Painting plasticard stone

[woodbine]

I've made some nice ashlar stonework (well, I think so!) for a bridge, but am struggling to get a decent paint effect.

I've seen various methods recommended, including doing the pointing both before and after, but can't get it to look right.

What methods do you use, and what is best for getting a good texture?

Should I just get a book, and if so, which one?

[marc smith]

Hi,

There are many different ways of painting, and no one way is "right"

If you are inexperienced, the best way is to experiment,

and find a way that works for you....

 

Personally, I switched from using enamel paints, to using acrylics a few years back

and I haven't looked back since!

 

I prefer acrylics, because they dry very quickly (not always ideal, for some subjects)

but you can see results pretty quickly.

 

If you are painting the stonework first, then applying mortar (concrete or black mortar)

wiping excess mortar colour can destroy your stone colouring, if you have used enamels,

and haven't allowed sufficient drying time (sometimes 48 hours, or more)

 

Also, this method can significantly affect the shde of your stonework -

applying black mortar, then wipng off excess will darken the stone colour,

applying pale / cement mortar will lighten stone colour

 

Some opt for colouring the stonwork, allowing plenty of drying time,

then "flowing" paint into the mortar courses (this method was used on some of Gordon Gravett's superb 7mm models)

 

As for the basic stone colour, I would use the base colour you want,

whilst on a pallete (old lid / bit of plasticard etc) mix the same colour with a small amount of black, another with a small amount of white, another with brown etc

then pick out individual stones with these colours....

 

that way you get a nice overall basic colour, but with some subtle variations in tone

Once a model is completed, and "planted" in situ, I usually spray the whole scene,

with a bit of mid-grey anyway - this tones everything down, and "blends" elements of the scene together...

 

As I said at the start, these are just some of my methods,

and I would paint stock for example, in a different way to scenery...

 

You may also want to try using weathering powders,

either after painting, or mix them in with paint....

 

I usually like to get everything as matt as poss - with an aerosol of matt varnish.

 

The best thing for you to do, would be to use scrap pieces of your material,

and experiment on those (if you are trying several methods be warned - mark them as you go along....we can't always remember exactly what we did with each piece! )

 

Best of luck, and let us know how you get on

Marc

 

EDIT: For pointing, I've seen some people use a flexible filler, then wiping off - this can also work well...

[woodbine]

Thanks Marc. I'll continue with my daubing for a while then, maybe research some books if I can't get it to look right.

[Kris]

Even when using acrylics it is important to leave plenty of time for them to dry before adding the mortar.

I tend to give a base coat then paint individual stones before mortaring to get the effect that I want. The age of the structure will give me the choice of colour for the mortar, getting darker with age.

[Worsdell forever]

This is how I do it, there are as many ways of painting stone as there are types of stone walls!

 

Stone painting.

[Captain Kernow]

This is how I do it, there are as many ways of painting stone as there are types of stone walls!

 

Stone painting.

That's an interesting and effective way, Paul.

 

As regards the Wills plastic stone sheets, I have started off by spraying the lot with Halfords grey car primer, and using this as a base to add Humbrol enamels (the mortar going on after a base brick colour). Allowing plenty of time between each coat for the previous one to dry is, as stated above in this thread, essential. I've found that the Halfords primer gives a better base to work on with the enamels, than the basic plastic surface of the stone sheets.

[Ben Alder]

As said, there are as many ways of doing this as there are modellers. One thing to do is to decide what type of stone you wish to model and look at it and hopefully photograph some to see how it comes out in railway model size- colours and tones may have to be reduced to get a "scale" finish; but generally a layering technique of shades and drybrushing is the way forward. For what its worth,here is how I weathered some Wills sheets, copying an Allan Downes article.

[woodbine]

This is how I do it, there are as many ways of painting stone as there are types of stone walls!

 

Stone painting.

 

Do you use acrylics or enamels?

 

I have been trying with artists acrylics, let down with matt medium, retarder, flow improver and water in various proportions, and am beginning to get some interesting effects, though not he ones I was after.

 

My biggest frustration ATM is the drying speed, preventing me from strategic full revealing of previous layers. A finger dipped in H2O helps if used in time, but there is never more than a minute or two window of opportunity.

[woodbine]

As said, there are as many ways of doing this as there are modellers. One thing to do is to decide what type of stone you wish to model and look at it and hopefully photograph some to see how it comes out in railway model size- colours and tones may have to be reduced to get a "scale" finish; but generally a layering technique of shades and drybrushing is the way forward. For what its worth,here is how I weathered some Wills sheets, copying an Allan Downes article.

 

That first picture is just what I'm after. You mentioned in your article the use of a particular paint. What qualities do you look for?

[Ben Alder]

I originally used Humbrol enamels, but now work exclusively with acrylics. I have tried artists tubes, but they are the wrong consistency for me, and involve too much faff to get them to the way I want them. You also want to use something that can be replicated easily when you go back to finish a job off months later- - trust me, this is important ;hence I use ready mixed hobby paints. There are a lot out there, and it is a question of finding a range that you can get along with, but for this type of work I tend to keep to an obscure range called Miniature Paints which are of a very high quality, and aimed at wargamers generally. I think they come from Ral Partha- an American miniature company- but give a nice matt finish and thin down nicely for the washes I use for stonework. Games Workshop paints also can be used, and are more widely available, although a bit pricey. I tried the Humbrol acrylics, that have a handy selection of gloss, matt and satin finishes, but use these more for detail work. The Miniature Paints are better for diluting to my mind. They pop up on Ebay, but I will look out the distributor's contacts if you want.

HTH,

Richard

[woodbine]

They pop up on Ebay, but I will look out the distributor's contacts if you want.

 

That's OK, I'll ask Mrs.Google.

Thank you for your very full and helpful reply. And the other contributors too.

[iL Dottore]

For the Earl of Devon, I used Revell's "stone" (a rather thick acrylic), which was slightly thinned and then painted on (I used two thin coats, but one - thicker -coat may do). Starting with the same Revell stone colour, I then added Tamiya red-brown drop by drop until I had a modified stone colour (say reddish stone) which matched the reference photos. This was then dry brushed over the surface, let dry then repeated. When dry, using 4X magnification, a fine brush and a palette with stone, red-brown, green and black matt acrylics I mixed up lttle dollops of slightly different shades of reddish stone which I then used to paint individual stones in the walling - the secret being to be very selective in the touch ups.

 

Much later it was dry brushed with dilute Tamiya NATO black to tone things down

 

F