Representing mortar in brick embossed plasticard

[Junctionmad]

I building some structures using 7mm brick embossed plasticard. I’ve painted the brick using by airbrush and Vallejo colours.  I’m happy with the end result ( so far ) ,  a weathered red brick , almost black in places 

 

now a quandary , I had intended to use artists chalk , ground and spread over the finished painted surface to represent the mortar. This actually works fine and is available is a variety of colours. 

 

But , I’ve tried to seal the whole lot with acrylic Matt varnish and in effect the chalk dust gets wet and effectively disappears as it seems the chalk turns black and the effect is lost 

 

anyone have any suggestions , or alternatives. 

 

Thanks 

dave 

Edited February 11, 2019 by Junctionmad

[Pete the Elaner]

There are 2 alternatives I am aware of:

 

Airbrush your brickwork like you have done but, instead of using chalk, use a thinned paint to represent mortar. This can be wiped off when partially dry to clean it off the brickwork a little like you would clean grouting from tiles. Varnish should not wash this away. I have heard of this being done with great effect, including by somebody I know whose weathering I am very impressed with.

 

A friend of mine came up with a different idea for my layout: Paint the lot in grey primer, which is close enough to mortar colour, then dry brush your brick colour over the top, painting the raised surface rather than the mortar itself. You can see the results of this on my layout thread. We used acrylic paint for this, so it dried quite quickly.

 

I think that the first of these methods probably gives better results but I will stick to the second way on my current layout for consistency.

 

[Junctionmad]

Thanks , I have acres of wall to paint , so airbrush is the only practical way 

 

I tired a wash of off white , but I found it left a wash all over the brickwork , ) and aggressive wiping simply removed the paint from the mortar courses ) that didnt easily wipe off,  I tried Valejo thinners , then Valefo airbrush cleaner and finally IPA. but I began to  remove the paintwork layers.  If I do a simple wipe down of the brickwork after the mortar wash , I find the whole structure has a " white "residue effect that spoils the underlying brickwork 

 

I remember a comment elsewhere about calligraphy inks ? 

 

Dave 

Edited February 11, 2019 by Junctionmad

[goatdriver]

You might want to check out Robert's Brick Mortar.  They're located in the US, but they ship worldwide.  URL is http://robertsbrickmortar.com/

[Re6/6]

I shall be using a mixture of  water colours for the mortar courses on the Ouse Valley Viaduct under the expert instruction of Captain Kernow. Being water based it can be removed easily from the brick faces.

[Hound Dog]

Farrow and Ball do a chalky emulsion called “Pointing” (the clue is in the name)......you can buy a sizeable tester tin in B&Q for a couple of pounds.

[sir douglas]

a way that ive tried from a book about making model buildings, put a coat of cream/grey/what-ever over the brick and then wipe it down with tissue leaving the paint in the grooves

[ColinK]

I use one of the Humbrol washes, I think last time I tried the sand colour and it worked well.

 

But before colouring the mortar, I paint some individual bricks slightly different shades so there is variation in the brick.

[russ p]

If you use acrylics how long do you have to leave the paint before putting a wash over it?

[ColinK]

I normally use enamals.  But I have used acrylics for some buidings, I leave it overnight, often longer.

 

i’ll try and post a photo tomorrow.

[ColinK]

I normally use enamals.  But I have used acrylics for some buidings, I leave it overnight, often longer.

 

i’ll try and post a photo tomorrow.

[ColinK]

The photo above shows some brickwork I’ve painted.  Its actually G scale but I use the same method in 4mm and 7mm scales.

 

First paint the whole wall in brick red.

Once its dry, mix a small amount of brick red with a tiny amount of black,  this should give a shade slightly darker than the neat brick red.   Paint some individual bricks with this shade.

Repeat but adding white or cream to the brick red.

Repeat adding a spot of green to the brick red.

Repeat adding a spot of grey.

You should now have a wall with some indivdual bricks is slightly different shades.  It will probably look a bit too bright at this stage.

Once everything is fully dry, run some Humbrol enamel wash into the mortar courses. You can use sand, light brown or grey depending on your prototype.  If you’ve no enamal wash, just use well thinned paint. Once you’ve applied the paint, wipe the brickwork with a paper towel to remove any excess off the actual bricks.  You might need to practice this, wipe too hard and you’ll remove too much of the wash (so apply more wash and try again).

Once that’s dry, apply some weathering, preferably with an airbrush.  It looks best if you use more than one colour eg, dark green to represent moss/mould/damp at the bottom, then several different hues of grey/dirty black.  If you use just one colour it looks to even to be realistic (look at real buildings).