Academy PBY-5 Black Cat

komoras
Great weathering! 👍
What did you use for the base color? Black?

Łukasz Gliński
Fabulous weathering

CapnSirloin
Thank you all! The kit was pretty solid, No major fit issues. Interior was pretty minimal but interiors aren't my area of interest anyway, so I was okay with that. The finish and weathering was done with a variety of products and techniques. The model is molded in black poly and I used Mr. Surfacer 1500 black as a primer. Then I used Vallejo chipping medium, building up silver and rust underneath followed by a dark gray overcoat. The chipping revealed areas of the rust and silver. Light gray and rust pin washes, and a bit of air brushing finished off the weathering. Chipping along the wing edges was done with a tiny bit of sea sponge dipped in silver paint. I airbrushed a matte clear coat over everything, except the windows, of course.

Ekki
Excellent work.

gorby
Stunning paint job!

CapnSirloin
Thank you very much, gorbygould!

Ben STONE
Very nice, great work

Martin Oostrom
Very, very nice. Reminds me once again that I still have a lot to learn. Excellent!

Roberto Rocat
Fantastic work.

CapnSirloin
Thank you all, Mates!

Christian Keller
Cool Black cat, great weathering

Greg Baker
Wow. I'd been thinking about picking this kit up... but now I'm not sure I could do it justice. That is one amazing paint job.

CapnSirloin
Greg Baker, thank you very much. Definitely pick it up if the subject intrigues you. It's a decent kit - not too daunting. Just don't plan on painting it black. You might prime it in black, but then build up layers using shades of dark gray, maybe throw in some rust. Have fun with it. I'm sure you can do it justice.

Greg Baker
I'm intrigued by the rust and silver method you were talking about. I think I understand the concept, but I doubt I could pull it off. Do you have a WIP album for this build? I'd love to try and follow along step by step.

Ulf Petersen
Nice Cat, Cap'n!👍
She's really a worn shoe!

CapnSirloin
Greg, check out this video on Vallejo Chipping Medium: Youtube Video

It's what I used first before adding washes.

CapnSirloin
Thank you, Ulf. I was really going for the worn shoe look. 🙂

Greg Baker
That video makes it seem so easy... just a dab of water and you're done. I have a feeling I'd be washing off and starting over several times... 😛

CapnSirloin
It's best to practice a bit on spare parts just to get the feel of it, but it really isn't difficult. I was surprised at how easy it is to get some really nice effects.

Spanjaard
i got somebody to show me how to do it recently, and it is not so difficult to get chipping effects. but it takes practice to do it correctly. take and old model , or a simple piece of plastic, and give it a try.
but i must say, that for example the way i was shown is not like in the video. we were giving a layer of rust color, then vallejo in selected areas (not with airbrush) using some schotch brite or sponge, and then painting with the final color. when you use water you reveal the rust color in the areas covered with chipping medium. different technique, different results.

CapnSirloin
Spanjaard - Exactly. In my case, I wanted a more subtle weathered look, so I was not too aggressive with the water and scrubbing. Plus, I used cotton swabs instead of something more coarse like Scotch Brite.

Spanjaard
actually, the scotch brite or sponge is to apply the chipping medium. so you get kind of more random paterns. remove with soft sponge or cotton swabs. sorry if not clear 🙂

CapnSirloin
Ah, yes! I have used that technique before, just not on this project.