By Jamie Haggo
The purpose of a wash is to highlight raised detail by enhancing the shadow areas. There are many wash mediums ranging from home made, usually using oil paint, or commercial washes which is what I prefer to use. AK Interactive and Mig productions/Sin Industries both produce washes for particular schemes and in this demonstration I shall be using AK Interactive’s DAK Wash.
First off it is important to say that this technique tends not to work too well on a matt surface as the wash will bleed into the paint staining it and often leaving a tide mark. It is possible to dampen the area first with clean thinner however on this model I misted on a couple of thin coats of future.
Taking a small brush loaded with the wash, touch it alongside the raised detail. Usually capillary action will draw the wash along; however; sometimes it may need a helping hand and a bit of encouragement. After a few minutes when the wash is dry take a clean brush dampened in clean thinner, I use white spirit as the AK Interactive product is enamel based, and clean off the excess leaving the wash in the detail. It’s important to keep the brush clean and blend away the unwanted stuff.
And that’s all there is to it. This can be a tedious technique but the overall effect is very pleasing and models without a wash can look bland and 2-dimensional. It’s also quite versatile; in fact I use this technique on my aircraft models too.
Good luck!
Jamie H.
Two HD Video Demos….
Armour Wash Pt.1
Armour Wash Pt.2