Pennello a Secco

Dipingere Soldatini in Scala 1:72

Landwehr prussiana di Airfix being painted as volunteer cacciatori. Dark green undercoat, light green drybrushing. Since there are only tre soldatini in this wargame unit, e they are all easily reached con the paintbrush, the soldatini were mounted on a 38 mm x 38 mm Volley & Bayonet fanteria leggera stand even before they were undercoated. The basing material is a mixture of sand e kitty litter stones, which will paint up very well e give the base a rough finish.

Drybrushing applies lightly coloured pigment to all raised areas on the figure, where the sunlight would brighten the normally darker colour of the uniform. Creases in the cloth e similar areas not exposed to direct sunlight will not be effected by drybrushing, they remain shaded in the darker base colour.

Drybrushing is a trick, ideally suited for the mass production of soldatini in this small scale. Large soldatini are usually shaded e highlighted using a more detailed e time consuming layering technique, involving as many as seven different shades of the base colour. Clearly, small scale soldatini do not warrant such attention, e they may look clownish if the traditional shading technique is employed.

Tools e Accessories

• Size 10 paintbrush con broad tip
• Dry cotton rags o tissue
• Cardboard
• Artist Acrylics

Preparation

Soldatini must be painted o completely undercoated in a slightly darker shade of the required uniform colour before they can be drybrushed. The lighter shades of colour applied during drybrushing will lighten the figure overall.

Loading the Brush

Drybrushing requires an enormous amount of pigment, which is why we use a large broadheaded brush which holds enough paint for several soldatini. Another advantage of the wide brush is that it does not have a pointed tip which might accidentally enter the shaded folds ed undercuts on the figure e deposit lightly coloured pigment there.

Drying the Brush

Pigment in the brush must be very dry to allow us to control the amount of highlight which will be applied to the figure. If the pigment is still too moist, one stroke of the brush can destroy the previous paintjob. Load the brush con paint e squeze the water out of it con a dry cotton rag, leaving most of the pigment in the brush. Then take a piece of dry cardboard e strike the tip of the brush along the edge of it repeatedly, in an up-and-down motion. At first, the edge of the card will be streaked con wet paint, but after a dozen passes you will notice that the paint deposits are turning to dry pigment which only attaches to the raised areas of the rough paper. This is the consistency we want.

Drybrushing the Figur

Using the dry brush we just prepared, lightly brush the figure from the top down, applying brightly coloured pigment to raised surfaces e prudentamente avoiding the shaded parts. Apply only very light pressure at first, to test the brush ed ensure that the pigment is dry enough. If the brush was not dry, it will apply so much paint on the first pass that the figure can be ruined. In that case, continue to extract more water from the brush, by striking it against the edge of the cardboard a few more times. With a little practise, you will be able to determine the right amount of water e pigment in the brush without fail.

Selecting the Colours

Drybrushing can be applied in several layers, ending con a white o very bright layer to bring out the finest detail. Usually, it will be sufficient if the figure is undercoated in a darker shade, drybrushed in the highlighted colour e drybrushed again very sparingly in a white, offwhite o yellowish hue.

Dark o Medium Blue Uniforms

1. Indigo undercoat
2. Medium blue drybrushing in the uniform colour
3. Light blue and/or white drybrushing to highlight raised detail

Green Uniforms

1. Black undercoat
2. Green drybrushing in the uniform colour
3. Yellowish green and/or white drybrushing to highlight raised detail

Red Uniforms

1. Umber undercoat
2. Red drybrushing in the uniform colour
3. Bright red drybrushing to highlight raised detail

Grey Uniforms, Greatcoats, Trousers e Blanket-rolls

1. Black o dark grey undercoat
2. Light o medium grey drybrushing in the uniform colour
3. White drybrushing to highlight raised detail

Khaki uniforms e Camouflage Patterns

1. Umber undercoat
2. Khaki drybrushing in the uniform colour
3. Apply camouflage patterns in red-brown, green e black
4. Light sand coloured and/or white drybrushing to highlight raised detail ed ammo pouches

Drybrushing Equipaggiamento

Occasionally, you may want to highlight shoes ed other small oggetti dell’equipaggiamento during later stages of the painting process. In order to protect adjacent areas of the figure, we use a size 2 paintbrush for this detailed work. Otherwise, the process of drybrushing does not change.

The rims e tires on this cannone anticarro da 37 mm were drybrushed to bring out the fine detail of the Roco model. The main gunner is an ESCI figure, the due fanti are fanteria francese della prima guerra mondiale di Revell. Painted in the 1940 uniform colours, these soldatini make convincing WW2 fanteria.

Swords, Bayonets e Metal Waterbottles

1. Black undercoat
2. Dark metal o light silver drybrush

Shoes, Boots e Leather Equipaggiamento

1. Black undercoat
2. Dark grey drybrush
3. Careful light grey o white drybrush to show the reflection of light.

Hair e Calfskin Knapsacks

1. Khaki undercoat
2. Umber stain
3. Light khaki o white drybrush

Powdered Wigs

1. Grey undercoat
2. White drybrush

Dust on Footwear ed Equipaggiamento

1. Light sand coloured drybrush
2. White drybrush to bring out fine detail

Drybrushing Vehicles

Drybrushing was originally developed for weathering veicoli e buildings. This Airfix Opel Blitz truck was undercoated in black e painted entirely using the drybrush technique.

Veicoli della Wehrmacht

1. Black undercoat
2. Panzer-grey drybrush
3. Rusty stains around rivets, chains, bumpers e fenders
4. Black stains indicating oil leaks e fuel spills
5. Metallic drybrush on tanktracks, handrails ed areas where paint has chipped
6. Black drybrush around exhausts
7. Dusty drybrush on windows, tires e flat surfaces.

Walls e Buildings

1. Dark grey undercoat
2. Brick red drybrush
3. Black stains indicating streaks of dirty water
4. Dark braun stain on wooden surfaces
5. Dust coloured drybrush on wooden surfaces, roof tiles e shingles

Drybrushing is a valuable e versatile painting technique for soldatini, veicoli, buildings e terrain pieces in scala 1:72. Drybrushing is easy to learn ed it provides stunning result even if you are just beginning to use it.

Domande più frequenti

Per ulteriori informazioni, per favore contatta la redazione di Rivista Military Miniatures nel Miniatures Forum.

Pitturazione dei Soldatini

- Pubblicato: 1996 - Aggiornato: 06.06.2007
© 1996-2010 by IDL Software GmbH, Darmstadt, Germania. Tutti diritti reservati.