Jonas: »Pit, I can't wait until you make the railway station look older?«
Pit: »Jonas, that is something I enjoy doing most. When I can give the buildings their individual coating. Meanwhile however, that is not required in all cases as some of the FALLER construction kits are already patinated.« |
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| Original construction kit - not patinated |
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| Patinated construction kit |
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Why patinate?
Contrary to painting with opaque colours, only very thin coat of paint is applied when patinating. No film forms which can peel off and the surface structures of the parts which are painted are maintained. The surface structures are even highlighted significantly clearer because of the transparent effect of the colours. Brickwork, roof tiles, wood grains and similar fine profiles are often not as visible as they are until after having been treated in such a manner. Therefore, patination is used for the optical improvement of model buildings, bridges and steel structures in model making.
Conditional of manufacturing, plastic construction kit parts almost always have a minimal shine. Apart from a more or less precisely precalculable marbling, the parts are also always unicoloured. Plastic models which come out of the box without having been colour-treated therefore appear to be not only new but sometimes even a bit colourful based on the model.
Apart from the material-caused, too bright colouring, the consistent gloss level also influences the natural effect of the models because contrary to the original the distinction between the sections with dull matt finish (exterior walls of the house, roofs) and semi gloss structural elements (windows, doors, metal parts) is missing. If you take an observant look at reality, colours appear to be harmonious and therefore natural. We should also strive to achieve this in model designing.
When striving for a preferably lifelike appearance of the models, it is imperative to observe the following: Patination does not simply mean soiling but rather to specifically apply traces of weathering and ageing.
The purpose which the building serves and its location must always be thought of for the degree of patination. Industrial facilities or ones located at steam engine depots are for instance always significantly more soiled than a family home in the countryside or a well-kept townhouse!
Appropriate gloss level
The first requirement for our approach is an appropriate gloss level. Walls and roofs should have a matt appearance. If necessary, it appears to be reasonable to completely top-dress surfaces which seem to be inappropriate in colour in the first work step. It is best if this first step is carried out on the moulded part. For this the acrylic paints as well as the matt paints from the FALLER patinating sets 170696 and 170697 and the rest of the MODEL-MASTER selection can be used.
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| The cut edges are assimilated in terms of colour. |
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| Wooden parts can also be patinated |
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Painting and patinating
The acrylic based paints do not affect foamed plastics such as Styrofoam or polystyrene.
Therefore, acrylic paints are ideally suitable for painting and patinating FALLER construction kits and components from Decorflex such as brick panels, arcades or tunnel portals. This is also necessary because cut edges and connections result when assembling and/or individually designing the foamed components which have to be assimilated in terms of colour. Contrary to solvent-containing paints, the material is not affected when using the acrylic paints! So when you paint the above mentioned Decorflex products, it is imperative to observe the base of the paint because only water-soluble acrylic paints are suitable for this! |
