In the November 2008 jumbo issue of FineScale Modeler, Karl Logan reveals an unbelievable weathering technique - with hairspray! First, though, he modified and beat up Revell's 1/25 scale Chevrolet Nomad. Here, he shows you how.
I wanted the doors open, so I used a scriber to deepen the engraved panel lines, 1.
Then, I carefully cut out the remaining plastic with a micro razor saw, 2.
To complete the surgery, I cut the corresponding door panels from the inner tub, then glued the door parts together, 3.
I filled the gaps with Squadron putty and .020" styrene, 4, and added hinges from .030" x .060" strip styrene.
One of the window handles was shaved off and drilled out, 5.
I super glued wine-bottle lead foil to the kit's seat. Then I sealed the edges with more super glue and sanded them flat so when painted the seam would be disappear. I used a No. 11 blade to slice the foil in places, bending up the foil around the cut, 6.
I used a curved blade excavate plastic under the cuts in the foil, then stippled Squadron white putty inside the foil to simulate stuffing. Unhappy with the smooth appearance of the fabric area of the seat, I textured them by applying putty and lightly sanding. I installed the seat into the tub after adding a rough coat of flocking over patchy white glue, 7.
I cut open the glove compartment door and build a styrene box behind it. Using stretched sprue, added drooping wires under the dash. Pedals fashioned from styrene sheet and rod finished the details, 8.
Chrome? We don't need no shiny chrome, so I stripped the plated engine parts by soaking the parts in bleach. I wired the distributor cap with No. 28 soft-steel wire, and added slightly thicker wire going to the coil. In a junkyard, these items would be among the first scavenged but this car is being portrayed as being on private property, so I was comfortable leaving these relatively intact. I left off the air cleaner and carburetor and drilled an air intake hole under the carb. I added some of the lines to the carb with copper wire, 9.
The battery's long-gone, but I built a tray on the firewall from .010" styrene. I discarded the brake reservoir, instead drilling holes where it would have mounted on the firewall, 10.
The engine was painted with craft store paints in various rust shades and sprinkled with rust-colored pastels while wet. Then I applied a wash of burnt umber and orange artist's oils and dry-brushed in various shades of rust and tan. A stippling of reddish-orange simulated remaining engine paint before light washes of black and orange, 11.
I made hood springs by wrapping fine wire around a sewing needle, then added them to the hinges, 12.
I planned to model the Nomad minus front wheels, so I made to brake drums using parts from a Charger 500 kit along with .020" rod wheel-bolt posts, 13.
With a new No. 11 blade, I shaved the molded-on trim from some sections of the body. Holes drilled marked the trim's mounting points. After painting, remaining trim was detailed with Bare-Meta Foil. For corroded metal, I thinned the plastic around wheel wells and rocker panels with a rotary tool. Then I deformed the thin plastic with a hobby knife before stippling Squadron putty on the areas to simulate rust, 14.
I soaked a piece of facial tissue in white glue and stuck inside the roof of the painted model and trimmed it to shape. While it was wet, I cut tears in this headliner with a razor blade, 15, then turned the model right side up so the tissue dried hanging down, 16.
I applied craft acrylics to the seats and interior tub using ivory white and turquoise for a typical two-tone décor. The seat stuffing was painted Tamiya dark yellow. After weathering the seats with selective light gray and burnt umber washes, I added rust-colored pastels on the floor and dash, 17, 18, 19, and 20.
With everything painted I attached the body to the interior and chassis. The open doors left gaps I filled with sheet styrene, 21 and 22 .
For the remaining space, I rolled Milliput into thin snakes, 23, then pushed it into place with my finger, 24.
The wet handle of my hobby knife did the final shaping, 25.
I used the same technique to fill the gap at the missing windshield, 26, then hand-brushed body color over the filled areas, and weathered with artist's oils, 27.
I made windows - including a cracked pane - from Evergreen clear styrene sheet and gave all of the windows a light wash of dirty gray or white to simulate dust and grime, 28.
After pinwashing the Bare-Metal Foil with rust-colored artist's oils, 29, I attached the bumpers and rear wheels, 30. After a little weathering to blend everything, my derelict Chevy was done.