Road Vehicles Workbench - 1970s - 1990s North East

[Triode]

It's a balance I'm still figuring out I think. Somehow the vehicles look a bit flat to me if they are just one colour with nothing but natural shadows to highlight the recesses, but "I may have gone too far in a few places!"

I think the folding bus doors in particular look much better with a dark wash applied, but I may tone it down a bit on the cars and vans, expecially ones that aren't meant to be heavily weathered overall.

[David B]

I disagree that those without your highlighting look 'flat'. Your highlighting, as Michael says, is too heavy and looks most unnatural. I would suggest a) looking at the real thing and b) a very light weathering. In 4mm scale, more often than not, natural shadows are sufficient although a mere hint, using heavily diluted shading, might be acceptable. If you feel you do want to highlight the gaps, you might try lightly scoring with a sharp blade (a single stroke) and using a thinned wash instead so the line is much, much thinner.

Experiment on something that does not matter.

[Triode]

I think the issue for me with some diecast models is that the panel gaps and lines on the body are often proportionally wider than in real life, presumably due to tooling limitations. For example the gaps around car doors probably come out as a couple of scale inches whereas in reality they are far less than that. On some models, not all, leaving these overscale recesses the same colour as the body looks wrong to me and draws attention to the fact you're looking at a diecast model. I will experiment with different wash colours to see if I can highlight them more subtly though.

[Noel]

On some models, not all, leaving these overscale recesses the same colour as the body looks wrong to me and draws attention to the fact you're looking at a diecast model. I will experiment with different wash colours to see if I can highlight them more subtly though.

Or perhaps just draw a darker very narrow line down one side of the recess near the transition to level, being consistent about where the line is in relation to the recess?

[Triode]

Any ideas how to draw such a thin line accurately? I have just been using a fine brush but maybe it needs to be finer.

[David B]

As I suggested above, score a line with a sharp blade. You won't be able to draw a finer line. Rest the vehicle between two books and place a ruler over the top as a guide.