Both Edges Completed on Lantern Building

After trying to find out just the right mix for the Artitec suggested colors - namely their Cement (CE) and Blue Green (BG), I finally got the paint sprayed using the airbrush on most of the building's faces, while using a no 1 brush for the drain pipes. Formulas are listed below (CE is on the upper side on the wall, BG on the bottom one) - note that the previous color used has now been switched.

CE (cement)
30 drops of XF-2 (Tamiya Flat White)
6 drops of XF-79 (Tamiya Linoleum Deck Brown)
2 drops of XF-1 (Tamiya Flat Black)

BG (blue green)
30 drops of XF-2 (Tamiya Flat White)
2 drops of XF-79 (Tamiya Linoleum Deck Brown)
2 drops of XF-1 (Tamiya Flat Black)

Upper Wall Edge of Lantern Building

For the upper edge of the building's walls, the Artitec instruction paper indicates using a mix of white (more), a shade of brown (Humbrol 110 - small amount) and black (small amount). This is referred to as cement in the said flyer. So a small quantity of paint was mixed, as follows:

30 drops of XF-2 (Tamiya Flat White)
2 drops of XF-79 (Tamiya Linoleum Deck Brown)
2 drops of XF-1 (Tamiya Flat Black)


The result, representing just one wall barely sprayed in 3 coats, along with the pieces of various types of masking tapes, can be seen below.

[Later Edit] This was replaced as indicated here.

Lantern Building Walls

One side of the lantern building had its wall airbrushed tonight. The texture of the model is really good, and using the airbrush really shows the details - an ordinary job using a brush will most likely make all the details fade. Care had to be taken though with the specs of dust, that tend to stick to the surface after spraying a coat. However I've done one mistake: the center of the windows should have been covered as well, because a thin mist deposited on the window sides on the inside. However with the white windows applied, this might not look too bad after all, providing a bit of a "highlight", usually needed for the small models because the light doesn't cast the same shadows compared to the real thing (so say the experts).

 The formula used, applied in 3 coats, follows:
0,9 ml XF-2 (Tamiya Flat White)
 6 drops of XF-64 (Tamiya Red Brown)
 1 ml X-20A (Tamiya Thinner)

The 3M masking tape applied on the bricks had the added benefit of removing extra mortar that was lying on the face of the bricks themselves.

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Bricks on the Artitec Building

While looking around the Internet for tips about using masking tape, I've come across some very interesting advice: the normal masking tape, the light-colored one, that when looked up close seems to have all sorts of ridges, is actually not the way to go for miniature painting. The trouble with this - even excellent for use on regular house work - is that it's too thick, making the paint sprayed from the airbrush to accumulate on the edges. Also, even if one tries to really level it, it usually bleeds paint. Enter the 3M vinyl masking tape, which solves these issues, and above all, it's not that sticky, plus the vinyl can be maneuvered a bit to take the desired shape. Somewhat pricy, at 15 euros you can get this as a 6 mm wide by 30 metres long strip.

 After carefully masking one side of the building, so that only the brick parts were visible, paint was prepared:
 0,6 ml XF-7 (Tamiya Flat Red)
 0,1 ml XF-64 (Tamiya Red Brown)
 0,7 ml X-20A (Tamiya Thinner)

This was airbrushed in 3 coats, using a lamp to help dry the paint between the sessions for 10 to 15 minutes. After everything dried overnight the mortar lines were done - first using a dry cloth with Woodland Scenics Concrete to cover the whole brick surface (this needs to be in sufficient quantity, since it will be left for about 10 minutes to dry - when this happens the paint tends to recede from the lines between the bricks; if this happens, another layer should be applied using the cloth soaked in Concrete color). After this has been left to dry for 10 - 15 minutes, a damp cloth can be used to remove the dried color from the bricks' face.

Even if the mortar might not be removed 100% from the bricks themselves, not to worry, since the Artitec guys seem to be having a similar finish on their product cover. As for the brick color, this was chosen so that it matches that of the Brawa platform detailed back here

Artitec Kits

It's been a while since I first noticed the Artitec kits in the offers of various model shops. Pictures of the complete models really looked awesome, by far the most realistic among the rest of the crowd. Trouble was the usual online retailer I'm using - LokShop - doesn't offer any Artitec products. But since I had my eye on a small building that had just the right dimensions to fit on the D segment, and also they had a nice small ship (only the part above the water) that fits well in one of the layout's corners, I decided to go ahead and order directly from their site (http://hobbyworld.nl/). Due to a certain local holiday, the delivery was set back about 2 weeks, but finally arrived. Luckily for me, I found out a couple of months ago that the Artitec kits come unpainted, so that awesome picture of the desired model is really up to you. 

So I went ahead and started working on the Lantern Building (#10228). Don't assume you'll be dealing with state-of-the-art, laser-cut materials. Actually it's a really good opportunity to see how models evolved over the years. Compared to the Faller station I got  last year, this has its issues. First of all, the "Copyright 2005" gives the fist clue. Then you're greeted by resin parts, all having a pretty thick film on the back, which needs to be sanded away. The second photo shows my first attempt at it, however I had to go and buy some real sandpaper to get the work done. In the end it took more than 2 hours total time to only get the parts separated...and a lot of messy plastic dust on the way.

Tips and Progress

Finally decided to use diluted glue when applying the earth plaster formulas - the trouble was that for the very first layer applied on the wet (previously dried) plaster cloth, after the time needed to dry, most of it would simply come off - most likely as a result of the underlying plaster cloth robing the moisture from the small plaster particles in the earth formula. So in order to "help" the reaction of these small plaster particles with the mist airbrushed, I'm switching from simply water to white glue (1 part glue to 2 parts water). However thinking a bit further makes me realize that when vegetation get applied in the end, the underlying soil will be fixed anyway by the diluted Noch glue used specifically for the static fibers - guess my changed procedure will just help in those barren patches of land, left between vegetation.

Regarding the Noch glue used for the static grass, I've changed the ratio to 1:2 (Noch glue : water). This is done in order to reduce the visible change in color after the glue dries versus the initial color of the vegetation. (Kept reading a small note with the new ratio for some months now, so I decide it's finally time to write it here too).

The right corner that has seen much work last December now has some small rocks and dead, fallen trunks applied (using normal glue - white glue didn't work !). Since the first photo was taken, patches of various grass were set. As for the second photo, the lids can be clearly seen, still awaiting to dry. In the foreground, the Brawa platform is glued in place to the 4 mm supports (which took way to long to cut using hot wire). Also visible is the remaining infrared detector pair that had to be installed on the D segment, right before things were fixed with some plaster.

Brawa Platform

On the D segment, it's planned for a platform to show up. First photo shows the place - on the right of the track. I've bought one a while back, but as these things come with the natural plastic gloss, processing was in order. First, the grey parts were filed, so they wouldn't be smooth - this to confer some grip for the upcoming airbrush coats, and for some surface variety on the drybrushing step.For the bricks, 2 layers were used, in the formulas presented below:

First layer

 0,6 ml XF-7 (Flat Red)

 0,25 ml XF-64 (Red Brown)

 0,8 ml X-20A (Thinner)

Second layer

 0,3 ml XF-7

 0,05 ml red brown

 ? ml X-20A (Thinner) (quantity was most likely 0,4)

After this, the mortar lines inside the bricks were done, using some cloth soaked with Woodland Scenics Concrete. This was gently wiped right after with some wet cloth, to remove the color from the bricks themselves.

The rest of the grey stones were sprayed in a combination of XF-12 (J.N. Grey) and XF-79 (Linoleum Deck Brown) - unfortunately I don't have the exact formula anymore - judging by the end result however, a small amount of brown was used.

Next, drybrushing was done, on both bricks and stones, with various Woodland Scenics colors (Burnt Umber, Raw Umber). The rough edges on the grey stones were highlighted using WS Concrete. The final assembled piece looks pretty good for now.