colours…
Posted in A Piscean Works Blog, Painting, Rant, Weathering.

Leave a Reply