The Thin Beige Line

Since the last entry I managed to get my hands on a much better airbrush and couldn’t resist working back over some of the finish. With a more powerful compressor and better control of the paint flow, I had the confidence to add more targeted highlights by using the XV-88 mixed with a little Karak Stone.

I also worked back over some of the shading using watered down Corvus Black. Next it was time for a pin wash but in truth, I didn’t really know what a pin wash was! Turns out it’s a ‘pinpoint wash’ used for adding extra shading to panel lines and recesses.

After a little research and chat on the discord, I discovered the first step towards pinwashing was to gloss varnish the model! I wasn’t comfortable with this at all but I went ahead with Vallejo Gloss Varnish thinned down approx 60 -40 with water and applied using the older airbrush.

The gloss would help the wash to flow and allow the removal of unwanted paint from the surface. The recommended process of pin washing uses heavily thinned oil paints but it had been a long time since I had any of those around so I opted to try my luck with good old Agrax Earthshade instead. With a decent brush and a steady hand, I began applying wash to the panel lines.

By keeping a damp brush and piece of sponge to hand, I was able to remove any unwanted wash that made it onto the surface. I began by using medium but actually found the wash flowed much better when thinned with just water. I guess the surface tension helps draw it into the recesses.

Once I’d had enough of panel lining I broke out the Rhinox Hide and used a piece of packing foam to add chipping to the front of the hull and around the cannons. Using a brush I began to add metallic flecks with Iron Breaker and pick out a few metal parts to break up the uniform colouring.