Weathering on HM or CW models

[Phantomf4collector]

Hello everyone,

Like so many of you, I love collecting both diecast models and artwork of the Phantom F4.

Looking at the artwork I have from Robert Taylor you can see the wonderful and realistic look of the planes with all of the weathering on the nose, wings and intakes.
I know an experienced modeller can build a plastic model and paint it with the weathering. I wish I could do it.
The new HM and CW models are incredible in detail.
Has there been any talk of HM or CW moving up to the next level and actually giving us models that look like they have just come back from a mission ?
Thank you
Paul

[Edward Papazian]

Although diecast makers like Corgi, FM and others have attempted to provide weathering effects on selected models, to date these efforts have been underwhelming. The mass production techniques used by the Chinese factories evidently do not allow for decent mottling on WWII German warbirds, to say nothing of subtle shading of panel lines or realistic engine exhaust/muzzle flash stains, in general. I usually perform this function myself as do other members, however there are many who prefer not to modify their models in this fashion at all.

[prune]

Paul,
You may want to consider buying some artists pastels and having a go yourself.They can give a realistic used look.If you go wrong they clean off easily so you wont spoil the model.Paint chips though are something else.

[BSG-75]

I have the Corgi 1/32 "weathered" Spitfire and its a terrific model. IIRC Corgi also tried to do a Victor (?) and a few others but I don't ever recall seeing any in the flesh. The HM silver F-100 has a discoloured section towards the rear which looks effective to me.

It seems a fine art and I'm not sure its suited to mass production.

[Craig]

I have the Corgi 1/32 "weathered" Spitfire and its a terrific model. IIRC Corgi also tried to do a Victor (?) and a few others but I don't ever recall seeing any in the flesh. The HM silver F-100 has a discoloured section towards the rear which looks effective to me.

It seems a fine art and I'm not sure its suited to mass production.
Yep they did a Victor, Vulcan, Sea Harrier and Hercules as part of their 20th Anniversary of the Falklands range, and to me they are exactly why I don't buy "battle scarred" models. Even the Lane Spit is overdone to me. It's very subjective, but for me mass production just cannot get the subtlety that is required to pull it off. The Victor looks to have corrosion to the point of mainspar failure! :eek:

[Wolster]

Corgi also did the winter Stuka with exhaust staining, I like it! I also thing the 1/32 Lane is probably the finest bit of diecast ever made but it it a love it or hate it model!

[BSG-75]

Corgi also did the winter Stuka with exhaust staining, I like it! I also thing the 1/32 Lane is probably the finest bit of diecast ever made but it it a love it or hate it model!

This picture, to me is a classic view of a classic aircraft and in any diecast scale, very hard to reproduce. I like the notion of worn/weathered aircraft, if you look close up at some of the d-day stripes applied for example, they are all over the shop. Applied in the dark, by ground crew with brooms etc, not exact 10 inch stripes with masking tape !

The Lane spit is one of my favourites, except the pilot figure!, I do think the weathering has been nailed down 100% on it, each to their own ! I'll just brag one more time about getting it less than half price........:)

[Metalegend]

I've done a little bit of weathering on my models! The "Buc" was one of the earlier Corgi's! Don't know what you guys think,as this was pure experimenting!:D

[Craig]

Not sure about the Phantom, think the paint's a little thick, but the Mirage and Bucc look excellent! That's the sort of subtlety that's needed, but getting that from a mass producer is always going to be difficult...

[Phantomf4collector]

Thank you to everyone that replied.

It is a fine art to make the weathering look real and not overdone. I have some Corgi Unsung Heroes trucks and jeeps that have it and it looks ok.
My friend who collects NASCAR models has some raced look cars with the tire scuff marks which looks kind of cool also from the factory. They do not have any dents in them though :)

I am going to try what Prune suggested with the pastels. I will let you know how I make out. If anyone has pictures of models they have done weathering on, I would love to see them.
Thank you again for all the replies. Great group on this forum !

Paul

[Phantomf4collector]

I've done a little bit of weathering on my models! The "Buc" was one of the earlier Corgi's! Don't know what you guys think,as this was pure experimenting!:D

Thank you, Great pictures. Gives me something to work on myself. I will let you know how I make out.

Paul

[Metalegend]

Not sure about the Phantom, think the paint's a little thick, but the Mirage and Bucc look excellent! That's the sort of subtlety that's needed, but getting that from a mass producer is always going to be difficult...

Yeah I agree on the Phantom,not so good, but this was my first attempt,then I tried out the Mirage and Bucc and was more satisfied with them!

[Craig]

Yeah I agree on the Phantom,not so good, but this was my first attempt,then I tried out the Mirage and Bucc and was more satisfied with them!
Definately and the improvement shows! I think with weathering you soon learn "less is more" but it seems to go against everything you think at the time! :D

[P51D]

Best attempt at weathering by a mainstream manu for me is still the old corgi corsair. Not as good as a model maker would do (of course) but adds that bit of extra realism without going OTT.

It's my favourite corsair despite the fact i don't usually like manu's attempts at weathering. A really good model IMHO! :)

[DCRanger]

I've done a little bit of weathering on my models! The "Buc" was one of the earlier Corgi's! Don't know what you guys think,as this was pure experimenting!:D

No offence but I have to say I don't like any of those and I wouldn't encourage any manufacturer in this direction. I agree that some models look too clean but no diecast manufacturer yet has found a consistent way of reproducing weathering that is acceptable to the majority of collectors. Even those who like weathering cannot agree on what is good and what is bad.

[Shawn 507]

I'm one of those who liked the wash that HM used. Its a pity they don't do it anymore.

[DCRanger]

I'm one of those who liked the wash that HM used. Its a pity they don't do it anymore.

Oh no it isn't! (Well it is pantomime season over here :D )

[Phantomf4collector]

No offence but I have to say I don't like any of those and I wouldn't encourage any manufacturer in this direction. I agree that some models look too clean but no diecast manufacturer yet has found a consistent way of reproducing weathering that is acceptable to the majority of collectors. Even those who like weathering cannot agree on what is good and what is bad.

Years ago we had decals and now they are painted on. We also had poor research on planes and markings. Now we have much better information to rely on.
We still have the age old question about panel lines.
The quality from CW and HM to name 2 are far above those from just a few years ago.
If you look at the paintings done by Robert Taylor to name one, you can see the time and effort spent to make the planes and ships look incredibly real.
I think this would be an incredible step forward if the right combination is found to make weathering an option on future models. Using the same research as the painters used for these paintings/ limited edition prints would make it possible to do so.
Some armour such as tanks, trucks and jeeps are weathered and done with dioramas collectors only dreamt of years ago.
I would love to see my future models be as realistic as possible just like my paintings.

[Snake]

Personally,I think that weathering is in the eye of the beholder.
What looks good to one collector,may look under/over done to another.
Very subjective.

And at this stage,I would prefer that the factories not attempt to weather their models.

Take a look at how JSI ruined an otherwise excellent 1/18 F-14 model,by trying to weather it.:(
The whole thing is covered in "Spots":mad:
http://www.warbird-photos.com/gpxd/viewtopic.php?p=209052#209052

[sufapilot]

And at this stage,I would prefer that the factories not attempt to weather their models.

I heartily agree with this statement. :)

[DCRanger]

Take a look at how JSI ruined an otherwise excellent 1/18 F-14 model,by trying to weather it.:(
The whole thing is covered in "Spots":mad:
http://www.warbird-photos.com/gpxd/viewtopic.php?p=209052#209052

Looks like a Luftwaffe 46 aircraft:D It is an excellent example of why mass producers should not attempt weathering.

[Snake]

It does look like some Luftwaffe scheme.:mad:
Clearly NO ONE at the factory had a clue about how to do this properly.:mad:

Not to go on a rant,BUT

$230 for an awesome looking Jolly Rogers 1/18 scale F-14.
Pre production shots looked great.
Everything was just great,UNTIL the first example hit North America about a week ago.

Then all hell broke loose.
We all saw the "Spotcat" and couldn't believe it!:eek:

HUGE amount of dissappointment,and ANGER,over how this was even allowed to leave the factory looking like this.

Totally F*&#@ed up an otherwise great model.:mad:

The best[most expensive] example of why chinese factories should not do weathering for "western collectors"

:confused: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Shawn 507]

Um you do know its a toy right? At the very least it saved you $230 bucks. And I'm sure its not only the western collectors that were disappointed. The collecting world does not revolve around the west guy. Just think, these will go real cheap in the very near future. So you can get it at a great price and still have it in your collection.;)

It does look like some Luftwaffe scheme.:mad:
Clearly NO ONE at the factory had a clue about how to do this properly.:mad:

Not to go on a rant,BUT

$230 for an awesome looking Jolly Rogers 1/18 scale F-14.
Pre production shots looked great.
Everything was just great,UNTIL the first example hit North America about a week ago.

Then all hell broke loose.
We all saw the "Spotcat" and couldn't believe it!:eek:

HUGE amount of dissappointment,and ANGER,over how this was even allowed to leave the factory looking like this.

Totally F*&#@ed up an otherwise great model.:mad:

The best[most expensive] example of why chinese factories should not do weathering for "western collectors"

:confused: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Phantomf4collector]

I hope this example of weathering will not hinder other manufacturers from coming up with new innovative ideas including some forms of weathering. Otherwise we would still only have plastic models.
Maybe 2 paint schemes one weathered and one without for each plane just like CW has the launched version and the regular version of some planes.

Thank you to everyone that commented.

[pilot]

I heartily agree with this statement. :)

I have the Corgi "Java" pre-weathered early B-17. I knew it would be a piece of crap going in, and boy did they not disappoint in that department!

However, there are a few examples of good weathering out there. While not technically weathering, and probably well overscale, the gun grime on EI 1/48 P-51Bs does wonders for the overall look of the things.

[Cardinal]

The subtle weathered finish on Dragon's Trautloft FW190 (snow-camo) is still a benchmark of what can be done on a mass-produced item (let's not forget the fact that a large portion of the Dragon Armor range has 'weathering' that is pretty good ... :cool: )

[Edward Papazian]

Looks like a Luftwaffe 46 aircraft:D It is an excellent example of why mass producers should not attempt weathering.

When I first saw that picture on some online seller's website, I thought that it was some unusual scheme---borrowed from the German night fighters of WWII--- that I was unfamiliar with. If those spots are the result of a botched weathering attempt one can only ask---"what were those guys thinking?":eek:

[prune]

I think its only a matter of time before we see weathering as good as the the Dragon winter Fw190 on many models.That finish is so well done I can't see anybody complaining,and it makes it look so much better.

[p-51d]

I can understand all manufacturers running a mile from weathering a new release , it must equate to the formula how many don't buy a mint release against how do buy a weathered one , ask Corgi for its opinion .;)

[Virtual_pilot]

go you guys think that the model we bought from CW or HM or any other will actually gain price over time or will the opposite be more probable as the tehcnology for producing these little planes might get better?
certainly weathered CW will suprcede the ones in mint condition.

[Virtual_pilot]

Hello everyone,


Has there been any talk of HM or CW moving up to the next level and actually giving us models that look like they have just come back from a mission ?
Thank you
Paul

it looks as if you got your wish come true. Mule is showing the comming HM A-10 to be weathered!!

[Hornchurch]

`


I have the Corgi "Java" pre-weathered early B-17.

I knew it would be a piece of crap going in, and boy did they not disappoint in that department!

`


It's 'weathering' pales into insignificance when looking at "it's" Cheyenne Tail Turret, which is THAT models major/biggest blunder


`

[Virtual_pilot]

And at this stage,I would prefer that the factories not attempt to weather their models.

Take a look at how JSI ruined an otherwise excellent 1/18 F-14 model,by trying to weather it.:(
The whole thing is covered in "Spots":mad:
http://www.warbird-photos.com/gpxd/viewtopic.php?p=209052#209052

But those spots are realistic, for a pilot that smokes that is
:LOL: